Children's home run by HMO NE Ltd

Inspection report for children’s home: 2801182 1 Registered provider: HMO NE Ltd

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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 with social and emotional difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager registered with Ofsted in July 2024.

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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: not previously inspected

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good

Overall judgement at last inspection: not applicable

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: not applicable Inspection report for children’s home: 2801182 2

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children living in the home have settled in extremely well. Although children can move into the home in an emergency, arrangements are made to ensure children and their parents meet with staff. This has helped children to move into the home with ease.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children make progress in their learning. The staff work well with education professionals and the team around the children. There is good communication between the home, the child’s social worker and the school. This helps all adults with a responsibility to be kept up to date about the children’s progress and experiences.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The children have access to a child-friendly children’s guide. This helps children to understand how they will be looked after in a child-friendly story. The children living in the home are very young, and staff are adapting how they communicate and care for young children. This shows staff are working creatively to engage the children.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The home has a positive reward system in place. This provides an incentive for the children to gain positive rewards for their behaviours and for them to be rewarded for what has gone well. Children can learn to save what they have earned. This shows that no matter how small, their achievements will be celebrated.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are supported to engage in activities in the home and community. The children are kept busy and have enjoyed a planned holiday. These positive experiences are captured in photos for the children and also shared with their family.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff support children to spend time with their families. Staff ensure parents are kept up to date about what is happening in children’s lives. Planning is in place for the children to spend time with their family in the home on Christmas Day. This helps the children build memories with their loved ones.

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

Staff engage the children in important conversations. An example of this is how one child was helped to understand about a hospital appointment to ensure they were well prepared before they attended. This shows children that staff understand the importance of supporting them with their health needs, and they are included in these discussions.

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

There has been one physical intervention recorded since the home opened to keep a child safe in the community. The staff managed this situation well with the support and oversight of the manager. However, not all restrictions to support a child in crisis are recognised as physical interventions. Therefore, staff do not record incidents of behaviour management in line with the procedures of the home. Inspection report for children’s home: 2801182 3 When an allegation or a complaint is made, the manager responds. The manager contacts professionals and parents involved and looks into evidence in order to resolve this. The child is provided with feedback and likewise outcomes are discussed with staff.

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

The children receive a high level of supervision and support that keeps them safe. Staff know the children’s risks and vulnerabilities. However, risk assessments are not always updated with information about children’s known risks or how staff should support the children. This means that children could receive unplanned, inconsistent responses from staff.

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

No logs are held to record consequences. Although consequences are not recognised, these are being used by staff. For example, a child is declined dessert if they have not eaten their main meal, or they do not participate in an activity until they have completed some reparation work. There is no mechanism for the review of the effectiveness of the consequence, therefore the manager cannot evaluate how well children are being supported to learn.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The home has only recently opened and has a registered manager, who has the support of a deputy and a small team of core workers. Casual and agency staff work infrequently in the home. The manager is keen to ensure that there is not a high turnover of staff that the children do not know.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager has systems in place to monitor and review the quality of care for children and the progress they make. The manager ensures there is oversight of children’s records and consults with children and staff to identify any areas for improvement. This provides reassurance that the manager wants to continue to develop and improve children’s care experiences.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager is keen to support staff through their qualifications and learning. The manager monitors and supports staff progress with their learning. This means that the manager is aware if her staff are working towards achieving their goals within the appropriate timescales.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager has recognised a gap in the experience or learning of staff caring for such young children. Training is sourced to support staff to learn more to understand some of the complexities of caring for young children who may have experienced adverse life experiences.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager and staff receive regular reflective supervision. This ensures that staff receive well-planned support that helps focus on children, safeguarding practice and development of their roles. Managers assess staff knowledge and identify any training needs or support. Inspection report for children’s home: 2801182 4 The children’s records are largely available and up to date on the children’s files. This ensures staff can access all the information they need about each child and be kept up to date. However, the delegated authority form for each child has not been correctly completed when the child has moved into the home. This means the manager has not ensured the staff have the necessary consents in place for the children. Inspection report for children’s home: 2801182 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 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 (Regulation 12(1) (2)(i)) 2 January 2025

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must prepare and implement a policy (“the behaviour management policy”) which sets out—

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Requirement Due date

how appropriate behaviour is to be promoted in the children’s home; and

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Requirement Due date

the measures of control, discipline and restraint which may be used in relation to children in the home.

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Requirement Due date

within 24 hours of the use of a measure of control, discipline or restraint in relation to a child in the home, a record is made which includes—

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Requirement Due date

details of the child’s behaviour leading to the use of the measure;

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Requirement Due date

the date, time and location of the use of the measure;

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Requirement Due date

a description of the measure and its duration; 2 January 2025 Inspection report for children’s home: 2801182 6 details of any methods used or steps taken to avoid the need to use the measure;

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Requirement Due date

the name of the person who used the measure (“the user”), and of any other person present when the measure was used;

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Requirement Due date

the effectiveness and any consequences of the use of the measure; and

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Requirement Due date

a description of any injury to the child or any other person, and any medical treatment administered, as a result of the measure;

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Requirement Due date

within 48 hours of the use of the measure, the registered person, or a person who is authorised by the registered person to do so (“the authorised person”)—

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Requirement Due date

has spoken to the user about the measure; and

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Requirement Due date

has signed the record to confirm it is accurate; and

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Requirement Due date

within 5 days of the use of the measure, the registered person or the authorised person adds to the record confirmation that they have spoken to the child about the measure. (Regulation 35 (1)(a)(c) (3)(a)(i)(ii)(iii)(vi)(vii)(viii) (4)(i)(ii)(c))

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must maintain records (“case records”) for each child which—

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Requirement Due date

include the information and documents listed in Schedule 3 in relation to each child;

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Requirement Due date

(Regulation 36 (1)(a)(b)) 2 January 2025

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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: 2801182 7

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Hallgate House, 9 Grange Terrace, Sunderland SR2 7DF

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Inspector

Joanne Wallis, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2801182 8 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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