Children's Home run by St Cuthbert’s Care in Newcastle upon Tyne

Inspection report for children’s home: SC033467 1 SC033467 Registered provider: St Cuthbert’s Care

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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 charity and provides care for up to 6 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 in the home. The inspector spoke with both children.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager registered with Ofsted on 20 September 2019.

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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: SC033467 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

09/07/2025 Full Good 16/07/2024 Full Good 25/04/2023 Full Good 28/06/2022 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: SC033467 3

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Summary of findings

Children are happy and comfortable in the home, with a strong and nurturing staff team and an experienced and inspiring registered manager. In recent months, there has been an increase in incidents in the home, including physical interventions. However, this has significantly reduced in the last few weeks, with the registered manager and staff taking appropriate steps and decisions around how best to support each individual child. As a result, professionals and families say that the children are much more settled. Overall, children receive good care and are making good progress in the home.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are making good progress from their own starting points. Children say that they are happy and comfortable in the home and with staff. Professionals and parents say that their children are receiving good care and that the children are feeling much more settled after a challenging period in the home.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff have a genuine warmth and affection for the children and go out of their way to show children that they care about them and want the best outcomes for them. Children and young people who move on from the home remain in contact with staff, which is a testament to the strong relationships built.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The home is large, well maintained and feels like a family home. Children’s rooms are personalised to their tastes and interests, and when these change, bedrooms are redecorated to reflect this. Children are encouraged to share their views and feel able to raise anything that they are not happy about. Staff are responsive to the views of the children and ensure that, wherever possible, they are given priority.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are encouraged in their independence, and staff help the children to build on their skills and confidence. Children are supported to explore their identities, and families and professionals are positive about the support that is given by the registered manager and staff to children.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Some challenges experienced in the home have had an impact on all the children, affecting their behaviour and feelings of safety. The registered manager and staff understood this impact and took the difficult decision to move a child on from the home when this was in all the children’s best interests.

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

A recent increase in incidents resulted in the need for a child to move on from the home, to ensure that their needs, as well as the other children’s, were being met. Staff and the Inspection report for children’s home: SC033467 4 registered manager are reflective about this challenging time and the lessons that can be learned. The child’s move from the home was managed sensitively by staff.

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

There were several occasions when police were called by staff and managers due to escalating risk levels during incidents. The calling of police at these times was appropriate and as a last resort, to ensure the safety of the child primarily.

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

Relationships between the children can be complex, and there has been an impact on them during significant incidents when they have witnessed other children being held, and witnessed staff, who are adults who are important to them, being injured. This resulted in a significant impact on one child both at home and at school, with a marked deterioration in their presentation and behaviour.

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

The registered manager and staff have shown a good awareness of the impact of these incidents on the children and implemented individual plans to best support the children through these incidents. The changing dynamics in the home have had a positive impact on the children who remain, with those who know the children best saying that they appear happier and much more settled.

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

When physical interventions are used, these are as a very last resort and are appropriate. However, some of the incident records lack full details and are inconsistent in quality. When an incident takes place, the registered manager accepts that a person independent of the incident should offer support and follow-up to the staff involved, which has not always happened.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager knows the children well, is ambitious for their futures and is an inspiring leader for staff. The registered manager has a clear understanding of the experiences and progress children are making and has taken effective action where necessary in making decisions in the best interests of all the children in the home.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff report feeling well supported by the registered manager and senior leaders of the home. During challenging times, staff say that the registered manager and senior managers were present, approachable and knowledgeable about what was going on in the home. This has been consistently shared by all staff who were spoken to, or who provided feedback on the home.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

There has been appropriate use of agency staff, to meet the increasing staffing ratio needs for a limited period. When agency staff are used, this is in addition to the permanent staff team, with the same agency staff members used wherever possible.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager has a good awareness of the strengths of the home and areas for development. She encourages staff to use therapeutic approaches effectively in their everyday practice. She has a plan in place to further develop staff consistency and skills in therapeutic practice. Inspection report for children’s home: SC033467 5 Professionals and parents say that communication with the home, and from the registered manager, is excellent and they feel that they are kept up to date with what is going on for their child. One parent said that they cannot praise the home and the registered manager enough, and they feel that the staff help the whole family and not just the child they care for. Inspection report for children’s home: SC033467 6

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Recommendation

 The registered person should ensure that records of restraint 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. In particular, the registered person should ensure that all staff involved in incidents of restraint are given appropriate opportunities to debrief by a person not involved in the original incident. (‘Guide to the Children’s Home Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 49, paragraph 9.59)

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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: SC033467 7

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: St Cuthbert’s House, West Road, Newcastle Upon Tyne NE15 7PY

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Inspector

Dawn McCluskey, Social Care inspector Inspection report for children’s home: SC033467 8 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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