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

Inspection report for children’s home: 2682261 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 one child who experiences 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, one child was living in the home. The inspector met and spoke to the child.

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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: 2682261 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

24/04/2023 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: 2682261 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children who live in this home benefit from a stable staff team. The child currently living in the home has made progress in areas of their life due to the predictable care and routine that is provided. Professionals and family shared the view that the child has developed good relationships with staff.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The child is supported to try new activities and experiences. Activities are personalised and help the child to learn, as well as have enjoyment. Furthermore, the child has donated their time to the local community by taking part in charity fund raising. Photos of opportunities and special events are captured for the child’s memory book. This shows the child that their experiences are valued by the adults caring for them. The child has increased their time at education. Consequently, the child can join their peers for a celebration hour that takes place once a week at school. This means that the child can enjoy and celebrate their achievements with their peers.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff have developed an understanding of the child’s presenting needs. Staff sensitively explore challenges that the child faces to help them understand and manage their personal care needs independently. Additionally, the child is supported to develop their self-care skills such as cooking tasks, tidying up and cleaning. This helps the child develop skills that will help them now and into adulthood.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children move into the home in a planned way. This includes visits to the home and communication with the child, parents and professionals. This helps to reduce the anxiety that a move can bring. One professional said that the staff are warm and welcoming. The professional described the child’s presentation as much improved since they moved into this home.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The child’s bedroom is personalised with pictures and wall art. However, the child’s clothes, previously removed due to possible risks, have not been returned to their room. Additionally, the child’s mattress is too small for the bedframe. The child likes the observatory created in the garden for them. However, doors are kept locked, which means the child cannot access the rear garden where this observatory is.

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

The manager and staff understand the potential risks to the child in the community and in the home. The child has access to specialist services. Additionally, a specialist health assessment of the home has recommended some adaptations that will help the child to safely meet their own needs.

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

Staff understand the risks that the internet and electronic communication pose to the child. Staff carry out educative sessions and monitor the child’s use of devices to help reduce the risk. Inspection report for children’s home: 2682261 4 When the child goes missing from the home, staff follow and encourage the child to return. Staff make efforts to stay with the child during these incidents. When this is not possible, staff follow the missing-from-home procedures. This includes a coordinated response to ensure the child’s safe return.

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

The management team takes allegations against staff seriously. The manager liaises with safeguarding professionals to make decisions. The child raising the concern is spoken to by an independent person so that they can share their views. This helps to ensure that staff caring for the children are acting in accordance with policy and procedures and that children are being cared for by safe adults.

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

Risk assessments are detailed and updated following incidents. This ensures that all staff are aware of, and able to respond to, the child’s needs to keep them safer. The child’s behaviour support plan has been completed in consultation with the behaviour support team in the child’s placing authority. The plan supports staff to identify triggers and advise them of the actions that they should take to help the child.

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

However, staff do not always use the child’s behaviour support plan to de-escalate some situations when the child is struggling to manage their emotions. This means that staff need to use physical holds and, on some occasions, staff need to use physical intervention multiple times in one day. Furthermore, the staff’s recording is unclear and does not demonstrate if staff use safe practices to safeguard children during this time. Most of the records have oversight from an independent person who is an instructor of physical intervention. However, due to the lack of detail in the recording, it is not clearly documented how the instructor can be satisfied with the response from staff. Additionally, the manager does not always help staff to reflect on the incident to improve their practice.

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

The manager’s monitoring and review systems are not effective. Shortfalls have been identified in the recordings of physical holds as well as issues found within the home environment. Additionally, the manager’s monitoring did not review a child’s missing- from-care episode, and a further significant incident was not notified to Ofsted. Although appropriate action was taken on these occasions, the manager’s lack of accountability does not help to improve the quality of care for the child.

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

The manager is dual registered and is also responsible for managing the home that is attached to this home. The manager does not consistently consider the needs of all of the children living in each of the homes. There are systems in place. However, the assessments have not been fully completed.

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

Furthermore, the manager’s monitoring and audit tools provide conflicting information about the number of educative discussions that the child has engaged in with staff. This undermines the manager’s oversight, reassurances of the child’s progress and the effectiveness of any interventions. Inspection report for children’s home: 2682261 5 Staff say that they feel supported in their role. However, staff do not receive practice- related supervision. This does not help staff to reflect on their practice and support their own learning and development. Additionally, this does not help staff to improve the quality of care that the child receives.

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

The staffing ratio in the home is not always sufficient to meet the child’s needs as recorded in their behaviour support plan. Staff from the attached children’s home are called on for support, particularly when the child is in crisis. This arrangement is carried out in an unstructured way and is not reflected in rotas or contingency plans. This means that the manager cannot always be reassured that the support is available to the child when needed.

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

The manager completes an assessment of the location of the home and reviews this annually. However, the assessment does not include consultation with others. Consequently, the manager cannot be reassured that all potential and current risks are understood and managed.

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

Some professionals said that they would benefit from more regular updates about the child, such as weekly or monthly updates. The management team acknowledges this and has provided reassurances that this can be actioned promptly. Additionally, some family members said that it is difficult to contact and communicate with staff at the home. The management team acknowledges that communication is an area for improvement. Some issues with the network and telephone lines in the home are being addressed at a corporate level. Additionally, independent visitor reports and quality of care reviews do not consistently include the views of the child and others. The registered manager and senior leaders are aware of this and are taking steps to address this. Inspection report for children’s home: 2682261 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 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

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

ensure that staff have the experience, qualifications and skills to meet the needs of each child;

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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)(c)(f)(h)) 31 July 2024

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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. 31 July 2024 Inspection report for children’s home: 2682261 7 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))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, ensure that the child has appropriate furniture and belongings in their bedroom, and can access all shared areas of their home unless there are specific reasons why this would not meet a child’s needs.

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Requirement Due date

within 24 hours of the use of a measure of control, discipline or restraint in relation to a child in the home, a record is made which includes—

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Requirement Due date

details of the child’s behaviour leading to the use of the measure;

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Requirement Due date

the date, time and location of the use of the measure;

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Requirement Due date

a description of the measure and its duration;

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Requirement Due date

details of any methods used or steps taken to avoid the need to use the measure;

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Requirement Due date

the effectiveness and any consequences of the use of the measure; and

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Requirement Due date

within 48 hours of the use of the measure, the registered person, or a person who is authorised by the registered person to do so ("the authorised person")—

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Requirement Due date

has spoken to the user about the measure; and

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Requirement Due date

has signed the record to confirm it is accurate. (Regulation 35 (3)(a)(ii)(iii)(iv)(v)(vii)(b)(i)(ii)) 31 July 2024

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that all employees— 31 July 2024 Inspection report for children’s home: 2682261 8 receive practice-related supervision by a person with appropriate experience. (Regulation 33 (4)(a))

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that there are sufficient suitably trained staff on duty to meet the assessed needs of the children in the home. In particular, the registered person should ensure that when there is a contingency plan to use staff from another home, this is reflected in rotas and children’s plans. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 51, paragraph 10.1)  The registered person should review the appropriateness and suitability of the location and premises of the home at least once a year. The review should include consultation with other agencies. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 64, paragraph 15.1)

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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: 2682261 9

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: North Tyneside Council

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Children’s home details

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

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Inspector

Cat Makel, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2682261 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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