Children's Home run by Gateshead Council in Gateshead

Inspection report for children’s home: SC036773 1 SC036773 Registered provider: Gateshead 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 operated and managed by a local authority. It provides care for up to five children who experience social and emotional difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager registered with Ofsted in 2020. The manager had an extended period of absence between March and June 2024.

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Information about this children’s home

There were four children living at the home at the time of the inspection. The inspector spoke to one child during the inspection. The other children declined to speak to the inspector, although one provided a note of his views.

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Overall experiences and progress of

children and young people, taking into account

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requires improvement to be good

How well children and young people are helped and protected requires improvement to be good

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requires improvement to be good

The effectiveness of leaders and managers requires improvement to be good

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requires improvement to be good

The children’s home is not yet delivering good help and care for children and young people. However, there are no serious or widespread failures that result in their welfare not being safeguarded or promoted.

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requires improvement to be good

Date of last inspection: 16 November 2023

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requires improvement to be good

Overall judgement at last inspection: good

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requires improvement to be good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children’s home: SC036773 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

16/11/2023 Full Good 04/10/2022 Full Good 08/06/2021 Full Good 28/05/2019 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: SC036773 3

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improvement to be good

The shortfalls identified in the leadership and management of the home and the safeguarding practice of staff have had an impact on the overall experiences and progress of children.

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improvement to be good

Most of the children have lived at the home for a long time. Children have mixed experiences living there, and there are difficulties within the relationships between some of the children. Children sometimes spend time in their bedrooms to avoid the conflict with others. Staff do not always recognise when there are incidents of bullying. When children discuss their frustrations, staff do not always act on these. Furthermore, staff do not discuss topics, such as the expectations around bullying, individually with children or at the children’s meetings.

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improvement to be good

Only one child is attending college on a full-time basis and has made academic progress. The other children access tutoring sessions for a few hours each week. Outside these times, staff do not provide additional opportunities to educate children, or to engage them in meaningful activities. There is also limited guidance from staff when children do not wish to attend school or college. As a result, children are unable to reach their potential as there is limited structure and routine to their day. One staff member said, ‘When children are not in education, we ask if they want to do some crafts or anything they want to do. Most times, they do not want to do. Sometimes, they do, sometimes they do not. They mainly spend time with their friends.’

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improvement to be good

Staff’s recording in daily records does not reflect what daily life is like for children. Daily, it is difficult to see what the children’s routines are, or what their experiences are of living at the home. This lack of recording makes it difficult to look back retrospectively in the event of an investigation, allegation, or complaint. Additionally, this prevents children from having an accurate record of what their time living in the home was like.

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improvement to be good

When the last child moved in, the manager carefully considered the needs of the new child and any impact on the children already living in the home. The manager takes time to put a new child at ease, and ensures that visits to the home occur. He ensures that there is discussion with those who know the child well to gather important information. This means that children move into the home in a planned way.

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improvement to be good

Children say that they have adults who they can confide in and trust. The staff speak about the children in high regard. They take time to get to know what is important to each child and understand their personalities. This means that children are cared for by nurturing and caring adults. Inspection report for children’s home: SC036773 4

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improvement to be good

The risk assessments and behaviour support plans contain historic information or outline risks that are no longer an issue for the child. The documents are not regularly reviewed and not all staff have read them. This means that staff do not have up-to-date information or strategies to effectively safeguard children. This shortfall was raised at the previous inspection and has not been fully addressed. Therefore, it is restated.

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improvement to be good

Furthermore, the children’s care plans do not reflect key actions as identified in other statutory documents, such as a child’s health assessment. The plans also provide limited detail about how staff should support the children.

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improvement to be good

When a child goes missing from the home, particularly when a child is missing overnight, staff do not always make efforts to try to locate them, and they rely on the police to find the missing child. On occasions, staff will only make attempts to contact the child by telephone or will just search known locations. This lack of effort to find the child means that the child is not found quickly and continues to be at risk of harm while they are away from the home.

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improvement to be good

There has been an inconsistent staff team and a heavy reliance on agency staff. This means that, on occasions, clear boundaries are not always implemented by staff. When children challenge the expectations, there is an inconsistent approach. Some of the children use drugs and alcohol, smoke cigarettes or vape. This has been known to happen in the home. Staff do not consistently give clear messages to children. Although discussions take place, these are not always about educating the children of the risks.

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improvement to be good

Not all agency staff are trained to safely hold children. This means that if the occasion arose where staff needed to physically intervene, they would be restricted in doing so. One staff member said that they worry about managing behaviours effectively when they are working with agency workers. When staff have needed to hold children, it has been necessary, and there is management oversight of the incidents.

