Children's Home run by Darlington Borough Council in Darlington

Unique reference number SC068000 Inspection date 18/04/2013 Inspector Stephen Smith Type of inspection Full Provision subtype Children's home

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Date of last inspection 24/01/2013 Website: www.ofsted.gov.uk

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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.

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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 home in all outcome areas. The quality of care provided to young people is good and, consequently, young people achieve good outcomes overall. Some elements of the home’s care are excellent and lead to young people achieving outstanding outcomes in some areas of their lives.

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Overall effectiveness

Young people and staff have excellent relationships. Staff members have a nurturing approach and provide high levels of support to young people. Resulting from these relationships alongside an extremely positive and proactive approach to behaviour management is that young people’s behaviour is very good. On occasions when young people do challenge staff, this is handled in a positive and supportive manner which helps young people understand what is expected of them.

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Overall effectiveness

The support for young people’s education is outstanding and, as a consequence of this, their achievement is similarly impressive. This provides young people with excellent prospects for their future.

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Overall effectiveness

Young people’s health is well supported although, because the majority continue to smoke, their health outcomes are not as good as they could be.

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Overall effectiveness

Young people are very well supported in their progression to adulthood and independence. They have good contact with their families and friends and take part in a wide range of appropriate activities. Young people have a strong say regarding how the home is run and most are involved in the authority’s children in care council. The home is well managed. There is a strong leadership from the manager which effectively directs the way the home works. Quality assurance monitoring by the manager and the home’s external visitors is of excellent quality and promotes the high standard of service provided.

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Overall effectiveness

The size of the home and the nature of the young people living there mean that, at times the home runs with a single staff member on duty. The manager is careful in making these arrangements but the written risk assessment covering this situation is not comprehensive enough.

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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, where only one member of staff is on duty at any time, a risk assessment has been carried out and recorded in writing, identifying any likely risks to children, staff and members of the public. (NMS 17.9)

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Outcomes for children and young people

Young people living at the home make good progress. Their self-confidence increases and they develop an understanding of their background. Young people develop excellent relationships with each other and with the staff team; this helps them to form positive and robust attachments and friendships.

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Outcomes for children and young people

Young people’s health improves while they are the home. They are provided with support for their emotional, psychological and physical health, all of which improve during their time at the home. All young people have access to primary health services and any specialist support they require. For example, a young person accessed some key primary health care treatment that they had refused previously and another young person voluntarily sought specialist help with support of the staff team. Some young people at the home continue to smoke. The home provides a great deal of support and advice in this area but has only been partially successful in reducing this behaviour. For this reason, health outcomes for young people are not as good as they should be.

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Outcomes for children and young people

Young people living at the home make outstanding progress with their education. Young people have high aspirations and work to achieve these. All attend full-time education including those who are above the statutory school leaving age. For example, two young people are currently in further education and are working towards going to university and another young person has plans to continue education beyond the age of sixteen. This level of aspiration and achievement is impressive and the young people concerned deserve commendation for this. Their success provides them with a wide range of opportunities for their later lives. The support provided to young people for further and higher education, also helps them prepare effectively for adult life and approaching independence. For example, one young person travelled independently to visit an overseas university following careful planning and consideration of possible risks.

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Outcomes for children and young people

Young people are very involved in the running of the home. They have their say over matters such as décor, activities and daily routines. Young people are key members of the authority’s children in care council. As such they influence the way children’s services operate within the authority and provide support to other looked after young people.

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Outcomes for children and young people

Young people benefit from positive contact with their family whenever this is possible for them. Their family and friends are welcomed to the home and they receive good support to maintain contact via visits and phone calls. This helps young people retain important links and maintain relationships with their family members.

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Quality of care

The home’s manager and staff develop strong relationships with the young people living at the home. These relationships are based upon an open, honest and respectful approach to the young people. For example, during the inspection the manager and a number of staff talked about the importance of ‘warmth’ in their relationships and young people say they trust the staff team. One said that staff ‘want the best for us’. These positive relationships help to promote a situation in which young people’s behaviour is very good. The home’s staff work proactively with young people to prevent negative behaviour developing and this is usually highly successful. Sanctions are extremely rare as is the use of physical intervention.

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Quality of care

The staff team consult regularly with the young people in a structured manner and also seek their views informally on a day-to-day basis. Young people take part in house meetings and meet regularly with their key worker. Young people’s files contain evidence that they have seen their records and, where young people are reluctant to be involved in their own care, the staff team encourage them to take part in meetings and decisions. The home’s staff regularly discuss young people’s achievements and challenges with them which helps them direct their own development.

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Quality of care

Young people know how to express any dissatisfaction they have with the service, including how to make a complaint. When children do raise concerns, these are responded to promptly and appropriately.

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Quality of care

Care planning in the home is good. Young people’s needs are identified and strategies developed which help to address these. Plans also include information about young people’s aspirations. This ensures that the home helps young people to achieve their goals. Care plans sensitively set out young people’s individual situations and the inclusive care provided is in line with these plans. For example, a great deal of work is done to help young people develop their own sense of identity and be comfortable and confident within this.

