Children's Home run by Legacy Youth Care (LYC) Limited in Newcastle upon Tyne

Inspection report for children’s home: 2870200 1 Registered provider: Legacy Youth Care (LYC) Limited 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 private provider and offers care for up to 2 children who experience social and/or emotional difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

The home and manager registered with Ofsted in March 2026.

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Information about this children’s home

At the time of the inspection, 2 children were living in the home, and they both spoke with the inspector.

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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 requires improvement to be 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

Date of last inspection: not previously inspected

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good

Overall judgement at last inspection: not applicable

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: not applicable Inspection report for children’s home: 2870200 2

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Summary of findings

The children have only recently moved into the home. Staff build positive relationships with children, which helps children begin to make progress in different areas of their lives.

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Summary of findings

Staff are not always clear on how to respond to children’s needs as plans and risk assessments are lacking in detail and do not always provide clear strategies to respond to risks. Managers have also failed to ensure that correct processes have been followed to refer one safeguarding concern to appropriate professionals. Despite these shortfalls, staff provide support to help reduce risks that children face.

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Summary of findings

The manager is ambitious and provides good levels of support to staff. She has an understanding of the home’s strengths and areas for development. She is a strong advocate for children, and this contributes to ensuring that they receive good levels of support.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff have positive relationships with children and want the best for them. This helps children to feel that they are valued and that staff care for them. Children are able to hold meaningful conversations with staff, and this means they can communicate their needs more effectively. This contributes to staff being able to care for children in ways that meet their individual needs.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff support children to engage in activities that they are interested in. These include regular outdoor activities with staff and trips to a local gym. This helps the children to remain active and provides them with opportunities and experiences that support the development of relationships. Staff keeping children active and busy has helped to reduce some risks for children.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff help to ensure that children experience positive moves into the home. They ensure that people who are important to children are involved in the moves. Staff visit children before the planned move and ensure that plans move at a pace that is right for the child. Moves take place over an extended period if needed or expedited if this is consistent with the needs of the child. This helps children to adjust and adapt to their new environment at a pace that is suited to their needs.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff support children to have meaningful family time with those who are important to them. One child is being helped to see family members who they had not seen for a period before moving to the home. This helps children to feel less isolated and to remain connected to their family. Inspection report for children’s home: 2870200 3 Children speak with the staff about their wishes and feelings. However, arrangements to ensure that these are monitored and responded to are not yet in place. This limits the opportunities for children to influence the quality of care they receive and to see that they are being listened to.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

There have been challenges in terms of supporting children to have appropriate and healthy routines. Staff have tried to provide some support for children in this respect. However, they have not fully considered whether children’s personal space is consistent with helping them to feel secure and settled. For example, managers have not ensured that children’s bedrooms are maintained to a high standard, with one child having a broken blind. This fails to consider how environmental factors could be negatively impacting children’s routines. Furthermore, there are some areas of the home where damage has not been adequately repaired, and there was inappropriate graffiti in some communal areas.

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improvement to be good

On one occasion, a staff member allowed a child to leave the home late at night without appropriate safeguards in place. The manager identified this shortfall through their monitoring of the home and has taken action to address it. However, managers failed to follow the correct processes to report the concern to the local authority designated officer (LADO). This meant that while an investigation was carried out into the concerns, the LADO did not have oversight of this.

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improvement to be good

Risk assessments and plans do not always provide clear guidance or strategies for staff to appropriately manage risks. There are some gaps in plans, which means that staff are not always clear about the levels of supervision required for children. As a result, staff may not always provide children with the necessary support to manage some risks.

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improvement to be good

There have been some incidents of children causing themselves harm. Staff respond effectively to such incidents and ensure that children receive support from relevant professionals to keep them safe. One child receives regular and ongoing support from mental health professionals. However, some strategies to manage self-harm risks are reactive rather than proactive. As a result, some potential measures to manage risks are not identified at an early stage, leading to some missed opportunities to potentially prevent some incidents.

