Children's home run by Acorn Care (NE) Limited in Darlington

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:

 Staff know how to develop positive, nurturing relationships with young people.  Family contact is well supported, enabling young people to re-engage with family and friends to develop lasting relationships.  Educational placements are well supported, with staff accompanying young people in their settings where this has a positive impact on attendance.  Staff work well with partner agencies to ensure that young people receive all necessary services.  The external psychological support and training have had a major impact on the staff team’s knowledge and understanding of attachment and trauma.  The approach to restorative behaviour in response to incidents has had a positive effect on young people.  Recruitment practice is comprehensive and effective.  Recent recruitment of a child-focused team of staff who have a good range of experience and skills will improve the continuity of care provided for

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The children's home provision is good because:

young people.  A strong senior leadership team takes responsibility, where there are shortfalls, and acts quickly to improve situations.

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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 ‘Guide to the children's homes regulations including the quality standards’. The registered person must comply within the given timescales.

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must compile a workforce plan which covers the matters listed in Schedule 1 (Regulation 16(1)). 20 July 2016

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must prepare and implement a policy ("the behaviour management policy") which sets out—

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Requirement Due date

how appropriate behaviour is to be promoted in the children's home; and

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Requirement Due date

the measures of control, discipline and restraint which may be used in relation to children in the home.

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Requirement Due date

within 48 hours of the use of the measure, the registered person, or a person who is authorised by the registered person to do so ("the authorised person")—

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Requirement Due date

has spoken to the user about the measure; and

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Requirement Due date

has signed the record to confirm it is accurate; and

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Requirement Due date

within 5 days of the use of the measure, the registered person or the authorised person adds to the record confirmation that they have spoken to the child about the measure (Regulation 35(1)(a),(b) and (3)(c)). 8 June 2016

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Recommendations

To improve the quality and standards of care further, the service should take account of the following recommendation(s):  Ensure that the care provided meets each child's needs and promotes their welfare. In particular, ensure that the home's written residential care plans are succinct, focused, and clearly set out children's needs and how these will be met on a day-to-day basis ('Guide to the children's homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 14, paragraph 3.2).  Ensure that care plans enable children and young people 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 ('Guide to the children's homes regulations including the quality standards', page 58, paragraph 11.19).  Staff should continually and actively assess the risks to each child and the arrangements in place to protect them.

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Recommendations

In particular, risk ratings should be reviewed regularly ('Guide to the children's homes regulations including the quality standards', page 42, paragraph 9.5).  Ensure that staff are suitably trained to meet the needs of children and young people in the home. In particular, as the team is relatively new, training in record keeping and regulations, including the quality standards, should be given ('Guide to the children's homes regulations including the quality standards', page 51, paragraph 10.1).  The registered person must have systems in place so that all staff, including the manager, receive supervision of their practice from an appropriately qualified and experienced professional, which allows them to reflect on their practice and the needs of the children assigned to their care ('Guide to the children's homes regulations including the quality standards', page 61, paragraph 13.2).  The registered person should only accept placements for children where they are

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Recommendations

satisfied that the home can respond effectively to the child's assessed needs as recorded in the child's relevant plans and where they have fully considered the impact that the placement will have on the existing group of children ('Guide to the children's homes regulations including the quality standards', page 56, paragraph 11.4).

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Information about this children's home

The home accommodates up to five children with emotional and/or behavioural difficulties. It is operated by a private provider.

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Recent inspection history

Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

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Recent inspection history

18 March 2016 Interim Sustained effectiveness

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Recent inspection history

2 February 2016 Full Requires improvement

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Good

Young people are settled and happy in the home, with good and improving outcomes. Relationships with staff are positive and effective, with young people stating that they feel safe in the home.

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Good

The home is clean, tidy and welcoming. There are sufficient rooms for both privacy and communal activities. The games room is particularly well designed, and offers young people good facilities to enjoy as well as an information point. Young people’s bedrooms are well equipped and personalised, enabling them to develop a sense of belonging.

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Good

Relationships are positive and nurturing, characterised by good humour and a calm manner. Staff treat each young person with respect and as an individual. The progress made by young people is good, during periods of settled behaviour. This can be seen by the increase in educational attendance by young people and a decrease in the number of ‘missings’ and the use of restraint. Current young people have progressed well from their starting points. One young person is applying to a college in South Yorkshire to follow her dreams and aspirations in the area of horse welfare. Staff support another young person daily with transport, remaining at the educational placement as a means of support. This has resulted in full attendance. Staff have a good understanding of the needs of young people and how to meet them, day to day. A young person said that his key worker was, ‘great’, and that he, ‘does loads with me’. Care plans are detailed, and are reviewed at frequent

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Good

intervals by key-workers. Staff record regular key-worker sessions with young people. However, these sessions do not always link to the plan or encompass the wider developmental needs of young people. The result is that care is delivered in a reactive rather than a planned way, and young people are not always developed in as many areas as is possible. In addition, care plans are long documents written for the professionals involved. This means that they are inaccessible to young people. Young people are aware of their long-term plans. Their ownership of these would be enhanced by young people’s involvement in the development and review of their written care plans.

