Children's Home run by Newcastle City Council in Newcastle upon Tyne

Inspection report for children’s home: 2822617 1 Registered provider: Newcastle City Council

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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 local authority. It provides care for up to 4 children who may experience social and emotional difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager registered with Ofsted in September 2025.

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Information about this children’s home

At the time of this inspection, 4 children were living at the home. Two children were spoken with during the inspection.

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Overall experiences and progress of

children and young people, taking into account

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requires improvement to be good

How well children and young people are helped and protected requires improvement to be good

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requires improvement to be good

The effectiveness of leaders and managers requires improvement to be good

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requires improvement to be good

The children’s home is not yet delivering good help and care for children and young people. However, there are no serious or widespread failures that result in their welfare not being safeguarded or promoted.

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requires improvement to be good

Date of last inspection: 3 February 2026

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requires improvement to be good

Overall judgement at last inspection: requires improvement to be good

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requires improvement to be good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children’s home: 2822617 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

03/02/2026 Full Requires improvement to be good Inspection report for children’s home: 2822617 3

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Summary of findings

Most children develop strong relationships with staff, who support the children to make progress in various areas of their life. Children attend clubs of their choice and enjoy fun activities together. However, the children’s health needs are not being fully met, and practice is ineffective in deterring children from using vapes. Staff are unable to effect meaningful change for one child who continues to have an unhealthy routine. This has a detrimental effect on all areas of the child’s life.

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Summary of findings

Staff understand risks to children but strategies in children’s plans are not always effective in reducing risks, particularly when children are missing from home. The manager’s monitoring and oversight has not identified shortfalls in children’s records, including physical holds, missing-from-home incidents and the frequency of staff supervision.

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improvement to be good

Over time, children develop positive relationships with staff. Some children respond well to staff support and have made progress. However, staff cannot positively influence all children. This is contributing to slow progress for one child and there are ongoing concerns about their welfare. The shortfalls identified have a negative effect on the child’s experiences and progress.

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improvement to be good

Staff understand the importance of routines and boundaries for children, and some children benefit from having a structured day. However, one child continues to have an unhealthy daily routine, staying in their bedroom for long periods. Staff do not consistently make efforts to promote a healthier routine, for example waiting until late morning to check on the child’s welfare. The child’ social development and engagement with professionals who can help is hampered by their lack of structure and routine.

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improvement to be good

Some children have positively engaged with their individualised education plan and are making progress towards their targets. Staff advocate on behalf of children to remove any barriers to attendance, for example when children struggle to wear their school uniform. However, one child has not attended education for several months. Strategies to help the child to understand the benefits of engaging in learning or employment are not effective.

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improvement to be good

Children’s health outcomes are mixed. One child has engaged with medical appointments to receive appropriate medical treatment. However, staff are unable to help other children to engage in routine appointments or take prescribed vitamins. Additionally, most of the children use vapes, and staff do not do enough to deter this. Staff direct children to vape outside of the home but do not consistently have conversations to help children understand the risks to their health. Inspection report for children’s home: 2822617 4 Staff help children to have positive memories and take photos of special occasions. Children enjoy a range of activities for fun and social development. One child has volunteered at a local youth club, and another child enjoys attending swimming lessons and football training. Children benefit from experiences that they enjoy together as well as individual time with staff. This helps children to understand that staff are invested in

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improvement to be good

The home environment is pleasant and well furnished. There is ample space for children to enjoy time together and quieter spaces when children prefer. The home has plentiful resources that enable children and staff to have fun together. Children personalise their bedrooms, which helps to provide children with a sense of belonging.

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improvement to be good

Staff do not consistently help children to become safer. When staff are concerned that a child is likely to go missing from the home, staff do not always follow the child’s agreed safety plan or look for the child or use the information available to find them. On one occasion, when a child requested a train ticket to return home, the manager imposed a financial consequence both as a penalty and to deter the child from going missing. These responses do not help to ensure that children return home safely.

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improvement to be good

Children have individual behaviour support plans that are reviewed regularly. The plans give staff some actions to help children manage their emotions. However, plans do not include de-escalation strategies to help staff practice when a child is at crisis point. As a result, staff have called the police to manage the children’s behaviour without first applying available strategies to help them calm down and prevent the need for such measures.

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improvement to be good

Staff restrain children for their safety. Restraints are proportionate and use the least restrictive option. However, some records of restraint are not accurate and do not include enough detail about the reason for the hold and what staff did to prevent it. Records include contradictory information about the time and length of holds. Furthermore, not all holds are recorded, for example when there has been more than one hold during an incident. Records do not clearly show which staff member has completed the form. Staff talk to children about the incident leading up to the hold but do not always explain to children why staff held them.

