Children's home run by Pear Tree Projects Limited in County Durham

children and young people since the most recent full inspection

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

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

Progress has taken place in a variety of ways since the previous inspection.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

Young people continue to do well. They have 100% attendance at school or college. Those who have moved to new college environments are doing well and have successfully met the demands of living away from home for the first time. The registered manager and staff are providing effective support and guidance to enable young people to succeed in education. Young people also continue to make good progress in their social development. They benefit from activities in the community where they meet other young people and learn how to socialise and develop friendships. Similarly, they are benefiting from going to see their friends in other towns and attending birthday parties.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

Young people who have been admitted to the home since the previous inspection have settled well. The staff enabled them to be involved as much as possible in their admission and in the personalising of their bedroom. This helped them to accept their new surroundings and to feel they had some control in their own lives.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

There have been very few incidents of concern since the previous inspection. There have been three incidents in which the staff had to use physical intervention. These were for appropriate reasons and were conducted safely. The registered manager and staff are safeguarding and protecting the safety of young people effectively.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

The registered manager has good working relationships with a variety of professional agencies. These help to ensure young people's needs are met. For example, young people's emotional health needs are being met because there are close links with the Child and Adolescent Mental Health Service. Where necessary, the registered manager works with the service to bring about assessments which lead to relevant services and support. Effective relationships are also in place with schools, colleges, family members and social workers. These help to ensure young people continue to develop positively. Although no requirements or recommendations were made at the previous inspection, the registered manager has made a variety of improvements since then. In his monthly reports, he now writes an action plan to address any shortfalls in the quality of care identified in his monitoring. He also now records in the reports what the staff think about the quality of care. These changes help to

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

improve the home’s capacity for continuous improvement. The monthly monitoring by an external independent visitor remains robust. This monitoring also makes a significant contribution to enabling the home to make continuous progress and to keep children safe.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

The registered manager also has a useful monitoring system to quantify over time the number of significant positive and negative incidents for each young person. This is useful in establishing a clear understanding of their ongoing progress.

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Information about this children's home

The home is owned and operated by a private company. It is registered with Ofsted to provide care and accommodation for up to four young people with learning difficulties, mental disorder or emotional and/or behavioural difficulties.

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

09/03/2015 Interim Improved Effectiveness

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What the inspection judgements mean

At the interim inspection 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

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 focused on the effectiveness of the home and the progress and experiences of children and young people since the most recent full inspection.

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Information about this inspection

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 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

Interested in our work? You can subscribe to our monthly newsletter for more information and updates: http://eepurl.com/iTrDn .

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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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