Children's home run by Highfield North East Limited in Redcar and Cleveland

Inspection report for children’s home: SC408656 1 SC408656 Registered provider: Highfield North East Limited Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

The home is privately operated. 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 June 2010.

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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 with three of the children.

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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

Overall judgement at last inspection: good

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children’s home: SC408656 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

08/10/2024 Full Good 27/02/2024 Full Outstanding 01/03/2023 Full Good 17/02/2022 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: SC408656 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The environment has a homely, welcoming feel and children’s bedrooms are personalised to their own tastes. Communal areas are decorated and reflect the children’s interests. Children take pride in their rooms and in the home.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff have worked hard to build positive and trusting relationships with the children. Interactions between staff and the children are warm and consistently positive. Professionals spoken to said that the strong relationships between the staff and children are a particular strength of the home.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Education is consistently promoted at the home. All the children are making good progress in education from their individual starting points. Staff advocated for a school move for one child and they are now thriving in their new provision. A school report for another child showed remarkable progress.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff are proactive in supporting children with their health and in helping them understand their individual health needs. All staff are trained in how to store and dispense medication.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The children can participate in a variety of activities. Children’s interests are considered, and staff actively encourage regular activities and hobbies. One professional said that one child was very proud of all the activities and trips they have been on with staff, and that this has had a positive effect on their confidence.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children have appropriate time with their families, friends and other people who are important to them. There are no unnecessary restrictions in place. Staff work proactively and positively with children’s families and loved ones to promote meaningful and safe time together. This helps children to build and maintain support networks for the future.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The outside areas of the home require some work to make them safe for children. There are a lot of concrete steps in the garden as it is on a steep slope, and areas with long weeds in. This increases the risk of falls or being stung by nettles. The manager and staff acknowledge this is a development need.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The statement of purpose is outdated and some of the language used in it is not child friendly. This does not allow children to have a clear understanding of what services to expect from the home.

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

The children said they feel safe at the home. All professionals and family members spoken to said that staff do a good job of keeping the children safe. There is a consistent Inspection report for children’s home: SC408656 4 staff team, so the children know the staff well. This consistency increases the children’s feelings of belonging and permanence at the home.

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

Children’s views are sought, and their opinions and suggestions are implemented at the home. The children said that they all have someone at the home who they can talk to if something was wrong.

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

When children go missing from the home, staff have a good understanding of the missing-from-home protocol and follow this consistently. Staff are proactive in searching for children and in maintaining communication with the children’s families and those involved in their care. Staff work hard with children and professionals to understand why children go missing and to try and reduce these episodes.

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

Staff carry out key-work sessions when children make poor choices to increase children’s understanding and knowledge. Staff also make relevant referrals to specialist services to engage children and have completed specialist training to strengthen their responses to issues such as substance misuse.

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

Children are encouraged to build on their independence and take risks appropriate to their age and level of understanding. Professionals have said that the children are building in confidence and maturity while living at the home.

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

The staff implement a therapeutic parenting model of care, using this as part of making risk assessments and planning. There are effective and personalised de-escalation plans in place for each child, which has had an impact on the fact that physical intervention is so rarely used at the home.

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

Although staff are good at gathering children’s opinions, almost all the children do not know how to make a complaint. Children should know how to make a complaint, without any barriers being in place. This would ensure children’s voices are heard and they understand that their opinions matter.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

There is an experienced and effective management team in place. The manager has high aspirations for the children at the home. The manager ensures that staff encourage children to achieve and make progress.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

There is a stable and consistent team of staff who are committed to the children. The manager and staff care about the children and are excellent advocates for them. Professionals feel encouraged about the relationships between staff and children, and the positive effects these relationships have on children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff supervision sessions are regular and reflective. Issues covered are then revisited in subsequent sessions to ensure actions have taken place. The records are comprehensive Inspection report for children’s home: SC408656 5 and can be accessed by the supervisee. Staff are positive about supervision sessions and find them beneficial to their practice.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager has a good awareness of the strengths and weaknesses of the home and areas for staff development. The manager ensures regular training in important areas to ensure that staff are up to date with what they need to provide high-quality care to the children. The manager has a development plan for the home and is seeking additional feedback from professionals and the views of the children to improve the services the staff provide.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager accepts that recording is an area for development at the home. A significant number of records do not have clear management oversight, such as when an accident or injury takes place. On some documents it is unclear what has been updated and by who, with signatures attached without names. This is a missed learning opportunity for the manager to review records effectively and improve practice at the home’. Inspection report for children’s home: SC408656 6

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Statutory requirements

This section sets out the actions that the registered person 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 must comply within the given timescales.

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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 signed and dated by the author of each entry. (Regulation 36 (1) (a)(b)(c)) 18 November 2025

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that the home’s statement of purpose is kept under review. It should be child focused, indicating how the home provides individualised care to meet the Quality Standards for the children in their care. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 14, paragraph 3.5).  The registered person should ensure staff encourage children to share any concerns about their care or other matters as soon as they arise. Children should be able to take up issues or make a complaint with support and without any fear that this will result in any adverse consequences. Children should be aware of this procedure and be reminded of it as necessary. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 22, paragraph 4.13).

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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: SC408656 7

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Highfield North East Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: 37 Emerald Street, Saltburn-by-the-Sea TS12 1EE

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Inspector

Dawn McCluskey, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: SC408656 8 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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