Children's home run by Together For Children Sunderland

Inspection report for children’s home: 2613157 1 Registered provider: Together for Children Sunderland Limited Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

A local authority owns and manages this children’s home. It provides care for up to three children who may have social and emotional difficulties. Two children were living at the home at the time of the inspection. Both children were spoken to during the inspection.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager has been in post since 1 August 2024 and has applied to register with Ofsted. This manager also manages another setting.

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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

Date of last inspection: 11 October 2023

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good

Overall judgement at last inspection: requires improvement to be good

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children’s home: 2613157 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

11/10/2023 Full Requires improvement to be good 07/03/2023 Full Good 14/09/2021 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: 2613157 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children have trusting relationships with staff. Staff spend time with children to build positive relationships, which helps children feel safe and trust staff to care for them. One child said that they know the staff love them and that they feel safest with staff. Both children can identify staff they can speak to about worries or concerns.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children feel safe and are making progress. Children are provided with consistency of care. One professional said that children are showing signs of trauma repair; this can only be possible due to children feeling safe and trusting in the care they are receiving.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children benefit from informed care that meets their needs. Staff have regular consultations with the psychologist to support their understanding of children’s behaviours. The consultations provide staff with a reflective space to learn. Staff understand children’s individual communication needs and are provided with additional training to support children. This means staff have the knowledge to ensure the care provided and communication with children is effective and in line with their diagnoses and plans.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children benefit from taking part in a variety of different activities. These activities can support an interest or hobby, and some activities are identified to provide a new experience. Staff support children to try new experiences and overcome any barriers to participation. One child said, ‘We get to do loads of things, and staff will help if needed to make sure we can access them.’

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children receive support and encouragement to attend education. Educational achievements and participation are celebrated no matter what the outcome. Children are supported through any educational transitions, so they are prepared and ready to learn and move on. One child has completed their exams and is preparing to start college, which they are excited about, and the other child’s attendance at school has improved.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The presentation of the home has improved. Repairs inside the home have been completed in a timely manner. The garden area requires more attention. This is a priority for managers, who have an action plan. The garden improvements need to continue to ensure children have a home that they feel is safe and comfortable to be in.

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

Children’s risk assessments are detailed and provide information on their behaviours and vulnerabilities. Risk assessments are completed for each child; actions are identified if needed to promote safety, and these are reviewed regularly. Door alarms are being used to safeguard children; however, the review process for the use of door alarms lacks detail. This has resulted in children not knowing when the door alarms will Inspection report for children’s home: 2613157 4 be removed. All identified risks are graded to reflect the level of harm. Grading is not consistent and does not always reflect the level of risk identified.

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

Staff are skilled at de-escalation and use strategies to de-escalate before a hold is required. Staff are trained to safely hold children, and they use holds as a last resort to protect children and others from harm. Written records are detailed and provide a narrative to ensure the use of any hold is fair and proportionate. Managers have oversight to provide points of learning and reflection for staff, and they provide children with the opportunity to share their views.

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

Staff are knowledgeable about safeguarding and how to respond to children consistently. Staff raise concerns with managers if needed to ensure children’s needs are being met. If a child raises a safeguarding concern, staff know how to respond. This means any worries or concerns are addressed quickly and children feel safe and supported. Investigations or any suspicion of harm are shared with the appropriate agencies. Support and reassurances are given to the child to ensure they feel safe.

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

Staff follow children’s plans to ensure that children return safely if they go missing from care. Staff are proactive in looking for children in the community. When children return, staff welcome them back to ensure they feel safe, and a return home interview is requested. Written records are generally detailed and reflect the multi-agency response in locating the child and ensuring their safety. There is one record that is incomplete and has not been identified in the monitoring and review process.

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good

There has been a change in the staffing of the home. The home is managed by an acting manager who has applied to become registered with Ofsted. There has been a handover period to mitigate inconsistency and reduce any impact of the staffing changes on the children and staff. One staff member said that managers are visible and approachable, and they feel lucky to have a good management team.

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good

Staff receive regular supervision. The focus of supervision is on the children and safeguarding, and the supervision format includes reflective practice. In addition, staff have appraisals and their training needs reviewed. Inexperienced staff have additional supervision throughout their probation period.

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good

Staff are provided with training to provide the care that is set out in the statement of purpose. New staff are given an induction period; this has been extended for staff in this home. Each new member of staff has a file that includes specific information about the children to enhance staff knowledge. Not all information provided to staff about children, which identifies them and their vulnerabilities, is consistently stored securely and in line with policy.

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good

Managers’ monitoring and review processes are not effective in all areas. Some written documents are not completed within timescales or updated accurately to ensure the Inspection report for children’s home: 2613157 5 quality and standard of care for the children. Shortfalls in meeting training needs and the home’s documents and health and safety issues have not been identified in the manager’s monitoring and review. This means managers are not taking action to address all issues of concern.

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good

Not all staff have the relevant qualifications. Some staff have not completed their qualification; some staff are behind and unlikely to finish in permitted timescales, and some staff have not been enrolled on the required training. Managers are aware of this and have taken action to start addressing the shortfalls. However not all the staff providing care for children are qualified or likely to be qualified within the regulation timescales.

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good

The home is not staffed to meet the needs of the children. There are not enough staff at the home to ensure that the ratios are assessed as safe for children, to ensure their needs, are always met. This means children can be exposed to volatile situations and are left feeling unsupported at times. Inspection report for children’s home: 2613157 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

In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to—

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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 has sufficient staff to provide care for 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)(b) (2)(c)(d)(f)(h)) 21 December 2024

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Recommendation

 The registered person should ensure that all staff consistently follow the home’s policies and procedures for the benefit of the children in the home’s care. (‘The Guide to The Children’s Homes Regulations including the quality standards’, page 54, paragraph 10.20) Inspection report for children’s home: 2613157 7

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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: 2613157 8

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Together for Children Sunderland Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: City Hall Floor 2, Plater Way, Sunderland SR1 3AA

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Inspector

Kate Jackson, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2613157 9 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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