Children's home run by HMO NE Ltd

Inspection report for children’s home: 2780235 1 Registered provider: HMO NE Ltd 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 private company. It provides care for up to two children who 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 has applied to register with Ofsted.

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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

Date of last inspection: 28 October 2024

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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: 2780235 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

28/10/2024 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: 2780235 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The child living at the home spoke with the inspector.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children’s experiences of living in the home have varied. One child found living out of their local area difficult, went missing for lengthy periods, and experienced inconsistent boundaries in the home. In contrast, another child has experienced a well-planned introduction to the home and staff. This has helped them settle with ease, and they are developing positive and trusting relationships with staff.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff work well with education professionals to support children. Children who find it difficult to participate in learning are encouraged to engage. Staff attend multi-agency meetings to better understand the child’s needs and exchange information about their development. This shows the child that everyone is working well together to achieve what is best for them.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff have important conversations with the child to help them explore their emotions and how their feelings affect them. Staff encourage the child to discuss their family and social relationships, and they talk about topics such as online safety. Key-work sessions are well recorded and take place regularly. The language used in the child’s records is sensitive, demonstrating the positive relationships between the child and the staff.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff understand the child’s health needs and ensure that they attend appointments. The child’s records indicate that they have had their health assessment. Staff are proactive in ensuring that the child’s needs are met. Safety measures are in place for the storage of medication. A medication error was promptly identified by the manager; however, the child was not affected.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Independence work is actively explored and developed with the child, and they are making great progress and are proud of their achievements. The child said that they have some close relationships with staff and enjoy their time in the home. Staff listen to the child and encourage them to express their views. It is evident that the child’s voice is important and that they are heard and responded to.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The child’s essential records are not up to date. Although there are requests to the child’s social worker for information, such as care plans and review minutes, the home’s escalation procedures are ineffective in ensuring that staff have access to all the necessary information to support the child.

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

The child has been missing from the home on a few occasions. When such an incident occurs, staff follow the child’s safety plan and promptly notify agencies such as the police. On the child’s return to the home, arrangements are made for them to have an Inspection report for children’s home: 2780235 4 independent return home interview. This ensures that the child can talk to someone other than the staff about why they went missing and that lessons can be learned to prevent this from reoccurring.

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

There are plans that outline the child’s known needs and how staff should provide support. However, the plans are difficult to read, as they often contain old information and strategies for staff to follow. The safety planning fails to demonstrate the steps taken to mitigate risks and enable the child to spend safe time with their peers in the community. There is a lack of escalation by managers to ensure that the child’s risks are assessed and that support is provided.

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

There have been no physical interventions for any of the children who have lived at the home. Staff receive training to be able to intervene and keep children and others safe. The staff are also trained to de-escalate situations. Although there have been issues regarding how boundaries are implemented, there is more consistency in staff’s practice and management oversight.

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

Positive behaviours are promoted by staff. Praise and rewards for the child are regularly recorded. In addition, incentives are used to help the child understand the progress they are making and to reward them for their efforts. This approach ensures that the child can see that staff are proud of their achievements.

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

Negative consequences in the home are documented sporadically, but they may be repeated and prolonged. As a result, the total number of consequences imposed is not consistently or accurately recorded. Managers oversee disciplinary measures and occasionally offer reparation, but there is a lack of consistent evaluation to assess their effectiveness. Consequently, one child experienced repeated consequences without any review of their impact or consideration of alternative approaches.

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

Allegations are well managed. When staff raise concerns about practice in the home, an internal investigation takes place promptly, and actions are identified to make improvements.

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

Safer recruitment practice is not fully embedded. Systems are in place for safer recruitment of permanent staff; however, gaps in employment are not fully explored. Furthermore, the manager receives insufficient information when using agency workers. Therefore, there are shortfalls in the safer recruitment of adults who come to work with children at the home.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The home has experienced changes in management and staff since the last inspection. Leaders and managers have taken steps to review the practices in the home. An internal investigation has been carried out, which has led to identifying lessons learned and areas for improvement following a difficult and unsettled period at the home. Inspection report for children’s home: 2780235 5 There have been improvements in the manager’s oversight of the home. This is because systems in place are effective and ensure that they have oversight of the running of the home. Monitoring systems help the manager to identify areas for improvement and develop practice.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The supervision of staff has improved. Staff receive regular supervision with an opportunity to reflect on practice with a manager who is trained to carry out a supervisory role. However, there are no mechanisms in place for agency staff to receive supervision.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff receive well-planned inductions into the home. They complete mandatory training before working with children. In addition, managers identify when staff require training to support them in meeting children’s specific needs.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The recruitment and retention of staff in the home remain a challenge. Managers are trying to recruit for vacant posts to ensure that there are enough permanent members of staff with the necessary skills in the home should another child move in. Inspection report for children’s home: 2780235 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

In meeting the quality standards, the registered person must, and must ensure that staff—

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Requirement Due date

seek to involve each child’s placing authority effectively in the child’s care, in accordance with the child’s relevant plans;

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Requirement Due date

seek to secure the input and services required to meet each child’s needs;

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Requirement Due date

if the registered person considers, or staff consider, a placing authority’s or a relevant person’s performance or response to be inadequate in relation to their role, challenge the placing authority or the relevant person to seek to ensure that each child’s needs are met in accordance with the child’s relevant plans. (Regulation 5 (a)(b)(c)) 28 August 2025

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Requirement Due date

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

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Requirement Due date

include the information and documents listed in Schedule 3 in relation to each child;

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Requirement Due date

are kept up to date. (Regulation 36 (1)(a)(b)) 28 August 2025

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Requirement Due date

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

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Requirement Due date

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

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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,

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Requirement Due date

if the individual satisfies the requirements in paragraph (3). 28 August 2025 Inspection report for children’s home: 2780235 7 The requirements are that—

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Requirement Due date

the individual has the appropriate experience, qualification and skills for the work that the individual is to perform;

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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)(b)(d))

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Recommendations

 The registered person should have systems in place so that all staff, including agency and bank staff, receive supervision from an appropriately qualified and experienced professional, allowing them to reflect on their practice. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 61, paragraph 13.2)  The registered person should ensure that all incidents of control, discipline and restraint are subject to systems of regular scrutiny to make sure that their use is fair and effective. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 46, paragraph 9.36)

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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: 2780235 8

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Children’s home details

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

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Inspector

Joanne Wallis, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2780235 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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Inspector

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