Children's Home run by Darlington Borough Council in Darlington

Unique reference number SC037861 Inspection date 25/07/2012 Inspector Stephen Smith Type of inspection Full Provision subtype Children's home

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Date of last inspection 16/03/2012 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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Brief description of the service

This local authority children’s home provides care and accommodation for up to three children of either sex. It is registered to care for young people whose main needs arise from emotional or behavioural difficulties.

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The inspection judgements and what they mean

Outstanding : a service of exceptional quality that significantly exceeds minimum requirements Good : a service of high quality that exceeds minimum requirements Adequate : a service that only meets minimum requirements Inadequate : a service that does not meet minimum requirements

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Overall effectiveness

The overall effectiveness is judged to be good .

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Overall effectiveness

This is a good children’s home that helps produce good outcomes for young people. It is well managed, with a strong leadership that knows the home’s strengths and areas for development. Working relationships with other professionals are very good and the home seeks the views of the young people and their families to ensure that the care it provides is appropriate. The home’s staff team is experienced and well- trained and is committed to improving the life chances of the young people they work with.

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Overall effectiveness

The home is good at helping young people to keep safe. Proactive methods of behaviour management mean that sanctions and interventions are hardly ever used. Young people are provided with very good help to manage their own behaviour and they generally behave well. They have very good relationships with the staff and manager. Young people go missing from the home infrequently. Where this does happen action is taken within a clearly defined and well understood protocol to ensure young people are safe. Young people understand this process and any incidents of going missing reduce in frequency during their stay. The home has good arrangements in place to protect young people. Young people at the home generally get on well together. The staff team are alert to any possible bullying and take proactive steps to prevent this happening or to respond where necessary. Detailed risk assessments are developed where necessary although the information in these is

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Overall effectiveness

not presented or updated in such a way that important information is easily accessible.

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Overall effectiveness

The quality of care provided to young people is outstanding. Young people are very involved in the care provided to them and their wishes are sought and taken into account where plans are made. Young people and staff relate very well to each other which helps ensure that care provided meets young people’s needs. For example, one young person said, said ‘The staff act just like my family, I can tell them anything’. The staff team has good relationships with young people’s families and provides very good support for their contact. This helps young people retain their own identity. The home works very well with social workers and partner agencies. It effectively challenges shortfalls in their practice as necessary to ensure that young people receive the best support possible. It works effectively to promote children’s education and health with young people making good progress in these areas. Care planning is very strong and ensures that young people’s needs are identified and

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Overall effectiveness

addressed. Where young people have specific or complex needs the home provides excellent support as part of the wider professional team to ensure that these are properly addressed.

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Overall effectiveness

This excellent support for young people means that they achieve good outcomes in terms of their health, educational attendance and achievement and transition into adulthood.

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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

 implement a proportionate approach to any risk assessment. Specifically, that assessment of risks faced by young people and the action required to minimise these risks is clear and easily accessible in order to ensure that it is relevant and current. (NMS 4.5)

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Outcomes for children and young people

Outcomes for children and young people are good .

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Outcomes for children and young people

Young people who live at the home benefit from the care provided to them by the staff team. As a consequence their life chances improve and they are helped to achieve positive outcomes.

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Outcomes for children and young people

Young people have access to the primary health services they need and consequently their health improves while they are at the home. Young people become more independent regarding their own health and receive the encouragement and support they need to access any medical appointments. They access any specialist health provision they may require. Where additional help is required young people have access to a well-integrated team who can focus on assessing and meeting their needs. Young people receive the support and education they need to improve their emotional and sexual health. Young people’s educational attendance and achievement improves during the time they spend at the home. Young people complete their schooling and move into further education which improves their future life chances. They benefit from support and advice which meets their needs and have access to any additional support or tuition they may need.

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Outcomes for children and young people

Young people also benefit from strong support regarding their preparation for independence. Those who are getting ready to move into adulthood undergo smooth transitions into greater independence which are well supported by the home’s understanding of their individual needs.

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Outcomes for children and young people

Young people are able to develop and maintain friendships outside the home and can have friends to visit or go and stay overnight with them. They participate in a wide range of activities that help them make new relationships and friendships. Their friends are made welcome in the home. Young people have good links with their families. This helps them understand their heritage and retain relationships with key people important to them.

