Children's Home run by Gateshead Council in Gateshead

Inspection report for children’s home: SC036773 1 SC036773 Registered provider: Gateshead Council

p.1

Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

p.1

Information about this children’s home

The home is run by a local authority. It provides care for up to 5 children who may experience social and emotional difficulties.

p.1

Information about this children’s home

At the time of the inspection, 3 children were living in the home. The inspector spoke with all the children.

p.1

Information about this children’s home

The manager registered with Ofsted in September 2025.

p.1

Overall experiences and progress of

children and young people, taking into account

p.1

outstanding

How well children and young people are helped and protected outstanding

p.1

outstanding

The effectiveness of leaders and managers outstanding

p.1

outstanding

The children’s home provides highly effective services that consistently exceed the standards of good. The actions of the children’s home contribute to significantly improved outcomes and positive experiences for children and young people who need help, protection and care.

p.1

outstanding

Overall judgement at last inspection: good

p.1

outstanding

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children’s home: SC036773 2

p.1

Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

13/05/2025 Full Good 02/07/2024 Full Requires improvement to be good 16/11/2023 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: SC036773 3

p.2

Summary of findings

The home provides a warm, welcoming and highly nurturing environment where children are at the centre of practice. Staff actively promote independence through everyday activities such as cooking, meal preparation and laundry. Strong, trusting relationships between staff and children are central to the significant progress children make, a view shared by professionals consulted during the inspection.

p.3

Summary of findings

Children’s views are consistently sought, valued and acted on. Research-informed practice is embedded throughout the home’s culture and contributes to outstanding outcomes for children.

p.3

Summary of findings

Safeguarding practice is exceptional, proactive and fully integrated into daily care. Children benefit from highly individualised and regularly reviewed safety plans that promote both safety and independence.

p.3

Summary of findings

Leaders and managers have high aspirations for every child and are committed to helping them succeed. Monitoring and reviewing systems provide highly effective oversight, ensure that actions are completed promptly, support continuous improvement and maintain high standards of care across the home.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

Children receive warmth and consistency from staff who genuinely care about them. Relationships between staff and children are exceptional and are the cornerstone of children’s progress. Children are encouraged to contribute to decisions about their care and the home through regular young person meetings, and they understand how to access advocacy and make complaints. Professionals consistently highlighted the positive impact of staff, with one describing them as the ’pillars of stability children need to succeed.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

Staff’s dedication and advocacy for the children have significantly improved children’s life chances. Children have been supported to access education, work experience and extracurricular activities, leading to increased confidence, skills, community integration and improved educational outcomes. An example of this is 2 of the children who have been supported to engage in volunteering activities in the local community centre.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

Children’s views are consistently sought, valued and acted on. Initiatives such as the home’s Theme of the Month, regular young people’s meetings, advocacy support and engagement with young ambassadors ensure that children influence decisions affecting their lives. The manager’s commitment to maintaining children’s virtual memory boxes further promotes identity, belonging and life-story work. Children’s achievements and Inspection report for children’s home: SC036773 4 experiences are celebrated through photos, memory books and life-story work, helping to strengthen self-esteem, identity and a sense of belonging.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

Children’s health needs are well understood by staff. Children are supported to ensure that they attend all required health appointments. As a result, children receive highly attuned care that promotes physical and emotional wellbeing and resilience.

p.4

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

Research-informed practice is embedded throughout the home. Staff demonstrate a strong understanding of trauma, attachment and neurodiversity, supported by the provider’s ‘formulation meetings’, therapeutic services consultations, speech and language input, positive behaviour support plans and reflective practice. This enables highly individualised care that promotes emotional wellbeing, resilience and positive outcomes. This is further enhanced through the one-to-one work that staff do with children in their ‘chat to carers’ sessions.

p.4

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

Educational support is a particular strength. Staff work proactively with schools, the virtual school and other professionals to secure personalised educational opportunities and challenge barriers effectively. Feedback from education professionals was highly positive regarding staff’s persistence in advocating for children’s needs. This level of advocacy has meant that one child who has been out of full-time education will be starting at school in September 2026.

p.4

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

Children’s moves into and out of the home are carefully planned through effective multi- agency working, including pre-admission assessments and early engagement with education providers. The home’s approach to reunification and lifelong links is particularly impressive, ensuring that, where appropriate, meaningful relationships with staff continue beyond a child’s placement and provide ongoing emotional security, permanence and support.

p.4

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

Safeguarding practice by staff is exceptional, proactive and firmly embedded in every aspect of care. Children benefit from highly individualised and regularly reviewed safety plans that successfully balance protection with the promotion of independence. For example, one child’s community safety plan provides clear guidance for staff regarding welfare checks, collection arrangements and agreed meeting points, while enabling the child to safely access the community and meet friends.

p.4

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

Risk management is dynamic, responsive and informed by a thorough understanding of each child’s individual needs. Exploitation mapping, ‘formulation assessments’ and risk assessments are regularly reviewed and updated following incidents, including missing- from-home episodes, and incorporate specialist advice from professionals and therapeutic services. Children are actively involved and their views sought in understanding and managing risk, helping them develop resilience, self-awareness and the skills needed to make safer choices. Inspection report for children’s home: SC036773 5 Multi-agency safeguarding arrangements are a significant strength. Leaders and staff work exceptionally well with the police, child exploitation specialist services and other professionals to share intelligence, coordinate interventions and respond swiftly to emerging concerns. This highly effective collaboration has contributed to a notable

p.4

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

reduction in missing-from-home episodes and other risk-taking behaviours. Professionals spoke extremely positively about the staff’s safeguarding practice, with one professional commenting that there is nothing more the staff could be doing to keep children safe.

