Children's Home run by Middlesbrough Borough Council in Middlesbrough

Inspection report for children’s home: SC472374 1 SC472374 Registered provider: Middlesbrough Borough Council 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 managed by a local authority. It provides care for up to four children who may have physical or learning disabilities.

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Information about this children’s home

The registered manager post has been vacant since April 2024. The new manager has applied to register with Ofsted.

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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 inadequate

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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

Overall judgement at last inspection: inadequate

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Enforcement action since last inspection:

Following a full inspection carried out on 17 and 18 June 2024, compliance notices were issued under Regulations 12 and 13. A monitoring visit took place on 29 July. Insufficient progress had been made to meet the compliance notices, and consequently, they were reissued. A further monitoring visit took place 10 September 2024. Again, the provider had not made sufficient progress and the compliance notices were re-issued. Inspection report for children’s home: SC472374 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

17/06/2024 Full Inadequate 20/02/2024 Full Inadequate 26/10/2022 Full Good 09/11/2021 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: SC472374 3

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improvement to be good

The children are receiving care from staff who are unfamiliar to them. There is a blend of agency staff, support from other homes and a small team of staff who are already known to the children. In addition, the children have experienced three different managers in the home. The number of new faces and the changing dynamics in the children’s care are impacting on their ability to build trusting relationships.

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improvement to be good

Most children are accessing formal education and making progress. One child is not currently attending school. Staff are supporting them to complete some schooling at home. However, the manager has not escalated this to education professionals to help the child back into formal learning.

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improvement to be good

The use of a door alarm is in place to alert staff when a child comes out of their bedroom during the night. The consent for this specific surveillance has not been received. This means a child may be subject to excessive monitoring without the appropriate agreements in place.

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improvement to be good

The children are not able to access all shared areas of their home. The dining room is also used as a staff bedroom, with the use of a temporary fold-out bed. This arrangement does not provide privacy for staff and restricts access for the children when in use.

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improvement to be good

The symptoms of a child’s long-term health condition have reduced significantly. This has been achieved by staff who have encouraged the child’s engagement with health assessments and their acceptance of changes to their medication and routines. Because of this, there has been a positive impact on the child’s physical and emotional health.

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improvement to be good

Children’s views are sought, helping them to be engaged in the decision-making about their own care. As a result, the children are benefiting from the introduction of specialist services that aid their communication and participation in life in the home and their community.

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improvement to be good

The children are supported to see their family and have positive experiences of this. The staff communicate with parents and carers to organise regular visits in line with their plans. The staff work well with families to gain the right balance for visits. Staff manage the expectations of parents when responding to the children’s wishes and needs on the day. This helps to ensure that family visits work in the best interests of children.

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improvement to be good

The way staff interact with children in the home has improved. Staff have been observed to play with children and take an active role in ensuring children have appropriate stimulation in the home. This ensures that children’s basic needs are met. Inspection report for children’s home: SC472374 4

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improvement to be good

The staff do not seek medical advice when children may be causing themselves injury. There have been three occasions where a child hurt their head while engaging in self- injurious behaviour. These incidents were reviewed by a manager who did not recognised the potential risks to children and did not raise this practice issue with those involved. This does not give assurances that children receive the care they need from the staff.

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improvement to be good

The organisation does not follow safer recruitment procedures for all staff. Important information about staff is not always available. This includes Disclosure and Barring Service checks and references not being scrutinised before staff work in the home. This does not provide assurance that recruitment practice is safe and embedded.

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improvement to be good

When children go missing from home, staff act quickly to locate and support them. Staff work well with the police and while searching the local area. Children are cared for by staff after an incident, and important conversations take place. However, return home interviews are not always offered to children to ensure they have someone independent to speak to.

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improvement to be good

The staff are now trained to use restraint practice in line with children’s safety plans. They use effective de-escalation techniques to ensure that children are only held as a last resort. This has been successful in significantly reducing the use of physical intervention. Staff and managers follow procedures to ensure the child has someone to speak to and that staff also have an opportunity to reflect.

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improvement to be good

The children are comfortable in the presence of the staff. They engage in activities inside and outside of the home with both agency and permanent staff. Routines have been re- established, and the staff are able to instil boundaries, using phrases that motivate children and reduce the need for consequences to be imposed.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

The home does not have a stable management team or staff structure. There have been three different managers working in the home and regular changes to those caring for the children. These changes were considered necessary by senior leaders to support a change in culture to better meet the basic needs of the children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

The managers do not actively challenge children’s social work teams or escalate concerns when assessments have not been completed. This means children may experience restrictions of liberty and have excessive supervision that have no legal basis to meet their needs.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

When a manager completes a review of the home’s systems and processes, shortfalls are identified, but only a small number are actioned. Managers do not follow these up with Inspection report for children’s home: SC472374 5 subsequent reviews or take into account previous actions. This lack of consistency means recording and practice issues are not addressed effectively.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

Leaders and managers do not manage complaints in line with statutory guidance. There has been one complaint and an allegation made since the last inspection, and neither of these were recorded appropriately. As a result, the manager was unable to evidence the actions taken regarding the allegation, and the recent complaint remains unresolved.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

