Children's home run by Derbyshire County Council

Inspection report children's home: SC036260 1 SC036260 Registered provider: Derbyshire County Council

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Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

The home provides care and accommodation for up to five young people who have emotional and behavioural difficulties. The home is owned and operated by a local authority.

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Overall experiences and progress of

children and young people, taking into account

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good

How well children and young people are helped and protected good

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good

The effectiveness of leaders and managers good

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good

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

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good

Overall judgement at last inspection: improved effectiveness

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Key findings from this inspection

Inspection report children's home: SC036260 2 This children’s home is good because:

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Key findings from this inspection

 Young people have overcome significant difficulties in their lives and made progress.  The manager and staff value the relationship between young people and their families. This has led to some significant improvements for young people, with more visits home and better relationships.  The staff and manager prioritise the physical and emotional well-being of young people. Young people receive good health care. The staff team act on advice and guidance provided by a psychologist.  The young person currently living in the home has become safer. Behaviours that led to increased risk, such as going missing, have reduced in frequency.  New staff undergo robust vetting to minimise the risk of young people being harmed by those in positions of trust.  The staff receive a good level of support and supervision from managers. Staff are accountable for their work with young people and the manager is quick to

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Key findings from this inspection

address any concerns about the conduct of staff.

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Key findings from this inspection

The children’s home’s areas for development:

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Key findings from this inspection

 One young person’s educational progress has been hampered by persistently poor school attendance.  Some staff have not managed incidents of challenging and confrontational behaviour by young people well. They have used poor language that has the potential to escalate difficult situations.  The physical condition of the home requires improvement, especially upstairs, to provide a more comfortable space for young people.

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

14/03/2017 Interim Improved effectiveness 06/07/2016 Full Requires improvement 22/09/2015 Full Requires improvement 04/08/2015 Full Inadequate Inspection report children's home: SC036260 3

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Statutory requirements

This section sets out the actions that the registered person(s) must take to meet 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 within the given timescales.

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Requirement Due date

The education standard is that children make measurable progress towards achieving their educational potential and are helped to do so. In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to ensure-

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Requirement Due date

understand the barriers to learning that each child may face and take appropriate action to help the child overcome any such barriers and;

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Requirement Due date

support each child to attend education or training in accordance with the expectations in the child’s relevant plans. (Regulation 8(1)(2)(a)(iii) and (x)) 31/08/2017

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Recommendations

 For children’s homes to be nurturing and supportive environments that meet the needs of their children, they will, in most cases, be homely, domestic environments. Children’s homes must comply with relevant health and safety legislations (alarms, food, hygiene etc.); however, in doing so, homes should seek as far as possible to maintain a domestic rather than ‘institutional’ impression. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 15, paragraph 3.9)  The capacity and competence of staff to build constructive, warm relationships with children that actively promote positive behaviour, provides the foundations for managing any negative behaviour. Staff should have the skills to respond to each child’s individual behaviour. Where necessary they should manage conflict, maintain constructive dialogues, and react appropriately if challenged by a child in their care. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality

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Recommendations

standards’, page 39, paragraph 8.14) Inspection report children's home: SC036260 4

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Young people make good progress. Some have had to cope with significant obstacles in many areas of their lives. Staff have worked hard with young people during these difficult periods. Staff and managers show patience and determination to help young people succeed. This has led to good relationships developing between the staff and young people. Staff understand young people’s strengths and capabilities. Staff set aspirational goals with realistic and achievable timescales for young people. Staff celebrate achievements and the progress young people make.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

This service has been very stable with no new young people moving to the home. One young person recently returned home to family, and at the time of this inspection only one young person was resident.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The progress young people make in their education has been variable. One young person made good and sustained progress, attending a college course. He had good attendance and benefited from a positive work experience placement. Another young person has faced significant barriers to education. Attendance at school has been poor. This poor attendance has been due, in large part, to lateness for school most days. The managers and staff have been unable to improve this situation. At the time of this inspection, the young person’s attendance was starting to improve. This was because the parent of the young person was taking a very active part in getting the young person to school on time.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The manager and staff value young people’s relationships with their families and friends. The manager and staff keep in very close contact with family members. Staff involve them in the lives of their young people. One young person has experienced an improvement in her relationship with a parent. Visits home are more frequent and the parent is taking a very active role in the young person’s life. This has led to the young person being more optimistic and positive for her future. The staff promote friendships that young people value. One young person spoke very positively about her best friend having ‘sleepovers’, and visiting for tea.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The physical and emotional health needs of young people are a priority for the manager and staff. Good health monitoring takes place through annual health assessments. Staff benefit from guidance provided by a psychologist through regular reflective discussions. These discussions focus on young people’s emotional and psychological welfare. Staff and other professionals note improvements in the emotional well-being of the young person living at the home. She is now looking forward to redecorating her room, and her self-care skills have improved. She feels able to express herself to staff and confide in them. She is becoming more self-aware. This is good progress. Inspection report children's home: SC036260 5

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How well children and young people are helped and protected: good

The young person currently living in this home has become safer. This is because risk- taking behaviours have decreased. Incidents of the young person going missing from care have reduced in frequency. This follows good partnership working with other agencies and the young person’s parent. The manager and staff understand the risks and vulnerabilities faced by young people and they take effective action to keep young people safe.