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Good

Young people have a range of activities which they can choose to take part in, with or without staff. The home is within walking distance of a large town centre, which gives them access to a range of activities in the community. One young person attends a local service that enables him to engage in his passion for motorbikes and speed in a safe environment. This also serves as a successful incentive for school attendance. A social worker said, ‘I feel that they look at him as an individual and promote his interests.’ Young people are well and healthy. Their health needs are met with support from staff, and there is improvement in the attendance at health appointments such as the GP and dentist. Staff have a good knowledge of each young person’s family circumstances and dynamics. They understand the importance of contact for young people, not only with family members but with friends. However, they also recognise when this is

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Good

inappropriate for young people, and work hard to offer alternative activities in the locality to develop new friendships. Staff are proactive in supporting contact, for example when they need to supervise the time spent with relatives if there may be a safeguarding concern. A parent said, ‘The home is really good and they keep me up to date with things. She has improved and settled there.’ Three young people have left the home in recent months. One young person successfully transitioned to a supported lodgings placement nearby and maintains regular contact with the home. The young person’s social worker sent a card to staff to thank them for their work. The other two young people moved to other placements, as it was felt that the home could no longer meet their needs. For one young person, this also meant that the home could not keep him safe, and the manager took the decision to end the placement. As the home has only recently

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Good

stabilised and young people are now settled, ensuring the matching of any new young person is vital. This will offer a further period of stability to young people, allowing them to progress and increase their belief in their ability to achieve.

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Good

Young people are kept safe within the home. Risk assessments are comprehensive and are reviewed on a regular basis. However, they reflect staff concerns and worries about young people out in the community, as opposed to being workable assessments of the risks that young people take or are exposed to. This is particularly the case for risk assessments related to child sexual exploitation. Where such risks are relevant, the assessments are thorough, with positive strategies to manage the risks. However, these risks are not the same for each young person and need to be considered on the evidence of indicators of concern.

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Good

When new young people are being considered for admission, the manager collects all relevant information on their background and current circumstances. This information is shared with staff and with the registered provider in order to assess whether the home is able to meet the young person’s needs. This includes an assessment of the young person’s impact upon those already living here. This enables the home to manage any change in the group dynamics.

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Good

The number of missing from home incidents has fluctuated since the last inspection. Some young people who have now left the home had entrenched patterns of choosing to spend time at their family homes when this was not authorised. They therefore had to be reported as missing, to promote their safety. Since the more settled period within the home, incidents of going missing have been drastically reduced. When they do occur, staff are proactive in managing any missing episodes, such as by looking for young people in the neighbourhood and contacting them on their mobile phones. A local community police officer said that the relationship with the home was ‘spot on’, and that they had tried everything to find the young person and used the police, ‘only as a last resort’. Each incident is well documented. In addition, the home holds detailed, useful information on each child for each incident. This enables staff to record accounts of their actions in

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Good

trying to find the young person and provides valuable information for the police, should their intervention be needed. The home has simple, clear boundaries of behaviour which young people are expected to observe. These are detailed in the young person’s guide, along with the sanctions that can be applied in situations when they are not. Young people understand these and, in the main, behave acceptably. Behaviour management plans that detail known triggers are in place for each young person. These plans also describe the approach that works best with the individual to calm them. The input from the psychologist attached to the home has been invaluable in assisting staff to look at the trauma behind the behaviours that are displayed at times of stress and heightened emotion. This has enabled staff to adopt a nurturing approach, reducing the need for sanctions. The use of a restorative approach is also working well. This helps young people to develop their own emotional

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Good

resilience and empathy. In addition, all staff undertake training in nurturing and attachment. The course is intensive, and enhances the staff team’s understanding of trauma, its effects and how to respond in a more therapeutic way. A member of staff said, ‘It really opens your eyes to the young people’s experiences.’ The trainer herself said, ‘The staff are all on board with the approach. Some absolutely get it and we can see a difference in their handling of situations.’

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Good

Young people have easy access to the home’s complaints procedure and have no qualms about raising formal concerns with staff or the manager. They also know how to contact people outside the home, should they wish to. The young people’s guide gives plenty of useful information and contact numbers.

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Good

The manager and staff have positive relationships with other professionals. This allows a consistent approach to care to be developed via the strong communication links that have been established. A social work team manager said that the home was, ‘on board with all the plans and keeps us well up to date’. The designated officer in the local authority said that she felt the home worked well with her. Judgement grade

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Requires improvement

The manager is experienced and suitably qualified. She has addressed the majority of the statutory requirements and recommendations made at the last inspection. The outstanding issue of the amendments to be made to care plans is carried over in this inspection. Plans are in place to address this, but it is recognised that, as this inspection was brought forward due to the number of notified incidents during the period of disruption, there has been limited opportunity to implement the change.

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Requires improvement

Recruitment practice is robust within the organisation, and the provider has managed to recruit strong candidates to join the team. This means that staffing is now at full capacity, enabling a more consistent approach to be developed.

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Requires improvement

The manager and deputy provide regular professional supervision for staff. This focuses on how the performance of each member of staff can be improved to benefit young people. However, this is not being undertaken with the frequency required to maintain positive support for the team. Appraisals with targets for the forthcoming year are carried out with staff.

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Requires improvement

The range of training offered by the organisation to members of staff is comprehensive and covers more than the mandatory courses. This gives staff the opportunity for personal development. Staff receive regular refresher training in areas such as fire safety, administration of medication and safeguarding young people. As this is a new team, there is a need for refresher courses on recording skills and the quality standards. This will remove the onus on senior staff to undertake large amounts of recording and improve the confidence of new team members. The manager does not have a workforce development plan to assist with the continuous professional development of all staff, and this needs to be addressed. This will enable a clear understanding of how the home inducts, supervises and continually develops staff.

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Requires improvement

The manager’s monitoring of the home’s performance is adequate, giving a narrative account of the progress and achievements of young people. However, a large number of documents such as risk assessments are not signed by the manager. The result is that there is no indication that the manager has reviewed such assessments to determine the appropriateness of the levels of risk. Although the records of restraints do contain the signature of the manager, they are often not signed within timescales. This limits the manager’s ability to determine effectively whether actions were appropriate and to address the issues.

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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’. 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

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What the inspection judgements mean

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 harmed or at risk of harm or that 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 0300 123 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, work- based 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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