Children's Home run by Northumberland County Council in Northumberland

Inspection report for children’s home: 2864248 1 Registered provider: Northumberland County Council

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Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This multi-building children’s home is operated by a local authority. It provides care in three homes for up to 6 children who may have social and emotional difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager registered with Ofsted in March 2016.

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Information about this children’s home

At the time of the inspection, 5 children were living in this home and 4 of them 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 good

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good

The effectiveness of leaders and managers requires improvement to be 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: not applicable

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children’s home: 2864248 2

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Summary of findings

Children are making progress in different areas of their lives. Good communication from managers and staff contributes to effective multi-agency working. Staff know the children well and follow the home’s policies and procedures when children are missing from home. However, there is a lack of management oversight across key documents, and staff are not consistently given the opportunity to reflect on their practice. The manager has not acted on the feedback from the independent visitor, and Ofsted have not been notified of all serious incidents.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children have good relationships with staff. Staff are patient, empathetic and nurturing. They are attuned to children’s needs and understand the way each child communicates. This helps children feel listened to.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are well prepared for moves into and between the homes. Staff ensure that moves are well planned and that plans are bespoke to each child’s needs. Decisions are child focused and are supported by the positive relationships the children have developed with staff. Staff understand children’s need for familiarity and consistency of care and ensure that children are always cared for by familiar faces during changes in their care.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are helped to achieve and make progress in their education. Staff ensure that children are well prepared to attend school, including after periods of disruption for them. Communication between staff at home and at school is consistently good, and this helps children to understand that adults are working together to help them.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff support children to spend time with family and friends. Staff are particularly good at establishing and maintaining positive relationships with the people who are important to the children. Professionals say that staff have been able to form effective relationships in difficult circumstances. This, in turn, supports children’s relationships with key people in their lives.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Communal areas of the home are in good condition, modern and well decorated. However, not all children’s bedrooms reflect the same standard of care. Damage remains unrepaired and some are not cleaned to a good standard. This means that the condition of children’s personal space does not always communicate to them that they are valued.

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

Staff know children and their risks well. Staff maintain up-to-date risk assessments and care plans and work to understand how children’s experiences impact on their daily lives. Inspection report for children’s home: 2864248 3 Staff reflect on incidents which take place and take proactive action in minimising the risk of these reoccurring.

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

Staff are curious in seeking to understand children’s behaviour. Staff recognise when children require more intensive support, or space to process how they are feeling. The way that staff work with children, and the language that they use, supports children to develop their own problem-solving skills and make safer decisions.

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

Children are helped to understand the risks that they face. Staff support them to understand the impact of their actions on others and how they can make positive choices. This has helped one child significantly reduce the number of times they have been missing from home and involved in behavioural incidents. The child now reports feeling happier and safer.

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

Children are only restrained as a last resort to protect themselves or others. Staff work to understand children’s experiences and how these manifest in their behaviour. This understanding helps staff to de-escalate incidents and assists children to calm at times of distress and to manage their own emotions.

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

Staff know what to do when children are missing from home. Staff work closely with partner professionals to secure the children’s safe return. However, staff do not routinely capture all the steps they take in children’s records, so it is not clear from these if children’s plans are always being correctly followed.

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

While the manager has monitoring and reviewing systems to help with their oversight of children’s care, these are not used consistently. Key documents lack management oversight and clear guidance for staff. The manager does not therefore have effective oversight across all 3 buildings.

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

The manager does not ensure that staff have regular supervision sessions. When sessions do take place, they do not consistently give staff the opportunity to reflect on their practice. Practice targets are not set or reviewed. This prevents the manager being assured that staff are undertaking their roles to a high level and identifying where they may need additional support.

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

Staff shortages have impacted on staff morale. While managers have a recruitment plan, vacancies remain unfilled, and this leads to pressure on staff to work additional hours.

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

Staff training is thorough and up to date. A specialist worker helps staff to work in a therapeutically informed way. This helps to develop staff’s understanding of the impact of children’s trauma and guides their practice. Staff say that this input is supportive and helps them have more compassion and empathy for children, particularly during difficult periods. Inspection report for children’s home: 2864248 4 Multi-agency working is a particular strength for this provider. Without exception, professionals state that there is effective communication and that staff are highly committed and enthusiastic about providing children with good care. Working well alongside other key professionals helps staff to provide consistency for children and supports children to make progress. Inspection report for children’s home: 2864248 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 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

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) (2)(f)(g)(i)(ii)(h)) 31 October 2026

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that the home is well maintained and that children live in a homely environment. In particular, ensure that children’s bedrooms are effectively maintained. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 15, paragraph 3.9)  The registered person should ensure that staff receive supervision of their practice from an appropriately qualified and experienced professional, 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 are familiar with the home’s policies on record-keeping and understand the importance of careful, objective, and clear recording. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 62, paragraph 14.4)

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Recommendations

Inspection report for children’s home: 2864248 6

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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: 2864248 7

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Northumberland County Council

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Northumberland County Council, County Hall, Morpeth NE61 2EF

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Inspector

Lisa Gordon, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2864248 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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