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

Inspection report for children’s home: SC032697 1 SC032697

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Registered provider: South 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 children’s 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 July 2021.

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Information about this children’s home

There were three children living at the home at the time of inspection. The inspector spoke to two of the children during the inspection.

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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 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: SC032697 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

30/05/2023 Full Good 03/01/2023 Full Good 09/12/2021 Full Outstanding 19/11/2019 Full Outstanding Inspection report for children’s home: SC032697 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children form close relationships with the manager and staff. Even when children have struggled to settle, positive relationships have been made. This gives children someone who they can talk to and share their feelings with.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

When children move into the home, their introductions are well planned. Children meet staff and can visit the home for tea and sleepovers before moving in. This helps to prepare children for the move. Meeting the other children and staff helps to settle the children’s anxieties.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The children living in the home have settled well. For one child, they have been provided with stability through living in the same place for more than a year. Another child said that this is the calmest that they have felt in a long time. The children both told the inspector that they would not change anything and want to stay at the home until they are ready for independence.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The views of children are well known and considered. They have access to an independent advocate. The manager shares the children’s views with the wider professional team and discusses ways to help. Staff listen to the children, empathise with them, and provide reassurance.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

There have been some challenges with children’s attendance at school. Children sometimes go to education provisions; however, one child has been excluded from school. Additionally, some children refuse to go to school and there are difficulties finding alternative education provisions. There are plans in place to address this, and the manager works constructively with the virtual school professionals to support children’s attendance.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

There is good support for children’s health and well-being. Staff ensure that children have access to the care that they need. When one child had an extended stay in hospital, the manager created a plan and obtained the equipment needed to care for them at home. This reduced the child’s time spent in hospital.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff spend time with the people who are important to the children. One parent said that staff went to their home at Christmas to watch their child open presents. The parent said that this was a natural scenario and they valued the time spent with them and their child.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The home is large and spacious. Some rooms look refreshed with new paint. However, this is not consistent around the whole home. In other areas, the walls look marked or damaged. A door to the utility room is also damaged. This does not provide the children with the living space that they deserve. Inspection report for children’s home: SC032697 4

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

The home has been unsettled since the last inspection. Staff have not always been able to keep children calm when they have been unable to manage their emotions. This has resulted in damage to the home and staff being injured. Staff follow children’s individual plans and safeguarding procedures to try to keep children safer. This has been successful, on some occasions, in resolving situations without further steps being taken.

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

Staff manage behaviour in a positive way by using de-escalation techniques, such as distraction or redirection. Staff physically hold or guide children as a last resort to keep them and others safe. The manager has good oversight of these events to ensure that staff follow the right process. Follow-up actions, such as professionals’ meetings or consultation with a clinical psychologist, mean that the manager looks at lessons to be learned or other strategies to be used to help reduce further incidents.

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

Furthermore, there have been more missing episodes, particularly for some children who no longer live at the home. Staff know what action to take when children go missing. For example, they follow children or continue to search for them even when they are reported as missing to the police. Children can speak to an independent person, who helps children to express their views and share the reasons for why they went missing.

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

Staff understand pertinent issues for the children, such as the reason for self-harming behaviours. If a child tries to hurt themself, staff make sure that they support the child and seek medical advice and help for their well-being. Staff search children’s rooms to remove items when necessary. They also help children to understand why these actions are being taken. This consistent approach helps to keep children safer.

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

Children know how to complain and share their views. The manager takes the children’s complaints seriously. She speaks to children and anyone else involved, to fully investigate the concerns raised. Children are told of the outcome, which helps them to feel listened to and recognise how their concerns have been addressed.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager is committed to the running of the home and makes sure that the children have the care, support, and attention that they deserve. She knows the children well and is a good advocate for them. This is consistently seen throughout the records. Her child- centred ethos filters down through the team and she leads by example.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager spends time with the children and staff on a day-to-day basis. This has been necessary to support the newer people in the team to ensure that the whole team works together to meet the children’s needs. However, this has taken her away from some of her managerial tasks. This means that some documents have not had her oversight to check for accuracy. This could impact on the care provided if staff are not following the most up-to-date plans. Inspection report for children’s home: SC032697 5 The manager makes sure that she completes a comprehensive assessment when a new child is due to move into the home. This includes looking at the needs of the children already living in the home. More recently, the manager provided the leadership team with information about the extra support needed to care for the children in the home. Appropriate plans were put in place. This ensures that the staff can confidently meet the

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

new child’s needs, and the existing children have the support that they need.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

There have been some changes in the staff team; however, the manager has maintained consistency for the children through having a core team of people who have worked in the home for longer. The manager makes sure that only a small number of bank workers help to cover the shortages, which ensures that the number of people coming in and out of the home is managed well.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The staff team is eager to learn, and staff are enthusiastic about their work. This helps them to invest in the children and the home’s approach to care. The staff said that they want to support children to build resilience, enjoy learning, and feel valued. There is professional curiosity from the staff team, with staff wanting to understand the children and their experiences.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager and staff reach out to other professionals as and when needed, ensuring that the children have the help they need. For example, there is regular consultation with a clinical psychologist. These meetings give the staff space to reflect to consider what works well and how they might best respond to children’s needs. Inspection report for children’s home: SC032697 6

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Statutory requirements

This section sets out the actions that the registered person 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 must comply within the given timescales.

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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—

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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)(h)) 31 July 2024

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that for the children’s home to be a nurturing and supportive environment that meets the needs of their children, it will, in most cases, be a homely, domestic environment. In particular, repairs should be completed in a timely way to parts of the home’s interior, such as rooms that need to be painted or freshened up, and a door that needs to be replaced. (Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 15, paragraph 3.9)

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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: SC032697 7

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Beverley Scanlon, Learning and Early Help, Town Hall & Civic Offices, Westoe Road, South Shields, Tyne and Wear NE33 2RL

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Inspectors

Miriam Dolman, Social Care Inspector Tina Ruffles, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: SC032697 8 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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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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