Children's home run by Together For Children Sunderland

Inspection report for children’s home: 2613157 1 Registered provider: Together For Children Sunderland Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

A local authority owns and manages this children’s home. It provides care for up to three 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 2024. The home was registered with Ofsted in October 2020.

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Information about this children’s home

Three children were living at the home at the time of the inspection. One child was on holiday in Europe and the two other children declined to speak with the inspector.

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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: 2613157 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

14/08/2024 Full Good 11/10/2023 Full Requires improvement to be good 07/03/2023 Full Good 14/09/2021 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: 2613157 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are making good progress in their own individual ways. Staff understand children’s areas of strength and their areas of need. Staff have high aspirations for children while being sensitive to the expectations that they place on them. Small achievements are recognised and celebrated by the staff, raising children’s self-esteem.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children’s views and feelings about the home are collected through a range of forums, including statutory review meetings and the home’s children’s meetings. Positive interactions between children and the staff were observed throughout the inspection.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Relationship building is prioritised, and staff adopt a child-centred approach. Structured support from staff helps children learn how to interact positively with their peers both inside and outside of the home. As children develop secure and trusting relationships with staff, they begin to share information about their past experiences. This helps children to begin to develop better emotional resilience.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff support children to maintain, and in some cases develop, their relationships with people who are important to them. Managers and staff advocate strongly on behalf of children to ensure that family time arrangements are achieved in a meaningful way that helps children feel secure and connected to those who are important to them.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children take part in a broad range of activities that they help to plan and enjoy. Staff are creative in linking activities to national and international celebration days and cultural events. This helps children to learn about the world around them in a fun and engaging way.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The home is mostly warm and welcoming, and children personalise their bedrooms to create spaces that they can enjoy and relax in. However, some remedial works and general maintenance are needed in the home. This is not always carried out in a timely manner.

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

Children are supported to learn about personal safety and to better understand their individual vulnerabilities. Direct work with children is both planned and responsive in naturally occurring situations. Children, particularly those with learning needs, benefit from this ‘real time’ approach that helps them contextualise their understanding of personal safety. Staff use therapeutic approaches throughout their interactions with children.

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

Staff have a good knowledge of safeguarding practice, and they are attuned to children’s needs. They are aware of subtle changes in children’s presentation and become increasingly curious about what has motivated these changes. Their curiosity and Inspection report for children’s home: 2613157 4 sensitive exploration lead to children disclosing incidents of harm, which have subsequently been addressed by the registered manager.

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

When risks to children increase, staff work collaboratively with other agencies and specialist support services to ensure that children receive the support that they need. On one occasion, increased risks to a child resulted in managers and staff no longer being able to keep the child safe. Staff worked dynamically during this period to safeguard the child. Leaders and managers balanced the safety of the child with the impact on other children living at the home. Their commitment to children experiencing significant difficulty demonstrates their dedicated approach to stability for children living at the home.

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

Children know how to raise a concern or a complaint but rarely do. They have access to an app where they can communicate their thoughts and feelings about their care. When children do raise concerns, the registered manager and wider care team address these effectively and support children to access independent advocates. They ensure that children understand the outcome of their concern or complaint. However, records do not sufficiently detail the actions taken or the outcome of complaints.

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

During times when children are upset, staff hold them to keep both children and them safe, when de-escalation is no longer effective. The workforce plan states that all staff must be trained in the home’s model of restraint. However, leaders and managers do not ensure that sessional staff are trained before they begin to care for children. This places children at potential risk of injury.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The home is managed by an experienced and qualified registered manager and deputy manager. During this inspection period, the registered manager has relinquished her dual registration of a sister home. This has positively affected her oversight of the home and the care that children receive.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Regular monitoring of the home enables the registered manager and her deputy to review the effectiveness of children’s care and staff responses to their needs, through scrutiny of records and direct observations. They provide formal feedback to staff and discuss shortfalls in practice and recording. Workshops are provided for staff when themes arise in their monitoring. This helps staff to better understand their role and managers’ expectations.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Professionals spoke positively about the staff team and the registered manager, who they described as being ‘effective’. One professional from the placing authority said, ‘They are confident to challenge us on behalf of the children and rightly so they should.’ Similarly, parents said that they feel their children are safe and their needs are met.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff feel supported by the registered manager and deputy. Regular supervision sessions and team meetings provide opportunities to reflect on their practice and children’s Inspection report for children’s home: 2613157 5 emerging needs. Additionally, monthly consultation with a psychologist provides a further opportunity for staff to develop their understanding and therapeutic approach to meeting children’s needs.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Most staff are qualified for their roles or working towards the relevant qualification and have access to a broad range of training. They have recently been invited to explore professional development in an area that interests them. Specialist training is being implemented to enable staff to take a lead role in the home’s running, for example additional training in sensory processing and sensory spaces. This new staff development plan will increase staff skills and knowledge in areas relevant to the children living at the home.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager has failed to reflect changes to the running of the service in the statement of purpose and share updates with Ofsted in a timely manner. The manager de-registered from her dual role at a sister service but did not update the statement of purpose at that time or share it with Ofsted. Inspection report for children’s home: 2613157 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 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

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. (Regulation 13(1) (2)(c))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered manager must ensure that all staff, including sessional workers, undertake training in restraint practice. 15 December 2025

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that accurate records are kept in the children’s home. Specifically, all records of complaint must include a detailed description of the actions taken in response to, and the outcome of, any investigation. (‘Guide to The Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 62, paragraph 14.3)  The registered person should ensure that the statement of purpose is kept under review and reflects the current intentions of the children’s home. They must provide a copy of the statement of purpose to HMCI following any review or changes. (‘Guide to The Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards,’ page 14, paragraph 3.5)  The registered person should ensure that the home is a nurturing and supportive environment that meets the needs of their children. The home will, in most cases, be a homely, domestic environment. When damage to the home occurs, prompt repair or

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Recommendations

remedial work should be carried out to ensure the home remains safe and welcoming. (‘Guide to The Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards,’ page 15, paragraph 3.9) Inspection report for children’s home: 2613157 7

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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: 2613157 8

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Together for Children Sunderland

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Sunderland City Council, City Hall, Plater Way, Sunderland SR1 3AA

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Inspector

Beth Forster, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2613157 9 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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