Children's home run by HMO NE Ltd

Inspection report for children’s home: 2771500 1 Registered provider: ForeverCare

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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 private company. It provides care for up to two children who may experience social and emotional difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

At the time of this inspection, one child was living at the home.

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Information about this children’s home

The home registered with Ofsted in September 2024. The manager’s post is currently vacant.

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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 is not yet delivering good help and care for children and young people. However, there are no serious or widespread failures that result in their welfare not being safeguarded or promoted.

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good

Date of last inspection: 3 September 2025

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good

Overall judgement at last inspection: inadequate

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children’s home: 2771500 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

03/09/2025 Full Inadequate 14/01/2025 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: 2771500 3

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improvement to be good

The child says that they like living at the home. They have lived at the home for a year and have a sense of belonging. However, the lack of a clear structure and routine to their day means that the child is not making progress in all areas and their experiences are not always positive.

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improvement to be good

Staff are supporting the child to build positive and trusting relationships. As a result, the child is beginning to accept the support offered by staff and talks more openly with them. However, there are limited occasions when staff spend quality time with the child. The child chooses to spend their time outside of the home without staff present, or in their bedroom.

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improvement to be good

Staff encourage the child to attend health appointments; however, some health appointments are missed. Staff do not consistently implement appropriate boundaries to support the child to have a healthy sleep pattern. This negatively impacts on the child’s daily routine as limited activities take place, and staff do not encourage learning when the child is not accessing education or nurture their interests. Although staff prepare food for the child, the child rarely eats a meal at the home.

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improvement to be good

The child has started to attend a few hours of educational provision each week after not attending school for some time. The manager has been proactive in working with other agencies to secure alternative education for the child.

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improvement to be good

The child is supported to spend time with people who are important to them. Staff have developed a positive relationship with a family member and maintain regular contact with them for the benefit of the child. The child has regular sleepovers with family members, and this has increased their happiness and well-being. One family member said, ‘I’m happy with everything. Communication is brilliant.’

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improvement to be good

The home is clean, modern and well maintained. Since the last inspection, all the rooms have been redecorated. The child’s bedroom has been decorated to their individual taste and is well furnished. Other areas of the home are cosy, comfortable and homely.

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

The child’s risk and behaviour management plans have been rewritten since the last inspection. They are individualised and sufficiently detailed. They provide staff with clear information about what to do if risks arise. Inspection report for children’s home: 2771500 4 Protocols about what action staff need to take if the child is missing from home now contain the essential information needed to help to keep the child safe and support their return home. Staff now carry out regular checks via phone calls, texts and in person when the child is away from the home for long periods. This practice has enhanced staff’s ability to ensure the child’s safety when they are away from the home.

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

Conversations take place with the child about topics that are relevant to them. However, the quality of conversations and recordings is variable. At times, staff have missed opportunities to have meaningful discussions with the child to help develop their awareness of issues that are affecting them.

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

When serious safeguarding incidents involving the child occur, staff take appropriate action, including notifying the regulator. The manager and staff work proactively and effectively with other agencies to keep the child safe. The manager has oversight of all incidents and comprehensively reviews the effectiveness of staff practice. This helps to improve safeguarding practice at the home.

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good

The registered manager’s post is vacant. A manager from another of the provider’s homes continues to act as the interim manager. She is supported by another experienced manager. A permanent manager has been recruited and is due to start managing the home soon. This means the child and staff will experience another change of manager in a short period of time, which disrupts the continuity of care and smooth management of the home.

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good

The interim manager plays an active role in the child’s life and is a strong advocate for them. She is caring and child centred and has high expectations for the child, the home and the staff team.

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good

Staff report feeling supported by the interim manager. One staff member described her as ‘supportive, understanding, easy going and professional’. Regular staff meetings focus on the child’s well-being and progress and provide opportunities to reflect on practice. Supervision sessions take place for staff; however, these are not always fully recorded, meaning staff do not receive a copy of the discussion held.

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good

Staff have access to a range of training opportunities. Since the last inspection, additional bespoke training has been offered to equip staff with the knowledge and skills needed to meet the specific needs of the child in their care. However, not all staff have completed this training. One staff member’s training in physical intervention and behaviour management is currently out of date.

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good

The interim managers have worked effectively together to identify shortfalls in staff practice and have taken appropriate action to address areas of vulnerability. Although positive progress has been made, these improvements are still at an early stage and Inspection report for children’s home: 2771500 5 require more time to become fully embedded into day-to-day practice for the benefit of the child.

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good

The interim manager has updated parts of the home’s workforce development plan; however, it does not include the necessary information about the experience and qualifications of staff currently working at the home.

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good

Management oversight of practice has improved; however, not all areas have been reviewed, limiting opportunities to identify patterns and drive further improvement. Leaders and managers have taken action to improve the external monitoring of the home by appointing a new independent person. As this is a new appointment, the impact of this change could not be evaluated at the time of this inspection. Inspection report for children’s home: 2771500 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 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)) 30 January

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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

ensure that staff have the experience, qualifications and skills to meet the needs of each child; 30 January Inspection report for children’s home: 2771500 7 ensure that the home’s workforce provides continuity of care to each child;

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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)(c)(e))

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Requirement Due date

Specifically, the registered person must ensure that they have oversight of all work being completed, including key-work sessions. In addition, ensure that all staff have the skills and knowledge to meet the specific needs of children in their care.

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that all employees—

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Requirement Due date

receive practice-related supervision by a person with appropriate experience. (Regulation 33 (4)(b))

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Requirement Due date

Specifically, the registered person must ensure that the frequency of supervision is in line with the home’s policies and procedures and it is recorded and a copy is made available to the staff member. 30 January

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that children receive meaningful direct work and that the and that the records of key-work sessions are good quality, purposeful and evaluative. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 62, paragraph 14.4)  The registered person should ensure that the workforce development plan includes information about the experience and qualifications of staff working in the home. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 53, paragraph 10.8)

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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: 2771500 8

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Hallgate House, 9 Grange Terrace, Sunderland SR2 7DF

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Inspector

Zillah Brooks, Regulatory Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2771500 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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