Kyloe House

Assurance inspection report for secure children’s home: SC035409 1 Kyloe House Northumberland County Council Netherton Park Children’s Home, Stannington, Morpeth, Northumberland NE61 6DE

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Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this secure children’s home

This secure children’s home is operated by a local authority and is approved by the Secretary of State to restrict children’s liberty.

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Information about this secure children’s home

The home can accommodate up to 15 children aged between 10 and 17 years. It has three designated living areas: Alder, Willow and Hadrian.

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Information about this secure children’s home

There were 13 children living in the home at the time of this inspection.

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Information about this secure children’s home

The home provides care for children accommodated under section 25 of the Children Act 1989 who are placed by local authorities.

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Information about this secure children’s home

The admission of any child under section 25 of the Children Act 1989 who is under 13 years of age requires the approval of the Secretary of State.

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Information about this secure children’s home

The commissioning of health services in this home is the statutory responsibility of NHS England under the Health and Social Care Act 2012. Education is provided on site in dedicated facilities.

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Information about this secure children’s home

The manager registered with Ofsted on 30 January 2012.

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Information about this secure children’s home

Date of last inspection: 28 November 2023

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Information about this secure children’s home

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Assurance inspection report for secure children’s home: SC035409 2

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Information about this inspection

At this inspection, the inspectors evaluated:

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Information about this inspection

 the care of children  the safety of children  the effectiveness of leaders and managers.

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Information about this inspection

Inspectors have looked closely at the experiences and progress of children, using the social care common inspection framework. This assurance 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’. Assurance inspection report for secure children’s home: SC035409 3

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Findings from the inspection

We did not find any serious or widespread concerns relating to the care and protection of children at this assurance inspection.

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Findings from the inspection

Children say that they are ‘well looked after’ and ‘the staff are the best thing about living at the home’. The trusting relationships that children build with staff help them greatly to accept help. Children listen and take on board the advice and support provided by staff. This helps them to better understand the reasons that they are in a secure setting and plan positively for the future.

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Findings from the inspection

The care, health and education staff work as one team. Managers and staff know the children well and have an extremely detailed understanding of each child’s vulnerabilities, identified risks and care needs. Formulation meetings involving care, education and health staff are used effectively to ensure that children are kept safe, and their care needs are routinely met. This supports children’s progress and promotes positive outcomes.

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Findings from the inspection

Consultation with children continues to be a key focus in the home. Children said that they can make choices about what activities they like to do and the meals they eat. In addition, the children engage well in children’s meetings where they can confidently give their views and suggestions which are considered and used to influence their day-to-day experiences. These meetings are child-focused and well evidenced in detailed records.

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Findings from the inspection

There is a strong focus on keeping children safe. The children are settled, and serious incidents are infrequent. When incidents do occur, staff follow procedures which are subject to good oversight and scrutiny. Information is shared with all relevant external professionals and staff hold post-incident debriefs and undertake direct work with children. This promotes learning and helps to reduce or prevent the recurrence of such incidents and assists in keeping children safe.

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Findings from the inspection

Staff benefit from regular formal supervision. This supports their ongoing well-being, promotes improved care practice, as well as meeting their training and development needs. Training is kept up to date and all staff have recently undertaken trauma- informed practice training. This ensures that staff have the knowledge and skills to meet the needs of the children.

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Findings from the inspection

The registered manager and senior leadership team provide effective oversight and scrutiny of children’s experiences and service delivery. They are focused on improving standards and have developed a well-thought-out action plan to improve education monitoring systems. These changes are currently being embedded into work practice.

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Findings from the inspection

The one requirement and two recommendations made at the last inspection that relate to education will be checked at the next full inspection. Assurance inspection report for secure children’s home: SC035409 4

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

28/11/2023 Full Good 01/11/2022 Full Outstanding 01/03/2022 Full Good 21/09/2021 Interim Sustained effectiveness Assurance inspection report for secure children’s home: SC035409 5

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Statutory requirements

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

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Requirement Due date

The education standard is that children make measurable progress towards achieving their educational potential and are helped to do so.

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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

help each child to achieve the child’s education and training targets, as recorded in the child’s relevant plans; and

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Requirement Due date

support each child’s learning and development, including helping the child to develop independent study skills and, where appropriate, helping the child to complete independent study. (Regulation 8 (1) (2)(a)(i)(ii))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person must ensure that all staff have high expectations of what children can achieve and that teachers set appropriately challenging targets based on children’s starting points, which help children to make the progress they should over time.

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Requirement Due date

ensure that all staff set appropriate and consistent expectations for behaviour and conduct to promote calm and positive learning environments that help children to learn, including when children learn in their residential units; and

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Requirement Due date

review quality assurance and quality improvement processes to ensure that they have an accurate oversight of the quality of education and the progress that children make. 28 May 2024 Assurance inspection report for secure children’s home: SC035409 6

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that children are in full-time education while they are of compulsory school age unless their personal education plan contained within the care plan or other relevant plan states otherwise. In particular, link- work sessions should be completed outside of school hours. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards,’ page 28, paragraph 5.14)  The registered person should actively seek and make best use of information from internal monitoring to ensure continuous improvement. In particular, have regard for the progress that children are making in education and their experiences. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards,’ page 55, paragraph 10.24) Assurance inspection report for secure children’s home: SC035409 7

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Secure children’s home details

Registered provider: Northumberland County Council

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Secure children’s home details

Registered provider address: County Hall, Morpeth NE61 2EF

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Inspectors

Debbie Foster, Social Care Inspector Cathey Moriarty, Social Care Inspector Gemma Mc Donnell Social Care Inspector Assurance inspection report for secure children’s home: SC035409 8 to 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 children looked after, safeguarding and child protection.

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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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