Children's Home run by Durham County Council in Durham

Unique reference number SC449096 Inspection date 10/09/2013 Inspector Dennis Bradley Type of inspection Full Provision subtype Children's home

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Date of last inspection 31/10/2012 Website: www.ofsted.gov.uk

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Brief description of the service

This children's home provides care and accommodation for up to four young people who have emotional and behavioural difficulties and who require to be looked after initially for a short period of time. The provider is a local authority.

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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

Overall this home provides a good quality of care. The home provides short-term placements to young people who are in crisis because their current living situation is at risk or has broken down. Staff are good at providing stability, routines and boundaries as well as promoting improved outcomes for young people. Young people are supported to either return home, or move on to a long-term placement that will meet their needs. Professionals who completed a survey said the services provided by the home are either ‘excellent’ or ‘good’.

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Overall effectiveness

Young people receive good, personalised care and support from staff to meet their individual needs. All the young people who completed a survey said the care and support they received from staff was ‘very good’. Young people are able to have their say about how they should be cared for and how the home is run. Where possible and appropriate staff act on young people's views and wishes. Young people feel safe and staff are good at promoting and safeguarding their welfare. Professionals said they ‘strongly agreed’ staff understand how to protect and safeguard young people’s welfare. Staff are good at building positive relationships with young people whose behaviour, at times, can be very challenging. They are very effective at advocating on young people’s behalf and work closely with other professionals and agencies. This helps ensure young people can access a good range of opportunities and resources. Young

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Overall effectiveness

people receive good support and encouragement from staff to attend and engage in their education. They participate positively in a good range of leisure activities in the community. Young people’s health and wellbeing is actively promoted and they receive good support to access the health care services they need. Parents who completed a survey confirmed their child’s health needs are met by the home.

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Overall effectiveness

Staffing levels are good and enable staff to spend one-to-one time with each young person to meet their needs and preferences. This helps young people to feel valued and builds their self-esteem. The home is effectively led and the staff are committed to developing the service they provide to young people. There are very good arrangements in place for monitoring the care and welfare of young people and improving outcomes for them.

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Overall effectiveness

There are some shortfalls relating to the home’s records but these have minimal impact on the welfare of young people.

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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) ensure the records specified in Schedule 4 are maintained in the home and are kept up to date, in particular a copy of the staff duty roster of persons working at the home, and a record of the actual rosters worked. (Regulation 29 (1)) 30/09/2013

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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 the home has a record of the recruitment and vetting checks which have been carried out on those working for the home which includes the details specified in NMS 16.3 and 16.4 (NMS 16)  ensure that reports completed under Regulation 34 clearly refer to how the views of young people, their families and placing authorities about the operation of the home, are taken into account. (NMS 21.1 and Volume 5, statutory guidance, paragraph 2.27)

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Outcomes for children and young people

The home provides time limited placements for young people. Consequently, since the last inspection a number of young people have moved into and out of the home. However, staff are skilled, very experienced and good at using the opportunities available to build constructive, warm relationships with young people who have very diverse needs. It is evident that, over time, young people benefit from the good levels of care, support and guidance they receive.

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Outcomes for children and young people

Young people receive very good support to attend school and engage in their education. Their attendance has been variable, and for some this has affected their achievements. However, some young people have made progress in the relatively short time they have been at the home, taking into account their starting points when they moved in. Young people have excellent opportunities to participate in a wide range of positive activities within the local community. Some of these, such as using the local gym and swimming pool, help improve their health and self- confidence. Young people also have the opportunity to participate in activities such as preparing and cooking meals. This helps them acquire the independence skills they will need when they are adults. Good staffing levels help ensure young people are able to be involved in the activities and hobbies they are interested in. Young people confirmed they are able to do this.

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Outcomes for children and young people

Young people have good opportunities to participate in decisions about their day-to- day lives and future. Staff are proactive in trying to find the best way to promote their participation. For example, young people are actively involved in completing their personal care plans and risk assessments. They are also asked to provide feedback about their experience of living at the home by completing questionnaires when they move on. This helps young people to feel valued and also helps staff to understand how the care and support young people receive can be improved.

