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

Outstanding

The children's home provides highly effective services that consistently exceeds the standards of good. The actions of the home contribute to significantly improved outcomes for children and young people who need help, protection and care.

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The children's home provision is outstanding because:

 The manager and staff work relentlessly to ensure that all the children and young people continue to make exceptional progress in all aspects of their lives.  Children and young people are involved in running the home and staff ensure that their voices are heard in all meetings about them. This includes facilitating the young people chairing their Looked after Children Reviews and being part of interview panels across the Local Authority and a Young Inspectors Scheme.  The manager and staff have built extraordinary trusting, secure relationships with the children and young people. The children and young people feel safe and ‘that they belong’.  The home environment is welcoming, safe and nurturing. Children and young people like to bring friends and family to their home. They can have friends to stay for tea and sleepovers are a regular feature.  The extremely positive ethos towards education and college has resulted in

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The children's home provision is outstanding because:

all children and young people receiving prestigious awards in school and college. These awards are proudly displayed around the home and they are shown to visitors with great pride.  The manager is aspirational and determined that the children and young people will succeed in all the things they do. She is creative, supportive and provides a great role model for those who work with her. The practices she has developed are seen as areas of excellent practice and shared nationally. She has also mentored and supported other managers to help improve their practice.

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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

 Children should be encouraged by staff to see the home's records as 'living documents' supporting them to view and contribute to the record in a way that reflects their voice on a regular basis. In particular, risk assessments and placement plans need to easier for children and young people to understand and access. (The Guide to the Quality Standards, page 58 paragraph 11.19)

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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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Recent inspection history

Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

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Recent inspection history

18/03/2015 Interim Improved Effectiveness

p.5

outstanding

Children and young people have made exceptional progress at school and college. When taking into account the starting point for all of them, their attendance and achievements is beyond what could be expected. This progress is due to the determination and consistency of both the manager and staff team. Children and young people learn to manage their behaviours and start to feel they can achieve. All of the children and young people have won awards including prestigious national and local awards.

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outstanding

They are encouraged to be part of after school clubs including singing and sports activities. They are also involved in local community projects including voluntary work and visiting older people who live in a residential home nearby. The sense of achievement and belonging to the community allow children and young people to develop and grow. They want to achieve more and this gives them the confidence to think positively about the future. One young person is planning to go to university when she leaves college. She has already passed her driving test and maintains a part time job alongside her college placement.

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outstanding

The local authority has developed a Young Inspector’s Scheme which sees young people from other local homes making inspection visits and writing reports. Actions from these visits are visible around the home. The young people also take part in interviewing new staff and for one young person her talents as an interviewer have been recognised and she now assists the local authority with interviews for posts in the area. She has interviewed prospective service managers and independent reviewing officers. One wrote, ‘ you were inspirational in the interview, kept me focused and brought some fun to a nervous situation. What a confident, articulate young person you are’. The young person is also given the opportunity to ring the successful applicants. In speaking with the young person it is clear that she thoroughly enjoys doing this. She says it gives her a, ‘really good feeling’ and makes her feel proud of herself.

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outstanding

The manager and staff team go beyond what would be expected to ensure that children and young people can enjoy contact with their families and important adults. Staff team members work outside their normal shifts to ensure children and young people can attend important family events. They also support them when contact with families is difficult and challenging. To capture these and other significant events, the manager has been innovative developing a ‘letter’ which is sent to the child or young person. This encourages reflection and allows the children and young people to understand their own life stories. Judgement grade

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outstanding

The manager and staff understand the children and young people and have built trusting and secure relationships with them. They listen to them and make sure that they remain consistent, open and honest. This relationship helps to discuss sometimes awkward and sensitive issues. The outcome is that children and young people learn to understand and regulate their behaviours. This has a direct impact on reducing the incidents of challenging behaviours. There has been no need for physical interventions in this home for several years and staff promote positive behaviour and restorative approach to arguments and disputes.

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outstanding

Children and young people say that they feel safe. One young person said, ‘ They love us and make us feel we belong.’ It is clear that the staff team are dedicated and want what a ‘good’ parent would want for their own child. The staff team have embraced a more emotionally resilient approach to their work which has had positive impact on the children and young people. They can see from the strong compassionate adults around them that hugs and cuddles can be safe and that it is safe to show feelings and emotions. The trust and sense of belonging demonstrated in this home is truly inspirational, especially when taking into account the trauma many of these children and young people have experienced.

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outstanding

Young people do not go missing from this home. The manager and staff team are very clear of the process they need to follow but have not had to use them for at least 12 months. The manager and staff team’s approach to dangers outside the home is one of raising awareness and being proactive. Discussions and activities that explore risks of exploitative relationships, the dangers of drugs or alcohol use and bullying are done informally but thoroughly. Children and young people have safety plans which are individual to them.