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Outcomes for children and young people

Young people living at the home undertake, with the support of staff, a wide range of activities that make a positive contribution to their home, other looked after children and the wider community. For example, one young person chairs the local authority’s children in care council and all the young people take part in regular activities including running events at the home to raise money for local charities. As well as helping other people this provides young people with experiences that enhance their sense of self-worth and respect.

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Quality of care

The quality of the care is outstanding .

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Quality of care

The manager and staff of the home provide young people with care that is of excellent quality and based on their individual needs. Relationships between young people and the staff team are very good. This provides young people with a sound and secure base for them to make progress and develop. Young people relate well to each other and demonstrate a mutual respect which is a credit to them and the hard work of the staff team.

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Quality of care

Behaviour management is commendably positive and proactive. Young people are helped to understand the consequences of their actions and understand that sanctions may be necessary. Staff work to guide young people and help them understand why they should behave in an appropriate manner. Where young people’s behaviour does fall short of that deemed to be acceptable, staff view this in context of the young person’s situation and discuss this with them. One young person said, ‘we all know the rules but they (the staff) are not heavy about it’. The quality of relationships and the open and honest work with young people means that sanctions are hardly ever imposed on young people with no sanctions being imposed and no young people being subject to physical intervention for over two years. Consequently, young people learn to manage their own behaviour which provides an excellent support for them as they grow up and become more independent.

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Quality of care

The home listens to young people’s views. They have a significant say in their own care and how the home is run. Young people are involved in, read and sign their own care plans and understand how the home is trying to work with them. This involvement is enhanced further by the very good relationships that young people have with staff. Young people have named keyworkers who they meet with regularly, to ensure that they have opportunity to express their views. These discussions help inform the home’s effective placement planning for young people.

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Quality of care

The home works hard to develop positive relationships with young people’s families. Families are welcome to visit the home and formal opportunities are arranged on admission and at other times for them to visit. For example, families are invited to fund raising events for local charities held at the home or other celebration events. This helps young people to retain links and maintain relationships with people who are important to them.

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Quality of care

The home works sensitively with young people’s individual needs and situations. Care provided is inclusive, supports young people and reduces any discrimination they may face. The home liaises effectively with young people's social workers and external agencies to help ensure that their needs are identified and addressed. For example, where young people have very specific and complex needs the home ensures that emotional support is provided and that other agencies are involved and provide the required services. This effective joint working is a characteristic of the home’s effectiveness. It works very well with professionals from partner agencies including health and education but retains a clear focus on the well-being of the young people accommodated. The home provides other agencies with appropriate and robust challenges in order to address any shortfalls in the services provided to its young people.

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Quality of care

The home provides young people with very good support for their health. Young people’s medication is well managed and safely stored. Young people self-administer medication such as painkillers following an assessment of any risks involved. Staff members are trained in the safe administration of medication and in first aid. They know young people’s needs and provide additional support to help address any fears they may have of attending health appointments. This helps ensure young people receive any treatment they need. The home provides young people with a lot of support and advice regarding their emotional, physical and sexual health. This can be provided by staff ‘in-house’ or through the home’s effective links with external agencies. Where young people have specific health needs the home ensures that other agencies take whatever action is needed to help address these. For example, the home has been proactive in working in partnership with mental health services to

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Quality of care

ensure that all required assessments were carried out to ensure that a young person’s needs were fully identified.

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Quality of care

Similarly, the home works very effectively with schools and other agencies to help young people get the education they need. Young people are encouraged to have high expectations of their attainment and staff provide structured support with young people’s education including helping with homework. Additional tuition is arranged for young people where this will be beneficial. The home works very effectively with schools in relation to young people's attendance and behaviour. Where problems exist, the home takes a lead role in liaising with the school to ensure that young people are able to continue their education. For example, the home, interceded robustly with a school where there was difficulty with a young person’s behaviour. This resulted in the young person being able to sit key exams important for the future. Consequently, young people succeed with their education and their life chances are considerably enhanced. All young people currently at the home have

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Quality of care

further education places and are undertaking educational and vocational opportunities over the summer holidays prior to these courses commencing in September.

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Quality of care

The home’s premises are well-maintained, homely and comfortable and personalised with young people’s personal items, books and photographs. Young people take pride in the home and are involved in choosing décor and activities such as gardening.

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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

Young people living at this home feel safe and have strong relationships with staff members. These relationships and the very positive and proactive methods of behaviour management employed in the home further promotes their safety and well-being.

