Children's home run by Middlesbrough Borough Council

Inspection report for children’s home - monitoring visit: SC472381 1 SC472381

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Registered provider: Middlesbrough Borough Council

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Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

The home is owned and managed by a local authority. It provides care for up to four children who may experience social and emotional difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

At the time of the inspection, the home was providing care to four children with complex needs.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager registered with Ofsted in February 2024.

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This monitoring visit

This visit took place in response to an increase in safeguarding notifications in relation to children’s behaviour. The visit focused on the effectiveness of leaders and managers, how successful staff are in supporting children’s behaviour and also how well children are protected.

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This monitoring visit

Relationships between the children are poor. Incidents of bullying and intimidating behaviour have increased and have not been managed effectively by staff. Doors are routinely locked, and high staffing ratios are used to ensure children’s safety from their peers. One child asks staff to lock and unlock the doors to his part of the home so he can feel safe. Despite his age and ability, staff do not provide the child with a key to give him autonomy in his own home.

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This monitoring visit

Staff do not provide clear and consistent boundaries to children. There have been incidents of children refusing to go to bed, being in each other’s bedrooms and barricading the doors through the night. The children are regularly causing damage to their home. Staff have been assaulted, and the police have been called to manage the children’s behaviour. Inspection report for children’s home - monitoring visit: SC472381 2 One child had a poor experience of moving into the home. Decisions made in the court process meant that the child moved into the home without the agreed notice. This meant that the child was not aware of their move to the home and instead believed that they were returning to their family home. This situation was beyond the control of the home but impacted significantly on the experience of the child.

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This monitoring visit

Leaders and managers do not always review incident reports within appropriate timescales. Important information that contributes to children’s plans could therefore be missed. This prevents leaders and managers from identifying patterns or trends and learning lessons to improve practice.

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This monitoring visit

When children are missing from home, the staff act quickly to search known areas, contact friends and family, and coordinate a response with the police to help children return safely. Staff agree plans with children to ensure that they are able to make contact and arrange to meet with staff if they feel unsafe when out in the community.

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This monitoring visit

The manager and staff have good relationships with professionals. Information is shared with relevant agencies, and meetings are convened quickly to discusses concerns. This promotes efficient and timely responses from those involved in keeping children safe.

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This monitoring visit

The children are offered lots of activities linked to their individual interests. The staff offer emotional support to children during difficult times and refer to mental health services when additional support is needed. Inspection report for children’s home - monitoring visit: SC472381 3

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

16/04/2024 Full Requires improvement to be good 21/11/2023 Full Good 08/03/2023 Full Good 07/03/2022 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home - monitoring visit: SC472381 4

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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 with the given timescales.

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Requirement Due date

The care planning standard is that children—

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Requirement Due date

receive effectively planned care in or through the children’s home; and

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Requirement Due date

have a positive experience of arriving at or moving on from the home.

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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

ensure the effective induction of each child into the home;

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Requirement Due date

plan for, and help, each child to prepare to leave the home in a way that is consistent with arrangements agreed with the child’s placing authority;

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Requirement Due date

that each child’s relevant plans are followed. (Regulation 14 (1)(a)(b) (2)(b)(i)(iii)(c))

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Requirement Due date

This requirement is repeated from the last inspection. 29 August 2024

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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; 29 August 2024 Inspection report for children’s home - monitoring visit: SC472381 5 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 has sufficient staff to provide care for 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;

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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)(d)(e)(f)(h))

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Requirement Due date

This requirement is repeated from the last inspection.

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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

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

have the skills to identify and act upon signs that a child is at risk of harm;

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Requirement Due date

manage relationships between children to prevent them from harming each other;

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Requirement Due date

that the home’s day-to-day care is arranged and delivered so as to keep each child safe and to protect each child effectively from harm. (Regulation 12 (1) (2)(a)(i)(iii)(iv)(b))

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Requirement Due date

This requirement is repeated from the last inspection. 29 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— 29 August 2024 Inspection report for children’s home - monitoring visit: SC472381 6 an understanding about acceptable behaviour.

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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 develop socially aware behaviour;

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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; and

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Requirement Due date

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

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Requirement Due date

children can access all appropriate areas of the children’s home’s premises; and

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Requirement Due date

any limitation placed on a child’s privacy or access to any area of the home’s premises—

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Requirement Due date

is kept under review and, if necessary, revised; and

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Requirement Due date

allows children as much freedom as is possible when balanced against the need to protect them and keep them safe. (Regulation 21 (b)(c)(ii)(iii)(iv)) 29 August 2024

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Information about this inspection

The purpose of this visit was to monitor the action taken and the progress made by the children’s home since its last Ofsted inspection.

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Information about this inspection

This inspection was carried out under the Care Standards Act 2000. Inspection report for children’s home - monitoring visit: SC472381 7

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Middlesbrough Borough Council

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Middlesbrough House, 50 Corporation Road, Middlesbrough TS1 2RH

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Inspector

Lee Riley, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home - monitoring visit: SC472381 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 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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