Children's Home run by Stockton Borough Council in Stockton-on-Tees

Inspection report for children’s home: SC442886 1 SC442886 Registered provider: Stockton-on-Tees Borough Council

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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 local authority. 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 November 2024.

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Information about this children’s home

Four children were living at the home at the time of the inspection. Two were spoken to by the inspector.

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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: good

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requires improvement to be good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children’s home: SC442886 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

13/06/2023 Full Good 04/01/2023 Full Requires improvement to be good 15/03/2022 Full Outstanding 11/09/2019 Full Outstanding Inspection report for children’s home: SC442886 3

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improvement to be good

Children’s health outcomes are mixed. Children are supported to attend routine health appointments, such as the dentists and opticians. However, staff have not consistently followed agreed strategies in addressing children’s substance misuse and have not sought specialist medical advice when required. This has the potential to have a negative impact on children’s short- and long-term health outcomes.

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improvement to be good

Not all children know how to complain. One child told the inspector that they were not aware of the complaints process. Furthermore, there have been instances where staff have not acted on complaints or given feedback to children. This means that children do not always understand what has happened as a result of their complaint.

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improvement to be good

Children are offered activities during school holidays. However, activities are not consistently offered to children in school term time. In addition, staff are not persistent in their efforts in trying to encourage and help children to participate. This undoubtedly hinders children’s opportunities to socialise and develop new skills.

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improvement to be good

Staff develop strong relationships with children. Staff regularly hold key-work discussions with children about things that are important in their lives. This has helped some children start to make progress with their emotions and confidence. Some children say that they feel able to talk to the staff about things that are important to them. This has helped some children share their worries and experiences with staff.

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improvement to be good

Several children have moved into and out of the home since the last inspection. One child said they had a positive experience of moving into the home and were able to visit the home and meet staff before moving in. When children have moved out, this has sometimes happened in difficult circumstances, with little time to fully prepare the child for the move. In these circumstances, staff have supported children to the best of their ability, making sure visits and meetings with the child and involved professionals have taken place. This has helped to reduce children’s anxieties before moving on to a different home. Positively, when children have moved out of the home, they have all been provided with a memory book, capturing their experiences of living in the home.

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improvement to be good

Children are making progress with their education. Children are supported to attend full- time education. One child living in the home who does not attend full-time education has made progress with their learning from their individual starting point. Another child took exams, which was a positive achievement for them. Inspection report for children’s home: SC442886 4

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improvement to be good

When children make allegations, they are not always acted on by staff. This means that allegations that children have made are poorly recorded or not investigated in line with safeguarding procedures. There are no discussions or restorative work being undertaken with the children. The new manager is aware of this shortfall as this leaves children in unsafe situations.

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improvement to be good

Physical interventions are used when necessary to keep everyone safe. Staff are trained to support children and hold them safely. However, conversations between children and staff do not take place after all holds. As a result, the effectiveness of the chosen behaviour management strategy and impact on children is not always understood by the manager or staff. This hinders the manager’s oversight of incidents and prevents learning for staff.

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improvement to be good

Staff do not protect the children and staff from the risk of fire. The storage of one child’s electric scooter is not risk-assessed to identify the increased risk of fire and how to reduce the potential harm to children and staff. Fire extinguishers are placed behind closed doors without guidance or procedures in place to identify their location in case of an emergency.

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improvement to be good

The children are supported to recognise and understand their emotions. The staff engage the children in restorative work to understand the impact of their unwanted behaviour on themselves and others. When children are given consequences, these are proportionate and help the children reflect on their actions and learn alternative ways to manage their emotions.

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improvement to be good

When children go missing from home, staff know how to respond. Staff are knowledgeable about the missing-from-home protocol and the individual response required for each child. Staff use their knowledge of the children, including where their friends and family live, to find them when they do not return home. Children know that the staff take this action. Work is then conducted with children to educate them about the risks of being missing. This helps children to understand that the staff care about their safety and well-being.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

The home had been without a registered manager since July 2022. The new manager registered with Ofsted in November 2024. The time this home has been without consistent leadership has led to some significant shortfalls in the oversight safeguarding concerns and management of the home.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

