Children's Home run by North Yorkshire Council in North Yorkshire

Inspection report for children’s home - monitoring visit: SC034189 1 SC034189 Registered provider: North Yorkshire Council

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Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This home is owned and managed by a local authority using the ‘No Wrong Door’ model.

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Information about this children’s home

The home provides care for up to 6 children with social and emotional difficulties. The home can also care for a further 2 children in separate accommodation for up to 28 days.

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Information about this children’s home

At the time of the inspection, the home was providing care for 3 children. During the inspection, the inspectors spoke to 2 children.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager registered with Ofsted in May 2025.

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This monitoring visit

On 9 December 2025, a monitoring visit was completed following a complaint received by Ofsted. The inspector found shortfalls in the relationships in the home, and a compliance notice was issued under Regulation 11, the positive relationships standard. A further monitoring visit was completed on 27 January 2026. Some progress was identified, but the compliance notice had not been met in its entirety, and this was re-stated.

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This monitoring visit

The focus of this inspection was to identify actions taken to meet the steps in the compliance notice. All steps have been actioned, meaning that the required steps in the compliance notice are now met. Since the last inspection, one child has moved out, and one child has moved into the home for a brief period.

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This monitoring visit

Children identify staff they trust and who help them. Staff spend time completing activities with children, and this time promotes routines for children and their relationship with staff. One child said that they are ‘talking about things now that I Inspection report for children’s home - monitoring visit: SC034189 2 have never spoken about before’. The conversations staff have with children are helping children to think about safety and to prepare them for independence.

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This monitoring visit

Children identified that they have received different responses from staff. The inconsistent responses can be confusing for children. Children would like to increase consistency by being more involved in safety planning and decisions about their day-to-day care. Staff complete room searches to help promote children’s safety, but children are not always present during room searches or aware of what has been removed and why.

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This monitoring visit

Children say that living at the home is good. One child commented that ‘there is nowhere else I would like to live’. The manager has worked with staff to develop proactive responses to behaviour. Children described the home as much calmer and noted that there was a reduction in incidents since the last inspection. The use of physical intervention has reduced. When physical intervention is used, it is as a last resort to ensure safety. The records of physical intervention lack detail, which has a negative impact on the manager’s oversight.

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This monitoring visit

Relationships in the home have improved since the last inspection. The relationships between children have been generally positive, although there are occasions when children’s responses to each other are unkind. When there are disagreements between children, the manager is seen as a support and helps children to come to a resolution.

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This monitoring visit

Staff routinely lock internal doors through the night. This means that children cannot freely access all communal areas of the home from 10pm to 7am. Children have en-suite shower rooms, but a separate, communal bathroom, which includes a bath, is locked, meaning that children must ask staff if they would like a bath. The home environment has improved since the last inspection, although some repairs to damage and maintenance are still required.

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This monitoring visit

Substance use is not well managed in the home, which increases health and safety risks. Staff discourage substance use through conversations and room searches. There have been 2 fires in the home since the previous inspection. The children had not been taught how to evacuate the home, meaning that they re-entered the home to collect personal items. Staff required support from the police to assist with the evacuation.

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This monitoring visit

Children are vulnerable to exploitation. Staff understand the concerns and make attempts to locate the children if they go missing from home. There are times when contact with the police has been delayed, which has increased the risk of children being harmed. Risk assessments lack detail about the actions staff need to take to keep children safe. When a new child moved into the home, the risk between children was not fully assessed or managed. One child told professionals how another child living at the home made her more chaotic. Inspection report for children’s home - monitoring visit: SC034189 3

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

08/04/2025 Full Requires improvement to be good 15/05/2024 Full Good 12/12/2023 Full Good 07/11/2022 Full Requires improvement to be good Inspection report for children’s home - monitoring visit: SC034189 4

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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 with the given timescales.

