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

Unique reference number SC442886 Inspector Julie Rimington Type of inspection Interim Provision subtype Children's home

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Registered manager Louise Carling Date of last inspection 27/01/2015 2 of 6 Inspection date 18/03/2015

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Previous inspection outstanding 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 outstanding at the last full inspection. At this interim inspection Ofsted judge that it has improved effectiveness .

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This inspection

The home was judged as outstanding at the last inspection in January 2015. There were no requirements or recommendations from the inspection. At this interim inspection, the home is judged to have improved effectiveness. There are no requirements or recommendations.

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This inspection

The aspirational Registered Manager and staff team continue to provide outstanding care for the children and young people. They are a confident and resilient staff team who work together with the aim of ensuring children and young people in their care feel loved valued and respected. They develop new and innovative ways to ensure that they are ‘experts’ in terms of their knowledge and understanding of each individual child or young person. This means that risk assessments and care plans reflect accurately the needs of the child or young person and put in place action plans to ensure each child and young person is protected from harm but still able to develop and grow.

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This inspection

The Registered Manager and staff team ensure that they regularly talk with the children and young people, their families and other professionals involved in their care. They ensure that children and young people have their voice heard in meetings about them and have a say in how the house is run. Since the last inspection the home has had several rooms re decorated. The children and young people chose the colours and accessories. One child told me ‘it’s my home and I love it. ‘The house is warm, light, and welcoming. This allows the children and young people to take a pride in their surroundings and develop a sense of belonging. Friends and relatives are encouraged to visit the home. Children and young people are encouraged to have friends stay overnight. One young person wrote ‘it’s just like a normal home but with a few more people to look after you’. 3 of 6 Contact with family members and people who are important to the children and

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This inspection

young people is a significant strength in this home. The Registered Manager and dedicated staff team go to exceptional lengths to ensure that children and young people build on their relationships with family and important people. The contact is well planned, regular and is always in the best interests of the child or young person. When difficulties arise, the staff team are quick to respond and look at alternative ways for the children and young people to maintain the links with their families and important people. One parent wrote ‘I know my daughter is safe with you’. This means that children and young people develop a sense of identity and belonging. This contact also helps children and young people acknowledge some of the trauma they have experienced, allowing them to understand and move forwards.

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This inspection

The children and young people continue to make excellent progress in many aspects of their lives. They are encouraged to achieve their best in school and college. Their attendance is excellent and all have made progress in school or college since the last inspection. Children and young people are encouraged and supported to engage in varied ‘out of schools activities’ and sports groups. They are all healthy and engage with health professionals to improve both their physical and emotional wellbeing. The Registered Manager and staff team work closely with a variety of health and social care professionals. This results in the children and young people feeling confident, healthy, and valued.

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This inspection

The Registered Manager and staff team are dedicated in ensuring that children and young people feel safe whilst in the home and when away from it. Safety checks are completed on a regular basis to ensure all health and safety matters are addressed. The staff team are all trained to a high standard with regard to keeping children safe and can explain the processes in place to ensure children and young people are safeguarded. In addition, the staff team have a very positive relationship with the children and young people which enables them to talk to members of the staff team if they are concerned about anything. When away from the home children and young people are contacted regularly to ensure they are safe. The Registered Manager and staff team allow children and young people to take age appropriate risks, which allow them to have new and varied experiences.

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This inspection

Children and young people usually behave well. If they do misbehave or make mistakes the Registered Manager and staff team act quickly and fairly to address the issues. The staff team are all trained in physical behaviour management techniques but rarely have to use them. They are skilled at de-escalation and distraction techniques. An age appropriate incentive programme allows children and young people’s positive behaviours to be identified and celebrated. Children and young people do not go missing from the home; this is a significant difference to when some of them first stayed at the home. The ‘whole staff team’ approach results in the children and young people feeling listened too and reduces the need for them to be involved in risky behaviours. They learn to trust and develop self-worth and confidence in themselves. 4 of 6 The Registered Manager has robust monitoring processes in place to ensure that

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This inspection

they are meeting all standards and regulations. External and internal monitoring is used to inform the comprehensive development plan. The introduction of new standards and regulations is high on the agenda of the development plan. The enthusiastic Registered Manager and staff team have demonstrated their capacity to change and develop initiative practice. This effectively contributes to the development of the home while promoting the safety of children and young people. 5 of 6

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Information about this children’s home

This children's home is registered to care for up to four young people with emotional or behavioural difficulties. The registered provider is a local authority.

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

27/01/2015 Full outstanding 04/10/2013 Interim good progress 16/07/2013 Full good 13/12/2012 Interim good progress Website: www.ofsted.gov.uk

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

This document may be reproduced in whole or in part for non-commercial educational purposes, provided that the information quoted is reproduced without adaptation and the source and date of publication are stated.

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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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