Children's Home run by Darlington Borough Council in Darlington

Unique reference number SC068000 Inspection date 21/09/2011 Inspector Stephen Graham Type of inspection Full Provision subtype Children's home

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Date of last inspection 17/02/2011 Website: www.ofsted.gov.uk

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This document may be reproduced in whole or in part for non-commercial educational purposes, provided that the information quoted is reproduced without adaptation and the source and date of publication are stated.

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About this inspection

The purpose of this inspection is to assure children and young people, parents, the public, local authorities and government of the quality and standard of the service provided. The inspection was carried out under the Care Standards Act 2000 to assess the effectiveness of the service and to consider how well it complies with the relevant regulations and meets the national minimum standards.

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About this inspection

The report details the main strengths, any areas for improvement, including any breaches of regulation, and any failure to meet national minimum standards. The judgements included in the report are made against the Inspections of children’s homes – framework for inspection (March 2011) and the evaluation schedule for children's homes.

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The inspection judgements and what they mean

Outstanding : a service that significantly exceeds minimum requirements Good : a service that exceeds minimum requirements Satisfactory : a service that only meets minimum requirements Inadequate : a service that does not meet minimum requirements

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Brief description of the service

This children's home is local authority managed and provides care and accommodation for up to three children with emotional and/or behavioural difficulties or learning disabilities.

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Overall effectiveness

The overall effectiveness is judged to be good .

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Overall effectiveness

Young people benefit from outstanding levels of close individual support and enjoy very positive supportive relationships with staff. They receive good help with their personal health care needs. They contribute their ideas on menu planning and can practice their cooking skills. Young people also receive outstanding support and encouragement from staff both to attend education and to celebrate their achievements. They receive encouragement to practice and develop their independent life skills and to participate positively in a range of leisure activities in the community. Young people discuss their care needs with staff and contribute to their care plans. The building is small but provides a very homely and comfortable environment for young people to live in.

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Overall effectiveness

Young people are looked after by a very experienced and stable staff team. They provide young people with good support to help keep them safe. However, the arrangements to maintain the building are not always fully effective. The staff team receive good training and support. The home is well led and managed. However, the arrangements in place to monitor the service on behalf of the registered provider do not always work effectively.

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Statutory Requirements

This section sets out the actions which must be taken so that the registered person/s meets the Care Standards Act 2000, Children's Homes Regulations 2001 and the National Minimum Standards. The registered person(s) must comply with the given timescales.

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Reg. Requirement Due date

(2001) ensure that visits under paragraph (1) or (2) shall take place at least once a month and may be unannounced. (Regulation 33 (3)) 30/11/2011

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Recommendations

To improve the quality and standards of care further the service should take account of the following recommendation(s):

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Recommendations

 ensure that the home is well maintained and decorated (NMS 10.3)  include photographs of the home in the written information provided to each young person in advance of their stay. (NMS 11.3)

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Outcomes for children and young people

Outcomes for children and young people are outstanding .

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Outcomes for children and young people

Young people living at the home make exceptional progress in all areas of their life. They are encouraged to talk regularly with staff about their care needs. The staff team are committed to anti-discriminatory practice and are effective in providing support which meets the cultural needs of the young people using the service. The staff team also liaise very closely with placing social workers and parents to further ensure that the outcomes agreed in the care plans of each young person are achieved. The manager at the home closely monitors the support provided each day to further ensure that it is effective in providing outstanding outcomes for young people. The staff team maintain very clear records which demonstrate the outstanding outcomes enjoyed by young people.

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Outcomes for children and young people

Social workers placing young people at the home describe it as ‘child centred.’ One describes the ‘good atmosphere’ and how ‘kids feel comfortable and settled’. Another commented how the staff team were ‘very patient’ with the young person they had placed.

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Outcomes for children and young people

Young enjoy a healthy and active lifestyle. They participate fully in a broad range of recreational activities including sports and cultural trips abroad. They access the health services that they need including additional specialist health advice when this is necessary.

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Outcomes for children and young people

Young people make good progress in developing their life skills. They themselves describe how they are helped to practice self-care skills including shopping, cooking and budgeting. As a result they are they are better prepared for a successful transition to independence and adult life.

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Outcomes for children and young people

Young people participate very positively in their education. They attend school and college very regularly. The level of achievement reached by them through their regular attendance and positive participation is outstanding. The facilities and educational resources available at the home have helped young people to practice their skills and to achieve.

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Quality of care

Young people describe very positively how they know of and help to write their own placement plans. Their care needs are agreed by staff with themselves and their social workers and are recorded in their care files in very good detail. These plans are tailored to meet their individual needs and state clearly how measureable outcomes are achieved, for example in their education, recreation and their individual leisure choices. There are regular care team meetings to review the effectiveness of these plans. The staff team provide detailed reports to help inform these meetings. Young people and their carers are encouraged and supported to attend in person. The plans are amended and further improved where necessary following the agreements reached at each meeting. Care plans and review meeting outcomes are also monitored very regularly by the manager and senior staff at the home. This further ensures that they are implemented effectively.

