Children's Home run by Darlington Borough Council in Darlington

Unique reference number SC037861 Inspection date 12/10/2011 Inspector Stephen Graham Type of inspection Full Provision subtype Children's home

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Date of last inspection 15/02/2011 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 provides care and accommodation for up to three children of either sex, aged 12 years to 17 years. It is registered to care for young people whose main needs arise from emotional or behavioural difficulties.

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Overall effectiveness

The overall effectiveness is judged to be good .

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Overall effectiveness

The outcomes for young people visiting the home are outstanding. They benefit from outstanding levels of close individual support and enjoy positive, supportive relationships with staff. They receive outstanding help with their personal health care needs. They can practice their cooking skills and regularly contribute their ideas on menu planning. Young people also receive outstanding support and encouragement from staff to attend their education and employment. They receive outstanding encouragement to participate positively in a broad range of leisure activities in the community. Young people discuss their care needs with staff very regularly. The building is small but provides a 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. Sanctions are rarely needed at the home and young people benefit from a good range of incentives used to celebrate and promote their positive behaviour. The staff team receive good training and support. However, some need to complete their recommended training. Also, the system used to record and plan training could be presented in better detail. The home is well led and managed. However, the arrangements used to monitor the service on behalf of the registered provider are not always effective or sufficiently thorough.

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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 the monitoring reports completed on behalf of the registered provider take place at the frequency required and report on the matters required. Regulation 33 (3) 31/12/2011

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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 recording system used to monitor and plan staff training is clearly presented (NMS 18.2)  ensure that all care staff have attained a minimum level 3 qualification (NMS 18.5)  ensure that the supervision provided to relief staff members is clearly recorded. (NMS 19.5)

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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 are making exceptional progress in all areas of their life. They enjoy outstanding individual support. 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. Young people talk very regularly with staff about their care needs. The staff team liaise regularly with placing social workers to further ensure that the outcomes agreed in the care plans of each young person are achieved. One placing social worker commended the consistent quality of the care that staff provide to the young person they had placed at the home. The support provided to young people is closely monitored by the manager and senior staff to further ensure that it remains effective. The key worker for each young person organises detailed care records. These are completed each day by the staff team as a whole. They demonstrate clearly the outstanding

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Outcomes for children and young people

Young people lead a healthy and active lifestyle. They participate fully in a range of activities within their local community. They enjoy good health and can access the health services that they need, including any additional specialist advice where this is ever necessary. The staff team look after them if they are ever unwell. Young people access a very good range of information and resources which helps them to maintain their good health.

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Outcomes for children and young people

Young people make outstanding progress in developing their life skills. They are well prepared for a successful transition to adult life. They practice their skills very regularly and have access to an outstanding range of resources and facilities both at the home and in the community to help them achieve this.

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Outcomes for children and young people

Young people achieve outstanding outcomes in their education and also participate very positively in work experience and employment opportunities. They attend their education regularly. The facilities and educational resources available at the home and accessed in the local community have helped young people to practice and develop their educational skills and to achieve.

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Quality of care

The quality of the care is outstanding .

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Quality of care

Young people receive outstanding support to contribute their views to their care and placement plans as they wish. Their care needs are agreed with themselves and their social workers, and care plans are tailored to meet their individual needs. They describe clearly how measureable outcomes are achieved with the young people who live at the home. Care team meetings are arranged and take place very regularly to review the effectiveness of the plans and to monitor progress in their health, education and overall development. Young people receive outstanding encouragement to attend their meetings regularly. Where they do not wish to attend in person, they are seen by someone independent of the home. Their views are gathered and written down. The staff team also provide very detailed reports which help to inform these meetings. The manager and senior staff at the home closely monitor care plans and review meeting outcomes to help ensure that they are

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Quality of care

The staff team complete detailed risk assessments in partnership with social workers prior to the admission of any young person to the home. This helps ensure that young people are admitted safely and are helped to settle in quickly. There is an agreed admission procedure. Written information, including photographs of the home, is provided to young people in advance of their stay. This helps them to be more familiar with the service they will receive and the house they will live in. The staff team support young people to help them maintain contact with their family and friends.

