Children's Home run by North Tyneside Council in North Tyneside

Inspection report for children’s home: 2682261 1 Registered provider: North Tyneside Council 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 operated by a local authority. It provides care for one child who may experience social and emotional difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

At the time of the inspection, one child was living at the home.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager registered with Ofsted in November 2022.

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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

Overall judgement at last inspection: good

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children’s home: 2682261 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

20/05/2024 Full Good 24/04/2023 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: 2682261 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The inspector spoke to the child during the inspection.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The child has lived at the home for almost two years. A small core staff team provides consistent and predictable care for the child. The child is making progress, and their outcomes have improved.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff are respectful of the child’s identity. They promote family time arrangements, which the child looks forward to. This helps to ensure that the child maintains important relationships and a support network outside of the home. Additionally, staff respect the child’s views about their identity, such as their choice of clothes. This helps the child to feel understood and gives them confidence to explore their individuality.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff encourage the child to participate in various opportunities. The child participates in activities of their choice, such as bike rides, dining out, go-karting, swimming, and visiting various cities. This helps the child to develop social skills and enjoy new experiences. The child also enjoys individual quiet time to play computer games, and staff understand why such time is important to them.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

By raising money for charity, the child has developed an understanding of social issues in the community. This helps the child to develop an understanding of the difficulties people can face. This practice encourages the child to develop empathy and tolerance towards others.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Achievements and successes are celebrated. The child was nominated by staff at the provider’s celebration event in recognition of their positive progress. This helps build self- esteem and makes the child proud of their achievements. Staff take photos of the child’s experiences and share them in a virtual memory book. This creative platform contributes to the child’s life story now and in the future.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The home is well furnished and welcoming. The child’s views and wishes are considered when changes are made to the environment, including the bathroom and garden. Staff have helped the child to decorate their bedroom. Such practice helps to maintain the child’s sense of belonging in the home.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The child is encouraged to attend important health appointments to promote good health. The child has access to specialist support and is helped by family members to attend sessions. However, the manager and staff are not fully involved in the planning and outcome of these appointments. This is a missed opportunity to help the child prepare for appointments or for staff to be able to provide support afterwards. Inspection report for children’s home: 2682261 4

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

The child has developed positive relationships with the adults who care for them. The child can identify staff who they can speak to for support. Staff know the child well and listen to what they need. The child contributes to their support plan and expresses how they would like to be helped. As a result, staff have more insight into the child’s needs and provide individualised care that the child responds to.

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

Staff help the child develop independence skills. They sensitively support the child in overcoming barriers around their personal care. Additionally, staff help the child to take some age-appropriate risks in a safe way. For example, they encourage the child to go for short bike rides and to use kitchen appliances to cook food. This is helping the child to develop skills that they can use now and in adulthood.

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

The staff take swift action to protect the child from harm, such as radicalisation. The manager communicates with appropriate professionals to help reduce the risks.

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

Concerns about staff practice are taken seriously. However, senior leaders did not share the outcome of an internal investigation with all safeguarding professionals before allowing staff to return to work. This means allegation management procedures were not fully followed, preventing safeguarding professionals from agreeing to or challenging decision-making aimed at keeping children safe.

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

Positive behaviour is encouraged at the home. Staff use consistent boundaries, which the child responds to. As a result, there has been a reduction in incidents in the home, including physical interventions. When physical interventions are required, staff do not always record the duration of each hold and if different holds are used during the same incident. This lack of recording does not support managers in monitoring the proportionality of the holds used.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager and staff team understand the child’s complex needs. Newly completed training specific to the child’s needs has increased staff’s knowledge and skills to be able to care for the child.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager has developed staff’s confidence in following the child’s individualised behaviour support plan. She ensures that the staff’s approach is responsive to the child’s needs. The manager has used learning from an allegation outcome to help staff reflect on their responses to the child and improve their practice.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager works well with a range of professionals. She advocates on behalf of the child if they are not receiving the service they are entitled to. The manager equally accepts and responds to challenges in a professional way, which ensures that the child’s needs remain a priority. Inspection report for children’s home: 2682261 5 Staff say they work well together as a team, and they feel supported by the manager. Practice-related supervision takes place on a regular basis, which allows for discussions around staff’s well-being and learning opportunities. Discussions focus on the child’s plan and the actions staff take to help and support the child.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager has effective oversight of the home and staff practice. However, the manager does not have systems to ensure that the child’s statutory documents are received. This means that the manager cannot be reassured that staff are following the child’s most up-to-date care plan. This shortfall has not had a detrimental impact on the child’s care and progress. Inspection report for children’s home: 2682261 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

that the effectiveness of the home’s child protection policies is monitored regularly. (Regulation 12 (1) (2)(a)(i)(e)) 30 August 2025

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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

a description of the measure and its duration;

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Requirement Due date

details of any methods used, or steps taken to avoid the need to use the measure;

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Requirement Due date

the effectiveness and any consequences of the use of the measure. (Regulation 35 (3)(a)(iv)(v)(vii)) 30 August 2025

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that children’s relevant plans are obtained to form the basis of their care. In particular, the registered person should have systems in place to ensure that education, health and care plans, personal education plans and statutory review documents are received. (‘Guide to the Inspection report for children’s home: 2682261 7 Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards,’ page 10, paragraph 2.1)  The registered person should ensure that staff are enabled to have a key role in the child’s health plans. In particular, the registered person should ensure that staff have knowledge of any health appointments and outcomes to record in the child’s plan. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards,’ page 34, paragraph 7.11)

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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: 2682261 8

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: North Tyneside Council

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: The Quadrant East, Cobalt Offices, 15b and 15c The Silverlink North, North Tyneside NE27 0BY

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Children’s home details

Responsible individual: Jacqueline Ingram

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Inspector

Cat Makel, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2682261 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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Inspector

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Inspector

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