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

Unique reference number SC035222 Inspector Julie Rimington Type of inspection Interim Provision subtype Children's home

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Registered manager Glyn Armstrong Date of last inspection 19/11/2014 2 of 6 Inspection date 12/03/2015

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Previous inspection good Enforcement action since last inspection There has been no enforcement action since the last inspection.

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This inspection

This home was judged good at the last full inspection. At this interim inspection Ofsted judge that it has improved effectiveness .

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This inspection

This home was judged as good overall at the previous full inspection in November 2014. There were shortfalls in practice with leadership and management being judged as adequate. Following this interim inspection, the home is judged to have improved effectiveness. The Registered Manager and staff team have successfully addressed the requirements from the last inspection. This inspection identifies shortfalls in monitoring the effectiveness of the home and ensuring information is evaluated rather than just being descriptive. This means external monitoring reports do not always provide sufficient challenge of the Registered Manager and staff team's working practices, and there is insufficient detail in the reports to improve care and standards in the home.

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This inspection

The Registered Manager and staff team are ambitious for young people to succeed and provide consistent, targeted care. Challenging and complex behaviour has been demonstrated by some of the young people. The Registered Manager and staff team continue to keep the young people safe. Following incidents of challenging, risky behaviour, the Registered Manager and staff team provide young people with opportunities to make amends and learn from these incidents. Young people’s behaviour has begun to improve, giving them an opportunity for a more settled and positive life experience. The approach used by the Registered Manager and staff team allows young people to remain safe and develop different strategies to deal with difficulties they face, thereby developing emotional resilience, and life skills.

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This inspection

Contact with family members continues to be a strength in this home. The Registered Manager and staff team work hard to build and maintain positive relationships with parents and carers. Contact arrangements are met in line with young people's care plans, including supervising all arrangements where necessary. Some young people have spoken to the staff team about concerns they have about 3 of 6 events in the past. The staff team deal with these concerns sensitively, engaging well with the multi-agency team around the young people. This enables young people to remain safe and address some of the trauma in their past lives. It can also improve the young person’s self-confidence and self-worth, specifically knowing they are being listened to.

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This inspection

The Registered Manager and staff team enable and encourage young people to voice their opinions and make informed choices. Regular key worker sessions give young people the opportunity to discuss their plans and share any concerns they may have. There is also a system of formal consultation where young people can express their views about the home and what they might want to change.

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This inspection

The Registered Manager and staff team addressed the recommendations from the previous inspection. Improvements in the way the home is managed can be seen in a variety of ways, including robust behaviour management plans, individualised placement and support plans, and more emphasis on rewarding positive behaviours. Young people now benefit from a staff team who have consistent and effective supervision and training. A more reflective approach in supervision allows staff to consider more effective ways to work with the young people. This means plans and actions are more personalised and effective. Improvements in the way the Registered Manager monitors and audits information the staff team records about the young people allows for more consistency in approach, and young people are more likely to understand what is expected of them, reducing incidents of risky behaviour. 4 of 6

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Information about this children’s home

The children's home is provided by a local authority and is registered to care for up to three young people with emotional or behavioural difficulties.

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

19/11/2014 Full good 07/03/2014 Interim good progress 20/08/2013 Full good 26/02/2013 Interim good progress

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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 that the written reports of visits by the independent person are provided to HMCI, Ofsted, specifically by the end of the month following the month of the visit (Regulation 33(9)(a)) 30/04/2015

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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 visits of the home carried out under Regulation 33 include relevant checks set out in regulations and guidance and checks of any disciplinary measures and use of restraint and records of missing person’s reports. Specifically the reports are evaluative rather than being descriptive 5 of 6 Website: www.ofsted.gov.uk

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Recommendations

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What inspection judgements mean

At the interim inspections we make a judgement on whether the home has improved in effectiveness, sustained effectiveness, or declined in effectiveness since the previous full inspection. This is in line with the Inspection of children’s homes: framework for inspection.

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Information 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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Information 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 framework of inspection for children's homes.

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