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Quality of care

Prior to the admission of any young person to the home, the staff team complete detailed risk assessments in partnership with social workers. These help to ensure that young people are admitted safely to the home and are helped to settle in quickly. There is an admissions pack which is provided to young people. The manager is working in partnership with young people to improve the pack to include photographs of the home. This will help young people become more familiar with the building in advance of their first visit. The staff team help young people to maintain regular contact with their family and friends and to visit and stay over with them where this is agreed.

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Quality of care

The building presents as a comfortable family home and blends in well within the local community. It has good access to local public transport. The presentation of the building and its gardens is satisfactory. The building is small and there is limited space for young people to see their visitors in private. The space available to staff to complete administrative tasks and to sleep comfortably overnight is also limited. However, the home is generally well decorated, furnished and equipped. Each young person has their own bedroom. The kitchen, dining and lounge areas are well presented and furnished. There are sufficient bathroom facilities. The staff team monitor the physical condition of the building to ensure that it remains homely and comfortable for the young people living there. However, on some occasions repairs needed to the fabric of the building are not completed properly.

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Quality of care

The staff team discuss individual food preferences with each young person and record these within their care files. They actively involve young people in menu choice and encourage them to contribute their ideas to menu planning. The menus prepared include a range of healthy choices and examples of food from different cultures. This helps to demonstrate that young people are enjoying a suitable and healthy diet.

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Quality of care

The staff team are trained in first aid, administration of medication and treatment and safe food hygiene. Arrangements ensure that any medication needed by young people is stored and administered safely.

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Quality of care

Young people enjoy very positive and supportive relationships with the staff team. They talk very regularly with the staff and are encouraged to give their views on how the home is run. Their views are recorded. The manager regularly reviews these with the staff team and works to incorporate them into the further improvements made at the home. Young people know how to complain if they are ever unhappy.

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Safeguarding children and young people

The service is good at keeping children and young people safe and feeling safe.

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Safeguarding children and young people

There are good arrangements in place which help the staff team to safeguard the young people. The staff team complete very thorough risk assessments in partnership with young people and their social workers. Young people feel safe living at the home. There is detailed safeguarding guidance and reporting procedures available to staff. They also receive regular training to help them protect young people from abuse and to keep them safe.

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Safeguarding children and young people

There are clear procedures in place at the home which are used to help ensure that when young people go missing, they are found and kept safe as quickly as possible. These procedures have been discussed and agreed with the local police and local authority safeguarding staff. There is clear guidance in place which is used effectively by staff to reduce the risk of bullying to any young person living at the home. On the occasions when bullying does occur, the staff team work in partnership with specialist staff, trained in anti-bullying practice.

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Safeguarding children and young people

The staff team work very hard to ensure that all young people living at the home enjoy positive relationships with each other and staff themselves. Staff are trained in the appropriate use of physical restraint. There is also detailed guidance for staff to follow regarding the use of agreed sanctions. The behaviour management techniques used are effective and as a result sanctions and restraints are rarely used. Young people said that they feel safe at the home.

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Safeguarding children and young people

There are risk assessments in place which are used by staff to help ensure the home is a safe place for young people to live in. Regular checks are completed on the safety equipment used to help protect young people. The staff team know what to do in an emergency and practice this very regularly with the young people.

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Safeguarding children and young people

The young people who use the service benefit from a very stable staff team. Arrangements are in place to complete checks on any new staff team members to ensure they are suitable to work with children. Any visitors to the home are supervised by the staff team to help ensure that children are kept safe when visitors are present.

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Leadership and management

The leadership and management of the children's home are good .

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Leadership and management

The leadership and management arrangements at the home are effective. A Statement of Purpose is in place which gives clear information about the service provided. Young people receive their own guide to the home. It is presented to a good standard and contains clear information about how the service is provided.

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Leadership and management

The staff team are well qualified and are very experienced in working with children and young people. They receive regular supervision and attend additional training opportunities regularly. The manager closely monitors staffing levels and further adjusts these where necessary to ensure that young people receive the support they need from the staff team.

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Leadership and management

There are good systems in place to monitor the home's records and to create monthly reports regarding the quality of the service provided to young people. Young people are regularly consulted through these systems. The manager uses these systems very effectively to monitor the strengths and weaknesses of the home and to further improve the service through their development plans. Monitoring visits also take place on behalf of the registered provider. The reports created from these visits are thorough. However, the visits themselves do not always occur at the required frequency. The one action and three recommendations made at the previous inspection regarding staff training in fire prevention, the use of restraint, responding to allegations as well as aspects of record keeping have all been fully implemented by the manager and staff team. This has further improved the quality of care provided to young people living at the home.

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Leadership and management

Equality and diversity practice is good .

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