Children's Home run by HMO NE Ltd in North Tyneside

Inspection report for children’s home: 2676045 1 Registered provider: HMO NE Ltd

p.1

Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

p.1

Information about this children’s home

The home is owned and operated by a private provider. It is registered to provide care for up to four children who may have social and emotional difficulties, learning disabilities and sensory impairment.

p.1

Information about this children’s home

The manager registered with Ofsted in July 2022. The manager was not present for the inspection due to being on planned leave. The deputy manager, together with the responsible individual, supported the inspection.

p.1

Information about this children’s home

At the time of the inspection, three children were living in the home.

p.1

Overall experiences and progress of

children and young people, taking into account good

p.1

Overall experiences and progress of

How well children and young people are helped and protected good

p.1

Overall experiences and progress of

The effectiveness of leaders and managers good

p.1

Overall experiences and progress of

The children’s home provides effective services that meet the requirements for good.

p.1

Overall experiences and progress of

Overall judgement at last inspection: requires improvement to be good

p.1

Overall experiences and progress of

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children’s home: 2676045 2

p.1

Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

29/04/2024 Full Requires improvement to be good 06/11/2023 Full Good 30/01/2023 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: 2676045 3

p.2

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

There were three children living in the home at the time of the inspection. The inspector spoke with two of the children present.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are making good progress. This may be in small steps; however, children are making progress in their relationships, emotional well-being and social skills. Staff are taking time to develop positive relationships with children at their own pace, and although these relationships are not secure with all staff, the relationships formed are helping children to grow in confidence and feel supported.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are supported to have well-planned transitions into the home. One child has moved from a linked home, and their transition plan ensured that the child received support in the build-up to their move, during and after. This has helped the child to develop relationships with staff and children from the earliest opportunity and has helped the child become settled in the home. In addition, when children move from the home, although not always in a planned way, staff do all they can to advocate for children and to keep in touch. This shows children that they are valued and cared for.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

New admissions to the home are carefully considered. The manager considers how staff can meet the needs of an additional child alongside the needs of the children already living in the home. Actions for refresher training, if needed, are identified and actioned. This approach ensures that managers consider how they can best meet children’s needs, considering staffing ratios, experience and skills.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are confident to make complaints in the home. When a child raises a worry, they will report it, or staff will do this for them. The manager is responsive to children’s complaints and holds conversations with children to explore their feelings and discuss next steps. However, there is no record for the child to view the outcome of the complaint to reassure them that their complaints and their views are valued and, in some situations, upheld.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff regularly praise children’s positive behaviours and reward children. There are few negative consequences made in the home, and when they are, they are natural or logistical consequences. The manager has oversight of these and evaluates their effectiveness.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff have important conversations with children. This may be to help children to understand risks or their plans for the future. Staff complete monthly progress files and record in a child-friendly format the progress children are making. However, these were not up to date, and therefore children do not have an up-to-date record of the progress they are making. Inspection report for children’s home: 2676045 4 Children’s files do not have all the essential records. This includes current and up-to-date plans from their placing authority. For one 17-year-old child, they do not have a pathway plan. While an independence plan is beginning to take shape in the home, there is currently no clear strategy to support the child in developing the necessary independence skills for their next steps.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Although some signs of escalation were observed during the inspection, the absence of delegated authority for one child highlights the need for stronger systems to ensure children’s records are consistently maintained and accessible in their files.

p.4

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

Children’s risk assessments are detailed and provide information about children’s known risks and vulnerabilities. Although these are up to date, some information was unclear in the document. However, staff have a good understanding of how to respond to keep children safer, and therefore, there was no impact seen on how the staff are supporting children.

p.4

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

Staff work well with children’s care teams to help keep children safe. Staff regularly attend meetings and are good at communicating with professionals. Children’s social workers welcome positive working relationships with the staff at the home and how staff keep them up to date about what is happening in children’s lives. One social worker said that they ‘could not ask for more’ from staff in the way they work with partner agencies.