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Outcomes for children and young people

Young people receive support and encouragement to lead a healthy and active lifestyle. They have good access to the health services they need to maintain their health. They also have access to a good range of resources, advice and guidance on health and personal care issues. This helps them understand the potential risks to their health of, for example, using drugs and drinking alcohol, and to make informed choices in relation to their own health. Although some young people smoke, they understand the health risks and are encouraged to stop. For example, they have the opportunity to attend smoking cessation sessions. Young people also receive good support and guidance about how to stop engaging in other risk-taking behaviours, such as going missing and self-harming. Overall many have made good progress in this regard. Professionals confirmed if young people used drugs or alcohol when first placed at the home, they are being helped to stop.

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Outcomes for children and young people

Young people benefit from appropriate contact with family members and friends and staff actively support this. This enables young people to maintain links with people who are important to them and, for some it facilitates their move back home.

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Quality of care

Young people benefit from the very good care and support provided by staff. A parent said the home, ‘… is warm and welcoming and the staff are really good.’ A professional said, 'The atmosphere in the home is always warm and friendly and young people seem to feel at home very quickly.’

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Quality of care

Young people get on well with staff. Young people confirmed there are staff they can talk to if they have any worries or concerns. Staff are very child focussed and it is evident they value the views and wishes of the young people regarding their care and the running of the home. Young people confirmed they know how to make a complaint if they are unhappy about something and there are clear and accessible procedures to enable them to do this.

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Quality of care

Staff make every effort to enable young people to attend school or other education placements regularly. They make sure the routine of the home is organised to support this. Young people confirmed staff make sure they go to school and help them with their homework. Staff are good at maintaining contact with schools and other education and training placements. This helps address any day-to-day issues quickly and supports young people’s continuing attendance. Staff are good at advocating on young people’s behalf to support them to achieve their educational potential. They also celebrate young people’s achievements and progress which helps promote their self-esteem and confidence.

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Quality of care

Young people benefit from having individual placement plans that detail how their needs will be addressed. Staff ensure young people are cared for in line with their placement plans. This helps ensure their individual and diverse needs are met. Staff encourage young people to play an active role in the development and review of their plans, which helps ensure their views are fully taken into account. Young people confirmed they know about their placement plans.

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Quality of care

Where appropriate, staff work closely and constructively with parents. This helps to ensure continuity of care and good outcomes for young people. Parents said they ‘strongly agree’ staff keep them up-to-date about how their child is doing. They also confirmed staff listen to and consider their views about the care of their child. Staff also work well with social workers and other professionals to make sure young people’s plans are implemented consistently and to avoid any drift. Professionals all confirmed staff work well with them.

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Quality of care

Staff place a strong value on making positive relationships with young people and making sure they are listened to and respected. A professional said, ‘The staff promote what is in the best interests of the young people they look after. They consult with the young people and encourage self-advocacy… ’ Staff endeavour to work constructively to reduce the incidences of negative behaviour displayed by the young people. They use a restorative approach to try to enable young people to understand the impact of their behaviour on others. Professionals confirmed young people’s offending/anti-social behaviour is addressed by staff.

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Quality of care

There are good arrangements for storing, administering and monitoring young people’s medication. Staff who administer medication to young people have had training in safety with medicines. These arrangements help to protect young people’s health and meet their health care needs.

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Quality of care

Young people benefit from the very good links the home has with a range of health care services, including those that provide support for young people who may have emotional or psychological issues. This helps to ensure young people’s health needs are identified and addressed. Many of the staff have also undertaken specific training to enable them to support and promote young people’s health and wellbeing.

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Quality of care

The home is attractively decorated, and furnished and maintained to a very good standard. This means young people have a comfortable, homely place in which to live, which helps build their self-esteem. In their response to a survey, a young person said that what is good about the home is, ‘It’s comfortable and cosy and the staff are nice.’

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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

Staff are good at protecting young people’s welfare by implementing the home’s safeguarding procedures, risk assessments and reporting procedures. Staff have a good understanding of their roles and responsibilities in keeping young people safe and take appropriate action to safeguard them. Young people said they feel safe living at the home. A parent said, ‘The staff are very proactive with regard to my child’s safety and wellbeing.’

