Children's Home run by Right-Trak Limited in Northumberland

Inspection report for children’s home: 2530253 1 Registered provider: Right-Trak Limited Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

The home provides care for up to 5 children who may experience social and emotional difficulties and/or have learning disabilities.

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Information about this children’s home

At the time of this inspection, 3 children were living at the home. All the children spoke with the inspector. One child has moved out of the home since the last inspection.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager registered with Ofsted in November 2022.

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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 provides effective services that meet the requirements for good.

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requires improvement to be good

Overall judgement at last inspection: good

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requires improvement to be good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children’s home: 2530253 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

17/06/2025 Full Good 21/05/2024 Full Good 31/07/2023 Full Good 15/11/2022 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: 2530253 3

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Summary of findings

While children are making progress living in the home, managers have not always made child-centred decisions. On one occasion, a child was moved from the home without notice and without full consultation with external professionals.

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Summary of findings

Children have positive relationships with the adults who care for them, and staff know them well.

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Summary of findings

Children’s behaviours and risks are not fully understood by the staff team, resulting in inconsistencies in how children are understood and supported. At times, leaders and managers have minimised risks and failed to identify necessary improvements in practice. Despite this, managers are strong advocates for children and build positive relationships with those involved in their care.

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improvement to be good

Children make good progress in different areas of their lives. However, shortfalls in planning for one child’s move from the home, in the help and protection of children, and in managers’ oversight of children’s care have affected children’s overall experiences.

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improvement to be good

When potential risks relating to one child’s behaviour increased, managers gave immediate notice on the child’s placement. While managers considered actions to manage the risks, it is not clear that the significant effect on the child of having to move immediately from their home was fully considered. Furthermore, managers failed to consult the child’s placing local authority to explore whether additional support could have been provided before making this decision. Managers also did not fully consider the child’s identity and learning needs in relation to the perceived risks. This decision-making had a significant detrimental impact on the child.

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improvement to be good

Children report feeling happy and well cared for. They benefit from a home environment that is personalised to their interests and preferences. Children are involved in making changes to their environment in line with their wishes, which helps make the home feel like a family home.

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improvement to be good

Children are making progress in their education. Staff provide alternative education and tailored support for children who do not attend mainstream education. The manager works closely with professionals to ensure that children’s needs are understood and that transitions are planned in line with their individual needs. This supports children to access education that meets their level of need. Inspection report for children’s home: 2530253 4 Children have positive relationships with other children living in the home and with staff. They are supported to build and maintain positive relationships with their peers and families through activities with staff.

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improvement to be good

Children are supported with their health needs and to attend routine appointments. Effective systems are in place to ensure that staff administer medication safely, and staff support health professionals in reviewing the children’s health needs. This helps ensure that children receive appropriate healthcare in line with their current level of need.

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improvement to be good

Staff provide children with emotional and psychological support to promote their wellbeing. The home’s psychologist meets with children regularly and helps staff to understand the children’s needs. This enables children feel heard and valued, while also supporting staff to reflect on and adapt the care they provide to children when necessary.

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improvement to be good

The needs of children moving into the home are considered alongside those of children already living in the home. Children are given opportunities to visit the home before moving in, and staff learn about children’s needs before they move in through discussions with relevant professionals. This approach helps children experience positive beginnings to their time in the home.

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improvement to be good

There have been several incidents of children displaying self-harming behaviour at times of distress. While staff intervene to help children stay safe, they have not always sought medical assistance in line with children’s plans. This means that any potential injuries to children are not being assessed by medically trained professionals.

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improvement to be good

Some concerns relating to incidents of sexualised behaviour and the associated risks are not always recognised and understood by staff, and some have been minimised by managers. Some concerns have also not been shared with external professionals, which fails to ensure that they are fully aware of potential risks to children. Children are not always provided with meaningful support to help them understand themselves and keep themselves safe in line with their individual needs.