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improvement to be good

There has been a short period when incidents in the home increased. Staff benefit from consultations and support from therapeutic practitioners. Staff use these discussions to implement different strategies for children, for example visual timetables and increased staffing arrangements. Overall, the frequency and severity of incidents and physical restraints have reduced. Inspection report for children’s home: 2822617 5 Children trust that staff want to help them and keep them safe. Children say that they feel safe in the home and can identify staff who they can speak to for support. One child scored the home 9.5 out of 10 and said it is the ‘best home I have live in’.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

The manager and deputy are committed to their roles and work well together. The manager has introduced monitoring systems to make continuous improvements in the home. However, the manager’s monitoring of the home is not yet fully effective. His oversight does not always identify important issues in records of incidents, physical restraints and missing-from-home incidents. The manager has reflected on these shortfalls and has plans to improve the quality of his oversight.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

Staff do not receive regular, practice-related supervision. At times, this is replaced by single-topic competency sessions, for example on medication, which fails to discuss the children or their needs. This is a missed opportunity to help staff reflect on and improve their practice.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

The language in children’s records is not always nurturing, for example referring to the children’s home as their ‘placement’. This does not support child-centred practice. Additionally, this is not helpful for children who choose to read their records now or in the future.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

The manager has not informed Ofsted of all notifiable events that relate to the safety and welfare of children. On each occasion, the manager did take appropriate action and communicated with safeguarding professionals but not the regulator. This prevents Ofsted from having oversight of safeguarding concerns, the actions from the manager and partner agencies to keep children safe.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

Team meetings are held regularly and are meaningful. They are used to discuss issues relating to children’s care, including incidents in the home. Actions are set and reviewed to promote accountability and consistent approaches by staff. Staff say they feel supported by the members of leadership team, who they find approachable. Staff recognise the recently increased stability in the team due to new recruitment, increased staff on shift when necessary, and the consistency of bank staff. They also report working well together.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

The members of the leadership team have developed good working relationships with professionals and family members. Staff attend multi-agency meetings to better understand children’s needs and share information about their development. Professionals say there is consistent communication from the staff. Additionally, family members say they are confident to speak to staff and feel listened to and involved in their child’s life. Inspection report for children’s home: 2822617 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 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

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

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Requirement Due date

take effective action whenever there is a serious concern about a child’s welfare. (Regulation 12 (1) (2)(a)(iii)(vi)) 24 July 2026

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Requirement Due date

The leadership and management standard is that the registered person enables, inspires and leads a culture in relation to the children’s home that—

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Requirement Due date

helps children aspire to fulfil their potential; and

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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

use monitoring and review systems to make continuous improvements in the quality of care provided in the home. (Regulation 13 (1)(a)(b) (2)(h)) 24 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; and

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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. 24 July 2026 Inspection report for children’s home: 2822617 7 In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to—

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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

help each child to develop resilience and skills that prepare the child to return home, to live in a new placement or to live independently as an adult; and

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Requirement Due date

make decisions about the day-to-day arrangements for each child, in accordance with the child’s relevant plans, which give the child an appropriate degree of freedom and choice. (Regulation 6 (1)(a)(b) (2)(b)(iv)(vi)(ix))

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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

details of the child’s behaviour leading to the use of the measure;

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Requirement Due date

the date, time and location of the use of the measure;

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Requirement Due date

a description of the measure and its duration;

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Requirement Due date

details of any methods used or steps taken to avoid the need to use the measure;

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Requirement Due date

the name of the person who used the measure ("the user"), and of any other person present when the measure was used;

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Requirement Due date

the effectiveness and any consequences of the use of the measure; and

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Requirement Due date

a description of any injury to the child or any other person, and any medical treatment administered, as a result of the measure; 24 July 2026 Inspection report for children’s home: 2822617 8 within 48 hours of the use of the measure, the registered person, or a person who is authorised by the registered person to do so ("the authorised person")—

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Requirement Due date

has spoken to the user about the measure; and

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Requirement Due date

has signed the record to confirm it is accurate; and

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Requirement Due date

within 5 days of the use of the measure, the registered person or the authorised person adds to the record confirmation that they have spoken to the child about the measure. (Regulation 35 (3)(a)(i)(ii)(iii)(iv)(v)(vi)(vii)(viii)(b)(i)(ii)(c))

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that staff help the children to understand the harm from substances, including vaping, to reduce their use. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 35, paragraph 7.18)  The registered person should have systems in place so that all staff, receive supervision of their practice, which allows them to reflect on their practice and the needs of the children assigned to their care. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 61, paragraph 13.2)  The registered person should ensure that staff record information on individual children in a non-stigmatising way. Information about the child must always be recorded in a way that will be helpful to the child. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 62, paragraph 14.4)  The registered person should have a system in place so that all serious events are

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Recommendations

notified, within 24 hours, to the appropriate people, including Ofsted. The system should cover the action that should be followed if the event arises at the weekend or on a public holiday. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 63, paragraph 14.12)

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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: 2822617 9

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Newcastle City Council

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Newcastle City Council, Civic Centre, Newcastle upon Tyne NE1 8QH

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Inspector

Cat Makel, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2822617 10 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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