Children's Home run by North Tyneside Council in North Tyneside

Inspection report for children’s home: 2694582 1 Registered provider: North Tyneside Council

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Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

The home is owned and operated by a local authority. It provides care for up to four children who experience social and emotional difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager registered with Ofsted in November 2022.

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Information about this children’s home

At the time of the inspection, four children were living in the home. The inspector met all four children and spoke to three of them.

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Overall experiences and progress of

children and young people, taking into account

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good

How well children and young people are helped and protected good

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good

The effectiveness of leaders and managers requires improvement to be good

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good

The children’s home provides effective services that meet the requirements for good.

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good

Overall judgement at last inspection: good

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children’s home: 2694582 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

20/06/2023 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: 2694582 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The children are provided with nurturing care from staff who are committed to developing positive relationships with them. Three of the children have very recently moved in and are developing trusting relationships with staff. One child said, ‘This is a good home and staff are friendly.’

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff understand the importance of family ties for children. They help children to spend time with family members when this is assessed as being safe. Staff stay with the child for support if necessary. This means that children can maintain relationships with the people who are important to them. Additionally, this provides children with the opportunity to have a support network outside of the home.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The children enjoy a range of activities that they choose themselves. Staff respect that some children prefer individual one-to-one time with staff. This helps children to see that their opinions are important and respected.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Some children have moved out of the home in an unplanned way due to safeguarding concerns. When children have a planned move, this is well organised and supportive for the child. Staff understand the significance of these moves and provide practical and emotional support to help reduce any anxieties that a move can bring. Furthermore, when children leave, they receive memory books which contain photos, achievements, and sentiments from the staff. This shows children that their experiences are valued.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

For some children, their progress has helped them move to their preferred setting, which includes foster care, supported accommodation and return to family. Children are provided with contact details and encouraged to stay in touch through the ‘staying close’ model. Some children have continued to attend activities with staff at the home. This provides continuity of care and support for children.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children’s educational progress varies. When there is a decline in the children’s participation in education, staff look to understand the barriers to their learning. However, staff do not consistently put measures in place to help motivate and encourage the children to engage in educational opportunities at the home. This would help to support children to make continued educational progress.

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How well children and young people are helped and protected: good

Children said that they feel safe living at this home. Children can identify a trusted member of staff who they can speak to if they have any worries. Staff understand children’s individual needs and risks. Additionally, staff recognise that their own understanding is instrumental in being able to help children to reduce risks. Children have up-to-date risk assessments and plans that are specific to their needs. This gives staff direction on what they should do to help reduce the risks to children. Inspection report for children’s home: 2694582 4 When children make allegations against staff, prompt action is taken to safeguard children. The manager liaises effectively with children’s social workers and the local authority designated officer. The manager and senior leaders ensure that a thorough investigation is carried out and make referrals to other safeguarding agencies. This promotes children’s safety and ensures that they feel listened to.

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How well children and young people are helped and protected: good

When children experience emotional distress and display self-harming behaviours, staff support them well and act appropriately. For example, bedroom searches are carried out to remove items that could cause the child harm. Children are also supported to attend specialist appointments to help them when necessary.

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How well children and young people are helped and protected: good

Staff recognise bullying incidents and intervene appropriately. Staff provide educative support to children around the impact of bullying to prevent further incidents.

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How well children and young people are helped and protected: good

Staff take action to locate children if they go missing from the home. They have good knowledge of what is expected of them to ensure that children return home safely. When a child returns home after being missing from care, staff offer comfort and support with a focus on the child’s welfare. This helps to build trusting relationships. However, the recordings of missing-from-home incidents do not always follow the missing-child policy. The registered manager has not identified this in their monitoring of the home to improve staff practice.

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How well children and young people are helped and protected: good

Staff and the manager respond to safeguarding incidents and take actions to reduce the risk of further harm. However, on one occasion, sufficient staff were not available to prevent a serious safeguarding incident from occurring. The manager has not reviewed the incident to identify learning for staff to improve practice and reduce the risk of future harm.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

The manager is committed to developing the staff team, which includes ensuring that all staff receive mandatory training to fulfil their role. New members of staff are enrolled to achieve the relevant qualification. This helps to ensure that staff caring for children have the appropriate skills and abilities to meet the children’s needs and keep them safe. Staff say that they feel supported, and some staff say that they ‘love’ coming into the home. Staff benefit from group supervision sessions and contribute to audits of children’s records.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

Leaders and managers do not always make child-centred decisions about children moving into the home. The manager does not always consider the risks of new children against the risks of those children already living in the home. The demand on the local authority for regulated homes has, in part, contributed to some of these decisions. However, the manager does not always carry out a compatibility assessment for some children. This means that strategies to mitigate or manage the risks are not identified or put into practice. Inspection report for children’s home: 2694582 5 Staff do not receive regular, practice-based supervision that allows them to reflect on children’s needs and explore appropriate strategies to support them. This is a missed opportunity to consider the needs of the children, the progress they are making, the quality of care provided and what needs to happen to improve on this. This means that

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

staff are not supported to improve their practice to help children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