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Safeguarding children and young people

Young people are protected from bullying. Staff said bullying is currently not an issue in the home. It is a key part of the home’s ethos that any bullying is unacceptable. Young people said staff always deal well with bullying if it happens. Staff have had training in countering bullying behaviour and the home has received anti-bullying accreditation.

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Safeguarding children and young people

There are clear procedures in place which are used effectively by staff to minimise the risk to young people who go missing, or fail to return to the home at the agreed time. These procedures have been agreed with the police and local authority safeguarding staff. Staff work effectively in partnership with the police and social workers, to reduce the number of occasions when young people go missing. Overall, the frequency young people go missing reduces over their time at the home. Records indicate that when young people go missing it is not to get away from the home but to stay out with friends.

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Safeguarding children and young people

Staff work hard to develop and maintain positive and constructive relationships with young people living in the home. A professional said, ‘The staff team work in a very cohesive way and although at times they have to deal with very challenging behaviour they are very consistent in their approach …’ Staff are very good at responding positively to acceptable behaviour by providing appropriate incentives and rewards. They agree individual targets and rewards with each young person. Overall, young people receive significantly more rewards than sanctions. When staff do use sanctions or physical restraint their use is appropriate and proportionate. For example, physical restraint is only used on young people to keep them or others safe, or to prevent significant damage to the home.

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Safeguarding children and young people

The home has clear and comprehensive staff recruitment and selection procedures. These help make sure only suitable people are employed to care for young people. However, the home does not have a record of the recruitment and vetting checks carried out on staff, as specified in the national minimum standards. This shortfall does not have any impact on the welfare of young people.

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Safeguarding children and young people

Young people live in a home that is safe and secure. For example, there are good systems within the home to identify and minimise any risks or hazards.

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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

The home has a Statement of Purpose that provides clear, accessible information about how it operates. It is child focused and clearly sets out how young people will be cared for. There is also a young people’s guide to the home which includes important information, such as how to complain or contact an independent advocate.

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Leadership and management

Staff have also developed an interactive web site to enable young people to access information about the home and a range of other useful information, such as what facilities and resources are available in the local community. This is an excellent resource for young people living at the home and those who are about to move into the home, particularly those who are unable to visit beforehand.

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Leadership and management

The Registered Manager is qualified and very experienced. They provide good and effective leadership for the staff team to enable them to provide good outcomes for the young people. There are good systems for monitoring and controlling how the home is run in order to improve the quality of care provided. The manager ensures these are implemented. This includes the use of systems to track and evaluate young people’s progress since they moved into the home. There are appropriate arrangements in place for consulting young people, parents and professionals about the running of the home. The manager completes a written report regarding the outcome of their monitoring of the service. However, the report does not refer to the outcomes of consultation with young people and others, or how this has been taken into account in developing the service.

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Leadership and management

There was one requirement made at the last inspection of the home. Action has been taken to address this and staff now keep suitable records of sanctions and restraints. This facilitates the monitoring of the action taken by staff to ensure it was appropriate and effective.

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Leadership and management

The management team continually monitor and review the quality of care provided by the service and the staff team strives to improve outcomes for young people. For example, staff are working with a local university to produce interactive software to help young people develop skills in emotional literacy.

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Leadership and management

Staff are skilled and experienced and have a strong commitment to meeting the complex and diverse needs of the young people who are admitted to the home. They receive good support and supervision which enables them to have a good understanding of young people’s needs and how to support them and keep them safe. Staff also have access to good training opportunities in caring for children and young people. Regular staff meetings and good handover arrangements between shifts help ensure there is effective communication within the staff team. This helps staff to keep up-to-date with any changes to young people’s needs or circumstances.

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Leadership and management

Staffing levels are good and enable staff to spend time meeting the individual needs of young people. The management team monitor staffing levels and can adjust these when necessary. This helps make sure young people receive the support they need. However, the home’s duty rosters do not include accurate details of the shifts actually worked by the manager, as required by the Children’s Homes Regulations 2001.

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Leadership and management

Staff keep appropriate records regarding the care and welfare of young people. Staff support young people to engage and contribute to their case records. The records are up-to-date and stored securely.

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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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