Children's Home run by Darlington Borough Council in Darlington

Unique reference number SC037861 Inspection date 06/06/2013 Inspector Stephen Smith Type of inspection Full Provision subtype Children's home

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Date of last inspection 31/01/2013 Website: www.ofsted.gov.uk

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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 home. It is well managed, is effective in keeping young people safe and provides a good quality of care to young people.

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Overall effectiveness

Young people and staff have good relationships which the staff team works hard to maintain. The quality of these relationships and a proactive approach to managing behaviour result in young people who behave well. Staff members spend time talking to young people about their behaviour to help them understand the expectations of them.

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Overall effectiveness

Young people’s safety is well promoted, they are well protected from harm and are only absent from the home without authority infrequently.

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Overall effectiveness

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 good quality of care provided. The home recognises its own strengths and areas for development. It has an annual development plan in place although this is not sufficiently well developed.

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Overall effectiveness

Young people’s health is well supported and the home ensures that they receive the health care, treatment and support they need. Young people have good contact with their families and friends where this is appropriate. They receive good support with their progression to adulthood and independence. The home engages well with a wide range of other professionals in complex situations to help young people in this transition.

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Overall effectiveness

Young people are provided with good support for their education. The home’s staff work hard to promote attendance and achievement at school or college and this is generally successful. However, not all young people attend school and some have not attended for some time. This significantly impairs their educational opportunities and results in a judgement of adequate for outcomes for young people.

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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 development plan identifies any planned changes in the operation or resources of the service, or confirms the home's current operation and resource. Specifically, that it is specific in setting out the home's plans, aims and objectives. (NMS 15.2)

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Outcomes for children and young people

Outcomes for young people are adequate .

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Outcomes for children and young people

Young people living at the home make progress in many areas of their lives. However, some children do not attend school which significantly damages their future prospects. This means that, despite the home’s positive work to encourage attendance and the good achievements of some young people, the educational outcomes for some young people are poor.

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Outcomes for children and young people

Young people’s health improves while they are the home. All young people have access to primary health services and any specialist support they require. For example, staff members work hard to encourage young people to take up appointments which they may be reluctant to attend. Where young people have complex emotional or mental health needs, these are met by the home’s effective work with specialist professionals and the wider multidisciplinary team. This means that young people’s health generally improves while they are at the home although some continue to smoke despite the home’s work to discourage this.

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Outcomes for children and young people

Young people have their say over matters such as décor, activities and daily routines. They are consulted about their own plans of care and are encouraged to take responsibility for their own decision making. 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 to retain important links and maintain relationships with their family members.

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Outcomes for children and young people

Young people benefit from the home’s good support to help them progress to independence or adult care provision. Where this is complex, young people benefit from the close working arrangements between the home and other services. For example, in one situation in which a young person’s individual situation provides challenges to care services, joint working is focusing on providing a suitable future care package for the person concerned.

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Quality of care

The home’s staff team works hard to develop positive relationships with young people. This helps to promote positive behaviour and allows staff to work with young people to help them overcome the disadvantages they face. Behaviour management in the home is proactive, with staff spending time with young people guiding and steering their behaviour. Where areas of difficulty with young people’s behaviour or actions exist, the home’s staff team works well to find alternatives that will address the situation without resorting to negative measures. Consequently, sanctions are extremely rare, as is the use of physical intervention.

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Quality of care

The home works hard to engage young people in decision making about their own care and lives. Young people are encouraged to read and sign their records and care plans. The home provides good support for them to express their views in reviews of their care. The staff team uses formal methods such as keyworker sessions and young people’s meetings to seek young people’s views about the running of the home and their care. They also record and act on opinions gained more informally during daily activities. The home’s staff team regularly talks to young people about their achievements and challenges which helps them consider their own situation and development needs. Young people know how to express any dissatisfaction they have with the service, including how to make a complaint.

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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. Care plans sensitively set out young people’s individual situations and reflect the local authority’s plans for the young person concerned. Where young people have complex needs, the plans clearly reflect the work done by the different agencies involved. They make clear the home’s responsibilities and actions in support of this work. The home works well with young people's social workers and other agencies and keeps them informed about their progress. This helps ensure that their needs are identified and addressed. Staff at the home also work hard to engage with young people’s families. They are welcomed at the home and the staff communicate well with them. This improves the quality of the care provided to young people.

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Quality of care

Support for young people’s health is good. Their health plans are comprehensive and clearly identify any services in place or required. Young people are registered with all primary health services and are encouraged to attend for check-ups and treatment. This means that young people receive the treatment that they need. Medication arrangements within the home are appropriate. 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, physical and sexual health. Where young people have more complex emotional or mental health needs, these are addressed effectively which helps improve young people’s quality of life. Staff members work hard to discourage young people from smoking although

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Quality of care

The home provides young people with good support for their education. It works well with the local authority’s education coordinator for looked after children as well as schools, colleges and alternative education providers. This helps 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. Young people are helped to plan their educational future and are supported in matters such as making college applications. Where young people have difficulties in school or with their education, the staff work effectively to support them. The staff team and the home’s routine work to promote the importance of education and to encourage attendance, although as stated earlier this is not effective in every case.

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Quality of care

The home’s premises are well maintained, homely, comfortable and personalised with young people’s personal items, books and photographs.

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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 home’s staffing, practice and procedures promote the safety and well-being of the young people who live there. Staff members work hard to establish positive relationships with young people which enables them to discuss any concerns they may have.

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Safeguarding children and young people

The positive approach taken by the home to managing young people’s behaviour further improves their safety. The use of sanctions or physical intervention is extremely rare and monitoring arrangements ensure that interventions into young people’s behaviour are effective and 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. Where young people are late back or away from the home without authority, the home responds on an individual basis, taking into account any particular risk factors. Response arrangements in these situations are built into young people’s care plans and risk assessments. 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

The home’s staff team knows how to respond to allegations, suspicions or evidence of harm to a young person. They are provided with training in safeguarding matters which is updated regularly. The home’s recruitment processes are safe and ensure that any new staff undergo the necessary checks before they are employed at the home

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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.

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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 quality assurance monitoring of its activities and standard of care, carried out by the manager and external visitors, is of excellent quality. These arrangements address important matters relating to the young people’s plans and progress and are thorough, practice focused and qualitative. The home is well resourced and undertakes regular reviews of its provision. An annual development plan is in place which consolidates these reviews well. However, it does not set out the home’s specific objectives and targets for the next year clearly enough to be a fully useful tool for development.

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Leadership and management

The home promptly addresses any requirements made during inspections; none were made at the last visit to the home. The management team provides a clear sense of direction for the home’s work and understands its strengths and areas for development.

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Leadership and management

The staff team is experienced, well trained and well supported. It is a close-knit team that is focused on improving young people’s lives. The staff team receives training in a wide range of subjects that help to enhance the care provided to young people. All have an appropriate childcare qualification at level 3. Staff have recently completed training in attachment, self-harm, child exploitation and sexual violence. Formal supervision and appraisal systems operate effectively. This high level of support, training and experience enhance the quality of the care provided to young people

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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. This arrangement is underpinned by a detailed and robust risk management plan.

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Leadership and management

Young people's individual placement plans are detailed and regularly updated and monitored. They identify young people’s care needs, the reasons for their placement at the home and their aims and the progress they make. These plans help young people to understand their background and the reasons for them living at the home. Young people’s statutory reviews take place on time. The home provides good information for these and ensures that their outcomes and actions are incorporated in young people’s residential placement plans. Young people 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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