Children's home run by North Tyneside Council

Inspection report for children’s home: 2602142 1 Registered provider: North Tyneside Council Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

The home is owned and managed by a local authority. The home provides care for one child who may have a sensory impairment, a learning disability, a mental disorder, and/or a physical disability.

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Information about this children’s home

During this inspection, the inspector met the child living at the home and observed staff supporting the child.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager registered with Ofsted in August 2024.

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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

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: 2602142 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

28/10/2024 Full Good 15/05/2023 Full Requires improvement to be good 31/08/2022 Full Good 30/11/2021 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: 2602142 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The child has lived at the home for over four years and has developed positive relationships with staff. This stability and sense of permanence has helped the child to make good progress in their life.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff support the child to attend school consistently, which helps them to make progress towards their individual targets. Staff from the home have daily communication with teaching staff to ensure that there is open communication and a consistent approach to meeting the child’s needs. Over time, the child’s attendance at school has increased, and more recently, they have been attending for full days. This is providing the child with structure and routine, as well as learning and social experiences.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The child is supported to engage in a variety of activities that are specific to their likes and interests. This has included trips to the theatre and other local attractions. Staff support the child to have new experiences, such as travelling on public transport. These opportunities enhance the child’s social development and understanding. Their achievements are celebrated, and photos of activities provide memorabilia, reminding the child that their experiences are important and valued. The home is brightly decorated and reflects the child’s personality and interests throughout.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff understand the child’s complex health needs and communicate with health professionals to ensure the child attends their appointments. Staff respond to the child’s new and emerging health needs swiftly and advocate on behalf of the child. However, there has been no consideration given to the child attending an appointment with an optician for over four years. This means staff cannot be certain about whether the child needs any treatment for their vision.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff build respectful relationships with the child’s family members who are actively involved in the child’s care. The child spends some nights at their family home. This ensures that the child is supported to stay connected with family members. Family members understand that there is an on-call system, should this be needed when they are caring for the child overnight. However, the family expressed that they frequently did not know which member of staff to contact, and on one occasion, had to ring another home to seek support.

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

The child has developed trusting relationships with staff. The child seeks out staff to help with self-care tasks and activities. Staff ensure that the environment is safe and that there is appropriate specialist equipment to promote the child’s safety both inside and outside of the home. Clear instructions about equipment are accompanied by photos and give staff knowledge and confidence to use these correctly. Inspection report for children’s home: 2602142 4 Staff are skilled at communicating with the child and understand the child’s cues. The training undertaken has enhanced their knowledge about the child’s communication style. Staff use their skills and knowledge to identify potential triggers and positively influence the child’s behaviour. As a result, the child has not been physically held since the last inspection. Visual and transitional tools help the child to express choices and understand their daily routine.

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

On the rare occasions that medication errors occur, the manager takes this seriously and follows procedures to ensure the safety of the child. The management team addresses any practice issues with staff and implements new procedures to help prevent future errors. The manager has oversight of medication errors but does not routinely complete medication audits, as this is delegated to the deputy manager.

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

Risk assessments and support plans are comprehensive. They give staff clear instructions about what to do to help the child and to reduce risks. Due to the level and extent of the child’s complex needs, a snapshot document contains the most pertinent information that staff need to know about the child. However, the management team has not identified discrepancies between this and the child’s main assessment and plans. This does not help staff to be confident they are following the correct processes for the child, and it may lead to confusion.

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

Since the last inspection, the manager has taken on additional managerial responsibilities, which include overseeing and applying for registration of an unregistered provision. This means the manager has not always been in day-to-day charge of this home and has generally divided her time between the two settings. This has contributed to some shortfalls in management oversight and some requirements from the last inspection being reissued.

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

There is a lack of management oversight of incidents. For example, when incidents occur or when body maps are completed, the information is recorded in the child’s daily records. The manager does not record any oversight of the records. This does not provide assurances that the manager has responded to concerns or taken appropriate action.

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

The management team does not consistently follow safer recruitment procedures, for example exploring gaps in staff’s employment history in line with regulation. As a result, the manager does not have full information to assess the staff members’ suitability to work at the home.

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

The manager has updated the statement of purpose. However, the most up-to-date version has not been forwarded to Ofsted following changes in the staff structure. This limits the regulator’s knowledge of important changes in the home. Inspection report for children’s home: 2602142 5 Staff are enthusiastic about their role and say that they feel well supported by the management team. However, not all staff receive regular individual supervision at the frequency stated in the statement of purpose. This is a missed opportunity to help staff reflect on their practice, learning and development.

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

The manager is held in high regard by professionals and family members. She knows the child extremely well and is passionate about her role. She is respectful when challenging others and advocates on the child’s behalf. She has high expectations of staff to provide good quality care to the child. The manager understands changes that need to be embedded in the home to improve management oversight and has plans to implement them. Inspection report for children’s home: 2602142 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

lead and manage the home in a way that is consistent with the approach and ethos, and delivers the outcomes, set out in the home’s statement of purpose;

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Requirement Due date

use monitoring and review systems to make continuous improvements in the quality of care provided in the home. (Regulation 13 (1)(a)(b) (2)(a)(h)) 28 November 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

the individual is of integrity and good character;

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Requirement Due date

and full and satisfactory information is available in relation to the individual in respect of each of the matters in Schedule 2. (Regulation 32 (1) (3)(a)(d))

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Requirement Due date

This specifically relates to exploring gaps in employment history. 28 November 2025

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Requirement Due date

The health and well-being standard is that—

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Requirement Due date

the health and well-being needs of children are met. 28 November 2025 Inspection report for children’s home: 2602142 7 In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to ensure— that each child has access to such dental, medical, nursing, psychiatric and psychological advice, treatment, and other services as the child may require. (Regulation 10 (1)(a) (2)(c))

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Requirement Due date

This specifically relates to optical checks.

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that the statement of purpose is reviewed and updated when there are changes made and provide a copy to the regulator. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards,’ page 14, paragraph 3.5)  The registered person should ensure that staff receive regular individual supervision in accordance with time frames set out in the statement of purpose. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards,’ page 61, paragraph 13.2)  The registered person should ensure that staffing levels meet the needs of children and can respond flexibly to unexpected events or opportunities. In particular, the on-call rota should be clear, and family members should be supported to understand which member of staff is on call during the time when children stay at their family home. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards,’ page 54, paragraph 10.15)

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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: 2602142 8

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: 2a-2b The Silverlink North, Newcastle Upon Tyne NE27 0BY

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Children’s home details

Responsible individual: Jacqueline Ingram

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Children’s home details

Registered manager: Claire Richards-Drysdale

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Inspector

Cat Makel, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2602142 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 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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