Children's home run by North East Specialist Therapeutic Services CIC

Inspection report for children’s home: 1278217 1 Registered provider: North East Specialist Therapeutic Services CIC

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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 owned and managed by a private provider. It provides care for up to two children who may experience social and emotional difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

One child was living in the home at the time of the inspection.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager registered with Ofsted in December 2018.

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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: 5 September 2023

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good

Overall judgement at last inspection: good

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children’s home: 1278217 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

05/09/2023 Full Good 24/10/2022 Full Good 17/02/2022 Interim Sustained effectiveness 22/09/2021 Full Requires improvement to be good Inspection report for children’s home: 1278217 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are able to build and maintain trusting relationships with those that care for them. The model of care allows children to move into this home from a home within the same organisation when this is needed. The child’s key worker also accompanies them in order to promote a sense of permanence and continuity of care. One child who recently moved on from the home was able to reflect on the last eight years of continued relationships and support.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children attend school and are making good progress with their studies. When children have difficulties with attendance, the staff use incentives and encouragement to motivate and re-engage them. The manager and staff work with schools and colleges to ensure children’s needs are met in line with their plans.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children’s health needs are prioritised by staff who care about them. Children are supported to attend assessments and receive treatment where needed. When children refuse to engage with services, the staff are persistent and encourage children to attend. As the children grow, they learn about their long-term health and how to manage this independently.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff engage children in arranging activities that interest and challenge them. The children have enjoyed holidays in a rural holiday village, trips to theme parks and a city break to Prague. Regular clubs are arranged that allow children to socialise, make new friends and be part of their community. This participation inspired one child to seek involvement in a mayor-led community art steering group, promoting youth engagement and employment in the arts. Voluntary work and local community projects raise aspirations and broaden the children’s experiences.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children meetings are not consistently held or recorded and children are only able to attend their meetings if the manager is in attendance. The meeting minutes do not accurately record what has been discussed or actions have been taken. As a result, children do not have a consistent forum to share their views.

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

Children feel safe because they are cared for by staff who know them well. The staff work with clinical consultants to reflect and learn from practice. This helps them to increase their understanding of how children’s experiences impact on them. This learning informs the children’s plans and supports the staff in their daily work.

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

Staff work with children to help them to understand their own risks and how to keep themselves safer. This work develops the children’s resilience and increasingly prepares them for adulthood. Inspection report for children’s home: 1278217 4 When children are missing from home, the staff act to return them quickly and safely. Staff complete searches of known locations and contact friends and family to establish possible locations. When they return, children are offered an independent return home interview. Children’s plans are updated and shared with staff and other agencies. Any information gathered in discussion with children helps to support the development of plans to increase children’s safety.

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

Staff work with children to help them to recognise and understand their emotions. Children are therefore able to express their frustrations and manage their anxieties more appropriately over time. Consequently, there have been no physical restraints during this inspection period.

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

The consequences given to children when their behaviour is inappropriate are not always proportionate. This process does not teach children about the impact of their behaviour or use restorative practice as a means to learn from their mistakes. The limited recording of consequences prevents the manager from being able to review the effectiveness of actions taken to support children’s behaviour.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The home is well resourced to provide good care to children. The manager is suitably experienced and qualified, and staff are trained to meet the needs of the children. Clinical consultants support the staff in their daily work, offering feedback and insight into the children’s experiences.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The staff benefit from supervision sessions which are regular and reflective in nature. When practice or performance issues arise, the manager addresses these quickly and professionally. The clinical psychologist supports staff with reflective group and individual supervision. This creates a culture of support, open discussions and improved care for children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Leaders and managers have established effective working relationships with partner agencies to support better outcomes for children. The manager and staff actively engage local police and specialist services, who become regular visitors to the home. This joint working helps children to engage with services and work with those professionals who are involved in their care.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

One child was admitted to the home in an emergency following an incident in the provider’s neighbouring home. The home’s statement of purpose does not cater for emergency admissions. However, the child moved in with staff who were familiar and understood the child’s needs. Staff were not able to manage the child’s behaviours and subsequently the manager served notice to the local authority. This resulted in another unplanned move for this child and a poor ending to their time in the home. Inspection report for children’s home: 1278217 5

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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 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. (Regulation 14 (1)(a)(b)) 4 December 2024

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that children are able to participate as fully as possible in all aspects of their planning and daily care. This includes being able to share their views, wishes and feelings in regular children’s meetings. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 22, paragraph 4.6)

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that any consequences used to address poor behaviour should be restorative in nature, to help children recognise the impact of their behaviour on themselves, other children, the staff caring for them and the wider community. In some cases, it will be important for children to make reparation in some form to anyone hurt by their behaviour and the staff in the home should be skilled to support the child to understand this and carry it out. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 46, paragraph 9.38)

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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: 1278217 6

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: North East Specialist Therapeutic Services CIC

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: 34 Westbourne Road, Hartlepool TS25 5RE

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Children’s home details

Responsible individual: Jason Darbyshire

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Inspector

Lee Riley, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 1278217 7 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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