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

Inspection report for children’s home: SC068243 1 SC068243

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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 six children who experience social and emotional difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager registered with Ofsted on 11 July 2023.

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Information about this children’s home

Five children were living at the home at the time of the inspection. The inspector met all five children and spoke to four 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 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: SC068243 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

14/08/2023 Full Good 26/07/2022 Full Requires improvement to be good 18/01/2022 Full Good 21/05/2019 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: SC068243 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Most of the children have lived at the home for over a year and have a sense of permanence. The children receive consistent care from staff members who know them well. This helps children to make good progress in areas of their life, for example the development of social and independence skills.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

All children attend a school or alternative education setting. One child expressed an interest to return to a mainstream provision after years of inconsistent attendance. The manager and staff advocated on behalf of the child and worked with professionals to make this achievable. The child’s return to mainstream education means that they are studying their chosen subjects. This increases their future life choices and has improved their social opportunities.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

For children who move into the home who speak English as an additional language, staff are proactive in ensuring that their language and cultural needs are met. Important documents that children receive when they move into the home are translated into a language that the child understands. One child has become less reliant on the translation app on their phone as their English vocabulary has improved. This means that children can be more involved in day-to-day discussions and conversations.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff support children to make connections with people who have the same culture and speak the same language. This stops one child from being socially and culturally isolated. The child now has a wider network of people that provide familiarity and support. This helped the child to re-establish communication with family members who live in another country. This helps the child’s emotional well-being as they are reassured about their family’s welfare.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are encouraged to attend activities for enjoyment and learning. Staff capture these events and special occasions in photos, and children contribute to their own memory books. Most of the children took part in a charity event to raise money for a local cause. This helps children to build an understanding of social issues and develop tolerance of other people’s situations.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff support children when they are ready to move on from the home. Staff help children to develop independence skills, for example managing finances and self- care. Staff support introductions to the child’s new home and keep in touch with them until they feel settled.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The staff and manager have worked hard to make the home comfortable through the use of decor and furnishings. However, areas of the home, such as the front door and internal doors, are institutionalised. Additionally, the children’s bathrooms need maintenance and repair. There is a plan to replace the bathrooms and doors, but Inspection report for children’s home: SC068243 4 there is no timescale for the work to be completed. The same issues were raised at the last inspection. Furthermore, damage to children’s bedroom walls is not repaired promptly. One child said they are not happy about the hole in their bathroom wall and the condition of their shower. These factors are not consistent with a nurturing environment.

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

Children say that they feel safe living at the home and can identify a member of staff that they trust. Staff understand safeguarding and whistle-blowing procedures to help keep children safer.

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

Children have up-to-date risk assessments that are reviewed regularly and give clear directions to staff. Risks for one child related to them going missing from home and substance misuse have reduced. Staff speak to children about risks in a way that helps children understand and shows that staff care about their safety. When these incidents do occur, staff adopt a well-coordinated response to ensure that children are safe. This means risks to children have reduced.

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

Staff help children to understand and take age-appropriate risks, such as developing relationships. The manager and staff involve multi-agency professionals to gather sufficient information and carefully assess the risk of new relationships. Consequently, children have enjoyed sleepovers with friends and weekend trips. This shows children that their views and wishes are important, and that staff act on them.

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

Children’s individual interests are promoted. One child takes part in organised busking events, which helps to improve their confidence. One child’s interest is gaming online, and the child spends an excessive amount of time involved in this activity. The manager does not consistently complete checks or show curiosity to be reassured that the child is safe online. Additionally, the child is not always helped to understand the consequences of excessive gaming. This means that they are not helped to develop skills to make healthier lifestyle choices.

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

Positive behaviour is promoted in the home, and there has been no need for children to be physically held. However, one child receives the same form of consequences and incentives repeatedly. The manager does not review these measures to consider their effectiveness and to look at alternative strategies for staff to use.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

A dedicated and committed manager leads the home. He has high expectations for all the children and motivates staff to share this view. He is supported by two deputies. A stable staff team means that there is not a reliance on agency staff. This means children know the staff caring for them. Inspection report for children’s home: SC068243 5 The manager consistently tracks children’s individual progress. He analyses incidents to identify patterns and how staff can help the children. The manager uses this tool effectively to identify ways to improve children’s outcomes.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager ensures that safer recruitment procedures are followed, and that staff receive a thorough induction. The manager monitors staff training and ensures that mandatory training is completed. This helps to ensure that staff caring for children are safe and have the skills and abilities to meet children’s needs.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Feedback from others is positive. The manager does not consistently capture his own independent feedback and consultation from others to improve the quality of care for children. Additionally, there is limited feedback gained by the independent visitor. This is a missed opportunity to make continuous improvements.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager has auditing tools that are mostly effective. The manager identifies that statutory documents have not been received from the children’s placing authority. However, the manager has not identified accurate time frames to request these documents. This means that some statutory documents have not been received, which limits the ability of staff to follow children’s up-to-date care plans.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager uses team meetings as a forum to discuss children’s care and practical arrangements in the home. Staff also receive regular supervision sessions; however, the records do not evidence practice-related discussions. This means that staff are not consistently provided with the opportunity to reflect on their own experiences of caring for the children so that shortfalls can be addressed, and changes can be made to their practice.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The fire risk assessment completed in January 2024 identifies actions that the manager should take to ensure that the home is safe, for example ensuring that fire doors close flush. The manager is fully aware and has requested repairs. However, at the time of the inspection, this issue was not rectified. Additionally, one child has refused to engage in fire drills. This undermines fire safety precautions in the home. Inspection report for children’s home: SC068243 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 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))

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Requirement Due date

This requirement has been restated. 30 September

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Requirement Due date

After consultation with the fire and rescue authority, the registered person must—

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Requirement Due date

take adequate precautions against the risk of fire, including the provision of suitable fire equipment in the children’s home;

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Requirement Due date

ensure, by means of fire drills and practices at suitable intervals, that persons working at the home and, so far as reasonably practicable, children are aware of the procedure to be followed in case of fire. (Regulation 25 (1)(a)(b))

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Requirement Due date

This specifically relates to internal fire doors. 1 August 2024 Inspection report for children’s home: SC068243 7

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that staff understand factors that affect children’s motivation to behave in a socially acceptable way. Staff should encourage an enthusiasm for positive behaviour using positive behaviour strategies in line with the child’s relevant plans. In particular, the registered manager should review the effectiveness of any behaviour management strategies. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards,’ page 39, paragraph 8.13)  The registered person should ensure that there are systems in place so that all the staff, including the manager, receive supervision so that they can reflect on their practice and the needs of the children assigned to their care. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards,’ page 61, paragraph 13.2)  The registered person should actively seek independent scrutiny of the home and make best use of information from independent and internal monitoring

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Recommendations

(including under regulations 44 and 45) to ensure continuous improvement. In particular, the registered person should assist the independent visitor to gain feedback from others. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards,’ page 55, paragraph 10.24)  The registered person should consider whether and how they can support the child to access a computer and the internet safely. In particular, the registered person should ensure that children understand the risks associated with using the internet, including the number of hours they use the internet. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards,’ page 29, paragraph 5.19)  The registered person should ensure that when the placing authority or another relevant person does not provide the input and services needed to meet a child’s needs during their time in the home, the home must challenge

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Recommendations

them to meet the child’s needs. In particular, they should request statutory documents that are not received in an appropriate time frame. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards,’ page 12, paragraph 2.8)

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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: SC068243 8

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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: SC068243 9 regulates and inspects 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 looked after children, safeguarding and child protection.

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Inspector

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Inspector

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