Staff do not consistently plan and carry out direct work with children to help prevent and reduce risks or to help children manage their emotions. The manager acknowledges this gap in some children’s records and has a plan to address this and analyse the effectiveness of sessions for children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

Staff use physical holds as a last resort and adopt the least restrictive practice as possible. The manager does not consistently record her review of the incident. This does not give reassurance that the manager is satisfied with how and why the child has been held. Additionally, this limits opportunities for staff to reflect on and improve their practice.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

The children said that they like the home and their bedrooms. Communal areas of the home allow children to socialise together and are clean and appropriate. However, not all children’s bedrooms have the same level of cleanliness. One child’s bedroom was observed as unhygienic and unkempt. Other children’s bedrooms would benefit from more regular cleaning. One child’s bedroom wall had been replastered but not repainted when they moved into the home. This detracts from a homely feel and a welcoming environment for children. The manager and senior leaders acknowledge this and have plans to address this at a corporate level.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

During the inspection, the manager replaced locks on the front doors so that children can access and leave the home. The downstairs toilet was locked and could only be accessed by a member of staff. This was also raised at the previous inspection. The manager and senior leaders have made efforts to make adaptations so that the toilet is accessible to the children, and they provided sufficient reassurance that this is being resolved.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

Some professionals and family members said that it is difficult to contact and communicate with staff at the home. The manager acknowledges that communication is an area to improve. Some issues with the network and telephone lines in the home are being addressed at a corporate level.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

The manager reviews the statement of purpose when necessary. However, the most up- to-date version has not been submitted to Ofsted following changes to staffing arrangements and to conditions of the home, such as no longer providing short-term care. This does not allow the regulator to be aware of all the changes. Inspection report for children’s home: 2694582 6

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Statutory requirements

This section sets out the actions that the registered person(s) must take to meet The Care Standards Act 2000, The Children’s Homes (England) Regulations 2015 and the ‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’. The registered person(s) must comply within the given timescales.

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Requirement Due date

The protection of children standard is that children are protected from harm and enabled to keep themselves safe.

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to ensure—

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Requirement Due date

assess whether each child is at risk of harm, taking into account information in the child’s relevant plans, and, if necessary, make arrangements to reduce the risk of any harm to the child;

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Requirement Due date

help each child to understand how to keep safe;

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Requirement Due date

have the skills to identify and act upon signs that a child is at risk of harm;

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Requirement Due date

manage relationships between children to prevent them from harming each other;

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Requirement Due date

understand the roles and responsibilities in relation to protecting children that are assigned to them by the registered person; and

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Requirement Due date

take effective action whenever there is a serious concern about a child’s welfare. (Regulation 12 (1) (2)(a)(i)(ii)(iii)(iv)(v)(vi)) 3 June 2024

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Requirement Due date

The leadership and management standard is that the registered person enables, inspires and leads a culture in relation to the children’s home that—

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Requirement Due date

helps children aspire to fulfil their potential; and

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to— 3 June 2024 Inspection report for children’s home: 2694582 7 lead and manage the home in a way that is consistent with the approach and ethos, and delivers the outcomes, set out in the home’s statement of purpose;

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Requirement Due date

understand the impact that the quality of care provided in the home is having on the progress and experiences of each child and use this understanding to inform the development of the quality of care provided in the home; and

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Requirement Due date

use monitoring and review systems to make continuous improvements in the quality of care provided in the home. (Regulation 13 (1)(a)(b) (2)(a)(f)(h))

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Requirement Due date

The quality and purpose of care standard is that children receive care from staff who—

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Requirement Due date

understand the children’s home’s overall aims and the outcomes it seeks to achieve for children;

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Requirement Due date

use this understanding to deliver care that meets children’s needs and supports them to fulfil their potential.

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to—

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Requirement Due date

ensure that the premises used for the purposes of the home are designed and furnished so as to—

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Requirement Due date

enable each child to participate in the daily life of the home. (Regulation 6 (1)(a)(b) (2)(c)(i)(ii)) 3 June 2024

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Recommendation

 The registered person should ensure that when a child is not attending their identified education provision, they are supported to regain their confidence in education and engage in suitable and structured activities. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 28, paragraph 5.15) Inspection report for children’s home: 2694582 8

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Information about this inspection

Inspectors have looked closely at the experiences and progress of children and young people, using the social care common inspection framework. This inspection was carried out under the Care Standards Act 2000 to assess the effectiveness of the service, how it meets the core functions of the service as set out in legislation, and to consider how well it complies with The Children’s Homes (England) Regulations 2015 and the ‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’. Inspection report for children’s home: 2694582 9

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: The Quadrant East, Cobalt Offices, 15b to 15c The Silverlink North, North Tyneside NE27 0BY

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Inspector

Cat Makel, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2694582 10 achieve excellence in the care of children and young people, and in education and skills for learners of all ages. It regulates and inspects childcare and children’s social care, and inspects the Children and Family Court Advisory and Support Service (Cafcass), schools, colleges, initial teacher training, further education and skills, adult and community learning, and education and training in prisons and other secure establishments. It assesses council children’s services, and inspects services for looked after children, safeguarding and child protection.

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Inspector

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Inspector

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Inspector

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