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

Inspection report for children’s home: 2715200 1 Registered provider: Enhanced Young Person’s Care Limited

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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 run by a private provider. It provides care for up to 5 children who may experience social and emotional difficulties, and may have mental health difficulties, learning disabilities, and alcohol or drug dependence.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager registered with Ofsted in July 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 during the inspection.

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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: good

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children’s home: 2715200 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

07/04/2025 Full Good 15/05/2024 Full Good 31/10/2023 Full Requires improvement to be good Inspection report for children’s home: 2715200 3

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Summary of findings

Children are well looked after and have trusting and positive relationships with staff and each other. Staff listen to children and help them to spend positive time outside of the home with people who are important to them. Children are making progress at school. Three children have moved from the home due to staff being unable to manage escalating risks. Leaders and managers have worked with social care professionals to support positive moves. Staff continue to stay in touch with children once they move on.

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Summary of findings

The staff team is well managed. Staffing has changed recently, and the manager is committed to re-establishing the team. Investments in training and induction are helping staff to understand their roles.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children experience positive moves to the home and are helped to build trusting relationships with staff. Staff are involved in assessing the children’s suitability and their own skills in meeting children’s needs and any support they may need.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

All children are attending school. Staff work with education professionals effectively to promote children’s engagement and attendance. Children are supported to pursue their aspirations and are participating and achieving beyond initial expectations as a result. For one child, school staff have noted their improved behaviour, self-confidence and ability to sustain positive relationships since moving to the home.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff nurture children’s friendships and are proactive in supporting positive relationships both in and outside of the home. Children feel comfortable to bring their friends to the home and enjoy sleep overs and holidays with friends. This helps children to maintain valuable friendships and have enjoyable experiences.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff promote children taking part in fun activities. Together, they plan the activities and children say they feel listened to and that their views are valued. This helps children to expand their range of experiences and improves their physical health and self-esteem.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The manager reviews children’s placements appropriately when it is found that staff cannot safely meet their needs. The manager and staff have promoted positive moves for children and maintain contact with them after they move on. This helps to reduce the effect of leaving during difficult times and for children to experience positive endings.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Some improvements have been made to the way children’s information is recorded. Staff are skilled at evidencing how the home’s therapeutic approach supports agreed care planning. However, there are some examples of unhelpful language used in records and practice. This limits how meaningful the records are to children. Inspection report for children’s home: 2715200 4

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

Staff understand children’s individual risks and vulnerabilities. Staff manage incidents positively to keep children and others safe. Any lessons learned are identified in management evaluations. These learning points are discussed in individual reflective discussions and as a team to improve safeguarding practice.

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

Missing-from-home incidents have reduced. When children have been missing from home, staff follow procedures to locate children and return them home safely. On return, staff explore the reasons children have been away from the home and help them understand the potential risks and find alternative solutions to reduce reoccurrence.

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

Staff restrain children to keep them safe only as a last resort, and the need to hold children is reducing. Staff are trained in deescalation techniques and understand the triggers to unsafe behaviour. When children are held for their safety, managers speak with children and staff to assess their wellbeing. Supportive discussions take place afterwards to help children develop strategies to avoid unsafe behaviours in the future.

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

When staff give children consequences, the rationale is recorded clearly, and management oversight evaluates their appropriateness and effectiveness. Afterwards, staff have discussions with children to help reflect on why they have been used. This helps children to understand the effect their behaviour has on themselves and others.

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

When serious incidents occur, managers appropriately notify Ofsted. However, on one occasion, Ofsted was not notified about a serious injury sustained by a child. This limits the regulator’s ability to assess the effectiveness of actions taken to keep children safe.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Management oversight of the home is effective. The manager has a strong understanding of the team’s strengths and areas for development. When the manager identifies any shortfalls in practice, staff are supported to reflect on these to develop and improve their responses to children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager has introduced champion roles to the team. This promotes accountability and staff said this helps them to take responsibility for specific areas of development. The organisation has also improved the induction process for new staff to ensure that staff gain important learning before they work directly with children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff receive regular practice-related supervisions. The sessions provide staff with opportunities to reflect on their practice and identify any learning opportunities. Staff say this helps them to understand the expectations of their roles. Staff speak highly of leaders and managers and feel well supported by them.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Supportive training helps staff to understand children’s needs and develop their practice to safely care for them. The manager is embedding a model of care to support the care of children, which is evidenced in how staff record their conversations with them. Staff Inspection report for children’s home: 2715200 5 are positive about the training and recognise the influence training has had on their practice.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Leaders and managers work with external agencies effectively. Professionals say they feel welcome at the home and praise the collaborative way that staff work with them to meet children’s needs. When there are shortfalls in responses from professionals, leaders and managers escalate their concerns to seek resolutions. Inspection report for children’s home: 2715200 6

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that staff record information about the child 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 consider thresholds at which they notify the regulator of a serious incident affecting the welfare of a child. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards,’ page 63, paragraph 14.11)

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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: 2715200 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: 2715200 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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