Children's home run by Northumberland County Council in Northumberland

Inspection report for children’s home: SC059203 1 SC059203 Registered provider: Northumberland County 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. It provides short breaks for up to six children with special educational needs and/or disabilities.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager registered with Ofsted 28 October 2025.

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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: SC059203 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

07/03/2025 Full Good 21/03/2024 Full Good 20/01/2023 Full Good 10/12/2021 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: SC059203 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff provide a good quality of care to children. Staff and children know each other well as staff have been in their roles for many years. The children have trusting relationships with staff. Staff show the children that they enjoy spending time with them and that they are important. This provides the children with the stability and predictability to improve their sense of belonging for the duration of their stay.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are well prepared to spend time at the short-break service. Staff communicate and work effectively with the family and other professionals to make these experiences positive for children. Staff provide children with an appropriate and planned ending, which gives all children a sense of closure.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff ensure that children’s voices are heard using their chosen style of communication. They provide children with the resources to choose new activities and express how they feel and their likes or dislikes. Children are confident in sharing their views and telling staff what they need.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The experiences that children enjoy contribute to the progress they are making. Staff support children to develop new life skills, and this leads to children learning to sleep in their own beds and eat solid food. Staff send families updates of what children have done during their stay. These are brief, and the manager does not keep a record of the information that has been shared with family members.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff are aware of the health needs of the children. However, one child has a specific meal plan, but the staff do not keep a record of what they eat. This does not provide assurances that staff are following the child’s plan.

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

Staff understand the children’s risks well. Staff support children to keep themselves safe, teaching them about topics such as road safety. Staff understand the need to provide ongoing prompts to help them to process the learning. Children are safer as a result.

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

Staff are proactive in helping children to understand behaviours that are not acceptable or that can lead to children feeling bullied. Staff do this using enjoyable resources and activities such as arts and crafts. Children successfully identify behaviours that are either friendly or unfriendly. Children demonstrate a high level of respect and patience towards each other.

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

There is an effective process in place for administering medication. Two staff members authorise medication, and regular audits are carried out. This means there are no medication errors recorded. Inspection report for children’s home: SC059203 4 Most staff are trained in fire safety. Staff understand the impact of fire drills on children who are affected by sensory influences, and they adapt practice to accommodate this. Fire equipment is regularly checked and fit for purpose.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The staff team are all experienced, and most hold the required qualification. The manager is confident in the staff’s ability to meet children’s needs.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager and staff team are enthusiastic and take pride in their work. Staff feel valued in their role and recognise the positive impact they have on children’s lives. The staff speak highly of the support provided by leaders and managers. This means children are cared for by staff who enjoy their work and want to be there.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager ensures that staff practice is child focused. Staff discussions about the children demonstrate a natural and empathetic approach. Staff role model positive behaviour, including tolerance and patience. Staff are skilled at demonstrating this in a calm and natural way.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager and staff team work effectively with partner agencies. Communication is identified as a particular strength. This ensures that everyone is well informed and working towards a shared goal for children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff are provided with regular supervision sessions. They reflect on their practice and discuss the children at length. However, staff do not have an annual appraisal of their practice. This prevents the manager from setting new learning and development goals for staff.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

On one occasion, the manager did not record a complaint about staff practice. Consequently, this was not fully investigated, and learning was not identified for the member of staff concerned. Furthermore, this hinders the manager in having effective oversight of staff practice in the home. Inspection report for children’s home: SC059203 5

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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

use monitoring and review systems to make continuous improvements in the quality of care provided in the home. (Regulation 13 (1)(a)(b) (2)(h)) 30 January 2026

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that a record is made of any complaint, the action taken in response, and the outcome of any investigation. (Regulation 39 (3)) 30 January 2026

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that all employees—

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Requirement Due date

have their performance and fitness to perform their roles appraised at least once every year. (Regulation 33 (4)(c)) 30 January 2026

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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 way that distinguishes between fact, opinion and third-party information. (‘Guide to the Children’s Home’s Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 62, paragraph 14.4) Inspection report for children’s home: SC059203 6

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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: SC059203 7

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Northumberland County Council

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: County Hall, Morpeth, Northumberland NE61 2EF

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Inspector

Lisa Gordon, Social Care inspector Inspection report for children’s home: SC059203 8 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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