Children's Home run by Stockton on Tees Borough Council in Stockton-on-Tees

Unique reference number SC035387 Inspection date 24/02/2012 Inspector Steve Pearson Type of inspection Interim Provision subtype Children's home

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Date of last inspection 13/12/2011 Website: www.ofsted.gov.uk

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Brief description of the service

The children's home is provided by a local authority and is registered to care for up to six young people with emotional or behavioural difficulties. The home aims to provide duration of care which is short- to medium-term.

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The inspection judgements and what they mean

Good progress The children’s home has demonstrated continued improvement in quality of care and outcomes for children and young people and where appropriate has addressed all requirements and the large majority of recommendations that were raised at the previous inspection. Satisfactory progress The children’s home has maintained quality of care and outcomes for children and young people and where appropriate has addressed all requirements and the majority of recommendations that were raised at the previous inspection. Inadequate progress The children’s home has failed to address one or more requirements and/or has not met the majority of recommendations and/or the quality of care and outcomes for children and young people have declined since the last full inspection.

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Progress

Since their previous inspection the service is judged to be making satisfactory progress.

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Progress

At the previous inspection, Ofsted rated the overall effectiveness of the home to be good and made two requirements and five recommendations. Since then the registered persons have met all the requirements and most of the recommendations. As a result of these actions, the quality of care has improved. For example, there are now no restrictions on the ability of young people to leave the premises at any time other than if an acute crisis were to occur. The Registered Manager and staff are also now aware of the need to inform Ofsted of the outcome of child protection enquiries and this enables the regulator to monitor concerns more effectively.

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Progress

Aspects of children's safety have also improved since the previous inspection. The risk assessment procedures are more comprehensive and the recording formats are easier to understand. However, one aspect that has not yet improved is the recording of occasions when young people go missing. The registered persons are currently updating their procedures here. However, in the documenting of these occasions, the reason given by a young person for going missing and actions taken to address these reasons are still not being recorded. The circumstances of their return are still not adequately detailed. Consequently a recommendation made at the previous inspection has been repeated.

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Progress

The home's annual business plan is still not adequately informative because it does not contain written confirmation that the resourcing of the home will either remain the same or change. Consequently a recommendation which was made at the previous inspection has been repeated.

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Progress

Other aspects of care have improved since the previous inspection. For example, young people who have been admitted to the home have had comprehensive health checks with a doctor, dentist and optician. School attendance has been maintained and improved and young people’s contact with their families has improved. School attendance is monitored on a daily basis but actual attendance as a proportion of potential attendance is not being calculated. This makes progress over time harder to measure.

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Progress

There have been some concerns regarding behaviour due to the involvement of police resulting in arrests and charges being made. Such incidents are not always being notified to Ofsted which means it is not able to monitor these significant events effectively.

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Progress

Young people are encouraged to have a full say in how the home is run. They are invited to regular house meetings and their views and suggestions are recorded. The minutes are displayed on the young people's notice board so they can be up to date with decisions made. Each meeting starts with a look back to the previous meeting to ensure actions and outcomes have been followed up.

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Progress

The registered persons also monitor the quality of care on a regular basis. Every month an external visitor calls to the home to assess the quality of care. They look at records of care practice and talk to young people, their parent or relatives and to the staff. Any recommendations are entered into their report. The Registered Manager also formally assesses the quality of care on a regular basis, assessing documentation of care practice and seeking the views of young people, parents and social workers. They also complete a written report on the outcomes and any actions to be taken.

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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) notify Ofsted if any of the relevant events listed in column 1 of the table in Schedule 5 takes place. In particular, this relates to 24/02/2012 any serious incident necessitating calling the police to the home. (Regulation 30)

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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 records about when young people go missing describe the circumstances of their return, any reasons they may have given for going missing, and any action taken in light of those reasons (NMS 5.10)  maintain a written development plan, reviewed annually, for the future of the home, either identifying any planned changes in the resources of the service, or confirming the continuation of the home’s current resources. (NMS 15.2)

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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 progress made by the provider since the last full inspection, identifies any further strengths, any areas for improvement and makes judgements as outlined in the Inspection of children’s homes – framework for inspection (March 2011).

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