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Requirement Due date

children can access all appropriate areas of the children’s home’s premises; and

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Requirement Due date

any limitation placed on a child’s privacy or access to any area of the home’s premises—

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Requirement Due date

is intended to safeguard each child accommodated in the home;

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Requirement Due date

is kept under review and, if necessary, revised; and

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Requirement Due date

allows children as much freedom as possible when balanced against the need to protect them and keep them safe. (Regulation 21 (b)(c)(i)(ii)(iii)(iv)) 17 April 2026

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Requirement Due date

After consultation with the fire and rescue authority, the registered person must—

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Requirement Due date

ensure, by means of fire drills and practices at suitable intervals, that persons working at the home and, so far as reasonably practicable, children are aware of the procedure to be followed in case of fire. (Regulation 25 (1)(d)) 17 April 2026

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Requirement Due date

The quality and purpose of care standard is that children receive care from staff who—

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Requirement Due date

understand the children’s home’s overall aims and the outcomes it seeks to achieve for children;

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Requirement Due date

use this understanding to deliver care that meets children’s needs and supports them to fulfil their potential. 29 May 2026 Inspection report for children’s home - monitoring visit: SC034189 5 In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to—

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Requirement Due date

protect and promote each child’s welfare;

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Requirement Due date

provide personalised care that meets each child’s needs, as recorded in the child’s relevant plans, taking account of the child’s background;

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Requirement Due date

provide to children living in the home the physical necessities they need in order to live there comfortably. (Regulation 6 (1)(a)(b) (2)(b)(ii)(iv)(vii))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, children should be present during room searches, wherever possible, and helped to understand why items are removed. The removal of items needs to be consistent across the staff team. The care for children should be consistent across the staff team. When items are broken or damaged, they should be repaired or replaced to a good standard. Staff should promote children’s health through the effective management of substance use The protection of children standard is that children are protected from harm and enabled to keep themselves safe.

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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

assess whether each child is at risk of harm, taking into account information in the child’s relevant plans, and, if necessary, make arrangements to reduce the risk of any harm to the child;

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Requirement Due date

have the skills to identify and act upon signs that a child is at risk of harm;

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Requirement Due date

manage relationships between children to prevent them from harming each other;

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Requirement Due date

understand the roles and responsibilities in relation to protecting children that are assigned to them by the registered person; 29 May 2026 Inspection report for children’s home - monitoring visit: SC034189 6 take effective action whenever there is a serious concern about a child’s welfare; and

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Requirement Due date

are familiar with, and act in accordance with, the home’s child protection policies. (Regulation 12 (1) (2)(a)(i)(iii)(iv)(v)(vi)(vii))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, staff need to take effective action when there are concerns about children being vulnerable to exploitation. When new children move into the home, plans and risk assessments need to be established to manage risks between the children.

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Recommendations

 The registered person should have high standards relating to the expectations of behaviour for all staff and children in the home. Children should be supported to develop understanding and empathy towards each other. Positive behaviour and relationships should be reinforced, praised and encouraged; poor behaviour should be challenged and discussed. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards,’ page 39, paragraph 8.11)  The registered person should ensure that detailed, accurate records of restraint are kept, enabling them and staff to review the use of control, discipline and restraint to identify effective practice and respond promptly where any issues or trends of concern emerge. The review should provide the opportunity for amending practice to ensure it meets the needs of each child. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards,’ page 49,

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Recommendations

paragraph 9.59) The registered person should have systems in place so that all staff, including the manager, receive supervision of their practice from an appropriately qualified and experienced professional, which allows them to reflect on their practice and the needs of the children assigned to their care. This recommendation has been restated from the previous monitoring visit. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards,’ page 61, paragraph 13.2)

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Information about this inspection

The purpose of this visit was to monitor the action taken and the progress made by the children’s home since its last Ofsted inspection.

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Information about this inspection

This inspection was carried out under the Care Standards Act 2000. Inspection report for children’s home - monitoring visit: SC034189 7

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: North Yorkshire Council

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: County Hall, Racecourse Lane, Northallerton DL7 8AD

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Inspectors

Ali Owens, Social Care Inspector Sarah Adotey, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home - monitoring visit: SC034189 8 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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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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