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

Unique reference number SC035387 Inspection date 16/01/2013 Inspector Steve Pearson Type of inspection Interim Provision subtype Children's home

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Date of last inspection 01/08/2012 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 short to medium term care.

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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.

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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.

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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 good progress .

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Progress

At the previous inspection Ofsted rated the overall effectiveness of the home to be adequate and made three requirements and two recommendations. These have now been met and as a result the recording of important information is now more clear and comprehensive thereby improving accountability. The Registered Manager has gained knowledge and expertise through attending mandatory training that had been overdue. The staff are now enabled to be clear about young people's emotional and physical health needs because these are described in their residential placement plans.

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Progress

Young people are making good progress from when they are first admitted to the home. For example, one young person said, ‘I’m doing better than before I came to live here because I’m not getting into trouble and I’m doing well in education’ and another said, 'I'm doing better here as I’m going to education and learning more. I’m also more independent now.'

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Progress

Young people's health has also improved since coming to live at the home, for example, through stopping smoking and taking regular exercise. The home's own arrangements for monitoring the quality of care are effective. An external visitor calls at the home every month and assesses all the necessary information and makes recommendations when necessary. The recommendations are then checked for compliance at the next visit. Their reports cover all the important aspects of care and provide good coverage of how young people are progressing across a range of areas such as education, leisure, health and behaviour.

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Progress

Young people also contribute their views and make suggestions in regular house meetings. These meetings are recorded and each one starts with an assessment of what was suggested the last time to ensure that progress is made.

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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.

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