Children's home run by Newcastle City Council

Inspection report for children’s home: 1233307 1 Registered provider: Newcastle City 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 owned and operated by a local authority. It provides care for up to four children who may experience social and emotional difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

Three children were living at the home at the time of the inspection. Inspectors spoke with two of the children.

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Overall experiences and progress of

children and young people, taking into account

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outstanding

How well children and young people are helped and protected good

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outstanding

The effectiveness of leaders and managers outstanding

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outstanding

The children’s home provides highly effective services that consistently exceed the standards of good. The actions of the children’s home contribute to significantly improved outcomes and positive experiences for children and young people who need help, protection and care.

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outstanding

Overall judgement at last inspection: good

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outstanding

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children’s home: 1233307 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

25/06/2024 Full Good 12/06/2023 Full Good 17/05/2022 Full Requires improvement to be good 16/11/2021 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: 1233307 3

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outstanding

Children are making exceptional progress because the care that they receive is of a consistently high standard. The staff understand the children’s starting points and continuously evaluate and review the children’s plans to ensure that their needs are met. This demonstrates to children that they are valued by staff who are committed to providing children with a stable home.

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outstanding

Children have built strong and trusting relationships with staff. One child said, ‘The whole team is amazing and always knew how to put a smile on my face.’ Staff know the children well, care for them deeply and have their best interests at heart. This helps children to trust staff and know that they can share what is going on in their lives.

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outstanding

Staff involve children closely in the planning for their next steps. For example, staff accompany children on visits to properties to ensure that they are appropriate to the child’s needs. Each child is involved in learning the skills they will need to care for themselves as adults. Furthermore, staff remain in contact with children when they move into their own home. This provides those young adults with ongoing emotional and practical support and demonstrates the genuine commitment that staff have to them.

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outstanding

Staff show incredible tenacity in ensuring that children are provided with interesting and unusual experiences. For example, staff arranged for one child to attend the Houses of Parliament and submit a question to Prime Minister’s Questions. They also got to meet the Prime Minister. Another child has the opportunity to participate in a trip to Borneo. These experiences help to develop children’s confidence and raise aspirations for their future.

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outstanding

Staff work hard to build positive relationships with the children’s families and to support them where appropriate. When staff meet barriers to building those relationships, they continue to find creative ways of engaging with families. This helps children to maintain those important relationships and supports a sense of self and their cultural identity. Staff and the manager carefully considered how best to support a child’s religious beliefs and ensure that the child’s family is involved wherever possible. This allows children to see their loved ones and be fully involved in family celebrations.

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outstanding

Children are supported effectively by staff when they face barriers to attending school. Staff advocate strongly for children to ensure that they are enrolled in a provision that meets their individual needs. Children are therefore attending education and achieving their qualifications, and this is resulting in them increasing in Inspection report for children’s home: 1233307 4 confidence. One child has been supported to volunteer in a charity shop, and this is helping them to gain workplace experience in preparation for future employment.

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outstanding

All children’s health needs are met to a high standard. Staff provide bespoke support to children who live with chronic health conditions. They work closely with specialist health professionals to ensure that children’s health needs are fully met. Staff can demonstrate excellent knowledge and understanding of children’s medical needs and can quickly identify when urgent medical attention is required. This has resulted in a reduction of health concerns for one child.

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

Risks to children have reduced as a result of the excellent care and support that staff provide. Staff use research to inform their practice and risk management. This can be seen threaded throughout the daily care of children. Staff work flexibly to adapt their practice in line with expert advice from a clinical provider.

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

Staff know the children’s risks and vulnerabilities well and reflect on these in daily meetings. Staff have a good knowledge of what happens in the lives of children and are vigilant to any change in behaviour or increases in risks. Staff have effective and updated safety plans for the children. Having clear action plans is effective in managing and reducing risks.

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

Staff ensure that children are included in making and reviewing their plans. Staff have supported one child to rewrite their plan so that they are happy that it reflects their needs.

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

Children can discuss their thoughts and feelings and ask staff for help. Staff listen to children without judgement, and this helps them to be open and honest. Staff work hard to provide children with a sense of emotional safety and belonging in the home. As a result, children are developing their resilience and ability to manage their emotions appropriately.

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

Staff help children to understand their feelings and manage their emotions. Staff can quickly recognise triggers and know how to best support each child in line with their personalised plans. As a result, incidents in the home are exceptionally rare.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

There is strong and effective management in this home. The manager is experienced and has high ambitions for children. Staff are overwhelmingly positive about the support provided by the manager and say that he is an inspiring manager. The manager uses external services, such as a therapeutic team, exceptionally well, and the positive impact of this on care planning for the children can be seen consistently.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

The manager has a strong grip on the strengths of the home and its areas for development. He uses a range of monitoring tools to maintain oversight of staff Inspection report for children’s home: 1233307 5 practice and keep track of the progress and experiences of children. This allows the manager to identify when practice does not meet the required standards and address this with staff in a timely way. As a result, there is consistent improvement in how the home meets the needs of children, which has a direct impact on the excellent progress they are making.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

The staff team is stable, and staff work very well together. New staff in the home say that they feel well supported and receive a thorough induction. They work alongside the experienced staff, which helps the children to build a positive relationship with new staff. It also provides the manager with valuable oversight of how newly recruited staff demonstrate their suitability to work with vulnerable children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

The staff receive regular supervision sessions. These sessions are used to discuss staff practice and welfare and enable them to reflect on the impact that they have on the progress and experiences of children. The manager and staff discuss any issues or concerns and consider lessons that are learned from any incidents in the home. Similarly, regular team meetings and group supervision are used as a forum to learn and share information and ideas. This helps to ensure that all staff are consistent in their practice and how they care for the children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

The professional development of staff is a priority in the home. The manager helps staff to develop into more senior roles, and this supports the stability of the team and reduces staff turnover. The manager shares relevant theory and research with staff and ensures that this underpins their care of the children. This has a positive impact on staff practice.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

Staff benefit from high-quality training that enables them to care for children effectively. This includes bespoke training and external clinical support that helps to increase staff knowledge and deepen their understanding of the children’s needs.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

No requirements or recommendations were raised at this inspection. Inspection report for children’s home: 1233307 6

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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: 1233307 7

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Newcastle City Council

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Civic Centre, Newcastle upon Tyne NE1 8QH

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Inspectors

Dawn McCluskey, Social Care Inspector Julia Hagan, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 1233307 8 and inspects to 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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