Children's home run by Bayleaf Care Limited

Inspection report for children’s home: 2786126 1 Registered provider: Bayleaf Care Limited

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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 privately run and can provide care for up to three children with social and emotional difficulties and learning disabilities. At the time of the inspection, three children were living in the home. All children were spoken to.

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Information about this children’s home

There has been no registered manager since 6 June 2025, and a 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: 3 December 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: 2786126 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

03/12/2024 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: 2786126 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children live in a welcoming and well-maintained home environment that is carefully adapted to meet their individual needs. Each child’s bedroom is personalised to reflect their own style and preferences, fostering a sense of identity and comfort. Photos of the children are displayed throughout the home, contributing to an atmosphere that promotes a sense of belonging.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff invest time in building positive and trusting relationships with children. Staff have a thorough understanding of children’s individual needs. They are knowledgeable about children’s preferred methods of communication, such as the use of symbols, which ensures that children’s voices are consistently heard. Additionally, staff have developed bespoke tools to facilitate communication between children and external professionals, enabling children to express themselves confidently to independent visitors. This ensures that children’s views are fully represented.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are making meaningful progress relative to their individual starting points. Families and professionals consistently commend the significant improvements children have made in their communication skills. Staff understand the importance of supporting children to develop essential life skills. There has been notable advancement in children’s independence, with some children now able to complete some tasks independently without staff’s support.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff recognise the importance of education in children’s development. Some children attend the on-site school for their learning, while others are supported by staff to access their respective educational provisions. When staff feel that a child’s educational needs are not being fully met, they proactively advocate for suitable alternatives to ensure each child receives the appropriate support and opportunities to thrive.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are supported to move on from the home in the best way possible. Staff speak with children sensitively about their feelings regarding transitions and support them in visiting new placements. Where appropriate, children are actively involved in planning their own transitions. When children move into the home, even at short notice, staff proactively build relationships beforehand to ease the adjustment. Strong partnership working with the local authority further supports smooth transitions, helping children feel comfortable and reducing any anxieties they may have.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children’s cultural needs are not yet fully met within the home. Management has recognised this as an area for improvement and has begun to address it through changes in staff practice. However, this work is still in its early stages and not yet Inspection report for children’s home: 2786126 4 fully embedded to ensure that children’s cultural and identity needs are consistently understood and met.

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

Children rarely go missing from home; however, when this does occur, staff respond immediately by searching the local area and reporting children as missing to the police. When children return to the home, staff provide children with a safe and supportive space to discuss their reasons for leaving and explore how they can be better supported in the future.

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

Risk assessments and behaviour support plans are regularly reviewed and updated, including following any incidents of concern. This ensures that documentation remains current and responsive to the changing needs of children. These plans provide clear guidance for staff on the actions required to support children effectively when concerns arise.

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

Children have not needed to make formal complaints, but they are regularly encouraged to share their feelings about living in the home. They are supported to express any worries and clearly understand who they can approach if they wish to raise a concern or make a complaint. Children can identify adults they feel comfortable around.

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

When physical intervention is used, it is always proportionate and appropriate. All incidents are quality checked by management. Following any physical intervention, children are given the opportunity to share how it made them feel. To support this, staff have developed a bespoke booklet tailored to the individual needs of the children, empowering them to express their emotions in a way that best suits their communication style.

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

While the overall use of language in documentation is positive and supportive, there are some instances where terminology does not fully promote a caring, child-centred understanding. This has been identified as an area for development to ensure consistency across all records and to accurately reflect children’s needs and experiences.

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

Staff receive appropriate safeguarding training to help them keep children safe. They are also trained to meet the specific and often complex needs of the children in their care. Leaders are ambitious about staff development and provide ongoing upskilling sessions, including learning from incidents and best practice. This ensures staff remain knowledgeable, skilled and confident in delivering quality care and support.

