Children's Home run by Action for Children Services Ltd in Gateshead

Inspection report for children’s home: 2806238 1 Registered provider: Action For Children Services Limited Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This home is operated by a private provider. It provides care for up to 4 children who may experience emotional and behavioural difficulties. At the time of the inspection, 3 children were living at the home and they were all spoken with.

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Information about this children’s home

The home and manager have been registered with Ofsted since December 2024.

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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: 2806238 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

28/05/2025 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: 2806238 3

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Summary of findings

Children are making good progress. They share positive relationships with staff. Children’s care needs are well met, with all children attending school, being helped to be healthy and enjoying positive experiences.

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Summary of findings

Staff understand children’s needs and any risks and are effective in keeping children safe. Staff usually respond well to external risks. However, they have not always followed plans when children are missing from home.

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Summary of findings

The registered manager leads the home well and has good oversight of children’s care. Staff work well with children’s families and other agencies. Staff are generally provided with good levels of support for their roles, helping to ensure that they have the skills needed to meet children’s needs.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff provide care that is individualised to children’s needs. Care provided to one child has allowed them to improve their sleep quality significantly, supporting positive daily routines. Staff have supported another child to develop their self-confidence, allowing them to form positive relationships with their peers.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children have positive relationships with staff that are based on trust and respect. They are also able to provide their views to staff and say that they feel happy and well cared for. Staff model positive behaviour, and children respond well to this. This provides the children with a secure and stable base, which supports their progress.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

All the children attend school regularly. Teachers say that staff support children to learn and to overcome any barriers to their education. One child has recently done well in their mock GCSE exams. Another child has significantly reduced behaviour incidents at school, allowing them to focus more on their learning.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff support children’s health needs well. They work closely with health professionals, including child mental health services. Staff have worked with one child to promote a healthier lifestyle, supporting them to eat more healthily and to be more active. Staff have worked with another child to better manage their emotions and reduce harmful behaviours, creating greater emotional stability for the child.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff help children to have positive day-to-day experiences. Children pursue interests in music and sports, with one child regularly attending Cub Scouts. Children personalise their rooms and enjoy themselves in the home, as well as in the community. This helps children to feel happy and valued and increases their confidence and self-esteem. Inspection report for children’s home: 2806238 4 Children are well supported when they move into the home. They make visits to the home before their move-in dates, giving them the opportunity to meet staff. Staff explore children’s likes and dislikes, and how they wish to have their bedrooms. This careful planning allows staff to make careful preparations for children moving in and reduces the children’s anxieties about the move.

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

Children are kept safe in the home. Staff have a good understanding of any risks affecting children. They work closely with children, and those around them, to help them to understand and reduce these risks. This allows children to develop the skills and insight to remain safe.

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

The manager responds appropriately when children make allegations. She works closely with children’s social workers and the local authority designated officer. This ensures that allegations are thoroughly investigated. Any identified actions are completed promptly, and children are kept safe throughout.

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

Staff help children to manage their behaviours. Children are only physically held when it is necessary to keep people safe. One child has needed to be held frequently in the past due to risks to them or others. However, there has been a significant reduction in such incidents in recent months, demonstrating therapeutic progress and a greater level of emotional stability.

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

Staff are aware of the risks posed to children who go missing from home. They work with police and social workers to ensure children are kept safe. However, staff do not always follow plans about keeping in contact with children who are missing. This means that children may be missing and at increased risk of harm for longer than necessary.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager is suitably skilled and experienced. She has effective processes for oversight of the home. She knows the home’s strengths and areas for development and is ambitious for children. This translates through to the care that children receive from staff.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Leaders and managers challenge other professionals when needed. This challenge often leads to better outcomes for children. For one child, this improved their experiences of attending their child in care review. For another child, this resulted in improvements to their family time plans.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff are provided with a broad range of training, both when they start their roles and on an ongoing basis. Team meetings are held regularly and are well attended by staff, allowing further opportunities to share knowledge and practice. Staff are also supported by a therapy team that visits regularly, providing specialist consultation and training as Inspection report for children’s home: 2806238 5 required. This all ensures that staff have the knowledge and skills to provide good- quality care to children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Children’s views are gathered via daily discussions. They are also gathered through weekly meetings and more focused key-work sessions. Children do not regularly complain about their care. However, when they have made complaints, there have been delays in providing management responses. This means that children may feel they are not listened to when they raise issues that worry them.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff complete an appropriate induction when they start. They are supervised regularly and have opportunities to reflect on practice. However, not all staff have received annual appraisals. This may impact the manager’s ability to review staff performance and support them to develop in their roles. Inspection report for children’s home: 2806238 6

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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 registered person must prepare and implement a policy ("the missing child policy") setting out—

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Requirement Due date

the procedures to be followed, and the roles and responsibilities of persons working at the home, in relation to a child who is, or has been, so absent. (Regulation 34 (4)(b)) 19 June 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)) 19 June 2026

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Recommendation

 The registered person should ensure that children are consulted regularly on their views about the home’s care, to inform and support continued improvement in the quality of care provided. Children should be able to see the results of their views being listened to and acted upon. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 22, paragraph 4.11)

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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: 2806238 7

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Action for Children Services Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: 3 The Boulevard, Ascot Road, Watford WD18 8AG

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Inspector

Jon Collins, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2806238 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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