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Quality of care

Staff at the home work very positively and proactively with young people’s families and develop good working relationships with them. Regular communication takes place and this helps ensure that the home and the young person’s parents are working with the same aims in mind. This improves the quality of the care provided to young people. The home works well with young people's social workers; keeping them informed about their progress ensuring that their needs are identified and addressed.

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Quality of care

The home works hard to provide young people with good support for their health. Their health plans are comprehensive. Young people are registered with all primary health services and support and are encouraged to attend for check-ups and treatment. This means that young people receive the treatment that they need but may not have had access to previously. Medication arrangements within the home are appropriate. Where possible, young people are supported to manage any medication they need following careful risk assessment. Despite the infrequent use of prescribed medication in the home, staff members are trained in the safe administration of medication. All staff have first aid training. Young people have ready access to any specialist health services they need. The home provides young people with a lot of support and advice regarding their emotional and physical and sexual health. The home provides young people with smoking cessation advice and

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Quality of care

support and works hard to discourage smoking although, as stated earlier, this is not always effective.

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Quality of care

The home provides young people with outstanding support for their education. A clear focus exists upon encouraging young people to have high aspirations and expectations of themselves and provide high levels of support to help them achieve these. The home works very closely with schools, colleges and alternative education providers to ensure that young people are able to access educational opportunities which motivate them and reflect their interests and skills. Staff provide structured support with young people’s education including helping with homework, and providing set periods of time for educational work to be done. Young people receive high levels of emotional support to help them concentrate on their work and additional tuition is arranged for young people where this will be beneficial. Educational plans closely link to young people’s pathway plans and young people are helped to understand the importance of education in improving their future

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Quality of care

opportunities. These high levels of support mean than young people’s educational outcomes improves significantly during their time at the home.

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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. Recent work has been undertaken to improve the bathroom and kitchen/dining facilities to make them more suitable for the needs of the young people.

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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

The safety and well-being of young people who live at this home are well promoted. Young people feel safe and have very good relationships with staff members which further helps to protect them. Young people also have lots of contacts outside the home whom they are able to speak to; this further improves their safety.

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Safeguarding children and young people

The quality of young people’s relationships with the staff team and the positive and proactive approach to managing young people’s behaviour also has a positive impact on young people’s well-being and safety. The use of sanctions or physical intervention is extremely rare and the quality of the monitoring of the home’s practice in this area ensures that the approaches taken to young people are appropriate.

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Safeguarding children and young people

Young people are very rarely absent without authority from the home and there have been no recent incidents of a young person going missing. Young people are appropriately mature, independent and respect the sense of trust placed on them by the staff. The home has appropriate arrangements within the local joint protocol should a young person go missing in future.

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Safeguarding children and young people

There is currently no bullying in this children’s home. Staff are trained in this area and work constructively with young people to prevent this. Commendably, the young people in the home demonstrate a mutual respect and an understanding of each other’s situation.

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Safeguarding children and young people

The home’s staff team is well trained in safeguarding matters; they know how to respond to allegations, suspicions or evidence of harm. For example, one young person raised concern about a matter he had witnessed away from the home and was supported by staff to raise his concerns.

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Safeguarding children and young people

The home’s premises are well maintained and safe. The electrical equipment, gas appliances and fire equipment are professionally serviced regularly. Hazards that may affect young people have been assessed and action is taken to minimise any identified risks. 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 to the home.

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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 is a well-managed home. The standard of quality assurance monitoring of its activities and standard of care, carried out by the manager and external visitors, is excellent. It is thorough, practice focused and qualitative. It addresses important matters relating to the young people’s plans and progress as well as matters important to them. The staff team is experienced, well trained and has an impressive focus on outcomes for young people. The home promptly addresses any requirements made during inspections; none were made at the last visit to the home. The home’s management team provides a clear sense of direction for the home’s work and understands its strengths and areas for development. Future plans and the home’s development plan are better developed than previously was the case.

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Leadership and management

Staffing levels at the home are suitable to meet the needs of the young people. There is a low turnover of staff within the home. This stability ensures that staff are experienced and have good working relationships with young people. At times the home operates with a single staff member on duty. Taking account of the age and nature of the young people living at the home this is appropriate and the manager clearly makes sure that arrangements are suitable. However, the risk assessment covering single staffing is not sufficiently well developed. It covers risks to staff well but does not set out in writing how any potential risks to young people from this arrangement will be identified and minimised.

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Leadership and management

The staff team receive training in a wide range of subjects that help to enhance the care provided to young people. For example, staff have recently completed training on teenage brain development, the voice of the child and attachment. As a result of the training they receive, the staff team works positively and supportively with the young people. All have an appropriate child-care qualification at level 3. Formal supervision and appraisal systems operate effectively and support the care provided to young people.

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Leadership and management

Young people's individual placement plans are regularly updated and monitored. Plans set out young people’s care needs; the reasons for their placement at the home; their aims and the progress they make. Statutory reviews of young people’s overall plans of care take place on time. The home contributes effectively to these and ensures that outcomes from reviews are incorporated in young people’s residential placement plans. Young people are regularly involved in discussions about the care provided to them and are able to access their records and record their comments if they wish. 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 and the evaluation schedule for the inspection of children's homes.

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