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

The manager and deputy managers have had some absence from the home which has caused some instability in the leadership and management of the home. However, when they have been working at the home, although some progress has been made in addressing the shortfalls found at the last inspection, the improvements have not been sustained. An independent visitor goes to the home monthly and makes recommendations on how to make improvements. The manager fails to address these shortfalls in a timely manner. This hinders the manager from improving the quality of care for children. Inspection report for children’s home: SC036773 5 The manager is very visible to the children, and they have a positive relationship with him. The manager and senior leaders spoke of their plans to address the shortfalls raised. The manager’s monitoring processes are not effective. The manager was not able to provide evidence of his oversight of staff’s practice, or that he has reviewed the

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

Staff do not receive consistent supervision sessions to discuss their welfare and the individual needs of children. This limits staff in having reflective discussions or the opportunity to discuss personal matters that may affect the care of the children. The deputy managers also complete supervision sessions; however, the manager does not have access to the minutes of these sessions. This prevents him having oversight of the quality of the supervision provided, or whether this has taken place.

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

Team meetings are not held regularly. The manager led a thorough team meeting upon his recent return to work, which covered a range of practice issues and the needs of the children. However, within other team meetings, discussions about the children and any updates regarding their needs are inconsistent. This prevents staff having the most up- to-date information on a regular basis to inform their practice.

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

There has not been a stable staff team, resulting in the use of agency staff. This has limited staff’s ability to complete all aspects of their role due to time constraints. This includes staff not being able to read important documents, such as children’s risk assessments and strategies to use.

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

The training matrix is not up to date, and not all staff have completed aspects of their mandatory training. Despite agency staff working in the home for a long time, they are not provided with the same training opportunities. This prevents staff having the relevant knowledge and skills to meet the needs of the children, or to help with their professional development. Inspection report for children’s home: SC036773 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 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;

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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;

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Requirement Due date

understand the barriers to learning that each child may face and take appropriate action to help the child to overcome any such barriers;

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Requirement Due date

help each child to understand the importance and value of education, learning, training and employment;

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Requirement Due date

promote opportunities for each child to learn informally; and

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Requirement Due date

help each child to attend education or training in accordance with the expectations in the child’s relevant plans. (Regulation 8 (1) (2)(a)(i)(ii)(iii)(iv)(v)(x)) 1 August 2024

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Requirement Due date

The positive relationships standard is that children are helped to develop, and to benefit from, relationships based on—

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Requirement Due date

an understanding about acceptable behaviour; and

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Requirement Due date

positive responses to other children and adults. 1 August 2024 Inspection report for children’s home: SC036773 7 In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to ensure—

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Requirement Due date

meet each child’s behavioural and emotional needs, as set out in the child’s relevant plans;

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Requirement Due date

encourage each child to take responsibility for the child’s behaviour, in accordance with the child’s age and understanding;

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Requirement Due date

help each child to develop and practise skills to resolve conflicts positively and without harm to anyone;

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Requirement Due date

communicate to each child expectations about the child’s behaviour and ensure that the child understands those expectations in accordance with the child’s age and understanding;

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Requirement Due date

are provided with supervision and support to enable them to understand and manage their own feelings and responses to the behaviour and emotions of children, and to help children to do the same;

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Requirement Due date

de-escalate confrontations with or between children, or potentially violent behaviour by children;

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Requirement Due date

understand and communicate to children that bullying is unacceptable;

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Requirement Due date

have the skills to recognise incidents or indications of bullying and how to deal with them; and

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Requirement Due date

that each child is encouraged to build and maintain positive relationships with others. (Regulation 11 (1)(a)(b)(c) (2)(i)(iii)(iv)(v)(x)(xi)(xii)(xiii)(b))

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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

that staff— 1 August 2024 Inspection report for children’s home: SC036773 8 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

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

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Requirement Due date

take effective action whenever there is a serious concern about a child’s welfare; and

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Requirement Due date

are familiar with, and act in accordance with, the home’s child protection policies. (Regulation 12 (1) (2)(a)(i)(ii)(iii)(v)(vi)(vii))

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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

ensure that staff work as a team where appropriate;

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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

ensure that the home’s workforce provides continuity of care to 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)(b)(c)(e)(f)(h)) 29 August 2024

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must— 29 August 2024 Inspection report for children’s home: SC036773 9 ensure that each employee completes an appropriate induction.

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that all employees—

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Requirement Due date

undertake appropriate continuing professional development; and

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Requirement Due date

receive practice-related supervision by a person with appropriate experience. (Regulation 33 (1)(a) (4)(a)(b))

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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: SC036773 10

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Gateshead Metropolitan Borough Council, Civic Centre, Regent Street, Gateshead NE8 1HH

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Inspector

Jess Elliott, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: SC036773 11 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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