Safer recruitment practices are not followed consistently. Not all references are sought and verified; this includes roles when staff have worked with vulnerable children. The Inspection report for children’s home: SC442886 5 management oversight of this has not identified these shortfalls prior to signing these off. This places the children at an increased risk of harm.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

Not all serious incidents are notified to Ofsted by leaders and managers. When child protection enquiries are initiated and concluded, this is not always notified to Ofsted. When children make allegations, this is not always followed up or notified to Ofsted. When Ofsted has been notified, this is not done in a timely manner. The lack of notifications prevents the regulator from having oversight and understanding of how situations are managed.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

The home has a newly registered manager, who recognises the strengths and weaknesses of the home. She has a strong vision for the development of the home and plans to address the identified shortfalls.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

Feedback from professionals and staff highlighted the positive changes, with improved consistency for children and staff. One professional reflected on the change in management being positive, with improving relationships in the home for one child. However, the inspectors found that leaders and managers do not always act promptly to address concerns with staff practice. When actions have been identified to improve practice in the home, there has been significant delay in these being progressed. This means that staff do not always understand how to respond to meet children’s needs. The registered manager accepts this shortfall and has put plans in place to address staff practice. It is too soon to evaluate the effectiveness of these changes.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

Staff feel supported by managers whom they find approachable. Staff have regular supervision sessions of their practice and receive a yearly appraisal, which seeks to improve practice, address any concerns and support the staff member. These sessions enable the staff to reflect on the effectiveness of their care for children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

The new manager and deputy manager use auditing tools to identify shortfalls in reporting and recording. Monthly checks are conducted to identify when documents need updating or improvement in practice is needed. Inspection report for children’s home: SC442886 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

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

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Requirement Due date

are familiar with, and act in accordance with, the home’s child protection policies. (Regulation 12 (1) (2)(a)(vi)(vii)) 9 January 2025

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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

ensure that staff have the experience, qualifications and skills to meet the needs of each child;

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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)(c)(h)) 9 January 2025 Inspection report for children’s home: SC442886 7 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; or

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Requirement Due date

if an individual is employed by a person other than the registered person to work at the home in a position in which the individual may have regular contact with children, allow that individual to work at the home, if the individual satisfies the requirements in paragraph (3).

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Requirement Due date

the individual is of integrity and good character;

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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)(b) (3)(a)(d)) 9 January 2025

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Requirement Due date

The health and well-being standard is that—

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Requirement Due date

the health and well-being needs of children are met;

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Requirement Due date

children receive advice, services and support in relation to their health and well-being. (Regulation 10 (1)(a)(b)) 9 January 2025

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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 (3)(b)(i)(ii)(c)) 9 January 2025 Inspection report for children’s home: SC442886 8 The registered person must notify HMCI and each other relevant person without delay if—

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Requirement Due date

there is an allegation of abuse against the home or a person working there;

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Requirement Due date

a child protection enquiry involving a child—

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Requirement Due date

concludes (in which case, the notification must include the outcome of the child protection enquiry). (Regulation 40 (4)(c)(d)(i)(ii)) 9 January 2025

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Requirement Due date

After consultation with the fire and rescue authority, the registered person must—

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Requirement Due date

take adequate precautions against the risk of fire, including the provision of suitable fire equipment in the children’s home. (Regulation 25 (1)(a)) 9 January 2025

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that staff seek to identify and provide appropriate opportunities for children to develop themselves in accordance with their wishes and feelings and as part of the home’s plan for their care. Each child’s talents and interests should be understood and nurtured, with children selecting activities based on their personal preferences and abilities, so far as is reasonable. Staff should also support children to try activities that are ‘new’ for them, where appropriate. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 31, paragraph 6.4)  The registered person should ensure that staff encourage children to share any concerns about their care or other matters as soon as they arise. Regulation 39 sets out the requirements on the registered person to have a complaints procedure. Children must be aware of this procedure and be reminded of it as necessary. (‘Guide

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Recommendations

to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 22, paragraph 4.13)

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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 Inspection report for children’s home: SC442886 9 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: SC442886 10

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Stockton-on-Tees Borough Council

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Municipal Buildings, Church Road, Stockton-on-Tees TS18 1TW

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Inspectors

Natalie Clark, Social Care Inspector Lee Riley, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: SC442886 11 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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Inspectors

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