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Quality of care

The building presents as a comfortable family home. Its location allows good access to local public transport. The home is small. However, the communal areas of the home are well decorated, furnished and equipped. Each young person has their own bedroom. The dining area and lounge are well presented and furnished. Young people themselves are regularly consulted regarding the décor and furnishing of the home. Their views are incorporated into the programme of ongoing improvements. The kitchen is well equipped and presented. There are more than sufficient bathroom facilities.

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Quality of care

The individual food preferences of each young person are confirmed and are recorded for reference. Young people are involved in menu choice and can go shopping with staff. The staff team regularly encourage them to contribute their ideas to menu planning and be actively involved in preparing meals. The range of food provided at the home includes healthy choices and examples of food from different cultures.

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Quality of care

The staff team are trained in first aid, the safe administration of medication and safe food hygiene. 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 receive outstanding encouragement to give their views on how the home is run. Their views are clearly recorded and acknowledged. The manager and staff team incorporate the suggestions they make into their ongoing planning to further improve the service provided. Young people know how to complain if they are ever unhappy. There have been no complaints received at the home since the previous inspection visit.

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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 at the home which are used well to safeguard the young people who live there. There is detailed safeguarding guidance and reporting procedures available to the staff team. They also receive regular training to help them protect young people from abuse and keep them safe. In addition, very thorough risk assessments are completed by the staff in partnership with young people and their social workers. These arrangements help to ensure that young people feel safe living at the home.

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Safeguarding children and young people

There are clear procedures which are used by staff to help ensure that when young people go missing they are found and kept safe, as quickly as possible. The procedures in place have been discussed and agreed with local authority safeguarding staff and the police. The arrangements have been effective in reducing the number of occasions that young people go missing. The staff team also have clear guidance which they use effectively to minimise any risk of bullying to young people. There have been no instances of bullying at the home in the period since the previous inspection visit.

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Safeguarding children and young people

Young people enjoy very positive relationships with the staff team. Training is given to staff in the appropriate use of physical restraint. However, the use of restraint has not been necessary in the period since the previous inspection visit. There is also detailed guidance for staff to follow regarding the use of agreed sanctions. However, the use of sanctions has not been necessary at the home in recent times. A range of agreed incentives are used very regularly to further promote the positive behaviour of young people.

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Safeguarding children and young people

The staff team complete detailed risk assessments and use these to help ensure the home is a safe place for young people to live in. Regular checks are also completed on the safety equipment used to help protect young people. The staff team are trained to know what to do in any emergency. They practice this with all of the young people who live at the home.

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Safeguarding children and young people

Young people 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 closely supervised to help ensure that children are kept safe when they 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 good information about the service provided. Young people receive their own guide to the home. It also contains clear information about how the service is provided, and is presented to a good standard.

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Leadership and management

The staff team are very experienced in working with children and young people and overall are well qualified. However, not all of the team have completed their recommended training. The staff team receive regular supervision and additional training opportunities. However, the training monitor used to record and plan staff training is not clearly presented. Also, the supervision provided to relief staff members is not clearly recorded. The manager monitors the daily staffing levels at the home closely. These are adjusted where necessary to ensure that young people receive the support they need.

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Leadership and management

There are good systems in place which are used by the manager to monitor the home's records and to create monthly reports regarding the quality of the service provided to young people. Young people, their parents and their social workers are regularly consulted as part of this process. The information gathered from this monitoring is used by the manager to plan further improvements to the service.

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Leadership and management

Monitoring visits to the home also take place on behalf of the registered provider. However, these visits do not always occur at the frequency required by regulation and some do not cover all of the matters required. Positively, there were no actions or recommendations made at the previous inspection visit.

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Leadership and management

Equality and diversity practice is good .

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