p.4

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

There are few occasions when children go missing from the home. When they do, staff respond appropriately and follow procedures to ensure the child’s safe return. This includes staff actively searching for children and engaging police to assist. When children return home, they receive support and are welcomed warmly by staff. The manager advocates for children to have return home interviews to help the child have an independent person to speak with.

p.4

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

Incidents of children being held by staff to keep them and others safe in the home have been reduced. When children are held, the records of this are clear and detailed. Children and staff have a debrief to discuss their feelings after an incident. The manager reviews all incidents to ensure that the staff’s responses to supporting children in crisis are safe and proportionate.

p.4

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

Few allegations are made against staff. When they are, the manager responds appropriately to explore these with children and staff to establish what happened. Investigations take place to ensure that information is fully explored, and the manager works in collaboration with children’s social workers and the local authority designated officer to ensure that there is transparency in the decision-making.

p.4

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager has effective systems in place to monitor the home. The manager’s oversight of children’s information was evident across children’s records. This Inspection report for children’s home: 2676045 5 assures that the manager has systems in place to monitor and review the quality of care that children receive.

p.4

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff receive regular supervision. This provides an opportunity to reflect on practice and is a forum for any performance issues to be addressed. The record of supervision is detailed and provides actions that are followed up on in subsequent supervision sessions.

p.5

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Team meetings take place regularly and present an environment for staff to meet together as a group to discuss practice and focus on children. The team meetings also provide an opportunity to discuss what is working well for children and what needs to change.

p.5

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Managers ensure that staff have the skills to meet the needs of children in their care. Training is provided to ensure that staff complete mandatory training but also the additional training that is specific to children in their care. In addition, most staff have a qualification to work with children in a residential setting, and other staff are enrolled on the training to complete this. This ensures that the home has an experienced and skilled workforce.

p.5

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Safe recruitment practice is not fully embedded for all staff who come to work in the home. One new employee did not have their most recent reference verified in line with the company’s procedures. In addition, agency staff safer recruitment details are not available for the manager to be assured that all checks have been completed before the staff come to work in the home. Inspection report for children’s home: 2676045 6

p.5

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.

p.6

Requirement Due date

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

p.6

Requirement Due date

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

p.6

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,

p.6

Requirement Due date

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

p.6

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)(d)) 18 July 2025

p.6

Requirement Due date

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

p.6

Requirement Due date

include the information and documents listed in Schedule 3 in relation to each child (Regulation 36 (1)(a))

p.6

Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person must ensure that children have up-to-date plans from their placing authority and signed delegated authority. 18 July 2025 Inspection report for children’s home: 2676045 7

p.6

Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that staff encourage children to share any concerns about their care or other matters as soon as they arise. Children must be able to take up issues or make a complaint with support and without any fear that this will result in any adverse consequences. The registered person must ensure that children receive a written outcome of their complaint. (‘Guide to the Children’s Home Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 22, paragraph 4.13)  The registered person should help each child to prepare for any moves from the home, whether they are returning home, moving to another placement or adult care, or going to live independently. This includes supporting the child to develop emotional and mental resilience to cope without the home’s support and, where the child is moving to live independently, practical skills such as cooking, housework, budgeting and personal self-care. (‘Guide to the Children’s Home Regulations, including the

p.7

Recommendations

quality standards’, page 17, paragraph 3.27)

p.7

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: 2676045 8

p.7

Children’s home details

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

p.8

Inspector

Joanne Wallis, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2676045 9 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.

p.8

Inspector

If you would like a copy of this document in a different format, such as large print or Braille, please telephone 0300 123 1231, or email enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk . You may reuse this information (not including logos) free of charge in any format or medium, under the terms of the Open Government Licence. To view this licence, visit www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence , write to the Information Policy Team, The National Archives, Kew, London TW9 4DU, or email: psi@nationalarchives.gsi.gov.uk .

p.9

Inspector

Interested in our work? You can subscribe to our monthly newsletter for more information and updates: http://eepurl.com/iTrDn .

p.9

Inspector

T: 0300 123 1231 Textphone: 0161 618 8524 E: enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk W: www.gov.uk/ofsted

p.9