Children's home run by Northumberland County Council in Northumberland

Inspection report for children’s home: SC468929 1 SC468929 Registered provider: Northumberland County 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 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

The manager registered with Ofsted in October 2013.

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Information about this children’s home

There were four children living at the home at the time of the inspection. The inspector spoke to three of them.

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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: 22 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: SC468929 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

22/10/2024 Full Good 20/11/2023 Full Good 21/06/2022 Full Good 11/05/2021 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: SC468929 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff care for children and know them well. Staff recognise the impact of good relationships in all aspects of the children’s care. Children can identify a trusted adult they can turn to if they need something. One child told the inspector that they would not choose to live anywhere else, and they know that staff like them.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children have a positive experience of moving into the home. Staff meet children in advance to get to know them and gradually build up the time the children spend together. This helps each child to manage and feel prepared for living together.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff value children’s education and have good relationships with education professionals. Staff make sure that children have consistent morning and bedtime routines in preparation for the school day. This is clearly effective, as one child who did not previously attend school now attends full time. This represents significant progress for that child.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff gather children’s views through formal meetings, house meetings, independent advocate visits, feedback from professionals and sessions with each child. Staff feed back to the children the outcome of any requests or concerns expressed. This helps children to feel listened to and valued.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children live in a spacious and beautifully decorated home. There is ample space for children to spend time together, or to break away for time alone. All the children have personalised bedrooms, which reflect their likes and dislikes. This helps children to feel a sense of belonging in their home.

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

Staff know and understand the children’s risks and vulnerabilities. Staff update children’s risk assessment and plans regularly to ensure that they remain child focused and relevant. Children say they feel safe living in the home.

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

Staff are committed to ongoing professional development. They develop their knowledge through formal training and their own research. Staff recognise when support is needed from specialist organisations. They are comfortable reaching out to the wider care team to upskill themselves, which better enables them to meet the children’s needs.

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

Children are held as a last resort to protect themselves or others. Staff know the children’s triggers and quickly recognise when things are escalating. Staff are creative in their use of incentives, encouragement and praise, which helps them to intervene at the most effective point. Staff work with each child to help them understand strong emotions and recognise how their feelings impact on their behaviour. This helps children to feel valued and listened to and supports the manager to track patterns of behaviour. Inspection report for children’s home: SC468929 4 Children rarely go missing from home. However, when it does occur, staff know what to do and take effective action in line with children’s risk assessments. Staff recognise the value of making the home a warm and welcoming place to be. Strong relationships between the staff and children contribute to only three episodes of children going missing, all noticeably short in duration.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager is qualified and experienced and has strong aspirations for the children. The manager leads by example, demonstrating respect and acceptance in her own practice. This has developed a staff team that has a strengths-based approach, and staff are patient and empathetic with the children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager has an open-door policy and is interested in the staff’s well-being. The manager provides regular reflective supervision and annual appraisals. When staff practice falls below the required standard, the manager encourages staff to identify their own areas for development and a plan is put in place to address this. Staff feel supported by the manager and there is a positive culture of ongoing staff development.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager holds weekly team meetings. Information is shared with staff to appraise them of important organisation changes. There are regular guest speakers to help staff update their knowledge and maintain a consistent approach for children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager robustly investigates any complaints or allegations. The records kept are detailed and recorded in a child-friendly way. The manager feeds back to children promptly. This contributes to the children feeling listened to and affirms their trust in staff.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

There is a strong focus on multi-agency working. Professionals give consistently positive feedback that strong local inter-agency networks make it easier to address issues for children as they arise. The manager challenges partner agencies when their practice is not empathetic to the child. This has improved children’s access in areas such as education and health.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager knows the home’s strengths well. She has good oversight, and good systems are in place to monitor and review children’s progress, safety and welfare. When areas of development are identified, the manager implements credible plans to improve practice. However, the inspector did identify that staff do not consistently record all consequences given to children. This limits the manager’s ability to evaluate all methods of behaviour management for their effectiveness. Inspection report for children’s home: SC468929 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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Recommendation

 The registered person should ensure that all incidents of control, discipline and restraint are subject to systems of regular scrutiny to ensure that their use is fair, and that the above principles as set out in 9.35 are respected. In particular, the recording of all consequences, so that they are monitored and reviewed by the manager. (‘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: SC468929 6

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Children’s home details

Registered provider : Northumberland County Council

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: County Hall, Morpeth, Northumberland NE61 2EF

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Inspector

Lisa Gordon, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: SC468929 7 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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Inspector

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Inspector

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Inspector

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