Not all staff and managers receive regular and reflective supervision. There are long periods between supervision sessions. This hinders leaders and managers in maintaining oversight of issues that may affect staff performance and the care of children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

Leaders and managers have recently introduced reflective learning meetings. These meetings incorporate the new agency staff, stand-in managers and permanent staff. The meetings address practice developments directly and allow for a thorough discussion about each child. The aim is to improve the consistency of care and the response to the children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

Leaders and managers have not addressed all of the requirements from the previous inspection and therefore some have been restated. Inspection report for children’s home: SC472374 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 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

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

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Requirement Due date

are familiar with and act in accordance with, the homes child protection policies. (Regulation 12 (1) (2)(a)(i)(iii)(vi)(vii)) 21 November 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

Lead and manage the home in a way that is consistent with the approach and ethos, and delivers the outcomes, set out in the home’s statement of purpose; 21 November 2024 Inspection report for children’s home: SC472374 7 ensure that staff have the experience, qualifications and skills to meet the needs of each child;

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Requirement Due date

ensure 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)(a)(c)(d)(e)(f)(h))

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Requirement Due date

In meeting the quality standards, the registered person must, and must ensure that staff—

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Requirement Due date

seek to involve each child’s placing authority effectively in the child’s care, in accordance with the child’s relevant plans;

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Requirement Due date

if the registered person considers, or staff consider, a placing authority’s or a relevant person’s performance or response to be inadequate in relation to their role, challenge the placing authority or the relevant person to seek to ensure that each child’s needs are met in accordance with the child’s relevant plans. (Regulation 5 (a)(c)) 21 November 2024

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must recruit staff using recruitment procedures that are designed to ensure children’s safety.

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Requirement Due date

employ an individual to work at the children’s home;

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Requirement Due date

if the individual satisfies the requirements in paragraph (3).

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Requirement Due date

full and satisfactory information is available in relation to the individual in respect of each of the matters in Schedule 2. (Regulation 32 (1) (2)(a) (3)(d)) 21 November 2024 Inspection report for children’s home: SC472374 8 For the purposes of paragraph (3)(b), an individual who works in the home in a care role has the appropriate qualification if, by the relevant date, the individual has attained—

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Requirement Due date

the Level 3 Diploma for Residential Childcare (England) ("the Level 3 Diploma"); or

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Requirement Due date

a qualification which the registered person considers to be equivalent to the Level 3 Diploma.

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Requirement Due date

in the case of an individual who starts working in a care role in a home after 1st April 2014, the date which falls 2 years after the date on which the individual started working in a care role in a home. (Regulation 32 (4)(a)(b) (5)(a))

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Requirement Due date

This requirement was made at the last inspection and is restated. 21 November 2024

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Requirement Due date

Subject to paragraph (6), the registered person must establish a procedure for considering complaints made by or on behalf of children.

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that a record is made of any complaint, the action taken in response, and the outcome of any investigation.

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must supply to HMCI, at HMCI’s request, a statement containing a summary of any complaints made during the preceding twelve months and the action that was taken in response to each complaint. (Regulation 39 (1) (3) (5)) 21 November 2024

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must complete a review of the quality of care provided for children ("a quality of care review") at least once every 6 months.

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Requirement Due date

In order to complete a quality of care review the registered person must establish and maintain a system for monitoring, reviewing and evaluating—

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Requirement Due date

the quality of care provided for children;

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Requirement Due date

the feedback and opinions of children about the children’s home, its facilities and the quality of care they receive in it; and 31 October 2024 Inspection report for children’s home: SC472374 9 any actions that the registered person considers necessary in order to improve or maintain the quality of care provided for children.

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Requirement Due date

The system referred to in paragraph (2) must provide for ascertaining and considering the opinions of children, their parents, placing authorities and staff. (Regulation 45 (1) (2)(a)(b)(c) (5))

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Requirement Due date

This requirement was made at the last inspection and is restated.

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that the employment of any person on a temporary basis at the children’s home does not prevent children from receiving such continuity of care as is reasonable to meet their needs. (Regulation 31 (1))

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Requirement Due date

This requirement was made at the last inspection and is restated. 21 November 2024

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that all employees—

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Requirement Due date

receive practice-related supervision by a person with appropriate experience. (Regulation 33 (4)(b)) 21 November 2024

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Recommendations

 The registered person should gain consent for any monitoring or surveillance from the placing authority, in writing at the time of placement. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 16, paragraph 3.16)  The registered person should ensure that children are able to access all shared areas of their home unless there are specific reasons why this would not meet a child’s needs. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 15, paragraph 3.10)  The registered person should ensure that when a child returns to the home after being missing from care or away from the home without permission, the responsible local authority provides an opportunity for the child to have an independent return home interview. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 45, paragraph 9.30) Inspection report for children’s home: SC472374 10

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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: SC472374 11

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Children’s home details

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

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Inspectors

Lee Riley, Social Care Inspector Joanne Wallis, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: SC472374 12 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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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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