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improvement to be good

Staff support children to access specialist services, and the manager advocates for children to ensure that their needs are met. This helps children to feel valued and supported by the staff looking after them and has contributed to a significant reduction in some risks for children since they moved to the home.

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improvement to be good

Staff do not use restraint frequently. When it is used, it is only to keep children or others safe, and the manager has good oversight of incidents to ensure that they are proportionate and necessary. Room searches and consequences are clearly recorded, Inspection report for children’s home: 2870200 4 document the actions taken by staff and provide a rationale for the intervention. However, the effectiveness of consequences is not routinely considered.

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improvement to be good

When staff begin working in the home, the manager ensures that some safer recruitment checks are carried out. However, they have not always ensured that they understand reasons for gaps in staff’s employment histories.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Managers are invested in the staff team and seek positive outcomes for children. Staff are supported to use therapeutic approaches to understand the individual needs of the children when interpreting behaviours. The manager has commissioned a psychiatrist to help staff to develop their awareness of trauma-informed practice. This helps to ensure that the needs and behaviours of the children are fully understood by staff and contributes to consistent care for children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager has introduced a monthly review of behaviours to help her analyse incidents. This helps staff to understand where children have made progress and identify where additional support is needed.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager has a good understanding of the home’s strengths and areas for development. She recognises the resilience of the team of staff and the positive relationships they build with children. One child said that they did not have any worries about living in the home, and they are comfortable sharing any concerns with managers and staff.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Supervision sessions and inductions for new staff are thorough and carried out in a timely manner. Staff describe the induction process positively. This includes comprehensive training that is relevant to children’s needs and helps to ensure that staff have the skills they need for their roles.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

There is good communication between staff and external professionals. Social workers describe positive relationships with staff and good lines of communication. The manager will advocate for children and challenge partners when needed. This has included when important information about children is outstanding. This helps to ensure that children receive safe and consistent care when they move to the home and that their needs are well understood. Inspection report for children’s home: 2870200 5

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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 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

understand the roles and responsibilities in relation to protecting children that are assigned to them by the registered person;

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Requirement Due date

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)(i)(iii)(v)(vi)(vii))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered manager must ensure that they follow all safeguarding procedures in relation to concerns about staff’s practice, including making referrals to the LADO. In addition, children’s plans must outline how specific risks are to be managed. 31 July 2026

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must recruit staff using recruitment procedures that are designed to ensure children’s safety.

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Requirement Due date

employ an individual to work at the children’s home; 31 July 2026 Inspection report for children’s home: 2870200 6 if the individual satisfies the requirements in paragraph (3).

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Requirement Due date

full and satisfactory information is available in relation to the individual in respect of each of the matters in Schedule 2. (Regulation 32 (1) (2)(a) (3)(d))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered manager must ensure that there is a full employment history for all staff, together with a satisfactory explanation of any gaps in employment, in writing.

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Requirement Due date

within 24 hours of the use of a measure of control, discipline or restraint in relation to a child in the home, a record is made which includes—

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Requirement Due date

the effectiveness and any consequences of the use of the measure. (Regulation 35 (3)(a)(vii)) 31 July 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.

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to—

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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;

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Requirement Due date

provide to children personal items that are appropriate for their age and understanding;

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Requirement Due date

ensure that the premises used for the purposes of the home are designed and furnished so as to—

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Requirement Due date

meet the needs of each child. (Regulation 6 (1)(a)(b) (2)(b)(vii)(viii)(c)(j)) 31 July 2026 Inspection report for children’s home: 2870200 7 In particular, the registered manager must ensure that all children are provided with bedroom furnishings that are appropriate to their needs and that the environment remains positive for children.

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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. There should also be clear systems in place to ensure that children’s views are considered and responded to. (‘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: 2870200 8

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Legacy Youth Care (LYC) Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: The Grainger Suite, Regent Centre, Gosforth, Newcastle Upon Tyne NE3 3PF

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Inspector

Shaun Martin, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2870200 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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Inspector

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