Heaton House

On this page

• Overview
• Kindness, compassion and dignity
• Treating people as individuals
• Independence, choice and control
• Responding to people’s immediate needs
• Workforce wellbeing and enablement

Caring

Caring – this means we looked for evidence that the provider involved people and treated them with compassion, kindness, dignity and respect.

Staff delivered kind, compassionate and respectful care, demonstrating empathy and patience, particularly when children were distressed. Staff communicated in ways that met children’s individual needs and supported their involvement in decisions about their care. Staff recognised and respected each child’s personal, cultural, social and religious needs, and ensured information tailored to support their emotional and physical wellbeing. However, some children we spoke to did not always feel listened to and understood.

A positive and supportive culture enabled staff to feel valued and confident in raising concerns, with wellbeing promoted through access to appropriate support services. Staff described a working environment that enabled them to deliver person‑centred, caring, and emotionally supportive care.

Find out what we look at when we assess this area in our information about our new Single assessment framework.

The provider was exceptional at treating children with kindness, empathy and compassion and in how they respected children’s privacy and dignity. Staff always treated colleagues from other organisations with kindness and respect.

A monthly audit was undertaken in the home to ensure that children's privacy and dignity was respected which included observations of staff in practice and feedback from children. All the children we spoke to reported that staff always knocked on bedroom doors before entering and treated them with respect and dignity.

Care and health staff described a strong culture of kindness within the home, where they were given the time and support needed to talk with young people and build positive, trusting relationships. Staff we spoke with were able to give clear examples of how they had actively upheld children’s dignity, confidentiality, and privacy.

There was clear evidence that staff knew the young people well and used this knowledge to provide consistent, personalised care. Staff spoke about the children as "our children”, reflecting a strong sense of responsibility and commitment in the relationships they have built.

During the inspection observations of staff interactions with children were consistently kind, respectful and supportive. Staff took time to listen to children and adapted their communication and approach to meet each child’s needs.

The judgement for Treating people as individuals is based on the latest evidence we assessed for the Caring key question.

The judgement for Independence, choice and control is based on the latest evidence we assessed for the Caring key question.

The judgement for Responding to people’s immediate needs is based on the latest evidence we assessed for the Caring key question.

The provider always cared about and promoted the wellbeing of their staff and was exceptional at supporting and enabling staff to always deliver person-centred care.

Children benefitted from a stable workforce which supported the delivery of consistent, high quality care leading to better outcomes

Staff in the home reported that they feel valued and well supported within the home. Clear opportunities were available for staff to develop their skills and progress into more senior roles. These opportunities were identified and discussed through regular appraisal, with personal development plans put in place to support continuous learning and career progression.

Staff wellbeing was embedded within the monthly supervision process, providing staff with regular, protected time to discuss their wellbeing, sickness absence, and any personal or work‑related issues. Staff are supported to access occupational health when needed.