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improvement to be good

There have been occasions when children have not felt safe living in the home due to other children’s behaviours or relationship breakdowns between children. Staff quickly recognise the need to support and listen to children and carry out work with them to help them feel safe and to address the behaviours that have led to this. This has helped improve children’s relationships, reduce some unwanted behaviours and support them in trying alternative coping strategies.

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improvement to be good

There have been some incidents that have required staff to restrain children. This is only done as a last resort to keep children or others safe. Managers ensure that children and staff receive support following such interventions and are quick to identify any practice Inspection report for children’s home: 2530253 5 issues and implement learning from them. This helps to reduce the risk of repeat incidents.

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

Managers have not always had effective oversight of children’s care and have not identified shortfalls in relation to how effectively children are helped and protected. The manager has not always recognised some risks to children. She believes the recording of some incidents has been inaccurate. However, these potential inaccuracies were not identified through initial monitoring of incidents, meaning it is difficult to assess some areas of risk for children effectively.

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

Supervision sessions provided to the staff team reflect on staff’s practice and how it meets children’s needs. However, supervision sessions have not always taken place regularly, and managers do not always record the sessions in a timely manner. Furthermore, team meetings do not always take place regularly or include discussion about current challenges being face by staff. This reduces opportunities for staff to discuss and reflect on the care being provided.

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

Managers have not always notified Ofsted of serious incidents. This has included incidents of significant aggression from a child towards staff, which resulted in one staff member not returning to their role. This negatively affects Ofsted’s ability to maintain effective oversight of the home.

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

The manager uses relevant research to help inform best practice and improve the care provided to children. They have considered research relating to the benefits of exercise for children with autism and used this to provide additional support and activities for one child. This helps to ensure that children benefit from staff who are well informed and have a good understanding of their needs.

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

Leaders and managers understand the progress children are making in respect of their plans. They are strong advocates for children and appropriately challenge external professionals and services to ensure that children receive appropriate support from all those involved in their care.

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

Staff report that the manager is supportive and helps them to develop in their roles and improve the care provided to children. Staff receive annual appraisals that reflect their own progress, learning and development, and new staff receive supportive inductions.

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

Leaders and managers have generally positive relationships with children’s families and external professionals. Feedback about children’s care is predominantly positive, with one child’s independent reviewing officer commenting that they could not have hoped for a better place for the child to live. Inspection report for children’s home: 2530253 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 care planning standard is that children—

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Requirement Due date

receive effectively planned care in or through the children’s home; and

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Requirement Due date

have a positive experience of arriving at or moving on from the home.

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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

manage and review the placement of each child in the home; and

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Requirement Due date

plan for, and help, each child to prepare to leave the home or to move into adult care in a way that is consistent with arrangements agreed with the child’s placing authority. (Regulation 14 (1)(a)(b) (2)(b)(ii)(iii)) 24 July 2026

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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

help each child to understand how to keep safe;

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Requirement Due date

have the skills to identify and act upon signs that a child is at risk of harm; 24 July 2026 Inspection report for children’s home: 2530253 7 take effective action whenever there is a serious concern about a child’s welfare; and

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Requirement Due date

that the effectiveness of the home’s child protection policies is monitored regularly. (Regulation 12 (1) (2)(a)(i)(ii)(iii)(vi)(e))

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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

understand the impact that the quality of care provided in the home is having on the progress and experiences of each child and use this understanding to inform the development of the quality of care provided in the home;

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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)(f)(h)) 24 July 2024

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must notify HMCI and each other relevant person without delay if—

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Requirement Due date

there is any other incident relating to a child which the registered person considers to be serious. (Regulation 40 (4)(e)) 24 July 2026

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that all employees—

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Requirement Due date

receive practice-related supervision by a person with appropriate experience. (Regulation 33 (4)(b)) 24 July 2026

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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: 2530253 8

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Winovation, Houghtons Yard, Shields Road, Newcastle Upon Tyne NE6 2YP

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Children’s home details

Responsible individual: Melanie Spriddell

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Inspector

Amey Henry, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2530253 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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