Children's Home run by Enhanced Young Persons Care Limited in Middlesbrough

Inspection report for children's home: SC455864 1 SC455864 Registered provider: Enhanced Young Person's Care Limited 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 managed by a private provider. It provides care for up to 8 children who may have social and emotional difficulties or mental disorders.

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Information about this children's home

The manager registered with Ofsted in May 2024.

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Information about this children's home

There were 4 children living in the home at the time of the inspection, and 3 of the children were spoken with.

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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: requires improvement to be good

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children's home: SC455864 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

13/05/2025 Full Requires improvement to be good 04/06/2024 Full Good 06/06/2023 Full Requires improvement to be good 03/05/2022 Full Requires improvement to be good Inspection report for children's home: SC455864 3

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Summary of findings

Children make progress and their risks reduce, leading to some children returning to a family environment or moving on to more independent arrangements. Education is well supported, and children attend school regularly or engage in alternative learning.

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Summary of findings

Safeguarding arrangements are effective. Behaviour support and missing-from-home incidents are well managed. However, consequences used in response to poor behaviour are not always restorative to help children reflect and learn.

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Summary of findings

The home is well managed, and staff are well supported to help them be effective in their roles. Some improvement is needed to ensure that all relevant professionals and family members receive regular updates about the children's progress.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff understand children's needs before they come to live at the home. When children move in or on from the home, they are supported to experience smooth transitions. This helps them to build and maintain positive and trusting relationships. Some children have been helped to move on to supported accommodation and return to foster families. Furthermore, staff speak of children with warmth and positive regard. They can talk through children's plans and identify the progress they have made. This helps children to experience a consistent approach to their care.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children experience a range of activities and enjoyable experiences that help them to develop personal interests, confidence and self-esteem. Furthermore, children are supported by staff to develop independence skills to help them navigate their future lives. The means that when children move to more independent living arrangements, they are well equipped for this move.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff are strong advocates for children. They listen to the children's views, wishes and feelings and ensure that children are well represented when important decisions are made about their lives. The care given in the home has helped 2 children to return to previous care settings.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are helped to attend school regularly. Staff work with education professionals effectively to identify and understand any barriers to school attendance. Staff ensure that children have access to alternative learning opportunities when they cannot attend education. This helps to reduce the effect of any missed education time and prepares children for when they return to school.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children's bedrooms are decorated and personalised to their liking. The building is large in scale; efforts made to decorate areas throughout provide children with a homely, Inspection report for children's home: SC455864 4 welcoming environment. The gardens are large and provide children with enough outdoor space to enjoy a variety of activities.

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

Staff understand children's individual risks and vulnerabilities and work effectively to keep children safe. Furthermore, children are helped to develop skills to reduce their own risks. Risk assessments are well written and reviewed regularly. This ensures that staff have the right guidance to support their safeguarding practice.

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

Staff respond sensitively to children when they experience overwhelming emotions. When restraint is deemed necessary and proportionate to keep children safe, it is used appropriately and as a last resort. Management oversight of incidents identifies positive practice and learning opportunities for staff. Important conversations take place with children following incidents. This allows staff and children to reflect, learn and develop de-escalation strategies together.

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

When children go missing from home, staff follow agreed protocols to maintain contact, locate the children and return them safely to the home. Staff ensure that children have opportunities to talk about the reasons for going missing. This contributes to reducing the likelihood of missing-from-home incidents.

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

Complaints and allegations raised by children are thoroughly investigated, and the right professionals are involved to support the investigation process. Outcomes are sensitively shared with children. This gives children confidence to share their concerns and develop trust in the adults caring for them by knowing their concerns will be acted on.

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

Behavioural consequences given to children are not always restorative in nature or applied consistently. The manager has identified practice learning for staff from some of the consequences given. However, 2 consequence records viewed were not restorative, although the manager evaluated them as such. This limits the opportunities for children to understand the effect their behaviour has on themselves and others.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Leaders and managers have improved systems for overseeing staff practice in the home. They have identified areas for improvement and implemented changes as a result. This improved oversight supports the manager's analysis of the team's strengths and areas for development.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager prioritises ongoing training for staff to continually improve their skills and knowledge. Furthermore, the provider has improved the induction process for newly recruited staff. This ensures that staff are well prepared and have the right knowledge before commencing in their roles. Inspection report for children's home: SC455864 5 Staff receive regular, practice-related supervision sessions. They are encouraged to contribute their views. The manager champions the development of staff to understand what is expected of them at different levels in the team. This equips staff to progress to more senior roles. As a result, staff are invested in the home and speak positively about the opportunities available to them.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Team meetings take place regularly and give staff the opportunity to discuss important matters in the children's lives. Staff use this forum effectively to agree a consistent approach to the care of the children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Professionals speak highly of the team and the care given to children. They said they are informed about all significant events. However, some professionals and a family member said they do not receive regular updates about the children's progress. This prevents important people to the children staying informed of the children's progress. Inspection report for children's home: SC455864 6

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that staff work in close partnership with all those who play a role in protecting and caring for the child. This specifically relates to ensuring that care team members receive regular updates about the child's life, where this is appropriate. ('Guide to the Children's Homes Regulations, including the quality standards', page 11, paragraph 2.3)  The registered person should ensure that consequences used to address poor behaviour are restorative in nature and help the children to recognise the effect of their behaviour on themselves, other children, the staff caring for them and the wider community. ('Guide to the Children's Homes Regulations, including the quality standards', page 46, paragraph 9.38)

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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: SC455864 7

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Children's home details

Registered provider: Enhanced Young Person's Care Limited

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Children's home details

Registered provider address: 1 Fox Street, Sunderland Road, Gateshead, Tyne and Wear NE10 0BD

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Inspector

Mark Cryer, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children's home: SC455864 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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Inspector

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Inspector

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