Children's Home run by No. 57 Ltd in Stockton-on-Tees

Inspection report for children’s home: 1244413 1 Registered provider: No. 57 Ltd 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 company. It provides care for up to two children who may experience social and emotional difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager registered with Ofsted in March 2024. At the time of the inspection, there were two children living in the home.

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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: requires improvement to be good

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children’s home: 1244413 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

01/05/2024 Full Requires improvement to be good 18/04/2023 Full Good 24/01/2023 Full Inadequate 18/10/2021 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: 1244413 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children say that they feel listened to and have input into how they are cared for. Children engage in therapy discussions, meetings and general conversations to share their views. They choose activities and influence their plans. As a result, children feel an element of control over their lives and are confident that staff listen to them.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff support children to help improve their health. Staff work continuously to encourage and motivate children to attend their routine health appointments. When children refuse, staff work with health professionals to understand the barriers and reschedule appointments. As a result, children attend their appointments, their immunisations are up to date and they have access to specialist services.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The manager and staff work with the virtual school to support the children in returning to school. The staff understand the children’s past experiences and the impact they have on children’s engagement with school. When children are not in school, the staff encourage them to take part in arts and crafts and complete worksheets in the home. The home provides children with a sense of stability, and they are therefore making some progress with their education.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The children are supported to have positive family time. The staff liaise with families and professionals to arrange well-planned family time. The manager organises the time to be a positive experience for the children and their family. The staff take an active role in the supervision of family time and are there to offer support during difficult periods.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff talk to children about their future and help them to learn the skills they will need as adults. Children are involved in organising and attending their own meetings and health appointments. Children attend support classes that are important in helping them once they move on from the home.

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

Risk assessments clearly identify strategies to help staff manage and respond to children who are at risk of harm. The three-stage plan identifies responses based on the staff’s knowledge of the child and how they respond in different stages of crisis. This supports continuity of care for the children during times when they are angry or upset.

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

Physical intervention is only used when necessary. The actions that staff take are proportionate and ensure the safety of the children. The recording of any holds is appropriate and receives good management oversight. Children and staff are spoken to after any hold, and the manager supports them to reflect on the incident in order to learn from it and reduce the likelihood of future similar incidents. Inspection report for children’s home: 1244413 4 Staff work with children to help them understand their emotions and explore strategies they can employ to manage their responses differently. There has been a reduction in children displaying behaviours of concern. Missing-from-home incidents and crisis behaviours have not been a feature for many months. As a result, family members and professionals say that the children have settled well and are kept safe.

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

Staff do not always recognise the risks associated with children using the internet. One child spends most of their time online, with few safeguards in place. Furthermore, staff are not exploring the reasons for this or the impact it may have on the child’s mental well-being. This lack of professional curiosity may leave children at risk of harm.

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

The manager did not complete the safer recruitment checks for one member of staff. There is a large gap in their employment history, between leaving education and starting work, that was not explored. This could mean that important background information is missed when employing staff to work with children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The staff undertake training to meet the needs of the children in line with the home’s statement of purpose. As children’s needs develop over time, the manager organises specific training to ensure staff are equipped to care for them. Staff are proactive in sourcing additional research to share in team meetings and supervision. This helps to keep the staff’s skills and knowledge up to date.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager provides staff with regular supervision that is supportive and allows them to reflect on their role. It is also an opportunity for staff to consider the needs of children and the impact these have on their experiences and progress. Staff can express how they feel and are supported to make changes to improve care for children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager uses monitoring tools and audits to help them oversee the performance of the home. These are effective in helping the manager to identify patterns, trends, concerns and actions to address any shortfalls. The manager uses a colour-coded system to identify important tasks, which helps them to prioritise their actions appropriately.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

One child’s written records do not reflect the positive progress that they have made. Consequently, the child’s plans are not fully consistent with their current needs and how staff should meet those needs. The core staff team knows the child well; therefore, this does not impact on the care that the child receives. Agency staff who work in the home are not as well informed as permanent staff. This could lead to inconsistencies in how children’s needs are met.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager did not make appropriate decisions for a child when they were questioned by the police. This meant that there was no one supporting the child during their interview under caution, and they were not provided with legal advice. On this occasion, the manager placed the views of the child ahead of what was in their best interests. This made the child vulnerable to a conviction for an offence and also meant that they lacked adult advocacy during what would have been a worrying time for the child. Inspection report for children’s home: 1244413 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 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; and

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Requirement Due date

have the skills to identify and act upon signs that a child is at risk of harm. (Regulation 12 (1) (2)(a)(i)(iii)) 5 August 2025

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Requirement Due date

The children’s views, wishes and feelings standard is that children receive care from staff who—

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Requirement Due date

take their views, wishes and feelings into account in relation to matters affecting the children’s care and welfare and their lives.

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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

ascertain and consider each child’s views, wishes and feelings, and balance these against what they judge to be in the child’s best interests when making decisions about the child’s care and welfare;

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Requirement Due date

help each child to understand how the child’s views, wishes and feelings have been taken into account and give the child reasons for decisions in relation to the child; and

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Requirement Due date

ensure that each child— 5 August 2025 Inspection report for children’s home: 1244413 6 is given appropriate advocacy support. (Regulation 7 (1)(c) (2)(a)(i)(iii)(b)(iii))

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that recruitment of staff safeguards children and minimises potential risks to them. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 61, paragraph 13.1)  The registered person should ensure that the details in children’s records are kept up to date. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 62, paragraph 14.3)

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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: 1244413 7

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: 2 The Calls, Leeds, LS2 7JU

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Inspector

Lee Riley, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 1244413 8 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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