Children's home run by North East Care Services Ltd

Inspection report for children’s home: 2731357 1 Registered provider: North East Care Services Ltd

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Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This home is privately operated and provides care for up to 2 children who may experience social and emotional difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

At the time of the inspection, 2 children were living at the home, and both children were spoken with.

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Information about this children’s home

There are temporary management arrangements in place, but currently the home has no registered manager.

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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: 27 November 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: 2731357 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

27/11/2024 Full Good 13/03/2024 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: 2731357 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are settled and have made sustained, measurable progress in the home. They benefit from consistent, trusting relationships with identified staff. This promotes children’s sense of safety and emotional security.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The home places children’s wishes and feelings at the centre of practice. Staff routinely seek children’s views on daily routines, family time, and longer-term care planning. Children’s preferences are clearly listened to, advocated for, and acted upon wherever possible.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children attend education and maintain good attendance. Staff make significant and sustained efforts to support one child’s continued education placement at their chosen school, which is a substantial distance from the home. This is in line with the child’s wishes and their need for consistent, trusting relationships both in and out of the home.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The home is warm, nurturing, and maintained to a high standard. Staff take pride in providing a comfortable, homely environment for the children. Children’s bedrooms are personalised, well-presented and appropriately decorated reflecting the children’s ages. They are identified safe spaces for each child.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Feedback from parents and professionals is consistently positive. Parents describe the care as ‘exemplary’ and the staff as highly supportive. Professionals said that the placement is strong and express appreciation for the progress achieved for each child through the work of staff.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children’s health needs are mostly met. Staff have shown persistence, creativity, and patience in supporting one child with their dental treatment despite repeated nonattendance. However, the same level of staff perseverance has not been extended to optician appointments. One child has not attended an eye examination for more than three years. Staff have not provided ongoing support, education, or encouragement to promote children’s eye health.

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

Staff know the children well and respond effectively to their needs. This helps to prevent incidents happening and supports children to develop strategies to understand and manage their emotions. As a result, one child has had their Deprivation of Liberty order removed, and another has positively shaped their own mental ‑ health support plan. Individual staff supervision session records and team meeting minutes demonstrate that plans are regularly reviewed and adapted in line with children’s changing needs.

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

Physical interventions and police callouts have reduced significantly for one child. This reflects the team’s resilience and consistent support during difficult times. There also Inspection report for children’s home: 2731357 4 continues to be no incidents of children going missing, demonstrating that children feel settled in the home.

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

Allegations and complaints are taken seriously and managed appropriately. Staff maintain an open safeguarding culture where children are encouraged to express concerns and are routinely updated on any outcomes. This ensures that children feel valued and heard.

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

Recruitment processes meet safer recruitment standards. Leader and managers uphold high expectations and will not appoint staff who fall short of these expectations, even when vacancies persist. The provider takes all necessary steps to ensure prospective staff are safe to work with children.

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

Risk assessments outline current risks and provide clear guidance for staff. However, some include outdated or irrelevant risks, and some contain conflicting information. This may cause confusion for staff and could be unhelpful for children reviewing their own plans, now or in the future.

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

The home has been without a registered manager for a prolonged period. Although the provider has appointed two managers, neither remained in post long enough to complete registration, resulting in instability within the staff team. Despite this, staff have maintained consistent practice and ensured that the children’s care and progress have not been adversely affected.

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

Leaders and managers completed accurate assessments of serious incidents and notified the regulator as required. However, some notifications were not submitted within statutory timescales. This limits the regulator’s ability to maintain timely oversight.

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

Leaders and managers do not use feedback from children and others to inform the quality ‑ of ‑ care review. Although the latest report is structured and evaluates children’s progress and experiences, the limited analysis of their views restricts any improvements that can be achieved.

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

Leaders and managers and the interim deputy manager have worked effectively to ensure that the absence of a registered manager has had minimal impact on the children. With the support of an experienced staff team who know the children well, they continue to uphold a strong child ‑ centred culture. Children’s progress and wellbeing remain central to all practice. Leaders and managers model high standards and address any shortfalls in professional decisions or practice promptly.

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

Team meetings are routinely well attended and used effectively to share important information about children. This supports consistent practice across the staff team and helps prevent avoidable confusion or distress for children. Supervision sessions and annual appraisals are well established, with clear development plans that support staff Inspection report for children’s home: 2731357 5 progression. Staff demonstrate reflective practice and learn from incidents, ensuring children’s needs remain central to all decision-making. Inspection report for children’s home: 2731357 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 registered provider must appoint a person to manage the children’s home if—

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Requirement Due date

there is no registered manager in respect of the home; and

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Requirement Due date

is not, or does not intend to be, in day-to-day charge of the home. (Regulation 27 (1)(a)(b)(i)(ii)(iii)) 29 April 2026

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must notify HMCI and each other relevant person without delay if—

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Requirement Due date

a child is involved in or subject to, or is suspected of being involved in or subject to, sexual exploitation;

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Requirement Due date

an incident requiring police involvement occurs in relation to a child which the registered person considers to be serious;

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Requirement Due date

there is an allegation of abuse against the home or a person working there;

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Requirement Due date

a child protection enquiry involving a child — is instigated; or concludes (in which case, the notification must include the outcome of the child protection enquiry); or

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Requirement Due date

there is any other incident relating to a child which the registered person considers to be serious. (Regulation 40 (4)(a)(b)(c)(d)(i)(ii)(e)) 29 April 2026 Inspection report for children’s home: 2731357 7

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure staff take a lead role in organising and supporting each child’s attendance at all primary and secondary health appointments. If a child declines to attend, staff should continue to encourage and promote attendance. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards,’ page 34, paragraph 7.11)  The registered person should ensure that staff continually and actively assess the risks to each child and the arrangements in place to protect them. The children’s records should include all current risks individual to each child and details of the steps the home will take to manage the assessed risks on a day to day basis. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards,’ page 42, paragraph 9.5)  The registered person should ensure that they consult with the children, their families, social workers, other professionals and staff members when completing the quality-of-

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Recommendations

care review. They should analyse and evaluate the feedback to help them decide on the actions they will take to improve the quality of service delivered to the children and their families. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 65, paragraph 15.4)

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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: 2731357 8

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: North East Care Services Ltd

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: JWS Hopper Hill Road, Eastfield, Scarborough, North Yorkshire YO11 3YS

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Children’s home details

Responsible individual: Jason Darbyshire

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Inspector

Deirdre Silkstone, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2731357 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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