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How well children and young people are helped and protected: good

The manager understands the crucial importance of safe staff recruitment. The manager ensures that prospective new employees are carefully vetted. Vetting includes taking and checking references and criminal records checks. New staff members undertake a comprehensive induction. Core training provides staff with the skills and knowledge they need to protect young people.

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How well children and young people are helped and protected: good

Staffing ratios remain high. Staff spend time with young people and engage with them well. This improves relationships and is crucial to managing risk. Staff are vigilant and take pre-emptive action to keep young people safe. They understand young people’s friendship groups. This helps them to respond proactively if children leave the home without permission.

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How well children and young people are helped and protected: good

The staff and managers have developed good strategies to respond to the particular risks and vulnerabilities of young people. Risk assessments are robust and are regularly updated to reflect the changing needs of young people. The managers ensure that risk assessments are shared with staff, and that staff fully understand what actions to take in order to keep young people safe.

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How well children and young people are helped and protected: good

Staff have not always managed incidents of challenging behaviour from young people well. Young people have made complaints regarding the manner in which some staff have spoken to them at times. These incidents have been when young people have displayed challenging and oppositional behaviour towards staff. The manager has acted swiftly, investigated these complaints, and resolved them. Additionally, staff have the opportunity, in reflective team discussions, to talk about the pressures of caring for young people who may display challenging behaviour. A psychologist working with the home facilitates these meetings. However, incidents of this nature should not happen. Staff are role models and should display positive behaviour to young people at all times. Overall, incidents of challenging behaviour have decreased and young people have managed their emotions well. Staff rarely have to resort to using physical interventions,

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How well children and young people are helped and protected: good

with only one such incident having taken place. Sanctions imposed on young people for negative behaviour have also decreased. The behaviour of young people is improving.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager provides strong and effective leadership. He is currently undertaking the level 5 diploma in leadership and management. Two deputy managers, who have a wealth of experience, support him. They work together well, with a strong Inspection report children's home: SC036260 6 focus on the needs and progression of young people.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The staff are motivated and feel well supported. Staff report that they receive regular professional supervision. They enjoy supervision because they feel able to express their views and ideas, as well as raise any concerns they may have. Regular team meetings take place. Staff value these meetings. They utilise the meetings to discuss young people’s care plans and other matters affecting young people. Staff also receive support through reflective team discussions, facilitated by the psychologist working with the home. These meetings focus on the areas that matter most to the staff and young people.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The leadership team of this home understands that well-trained, developed, and supported staff are fundamental to providing good care. The manager takes a strategic approach to ensuring that staff have the qualifications, experience, and knowledge that they need to provide good care. The manager has completed a good and detailed workforce development plan. This provides a clear assessment of the future training and developmental needs of staff. All staff members have their performance appraised by managers. Areas of strength and weakness are identified. The manager is able to implement measures to provide further support for the workers, such as training.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager has a good grasp of the strengths of the service and areas that require improvement. He receives helpful and informative monthly reports produced by an independent visitor. The manager also completes his own quality of care reviews. These incorporate information derived from his own assessment of the service, and information from other professionals and young people. The manager is ambitious, and is eager to improve this service for the benefit of young people.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager takes complaints very seriously. He takes swift and robust action to investigate and resolve them. When young people have made complaints, the manager meets with them and listens to their concerns. He holds staff to account when their practice has fallen below expectations. The service has also received compliments. A social worker wrote, ‘‘When I arrived, staff and young people were having a party, the interaction was great, lots of fun. It was a lovely atmosphere and both young people had smiles on their faces.’ A parent wrote about her daughter: ‘Staff work hard. I was impressed when they held a birthday party for her; even staff not on duty attended.’ These comments are testament to a dedicated team that provides good care to young people in their care.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The decoration and presentation of the building is not of a high standard. However, the young person currently living at the home is in the process of planning a complete room makeover with the help of staff. This will create a bedroom she can be proud of when her friends visit and stay for a sleepover. Inspection report children's home: SC036260 7

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Information about this inspection

Inspectors have looked closely at the experiences and progress of children and young people. Inspectors considered the quality of work and the differences made to the lives of children and young people. They watched how professional staff work with children and young people and each other and discussed the effectiveness of help and care provided. Wherever possible, they talked to children and 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 whom it is trying to help, protect and look after.

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Information about this inspection

Using the ‘Social care common inspection framework’, this inspection was carried out under the Care Standards Act 2000 to assess the effectiveness of the service, how it meets the core functions of the service as set out in legislation, 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’. Inspection report children's home: SC036260 8

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: County Hall, Matlock, Derbyshire DE4 3AG

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Inspector

Phillip Morris, social care inspector Inspection report children's home: SC036260 9 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, further education and skills, adult and community learning, and education and training in prisons and other secure establishments. It assesses council children’s services, and inspects services for looked after children, safeguarding and child protection.

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Inspector

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Inspector

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