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

Children’s views are gathered regularly to ensure they are actively involved in decisions that affect them. Staff use creative approaches to capture their views. This ensures that children can express themselves comfortably. Children have regular conversations with staff, both planned and spontaneous, which further supports open communication. Staff are innovative in their methods of engagement, using tailored Inspection report for children’s home: 2786126 5 strategies to support children’s learning and understanding of topics that are important to them.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Despite a period without a registered manager in post, there has been clear and consistent leadership and oversight. This has ensured stability within the home and minimal disruption for both staff and children. The management team maintains robust oversight of the day-to-day running of the home through regular auditing, review of incidents and direct engagement with children. As a result, the quality of care is closely monitored.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff benefit from regular team meetings that focus on the needs of the children and explore strategies to provide the best possible support. These meetings also offer valuable opportunities for staff to reflect on their practice and identify areas for development. Supervisions are detailed and purposeful, providing a structured space for staff to discuss the children in their care, seek guidance and reflect on their professional role.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The quality of care review lacks sufficient evaluation and analysis of the review period. Children’s views are not captured within the report, meaning their voices are not fully represented in assessing how they experience living in the home. Management has identified this as an area for development, and plans are in place to address this shortfall and strengthen the effectiveness of future reviews.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff report feeling well supported by the management team. Staff speak highly of the deputy manager’s leadership and the support received from the wider management team. They feel comfortable raising concerns and confident that their views are listened to and acted on. This creates a positive and valued workforce, which directly contributes to the quality of care provided to the children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Management has a clear understanding of the home’s strengths and areas for development. It is proactive in implementing changes that benefit the children in its care. When shortfalls are identified, swift and effective action is taken to address them. These developments are regularly shared with the staff team, helping to embed changes in everyday practice. Inspection report for children’s home: 2786126 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 registered person must complete a review of the quality of care provided for children (“a quality of care review”) at least once every 6 months.

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Requirement Due date

In order to complete a quality of care review the registered person must establish and maintain a system for monitoring, reviewing and evaluating—

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Requirement Due date

the quality of care provided for children;

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Requirement Due date

the feedback and opinions of children about the children’s home, its facilities and the quality of care they receive in it; and any actions that the registered person considers necessary in order to improve or maintain the quality of care provided for children.

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Requirement Due date

After completing a quality of care review, the registered person must produce a written report about the quality of care review and the actions which the registered person intends to take as a result of the quality of care review (“the quality of care review report”).

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Requirement Due date

supply to HMCI a copy of the quality of care review report within 28 days of the date on which the quality of care review is completed; and

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Requirement Due date

make a copy of the quality of care review report available on request to a placing authority, if the placing authority is not the parent of a child accommodated in the home.

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Requirement Due date

The system referred to in paragraph (2) must provide for ascertaining and considering the opinions of children, their parents, placing authorities and staff. (Regulation 45 (1) (2)(a)(b)(c) (3) (4)(a)(b) (5)) 5 January 2026 Inspection report for children’s home: 2786126 7 The enjoyment and achievement standard is that children take part in and benefit from a variety of activities that meet their needs and develop and reflect their creative, cultural, intellectual, physical and social interests and skills.

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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

develop the child’s interests and hobbies;

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Requirement Due date

participate in activities that the child enjoys and which meet and expand the child’s interests and preferences; and

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Requirement Due date

make a positive contribution to the home and the wider community; and

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Requirement Due date

that each child has access to a range of activities that enable the child to pursue the child’s interests and hobbies. (Regulation 9 (1) (2)(a)(i)(ii)(iii)(b))

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Requirement Due date

This specifically relates to ensuring that children’s cultural needs are met both within and outside of the home. Where children choose not to engage in cultural or religious activities, this should be clearly documented. 8 December

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Recommendation

 The registered person should ensure that staff are familiar with the home’s policies on record-keeping and understand the importance of careful, objective and clear recording. Staff should record information on individual children in a non- stigmatising way that distinguishes between fact, opinion and third-party information. Information about the child must always be recorded in a way that will be helpful to the child. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 62, paragraph 14.4)

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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: 2786126 8

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Bayleaf Care Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: 7 Bankside, The Watermark, Gateshead, Tyne and Wear NE11 9SY

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Inspector

Jess Baines, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2786126 9 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 children looked after, safeguarding and child protection.

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Inspector

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Inspector

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Inspector

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