Children's home run by Stockton on Tees Borough Council

Inspection report for children’s home: 2568244 1 Registered provider: Stockton on Tees Borough Council Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

The home is run by a local authority. It provides short- and long-term care for up to five children who may experience social and emotional difficulties. This includes children with physical disabilities.

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Information about this children’s home

There has been no registered manager in post since 12 August 2025.

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Information about this children’s home

At the time of the inspection, five children were living in the home. Four children were spoken with.

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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 requires improvement to be 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: 2568244 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

28/08/2024 Full Requires improvement to be good 09/08/2023 Full Requires improvement to be good 28/06/2022 Full Good 15/02/2022 Full Requires improvement to be good Inspection report for children’s home: 2568244 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children say that they have good relationships with staff and are able to talk to them if they have any worries. Feedback from the children was positive, with one child saying, ‘Staff really listen and have supported me with my emotions. I feel safe living in the home.’

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children’s needs are carefully considered alongside the needs of others prior to them moving into the home. One child said that they were offered the opportunity to get to know staff and visit the home before moving in. This approach helps children to settle quickly after they move in. Staff have also supported children when they have moved out of the home in a planned way. They have maintained contact with the children following the move when it was appropriate to do so. This provides a positive ending for children.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff support children to attend school. Staff are proactive in working with professionals to explore alternative education for children and support them to return to education. One child’s attendance has improved since moving to the home, and another child, who has previously struggled with attending education, has started to attend an alternative education provision. One professional said that the relationships children have with staff, along with good daily routines and structure, have had a positive impact on them attending school.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff promote children’s independence. Children said that they are supported to manage their own money, buy food, cook and manage day-to-day tasks. All of this helps them to feel ready for moving into their own home when they reach young adulthood.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Activities are not always individualised to children’s likes and interests. Some children said that activities are not individual, which is echoed by staff. This hinders children’s opportunities to gain new experiences and develop new skills.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The home looks tired in some areas and is in need of attention. Repairs to the garden have not been completed in a timely manner, which does not provide a homely feel for the children. Furthermore, children do not always get the opportunity to decorate their bedroom to their individual likes.

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

Staff use physical intervention, when this is required, to keep children and others protected from harm. When children are held, this is followed up with a discussion to help them reflect on their behaviours. This has helped children to learn other ways to manage their emotions and has led to a reduction in physical interventions being used. Inspection report for children’s home: 2568244 4 Staff know how to respond when children go missing from the home. Staff work well with multi-agency professionals around risks in the community and are proactive when children go missing. Staff follow up concerns through having conversations with children and referring to outside agencies to help educate children. This has led to an overall reduction in children going missing from the home.

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

Children are supported to understand the risks around misusing substances. Staff complete direct work with children and support is also offered from outside agencies. This has led to a reduction in children misusing substances, meaning that they are healthier and are making better choices about their personal safety.

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

When children are at risk of exploitation, staff are proactive in working with agencies and responding to the risks. However, staff do not consistently follow this up through direct work sessions to help educate children around the risks of exploitation. This prevents children from developing a greater understanding of risks and how to keep themselves safer.

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

Risk assessments are not always kept up to date to reflect changes in risk for children. This prevents staff from having clear guidance on what the risks are and what steps they should take to safeguard children.

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

Health and safety measures in the home are mostly effective. However, managers do not ensure that all actions from the fire risk assessment are completed in a timely way. To date, escalation from management has been ineffective in progressing works.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

There has been change in the management of the home since the last inspection. An acting manager is in post; however, they are not yet registered with Ofsted. In addition, there was a significant delay in the previous manager’s application being submitted and therefore being registered to manage the home. The change in the management arrangement has impacted on some aspects of how the home is operating on a day-to- day basis.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

Not all serious incidents are notified to Ofsted by leaders and managers. When child protection enquiries are initiated and concluded, this is not always notified to Ofsted. When there are exploitation concerns about children, this is not always notified to Ofsted. This prevents the regulator from having oversight and understanding of how situations are managed.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

There are gaps in staff training. Not all staff have completed the mandatory training that is set out by the organisation. Staff have responsibility for inputting their own training, which is not effective. This impacts on the manager’s understanding of what the training needs of the staff are. Inspection report for children’s home: 2568244 5 Staffing levels in the home do not consistently provide the children with the flexibility that they may need. Furthermore, feedback gathered from staff during the inspection identified that some of the children’s activities need to be pre-planned due to staffing levels, meaning that on occasions staff have limited ability to respond to unexpected events.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

The manager uses a monthly audit process to review the quality of care for children. Children’s views are sought as a part of this process. Audit findings are then fed through to team meetings and communicated with staff. This helps create a learning culture within the home.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

Leaders and managers build positive working relationships with multi-agency teams. Staff communicate effectively with wider professionals to ensure that children’s needs and risks are understood. One professional said, ‘Staff advocate well for [name of child] and there is a tight care team.’ This positive communication helps children receive the right support. Inspection report for children’s home: 2568244 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 leadership and management standard is that the registered person enables, inspires and leads a culture in relation to the children’s home that—

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Requirement Due date

helps children aspire to fulfil their potential; and

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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

ensure that staff have the experience, qualifications and skills to meet the needs of each child;

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Requirement Due date

ensure that the home’s workforce provides continuity of care to each child. (Regulation 13 (1)(a)(b) (2)(c)(e)) 2 October 2025

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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

help each child to understand how to keep safe. (Regulation 12 (1) (2)(a)(i)(ii)) 2 October 2025

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must notify HMCI and each other relevant person without delay if— 2 October 2025 Inspection report for children’s home: 2568244 7 a child is involved in or subject to, or is suspected of being involved in or subject to, sexual exploitation;

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Requirement Due date

a child protection enquiry involving a child —

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Requirement Due date

(concludes (in which case, the notification must include the outcome of the child protection enquiry). (Regulation 40 (4)(a)(d)(i)(ii))

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Requirement Due date

After consultation with the fire and rescue authority, the registered person must—

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Requirement Due date

take adequate precautions against the risk of fire, including the provision of suitable fire equipment in the children’s home. (Regulation 25 (1)(a)) 30 October 2025

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that the children’s home is a nurturing and supportive environment that meets the needs of their children; they will, in most cases, be homely, domestic environments. In particular, maintenance to the home must be actioned in a timely manner. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 15, paragraph 3.9)  The registered person should ensure that staff seek to identify and provide appropriate opportunities for children to develop themselves in accordance with their wishes and feelings and as part of the home’s plan for their care. Each child’s talents and interests should be understood and nurtured, with children selecting activities based on their personal preferences and abilities, so far as is reasonable. Staff should also support children to try activities that are ‘new’ for them, where appropriate. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page

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Recommendations

31, paragraph 6.4)  The registered person should plan staffing levels to ensure that they meet the needs of children and can respond flexibly to unexpected events or opportunities. Staffing structures should promote continuity of care from the child’s perspective. If children complain, or give a view on how the staffing structure could be improved to promote the best care for them, appropriate action should be taken. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 51, paragraph 10.1) Inspection report for children’s home: 2568244 8

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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: 2568244 9

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Stockton on Tees Borough Council

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Municipal Buildings, Church Road, Stockton on Tees TS18 1TW

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Inspector

Natalie Clark, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2568244 10 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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Inspector

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Inspector

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Inspector

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