Children's home run by Highfield North East Limited in Redcar and Cleveland

Inspection report for children’s home: SC408656 1 SC408656

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Registered provider: Highfield (North East) Limited

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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 by a private provider. It provides short- and long-term care for up to four children who may experience social and emotional difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager registered with Ofsted in June 2010.

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Information about this children’s home

There were two children living at the home at the time of the inspection. Both were spoken to.

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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

Date of last inspection: 27 February 2024

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good

Overall judgement at last inspection: outstanding

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children’s home: SC408656 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

27/02/2024 Full Outstanding 01/03/2023 Full Good 17/02/2022 Full Good 05/11/2019 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: SC408656 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The home is warm and welcoming, and there are photos of the children throughout. Children have been involved in the ongoing redecoration of the home. Staff ensure that children’s bedrooms are maintained to a high standard, and they are personalised to their individual likes and interests.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children have built trusting relationships with those caring for them. Staff regularly complete key-work discussions with children about things that are important in their lives. Children say that they feel able to talk to the staff, with one child saying that the staff really care about them and show an interest in getting to know them. This has helped children to share their worries and experiences with staff.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The children are able to participate in a variety of activities. Staff involve them in planning activities, and children have a choice in where they want to go on holiday. Children’s interests are considered, and staff actively encourage regular activities and hobbies. One child learned to swim when they came to live at the home. The opportunities provided by the home have helped children to explore their talents and enhance their positive experiences.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

When children move on from the home, staff always support them to have positive endings. Staff have gone above and beyond to develop and maintain relationships with family members. Staff worked closely with one child’s parents so that they understood the child’s routines and boundaries, enabling them to maintain continuity of care. This helped the child return to live in their family home. Another child said that it is the best home that they have lived in, and staff helped them to feel well prepared for moving into independence. When children move out of the home, they maintain relationships with the staff and continue to reach out for support.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff support children to attend school, and they are making good progress. When one child has struggled with education, staff have worked with professionals to reduce the amount of time they spend in the classroom. The school provided the child with additional learning that staff support them with at home. Staff were proactive in working with professionals to explore an alternative provision. These actions mean that children are motivated to attend education.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children’s health and emotional well-being are a priority for staff. The children are registered with local dentists, doctors and opticians. When children have needed emotional support, staff have referred to external professional services. This has meant that children have received timely support tailored to their needs. Inspection report for children’s home: SC408656 4

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

Staff understand children’s vulnerabilities and are proactive in working with them around a range of subjects relevant to their individual risks. When there are concerns about children, the staff escalate these to the necessary services in a timely manner. This has helped to safeguard children and help them understand their risks.

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

Positive behaviour is consistently promoted in the home. Staff know the children well and use effective de-escalation techniques aligned with each child’s individual needs. Children respond well to staff and the approach has promoted positive behaviour, both at home and at school.

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

Not all information is clearly recorded in children’s risk assessments. One child was being supported around appropriate relationships. Staff understand this risk, but the risk assessment does not provide guidance to staff on how to best support the child. This could lead to staff being inconsistent in how they respond when children are in need of support.

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

Children rarely go missing from the home. When they do, staff are aware of the missing-from-home protocol and will actively search for children. Children are given a warm welcome by staff when they return home. However, on one occasion, there was a missed opportunity to explore a missing-from-home episode. This limits the staff’s understanding of the risks that children might face when they are missing from home. Furthermore, incidents do not have management oversight to support future learning of how staff can reduce risks.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The home is run by an experienced manager who knows the children well. The manager is committed to supporting children to achieve the best outcomes. The manager is ambitious for the future of the home and wants to continuously improve the care they offer to the children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Leaders and managers regularly monitor the quality of care provided to children. The registered manager has a clear process in place for auditing and monitoring all aspects of the home. The manager has been able to use this to identify areas where improvement is needed and what changes are required to improve the children’s experiences.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The staff team is well established, and this provides consistency for the children. When new staff are recruited, there is a robust recruitment process in place. New staff shadow more-experienced staff so that children get to know them before they work independently in the home. New staff are provided with a robust induction programme where they complete mandatory training.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager and staff have developed strong working relationships with multi- agency professionals and parents. They have provided appropriate challenge and Inspection report for children’s home: SC408656 5 advocated for the children when this has been required, for example gaining the right support for children to improve their emotional well-being. This challenge has been effective in helping children to achieve better outcomes.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

There are gaps in staff supervision. Staff report that they feel able to speak openly about issues that they have and feel supported by management. However, sessions do not include opportunities for staff to reflect on their practice and learn lessons from their mistakes and successes. This hinders their professional development and ability to analyse what works well for children. Inspection report for children’s home: SC408656 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 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

take effective action whenever there is a serious concern about a child’s welfare. (Regulation 12 (1) (2)(a)(i)(vi)) 1 December

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Recommendation

 The registered person should have systems in place so that all staff, including the manager, receive supervision which allows them to 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)

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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: SC408656 7

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Highfield (North East) Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: 37 Emerald Street, Saltburn-by-the-Sea, Cleveland TS12 1EE

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Inspector

Natalie Clark, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: SC408656 8 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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Inspector

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