Children's Home run by Darlington Borough Council in Darlington

Unique reference number SC037861 Inspection date 08/01/2014 Inspector Stephen Smith Type of inspection Interim Provision subtype Children's home

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Date of last inspection 06/06/2013 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

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. Satisfactory 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. Inadequate 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

Since their previous inspection the service is judged to be making good progress.

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Progress

The home was last inspected in June 2013 when it was judged to be good overall. Outcomes for children and young people were judged as adequate because young people’s attendance at school was poor and, as such, was impairing their future opportunities. However, the staff at the home were working hard with other professionals to ensure that young people did receive a suitable education. The home’s quality of care was judge to be good as was the home’s leadership and management and its work to promote young people’s safety.

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Progress

At the full inspection, a recommendation was made regarding the development plan of the home. At that time, it was not specific nor detailed enough to guide any future development. Since then, a significant amount of work has taken place to develop a plan that is based on a realistic assessment of its current situation

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Progress

The home continues to provide good quality care to the young people who live there. Staff work hard to develop and maintain very good working relationships with young people and their families. They are creative and persistent in the way they do this and this leads to improved outcomes for the young people. The staff at the home work very well with other professionals and educational services to ensure that young people are provided with appropriate educational opportunities. They provide appropriate challenge where services are not available and liaise with other services effectively to support young people to access these. Once services are in place, the staff use their relationships with young people to encourage, support and promote their attendance. Consequently, the outcomes and opportunities for these young people are enhanced.

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Progress

Despite significant management changes in the home since the last inspection, the home continues to be managed well. The home’s new manager has applied for registration with Ofsted and has effectively taken over the operation of the home. Supervision and staff training programmes continue to work well and a number of new developments are taking place. These include the review of the home’s residential placement plans and risk assessments. Other developments include the introduction of an incentive scheme for the young people, work to encourage joint reflection by staff and young people about their behaviour and the response of staff members to this and work to improve the home’s décor and furnishing. External management and monitoring is robust and supports the effective operation of the home. This strong management helps to ensure that the home continues to meet young people’s needs well.

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Progress

Behaviour management in the home is positive and individualised. Young people have behaviour plans which are specific to them and set out how positive behaviour is to be encouraged and reinforced. Sanctions are used appropriately, where necessary, and care is taken to ensure that they are appropriate to the situation. However, sanctions are not always recorded to show their effectiveness. This means that, when behaviour management approaches are reviewed, it is not as easy to see how effective they have been. Positive behaviour is rewarded both individually and in line with a points-based incentive scheme which rewards positive behaviour, helping in the home and school attendance among other things. Physical intervention has not been used in the home for a number of years.

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Progress

The home works well with young people to respond to any incidents where young people go missing. Staff are proactive in dealing with young people’s behaviour and respond to any incidents in a way that ensures young people’s safety. This approach is effective in stopping young people putting themselves at risk by going missing and reduces the incidence of this behaviour and the risks associated with it.

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Progress

Overall, the home continues to provide a good quality of care to the young people who live or stay there and has made some further improvements since the last inspection. Management is effective and this means that young people achieve positive outcomes and make good progress at the home.

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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

 record full details of any measure of discipline used in the record kept for the purpose. Specifically, that the effectiveness and consequences of each sanction used are recorded reliably to enable effective review and evaluation of their effectiveness. (Volume 5, statutory guidance, para 2.92)

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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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