Children's Home run by Middlesbrough Borough Council in Middlesbrough

Good

The children's home provides effective services that meet the requirements for good.

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The children's home provision is good because:

▪ Young people make good progress at this children's home. They settle well in a nice homely environment and develop positive relationships with staff and each other. ▪ Staff support and enable young people to develop their self-confidence. Their physical and emotional health improves and they develop daily living skills. ▪ Young people develop good social skills and have fun and get stimulation from enjoyable activities outside of the home. ▪ The atmosphere in the house is warm, homely and comfortable. The property is spacious and provides good facilities with a large garden where they can relax. ▪ Effective arrangements are in place to promote young people’s welfare and keep them safe. ▪ Staff provide continuity and this enables young people to feel safe and secure.

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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 (England) Regulations 2015 and the Guide to the children's homes regulations including the quality standards. The registered person(s) must comply with the given timescales.

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must appoint a person to manage the children’s home (Regulation 27 (1)(a)) 29/02/2016

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that the independent person produces a report about a visit which sets out in particular, the independent person’s opinion as to whether children are effectively safeguarded and the conduct of the home promotes children’s well-being. (Regulation 44 (4) (a) & (b)) 29/02/2016

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Information about this children's home

The home is run by Middlesbrough Borough Council and provides care and accommodation for up to 4 children and young people with emotional/behavioural difficulties.

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Recent inspection history

Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

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Recent inspection history

03/02/2015 Interim Declined in effectiveness

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good

The stable and consistent staff team provide young people with good quality care and this helps them to make good progress. In time, they feel settled and develop positive relationships with staff. One young person said, ‘I always get on with staff because they are like my family.’ Young people benefit from a sense of routine and day to day continuity. This helps them to feel safe and secure. The staff and young people are relaxed in each other’s company and they share good humour and banter with each other. One young person summed this up saying, ‘I like living here and the best thing about it is the staff.’

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good

Staff benefit from participating in well-designed training programmes that help them understand the life experiences of young people and the problems they face. For example, they attend training in relation to attachment disorders. This helps them to support young people appropriately, so that they can move on from their starting points and develop good emotional health. Young people make improvements in their physical health too. They are all registered with local doctors, dentists and opticians and, where necessary, they meet with specialist healthcare practitioners such, as dieticians and community health visitors.

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good

Staff support young people to attend education or training. In some instances, attendance at school has been consistently high and the young people have completed GCSE examinations. Where attendance can be improved, staff take appropriate action to help support young people by talking to them about the difficulties they face and by liaising appropriately with head teachers. Some young people have also moved on to attend college. This helps them to develop new friendship groups, gain confidence and prepares them for the world of work.

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good

Young people have free time in the community, where they benefit from a range of stimulating and enjoyable activities and experiences. For instance, restaurant meals with family members, staying over with friends or listening to music. One young person said, ‘I love going to college, I’ve made lots of new friends and I enjoy spending time with them.’

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good

Young people gain skills and knowledge that will be helpful to them when they are older and living independently. Staff teach them how to plan, budget and prepare meals, how to take responsibility for their personal care and how to stay safe in the community. One young person said, ‘Staff have helped me a lot with my independence. They watch me and guide me. They are always there to help me and tell me how to improve. They show me how to do things right.’ The home’s acting manager and its staff regularly talk to the young people about the quality of care they receive and how the home is run. Young people choose the décor of their bedrooms and have personalised them with their choice of posters, pictures and furniture. One young person said, ‘I make decisions about my life and staff support me to make those decisions. We talk about things that we want to happen or the things we want to do.’ Listening to the views of young people helps

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good

The specific needs of each child and young person are considered prior to them coming to live at the home. Staff, and the home’s management, assess what impact coming to live at the home will have on the individual child or young person’s life as well as those of the young people already living there. This allows staff to write good, detailed care plans for their care and to set realistic targets for them to achieve. Each care plan is underpinned by clear and detailed risk assessments. Regular reviews of care plans and risk assessments are carried out by key-workers. One member of staff said; ‘All the young people we have here develop and improve.’ Regularly reviewing care plans and risk assessments helps to ensure that children and young people move forward and that new targets are set for them to achieve. This promotes their on-going development and sense of achievement.

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good

The home’s acting manager has a clear, detailed locality risk assessment in place. The locality risk assessment has been discussed with support agencies, such as the local neighbourhood police. This allows staff to consider any information they receive about the local area and to take action to maintain the safety of all children and young people living at the home.

