Children's home run by Derbyshire County Council in Derbyshire Dales

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 sustained effectiveness .

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

The young people receive very good care from a conscientious and dedicated staff team. The staff team continues to enjoy a period of stability and this, together with high levels of staffing, enables them to spend time with young people and develop excellent relationships. When young people arrive at the home, they have often experienced a great deal of instability in all areas of their lives. Staff members have received the training and development that they need in order to understand this and to quickly implement effective plans to help young people and optimise their potential. During the inspection, one young person wrote a letter that stated: ‘When I arrived here I didn’t go to school, but know I am very focused and know what I want. I was also taking a lot of drugs at home, whereas now I don’t anymore. This is something I now feel in control of; this is a reason why I am motivated to achieve my goals.’

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

The staff and managers value young people’s participation in education, training, and employment. One young person is making good progress through attending a local training provider and undertaking foundation-level skills development. Another young person, to her credit, is now in employment. Not all young people are accessing training or employment, even though staff provide them with encouragement and support. This requires further improvement to ensure that all young people are accessing further education, training or employment to improve their future prospects.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

Young people receive good support to develop the skills they will need in order to live independently and move into their own accommodation. Staff complete individual work with young people in a variety of areas, including:

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

 cooking  budgeting  laundry  using community resources

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

This ensures that young people have the skills that will enable them to live alone. Once accommodation for the young person has been identified, the transition is taken slowly. Staff further support young people in obtaining furniture and helping with the decoration of their property. Staff also continue their support of the young person well after they have moved into their own accommodation. Young people who have left the home remain very regular visitors. They call in for meals, bring bags of washing and seek advice or reassurance. The staff act as any good parent would when their young person leaves home. As a result, relationships are enduring and are a testament to the dedicated care and support offered by staff.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

Young people receive the help and support they require to keep healthy. Young people attend routine health appointments supported by the staff team, and annual health assessments are carried out. Some young people have engaged in drug use and this has led to some worrying incidents. During these incidents, staff took appropriate action to ensure that the welfare needs of the young person remained of paramount importance at all times. The young people have received the help and support they require from specialist services to educate them about the use of drugs. This work is supported by the staff team, through key-work sessions and increased vigilance, with the aim of reducing young people’s drug use.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

Staff receive good training and have the requisite skills and knowledge to respond effectively when young people display challenging behaviour. Incidents of poor behaviour are not commonplace in this home, but when they do occur they are dealt with effectively by the staff team. The recording of incidents is detailed and staff conduct debriefs with young people to try to understand the circumstances of the incidents and the triggers for young people. This information is analysed by the management and staff team to help inform young people’s individual safe care plans and behaviour management plans. Staff understand and implement safe care and behaviour management well.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

The manager and staff work effectively with partner agencies. The service has established good links with the police, education and health services. These local connections mean that young people receive the services they need immediately, which helps them to keep safe and make progress. If a young person is away from the home without the agreement of staff, robust and immediate action is taken by the staff. They search for the young person, visit known friends and associates, continually phone the young person and work with police and other agencies to secure the young person’s safe return home. When the young person comes home, staff will welcome them, ensure their welfare needs are met and try to ascertain where they have been and their reasons for leaving.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

The manager is currently going through the process of registration with Ofsted. She leads the service effectively and is supported by a knowledgeable and experienced deputy manager. They work very well together and are developing ideas for the future of the service and ways to drive forward improvements. The staff team feels confident in the management of the home. Staff are able to raise any worries or concerns, and they feel their views are important. Managers ensure that staff receive good-quality supervision on a regular basis. The staff team receives training and development to enable them to provide effective care and support to young people.

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Information about this children’s home

This is a local authority children’s home that provides care and accommodation for up to six children and young people who have emotional and/or behavioural difficulties. The home’s statement of purpose indicates that the age range is between 11 and 18 years of age.

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Recent inspection history

Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement 07/09/2016 Full Good 25/01/2016 Interim Improved effectiveness 13/05/2015 Full Requires improvement 27/01/2015 Interim Sustained effectiveness

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Statutory requirements

This section sets out the actions which must be taken so that the registered person(s) meet(s) 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

8: The education standard In order to meet the education standard, the registered person to ensure-

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Requirement Due date

(ix) help each child who is above compulsory school age to participate in further education, training or employment and to prepare for future care, education or employment. 03/03/2017

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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 that 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 children looked after 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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