Children's Home run by Acedia Care Limited in Newcastle upon Tyne

Inspection report for children’s home: 2796314 1 Registered provider: Acedia Care 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 owned and managed by a private provider. It provides care for one child who may experience social and emotional difficulties and/or may have learning disabilities.

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Information about this children’s home

There has been no registered manager since October 2024. The interim manager has not yet 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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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: 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: 2796314 2

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The child is cared for by adults who are committed to helping them make good progress from their starting point. Staff make the home feel like a family home, with family pets and ample space for the child to do the things they enjoy.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff encourage the child’s sense of humour and celebrate their vibrant character. Staff show that they like spending time with the child, and this is demonstrated in what they say and do. Staff show patience and empathy for the child and seek to understand the impact their early experiences have had on their emotional well-being. This has helped the child to develop trusting relationships with the staff caring for them.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff recognise the importance of the child’s education. They work closely with professionals to ensure that the child is able to access education that is appropriate to their needs. Staff offer extensive support to the child throughout their school day, which has resulted in an increase in time spent learning. This is improving the child’s educational potential and helping them to make progress.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The child’s emotional well-being has improved since living in the home. Staff take the child’s physical and emotional health needs seriously. Staff make referrals for specialist help when it is appropriate and facilitate ongoing assessment. Staff work closely with professionals to ensure a coordinated approach to supporting the child.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff understand the importance of making positive memories for the child. The child is able to take part in a wide variety of activities and experiences. Staff help to capture them in photos for the child’s digital memory book. This is a record of the child’s time in the home and a reminder of the enjoyable times they spent with staff. This helps the child to feel valued and supported.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff work closely with the child’s parent to ensure that there is support to help maintain the family relationship. This means that the child is able to spend quality time with their parent on a daily basis.

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

Staff have a good understanding of the child’s risks. Risk assessments are regularly updated so that staff have access to the most up-to-date information. They provide clear guidance to staff on how to mitigate risk and respond where there are concerns. This helps to keep the child safer.

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

Staff are vigilant to early indicators of self-harm and closely scrutinise the incidents to identify patterns in the child’s behaviour. Close liaison with the therapeutic team identified and implemented a more intensely structured routine and specific strategy to Inspection report for children’s home: 2796314 3 manage the risk to the child. This strategy has seen a significant reduction in the number of incidents of self-harm .

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

The child is supported by staff who use creative ways to help the child to manage difficult emotions that are linked to their experiences in childhood. This has helped the child to express their feelings to staff whom they trust. This means staff can work proactively to explore the child’s thoughts and feelings and the impact this has on their emotional well-being.

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

The child is well supported with their behaviour. Staff manage conflict well and use restorative practices following incidents in the home. Strong and consistent boundaries are in place to provide the child with consistent responses. Staff role model appropriate responses in the home, helping the child to learn socially acceptable behaviour.

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

Staff only hold children as a last resort to safeguard the child and others. The use of physical intervention is carefully considered and proportionate in each situation. The manager tracks patterns in the child’s behaviour and has been able to implement a proactive strategy to reduce the number of times the child needs to be held.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

Only a third of the staff working in the home possess the necessary level 3 diploma. Staff are enrolled onto the relevant course, but this means that too few staff currently hold the required qualification. This has impacted on the judgement for leadership and management.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

Staff do not receive supervision in line with the organisation’s policy and statement of purpose. Staff who are in their probationary period have not been consistently supported. This hinders the manager’s oversight of the performance of their staff team and their individual development needs.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

The newly appointed manager has been in post since November 2024 and has not yet applied to register with Ofsted. Staff speak positively about the support provided by the leadership team and have confidence in the interim manager’s ability to lead. There is a good working relationship between staff, which contributes to staff retention and in turn ensures consistency of care for the child.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

Team meetings are well attended and provide a safe space for staff to reflect on the changing needs of the child. Staff also benefit from specialist support from therapeutic practitioners. These meetings help staff to better understand the context of the child’s behaviour and how they can contribute to their progress. This supports staff in providing nurturing and empathetic care to the child.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

When shortfalls emerge, leaders and managers follow the investigation and disciplinary processes as required. The staff are open to learning from practice and effective action is Inspection report for children’s home: 2796314 4 taken to review policies and procedures with a view to improving how children are safeguarded.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

The manager has implemented monitoring systems to maintain oversight of the home. This ensures that leaders and managers are aware of the home’s strengths and areas for development. The manager is therefore able to put in place plans for improvement. Inspection report for children’s home: 2796314 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 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; and

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Requirement Due date

ensure that staff have the experience, qualifications and skills to meet the needs of each child. (Regulation 13 (1)(a)(b) (2)(a)(c)) 1 April 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: 2796314 6

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Acedia Care Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Unit 8/9 Parsons Court, Welbury Way, Aycliffe Business Park, Newton Aycliffe, Durham DL5 6ZE

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Inspector

Lisa Gordon, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2796314 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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Inspector

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Inspector

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