p.5

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

Direct work with children is of an exceptionally high standard. Through regular ‘chats with carers’ and other purposeful interventions, children are supported to explore worries, understand risks and contribute to their own safety planning. This direct work with staff has resulted in meaningful impact for children around exploitation, substance misuse, online safety and missing-from-home incidents. The strong, trusting relationships children have with staff are a powerful protective factor, enabling them to seek support, share concerns and accept guidance.

p.5

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

Safeguarding practice is reflective, research-informed and focused on achieving lasting change. Children benefit from consistent, nurturing and relationship-based care that promotes emotional regulation, accountability and positive decision-making. Individualised incentives and creative group work help children develop their understanding of issues such as knife crime, vaping, emotional wellbeing and personal safety, while reducing the need for restrictive interventions.

p.5

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

Leadership oversight of safeguarding is exemplary. The manager provides strong and influential leadership, driving effective intelligence sharing with other children’s homes and services, challenging partners where necessary and leading multi-agency discussions to address emerging risks. The manager’s role in establishing a multi-agency steering group to improve responses to substance misuse across the wider community demonstrates sector-leading practice and a commitment to improving outcomes for children beyond the immediate remit of the home.

p.5

The effectiveness of leaders and managers:

The manager is a highly effective and child-centred leader whose values, vision and ambition are embedded throughout every aspect of the home. As a result, children achieve outcomes that significantly exceed what might reasonably be expected given their individual starting points. Children, families, staff and partner agencies consistently describe the home and staff as a place where relationships are at the heart of practice, children’s voices are influential, and staff consistently go the extra mile to improve children’s lives.

p.5

The effectiveness of leaders and managers:

The manager is supported by 2 skilled deputy managers who share her commitment, vision and values. Together, they have established a stable, nurturing and aspirational culture that promotes reflection, learning and continuous improvement. Staff are empowered to think critically about their practice, understand children’s lived experiences and tailor support to meet individual needs. This has enabled children to Inspection report for children’s home: SC036773 6 experience highly personalised care that strengthens their safety, emotional wellbeing, educational engagement, independence and future prospects.

p.5

The effectiveness of leaders and managers:

The leadership team has driven and sustained a significant cultural shift in the home since the last inspection, successfully embedding trauma-informed practice, consistent and nurturing boundaries, and a strong ethos of reflective practice. The team’s approach is underpinned by research-informed models, including trauma-informed frameworks and ‘formulation-based approaches’.

p.6

The effectiveness of leaders and managers:

Multi-agency partnership working is exceptionally strong and highly effective. Professionals work collaboratively and with a shared sense of purpose, ensuring that children receive coordinated and responsive support. This includes meaningful involvement from the virtual school, careers advisers, safeguarding and exploitation teams, health professionals, therapists and education providers. The strength of these partnerships contributes significantly to positive outcomes for children and ensures that their needs are understood and addressed.

p.6

The effectiveness of leaders and managers:

The managers have high aspirations for every child and are unwavering in their commitment to helping them succeed. Managers are tenacious advocates who consistently champion children’s rights and interests, challenge professional drift and hold others to account when progress is not being made. They refuse to allow barriers or adversity to limit children’s opportunities and work relentlessly to secure the support and resources needed for children to achieve their full potential. This can be seen in the challenge to education that has resulted in one child starting back into mainstream school in September 2026.

p.6

The effectiveness of leaders and managers:

The manager demonstrates a reflective, supportive and empowering leadership style that places a strong emphasis on staff wellbeing, development and professional growth. She ensures that staff receive additional supervision, tailored support and development opportunities when needed, enabling them to build confidence and continually enhance their practice. The manager recognises and nurtures individual strengths within the team, while promoting accountability, high expectations and a positive learning culture.

p.6

The effectiveness of leaders and managers:

Staff report feeling valued, supported and enabled in their roles by leaders and managers. Staff benefit from regular, high-quality supervision sessions that provide a safe space to reflect on their practice, discuss challenges and consider the impact of their work on children. These sessions also offer opportunities to identify and address training and development needs, ensuring that staff continue to build their skills, knowledge and understanding. This supportive approach contributes to a motivated, competent and resilient workforce that is committed to achieving the best possible outcomes for children.

p.6

The effectiveness of leaders and managers:

The monitoring and reviewing systems implemented by the manager are effective, providing clear oversight of practice and ensuring that identified actions are progressed and completed without delay. These systems enable leaders to track performance, identify areas for improvement and maintain high standards of care across the home. Inspection report for children’s home: SC036773 7 Actions arising from monitoring activities are regularly discussed within team meetings, promoting transparency, consistency of practice and a shared understanding of expectations. This approach fosters collective ownership and accountability, ensuring that learning is embedded, progress is reviewed and staff work together effectively to achieve positive outcomes for children.

p.6

The effectiveness of leaders and managers:

No requirements or recommendations were raised during the inspection. Inspection report for children’s home: SC036773 8

p.7

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: SC036773 9

p.8

Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Gateshead Metropolitan Borough Council, Civic Centre, Regent Street, Gateshead NE8 1HH

p.9

Inspector

Lisa Finch, Regulatory Inspection Manager Inspection report for children’s home: SC036773 10 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.

p.9

Inspector

If you would like a copy of this document in a different format, such as large print or Braille, please telephone 0300 123 1231, or email enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk . You may reuse this information (not including logos) free of charge in any format or medium, under the terms of the Open Government Licence. To view this licence, visit www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence , write to the Information Policy Team, The National Archives, Kew, London TW9 4DU, or email: psi@nationalarchives.gsi.gov.uk .

p.10

Inspector

Interested in our work? You can subscribe to our monthly newsletter for more information and updates: http://eepurl.com/iTrDn .

p.10

Inspector

T: 0300 123 1231 Textphone: 0161 618 8524 E: enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk W: www.gov.uk/ofsted

p.10