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good

Young people say they feel safe in the home and that they can talk to any of the staff who look after them. One young person said, ‘The staff make the home as safe as possible and they tell us straight how dangerous some people can be.’ The young person went on to say, ‘I can talk to everyone and they know when I’m not happy’. Young people are able to access a range of information about the independent agencies they can contact if they are unhappy about anything. One young person said, ‘Staff listen to you and they respect you. They show a real interest in us but, if we want to talk to someone else there’s plenty of information in the pool room about who we can contact.’ Where appropriate, staff support and encourage young people to spend time with their family. An example of this being a recent celebration where the young person, their family and members of staff enjoyed a restaurant meal together.

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good

Risks to the welfare of a new young people are considered in pre-placement meetings and documentation. Initial presenting risks are understood by the staff team and they have reduced since admission to the home. Staff are fully aware of the potential for bullying and take a proactive approach to ensure the risk of bullying is minimised and where possible eliminated. Young people who returned inspection questionnaires all stated that bullying does not happen at the home.

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good

Incidents of young people going missing do happen, although the trend and the number of instances is reducing. For some this is a clear improvement from their previous placements, where issues of absence and running away were a serious concern. Staff are proactive in explaining the dangers and risks associated with going missing. One young person said, ‘I have run away in the past and I always stayed in touch with the home. I don’t do it now, I think it’s because I’m more settled and I like living here.’ Staff respond positively and appropriately when young people return from being missing and an independent agency carries out welfare interviews. One member of staff said; ‘We always work hard to keep young people safe and not go missing. We try to make them appreciate how much we genuinely care about them and I think that helps a lot.’

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good

It has not been necessary to restrain young people because of their negative behaviour. However, individual behaviour management plans do include the use of sanctions to promote positive behaviour. Sanctions are used appropriately and sparingly with one young person saying, ‘Sanctions are fair. If we break something we would have to buy a new one and if we damage something we would have to pay for the damage.’ Staff also use reward systems and restorative techniques to promote good behaviour. This helps them to understand the consequences of their actions and to have empathy for others. On the whole, their behaviour is compliant with house rules.

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good

The physical environment is clean, safe and secure. A programme of refurbishment has been agreed with the local authority for the redecoration of communal areas and for the replacement of a bathroom suite. The home’s acting manager is waiting for this work to commence. Regular checks are carried out to avoid exposure to unnecessary risks. Young people spoken to said they knew what to do in the event of an emergency and that they have participated in practice fire drills.

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good

The home’s management team follows safe recruitment practices to avoid unsuitable people working with vulnerable children and young people. They also promote a positive working relationship with the police. Working in partnership with the local police helps to keep children safe. It also helps to avoid criminalising their behaviour when they are experiencing periods of crisis in their lives.

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good

The home has clear policies and procedures in place for staff that support anti- discriminatory practice. The management team keep up to date with current issues affecting vulnerable children and young people. This includes policies and procedures relating to issues of potential radicalisation. Judgement grade

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requires improvement

The home does not have a Registered Manager in post. The local authority has made alternative arrangements and an acting manager has been appointed. The acting manager is supported on a daily basis by an experienced and qualified staff team. Additionally, the acting manager has applied to Ofsted to become registered.

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requires improvement

The staff team provide good levels of consistency for young people. The turnover of staff is low and the young people know the staff well. There is a clear sense of routine within the home and clear boundaries help young people feel secure. Staffing levels are appropriate. When asked about staffing levels, one young person said, ‘There’s always enough staff on duty.’

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requires improvement

The home has a Statement of Purpose in place which sets out how it operates. The home’s acting manager has recently reviewed and updated the Statement of Purpose in line with current regulations and a copy has been forwarded to Ofsted.

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requires improvement

The acting manager and staff team receive regular, practice-based supervision and appraisal. The appraisal system is currently being reviewed to include the formal input of young people at the home. These changes, once implemented, will improve the appraisal process and give young people a voice. This will help them to feel listened to and appreciate that their opinions are valued.

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requires improvement

The acting manager and staff are fully committed and focussed on improving the quality of care provided in the home and improving the life chances of the children and young people they look after. The acting manager has a clear development plan in place. Staff fully understand the strengths and weaknesses of the home. One staff member said, ‘I feel we are always looking for new ways of improving the lives of the young people in our care.’

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requires improvement

The home has regular internal and external monitoring processes, and this ensures that managers and staff are aware of and committed to, continuous improvement. They have focussed on issues and shortfalls highlighted at previous inspections and taken action to remedy any breaches of regulation and implement recommendations for improvement. However, the reports produced as a result of external monitoring process do not thoroughly evaluate the information gathered. Additionally, the reports do not always comment on the overall safety and well- being of young people.

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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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