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Safeguarding children and young people

Staff are aware of the potential for bullying among young people. They work positively with young people to prevent this. An open, positive culture of relationships exists in the home and young people have good relationships with each other and staff. The staff work hard to instil an understanding of people’s differences into the young people and the need to respect others. As a consequence, bullying is rare and, where any should occur, this is identified and addressed promptly by staff.

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Safeguarding children and young people

The staff team know how to respond to allegations, suspicions or evidence of harm. They receive regular training in how to safeguard and promote children's welfare. Effective care planning ensures that any risks to young people are identified, monitored and updated. The home’s staff work well with professionals from partner agencies to develop strategies to reduce the risks young people may face. The structure of the risk assessment tools used to record, monitor and set out methods of minimising identified risk to young people, though comprehensive, do not present the information in a manner that is sufficiently accessible. The process for updating information about risks and strategies is not easy enough to follow and additions and amendments are not always dated. Consequently, it is not easy to identify what is current information or to identify where updates have taken place. In situations where young people are exposed to very high levels of risk this could mean that key

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Safeguarding children and young people

information is missed and as such these documents do not offer these young people the degree of protection they should. Young people do not go missing from the home very often and this behaviour reduces as young people settle into the home. The home operates very effectively within the local joint protocol to respond if a young person should go missing. The home works proactively with the young people, other professionals and the police to plan a response based on young people’s age, ability and behaviour. The home clearly understands the difference between children being missing or being absent without authority. It works hard with young people to promote their safety while allowing them appropriate independence subject to their age and care needs. Staff are aware of the potential risks faced by young people who are away from the home and work to address young people’s behaviour with them. This helps young people

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Safeguarding children and young people

to become more responsible for their own actions and safety. The home has very good relationships with the police and the local beat officer visits regularly and informally to meet with the young people.

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Safeguarding children and young people

The home’s premises are maintained in a safe condition. The electrical equipment, gas appliances and equipment for preventing, detecting and extinguishing fires are professionally serviced regularly. Fire drills take place appropriately. Recruitment procedures are safe and all new staff undergo thorough checks in line with relevant legislation prior to their appointment.

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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

This home has a staff team that is well-trained and competent who are led by an experienced and qualified manager. The home takes its regulatory responsibilities seriously and responds promptly to any requirements or recommendations made. At the last interim inspection all previous recommendations and the one requirement made had been addressed and no new recommendations were made.

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Leadership and management

The manager and senior staff within the authority take a robust approach to monitoring the home’s operation and the quality of care it provides. Monitoring by the home’s external visitors is detailed, qualitative and outcome focused. The views of young people, their families and their social workers are sought as part of this process and given appropriate weight within the reports’ findings. The manager’s formal monitoring systems are equally thorough and inclusive. Young people’s progress is monitored and evaluated on a regular basis and discussed with the young people themselves. The information gained is used to help develop and review plans of care.

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Leadership and management

The home has an annual development plan in place. This is satisfactory and is becoming more detailed and specific. This plan clearly sets out the home’s targets for the year in terms of its activities and budget. Progress towards the plan is monitored and recorded. Managers understand the home’s strengths and development areas and provide a clear sense of direction and leadership. The home’s success is measured against the quality of care it provides to young people and the success of this work so all the home’s activities are very child-focused. There is a very low turnover of staff within the home which leads to a positive stability for the young people. This is evident in the very good relationships between staff and young people. Staffing levels are suitable to meet young people’s needs and there is flexibility in terms of staff deployment or numbers on duty where necessary to ensure that young people are properly safeguarded and cared for.

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Leadership and management

Staff members are experienced and well trained. All are qualified to the required level and a range of training is provided both in mandatory subjects and matters specific to the needs of the young people currently being cared for. For example, all staff have minimum of a level 3 qualification in working with children and training in matters such as attachment, anger management and domestic violence has been recently provided. Formal supervision and appraisal systems operate effectively and support the care provided to young people. Regular team meetings take place which include consideration of each young person’s care needs.

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Leadership and management

Young people are regularly involved in discussions about the care provided to them. They are encouraged to read their own records and add any comments they wish to make. Young people’s individual placement plans maintained within the home are comprehensive documents that effectively support the local authorities care plans for the young person. These plans are well reviewed and the home uses the information in these plans and records to contribute effectively to young people’s statutory reviews. Records are stored securely and confidentiality is maintained.

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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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