Children's Home run by Middlesbrough Borough Council in Middlesbrough

Inspection report for children’s home: 2565716 1 Registered provider: Middlesbrough 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

This home is owned and managed by a local authority. It provides care for up to six children who may experience social and emotional difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

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

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Information about this children’s home

The manager registered with Ofsted in December 2023.

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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 requires improvement to be 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

Overall judgement at last inspection: requires improvement to be good

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children’s home: 2565716 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

23/04/2024 Full Requires improvement to be good 04/09/2023 Full Requires improvement to be good 14/02/2023 Full Good 19/10/2021 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: 2565716 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children have warm and trusted relationships with staff. The staff take time to get to know children and make them feel at home when they first move in. Children say that these relationships have had a positive impact on their lives. Letters of thanks and flowers are sent by children in appreciation of the support and care they have received from staff.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are supported to participate in the decision-making about how they are cared for. They attend and contribute to meetings about their care. Children say that they have a choice in what activities they like to do and the food they eat, and that they are listened to when they need support. Additionally, children receive rewards for meeting their targets in line with their plans.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff work with the children, teachers and the virtual school to help the children re- engage with education. The staff understand the children’s histories and introduce formal learning slowly, which is increased over time. When children have not been in education for long periods, activities around the home are used to build confidence and motivate them back into formal learning.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children’s physical and mental health needs are being met. Children attend their routine health appointments and annual health assessments. When children have anxieties about visiting the dentist, staff work with them and the dentist to slowly introduce them to the dental surgery and feel comfortable enough to eventually have their teeth checked. Through their observations, staff recognise and address previously unidentified health needs. As a result, the children are now undergoing specialist health assessments. This promotes good physical and mental health for children.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children enjoy lots of activities. Children are supported to continue their pursuits of sports, such as health and fitness, attending the gym and playing semi-professional sports. Trips to theme parks organised during the school holidays enrich the children’s positive experiences.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

When children move on from the home, their transitions are not always well planned. Following an incident between two children, the decision was reached to quickly move one of the children on. The child had no history of aggression or bullying in the home but was informed that their move was due to a zero tolerance to bullying. The move happened the same day that the child was told they were leaving. There was no planning for the child to end their relationships with peers or staff positively. The child said he was left feeling ‘devastated’ about the move as it was ‘unfair’. This poor practice has been identified in previous inspections and continues. Inspection report for children’s home: 2565716 4

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improvement to be good

Some actions that staff take increase the risk of harm to children. Senior staff knowingly took children to locations that are assessed as high risk. They initially asked other staff to do this, which goes against the information identified in the children’s plans. Junior staff refused to carry out this task as it was widely known that this was not safe.

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improvement to be good

When children go missing from home, the staff do not always search for them. On one occasion, the staff called family and friends but did not leave the home to search for the child, in line with their plan. The police located the child at an address that was known to staff and within the local area. This means that the child was at increased risk during this time and could have been located sooner without the need for police involvement.

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improvement to be good

When complaints are made, leaders and managers respond quickly to concerns and act in accordance with statutory guidance. Timely fact-finding investigations take place and referrals are made to relevant agencies. Children are safeguarded and staff are supported through the process. Agreed actions are completed and, where necessary, disciplinary procedures are followed.

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improvement to be good

Staff understand their safeguarding responsibilities and escalate their concerns about other staff members’ practice when needed. Open conversations take place between staff at the time of an incident and reports reflect the actual events. This supports a positive safeguarding culture.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The home is managed and supported by a suitably experienced registered manager and senior leadership team. The staff team is stable, and the turnover of staff is low. When new employees are recruited, they are thoroughly checked and vetted to assess their suitability to work with children, in line with safer recruitment practices.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Leaders and managers complete regular monitoring of the service. Monthly audits are linked to the quality standards to assess if these have been achieved. Actions are formulated, strategies are implemented and the outcomes are discussed at staff handover meetings. This enables the manager to take a reflective view of the impact of those actions.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Leaders and managers provide training and development for staff that helps to develop their practice. The staff receive 80 hours ‘off the job learning’, meet with the service manager and complete their mandatory induction training prior to starting work with children. The staff receive additional support and timely refresher training to increase their confidence and deliver the specific model of care. Staff receive training that is relevant to the children and in line with the home’s statement of purpose.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Managers and staff receive regular supervision that is child focused and reflective. The children, their plans and the responsibilities of staff are discussed. New information and Inspection report for children’s home: 2565716 5 changes to policies are shared and recorded to support changes in practice and the care for children. When staff are ready to develop, they are given the opportunity to take on additional tasks and are supported through this process.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager takes effective action to complain when the response from other services falls below expectations. The manager has raised concerns with the police, schools and emergency health services. These concerns were acknowledged as valid, and improvements were made because of the manager’s actions. Inspection report for children’s home: 2565716 6

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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;

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Requirement Due date

understand the roles and responsibilities in relation to protecting children that are assigned to them by the registered person;

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Requirement Due date

that the home's day-to-day care is arranged and delivered so as to keep each child safe and to protect each child effectively from harm. (Regulation 12 (1) (2)(a)(i)(v)(b)) 16 July 2025

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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.

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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

plan for, and help, each child to prepare to leave the home or to move into adult care in a way that is consistent with arrangements agreed with the child's placing authority. (Regulation 14 (1)(a)(b) (2)(b)(iii)) 16 July 2025 Inspection report for children’s home: 2565716 7

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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: 2565716 8

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Middlesbrough House, 50 Corporation Road, Middlesbrough TS1 2RH

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Inspectors

Lee Riley, Social Care Inspector Karen Karlsson, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2565716 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.

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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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