Children's home run by North Tyneside Council in North Tyneside

Inspection report for children's home: SC068243 1 SC068243 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 operated by a local authority. It provides care for up to 6 children who experience social and emotional difficulties.

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Information about this children's home

Four children were living at the home at the time of the inspection. The inspector spoke to all 4 children.

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Information about this children's home

The manager registered with Ofsted on 11 July 2023.

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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: SC068243 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

01/07/2024 Full Good 14/08/2023 Full Good 26/07/2022 Full Requires improvement to be good 18/01/2022 Full Good Inspection report for children's home: SC068243 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff have responded positively to the change in the dynamics in the home following new children moving into the home. As a result, children are provided with the care and support needed to meet their individual needs, considering their age, developmental stage and psychological needs.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Since the last inspection, 6 children have moved on from the home in accordance with their plans. Staff remain in touch with the children for a period of time to offer a good level of consistency.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The registered manager and staff actively encourage children to attend their education provisions. For some children, education remains a challenge. Staff demonstrate commitment in helping children explore alternative learning opportunities. Staff also encourage the development of essential life skills, such as cooking, and domestic tasks, such as tidying up, which fosters independence and improves future life chances for the children.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children in the home are offered activities that reflect their interests or offer a new experience to children. Children are supported to engage in activities linked to their identity.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff support the children to maintain good relationships with people who are important to them. Staff promote and support family time between children and their families. Staff make every effort to build relationships with the children's families, where appropriate, and connections with family members have grown stronger for the children and are supported by the manager and staff.

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

Staff know children well and understand their needs and risks. These risks are set out clearly in children's plans, which provide staff with clear guidance for actions they must take to keep children safe. Plans are frequently reviewed and updated so that they remain current. Staff have established clear routines for children, including setting boundaries. Therefore, children usually understand what is expected of them.

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

Children benefit from staff carrying out good-quality key-work with them. This helps them manage their feelings and behaviours. Children can reflect and share with the staff what they can do to help them. Open discussions support children to reflect on real-life scenarios and decisions that may place themselves and others at risk. This helps children to build their resilience and become active decision-makers in the future.

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

When children go missing, staff follow the missing-from-home protocol and are proactive in searching for them. There is effective collaboration with relevant professionals to Inspection report for children's home: SC068243 4 ensure that agencies are kept informed of any updates when a child is missing. The registered manager is proactive in ensuring that there is a multi-agency approach when reviewing missing-from-home incidents to identify trends and behaviours and follow-up strategies to support the children. Children are offered an independent return home interview, and key-work sessions are carried out to focus on the risks and dangers when missing.

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

Staff build trusting relationships with children, who feel listened to and supported. A restorative approach helps children understand acceptable behaviour, and there have been no incidents requiring physical intervention since the last inspection. When consequences are used, they are proportionate, fair and time-limited, and they promote positive behaviour.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager is ambitious and advocates for the children. He is supported by 2 experienced deputy managers. The managers know the staff team and the children well. They understand the home's strengths and weaknesses and have good plans to further develop the home to keep children safe.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The managers implement robust quality assurance processes and maintain strong oversight of all plans and reports. Documents are routinely reviewed and evaluated, with constructive comments provided to support staff development. A comprehensive range of audits is in place to monitor health and safety, ensuring that the home operates to a high standard.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff said they feel valued, respected and empowered by the managers. Staff have good-quality and regular supervision and team meetings. This helps create a stable and resilient staff team that provides care for children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Feedback from professionals about the care children receive is positive. All professionals report that the children are safe, settled and have good relationships with the staff. This allows the children to develop trusting relationships with the adults around them.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Most staff have completed the mandatory training identified by the local authority, and additional bespoke training is provided to equip them with the skills needed to meet children's individual needs. However, one member of staff has not achieved the required qualification within the regulatory timescale. This shortfall could affect the consistency and quality of care provided. The registered manager is aware of this and recognises the importance of addressing it to strengthen staff knowledge and practice.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager welcomes external scrutiny and has recognised that the reports by the independent visitor have not been of a robust quality. This has been recognised by leaders and managers, and they have plans to address the shortfalls. Inspection report for children's home: SC068243 5 Managers have taken effective action to address the requirements and recommendations from the previous inspection. Renovation work is underway to improve the home environment in response to a requirement under Regulation 6. However, this work is not yet complete. Consequently, the requirement has been replaced with a recommendation until the home improvements are completed. Inspection report for children's home: SC068243 6

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that children are provided with a nurturing home environment that is welcoming and supportive. ('Guide to the Children's Homes Regulations, including the quality standards', page 15, paragraph 3.7)  The registered person should ensure that any individual appointed to carry out visits to the home as an independent person must make a rigorous and impartial assessment of the home's arrangements for safeguarding and promoting the welfare of the children in the home's care. ('Guide to the Children's Homes Regulations, including the quality standards, page 65, paragraph 15.5)  The registered person should ensure that all staff in a care role have the qualification in regulation 32(4) of The Children’s Homes (England) Regulations 2015 within the relevant timescale listed in regulation 32(5). ('Guide to the Children's Homes Regulations, including the quality standards, page 53, paragraph 10.12)

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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: SC068243 7

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Children's home details

Registered provider: North Tyneside Council

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Children's home details

Registered provider address: The Quadrant East, Cobalt Offices, 15b-15c The Silverlink North, North Tyneside NE27 0BY

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Children's home details

Responsible individual: Jacqueline Ingram

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Inspector

Cherie Chen, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children's home: SC068243 8 regulates 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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