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outstanding

The highly developed and detailed risk assessments ensure that the staff team are quick and consistent in the way they respond to them. All possible risks are identified and this informs very detailed placement plans. Whilst in depth, some children and young people may find it difficult to understand them and contribute to them.

p.7

outstanding

The manager and staff team have a wide network of professionals and community members they work with to ensure children and young people remain safe and are well protected. Professionals speak highly of the staff referring to ‘excellent communicators’ and ‘always prepared to go beyond what would be expected.’ The manager and staff team’s determination about keeping children and young people safe does not prevent them from trying different things and taking age appropriate risks. Young people do go out and have a wide network of friends. The manager is also prepared to take risks and responded to a request of an older young person to have their own front door key. Such innovative practice allows young people to gain a sense of responsibility and pushes the boundaries of what is seen as acceptable.

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outstanding

The manager is suitable qualified and has extensive experience of working with children and young people in residential childcare. She is an exceptionally innovative and creative manager who is always striving to improve practice which in turn improves the lives of children and young people. Her leadership style is inclusive and encourages others to learn and develop. All her staff team and those professionals who work with her hold her in a very high regard.

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outstanding

The manager has developed robust and structured monitoring processes to ensure she can scrutinise the work of the home. In using this process, she is confident in that the home is having a positive impact on the lives of the children and young people. She also embraces external audits to ensure she is covering all areas. Her confidence in how well the home is working with the children and young people was further demonstrated by her approach to the inspection. Staff, children and young people took the lead in this inspection. She is also always looking to develop new practices, the use of the letters and the changes to consultation process are currently the focus.

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outstanding

The staff team speak very highly of the manager and management team who work with her. They say they are well supported and have regular, recorded and good quality supervision. Staff also speak positively about the training opportunities they have and the wealth of knowledge they gain from working alongside the manager. The staff also have regular appraisals which help them maintain focus on performance and development.

p.8

outstanding

Case records for the children and young people are accurate and up to date. There have been changes to how and what is recorded. The manager explained that one of the young people questioned the way in which information was recorded, specifically about what was recorded. This lead to a review and allowed young people to have an impact on practice. Recording is now more about the journey of the young person and significant events. Work still needs doing in terms of young people accessing their records but this is in hand.

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outstanding

The manager is very clear of the strengths and areas of development for the home. She has a variety of action plans clearly describing the improvements that she believes will have a positive impact of the lives of young people. She works extremely well with other colleagues and her approach to leadership and management demonstrates best practice.

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What the inspection judgements mean

The experiences and progress of children and young people are at the centre of the inspection. Inspectors will use their professional judgement to determine the weight and significance of their findings in this respect. The judgements included in the report are made against Inspection of children's homes: framework for inspection.

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What the inspection judgements mean

An outstanding children's home provides highly effective services that contribute to significantly improved outcomes for children and young people who need help and protection and care. Their progress exceeds expectations and is sustained over time. A good children's home provides effective services that help, protect and care for children and young people and have their welfare safeguarded and promoted. In a children's home that requires improvement , there are no widespread or serious failures that create or leave children being harmed or at risk of harm. The welfare of looked after children is safeguarded and promoted. Minimum requirements are in place, however, the children's home is not yet delivering good protection, help and care for children and young people. A children's home that is inadequate is providing services where there are widespread or serious failures that create or leave children and young people being

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What the inspection judgements mean

harmed or at risk of harm or result in children looked after not having their welfare safeguarded and promoted.

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Information about this inspection

Inspectors have looked closely at the experiences and progress of children and young people living in the children's home. Inspectors considered the quality of work and the difference adults make to the lives of children and young people. They read case files, watched how professional staff work with children, young people and each other and discussed the effectiveness of help and care given to children and young people. Wherever possible, they talked to children, young people and their families. In addition the inspectors have tried to understand what the children's home knows about how well it is performing, how well it is doing and what difference it is making for the children and young people who it is trying to help, protect and look after. This 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 Children's

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Information about this inspection

Homes (England) Regulations 2015 and the Guide to the children's homes regulations including the quality standards. the guidance raising concerns and making complaints about Ofsted, which is available from Ofsted's website: www.gov.uk/government/organisations/ofsted . If you would like Ofsted to send you a copy of the guidance, please telephone 0300123 4234, or email enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk .

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Information about this inspection

achieve excellence in the care of children and young people, and in education and skills for learners of all ages. It regulates and inspects childcare and children's social care, and inspects the Children and Family Court Advisory and Support Service (Cafcass), schools, colleges, initial teacher training, workbased learning and skills training, adult and community learning, and education and training in prisons and other secure establishments. It inspects services for looked after children and child protection. If you would like a copy of this document in a different format, such as large print or Braille, please telephone 0300 123 4234, or email enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk . You may reuse this information (not including logos) free of charge in any format or medium, under the terms of the Open Government Licence. To view this licence, visit www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence , write to the Information Policy Team,

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Information about this inspection

The National Archives, Kew, London TW9 4DU, or email: psi@nationalarchives.gsi.gov.uk .

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Information about this inspection

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Information about this inspection

Store Street Manchester M1 2WD T: 0300 123 1231 Textphone: 0161 618 8524 E: enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk W: www.gov.uk/government/organisations/ofsted

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