Children's home run by Derby City Council in Derby

Inspection report children's home: SC036266 1 SC036266 Registered provider: Derby City 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

This local authority children’s home is registered to provide care and accommodation for up to six children and young people who have emotional and/or behavioural difficulties.

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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

Date of last inspection: 7 February 2017

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good

Overall judgement at last inspection: Sustained effectiveness

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Enforcement action since last inspection

None Inspection report children's home: SC036266 2

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Key findings from this inspection

 Young people make good progress in relation to their education and have aspirations for their futures.

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Key findings from this inspection

 Feedback from involved agencies is consistently positive about the staff team. The staff are viewed as strong and positive advocates and role models for young people.

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Key findings from this inspection

 Young people feel listened to by staff and managers. They feel that staff and managers include them in all aspects of their care and in the support they receive.

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Key findings from this inspection

 Young people feel supported to maintain contact with family members and other significant people. Staff and managers welcome their friends to visit the home and promote contact to a very good level.

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Key findings from this inspection

 Young people feel safe living in this home. The police report very positive working relationships between them and the staff team. They feel that staff know and understand their safeguarding roles very well.

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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

 Further discussion with senior management in relation to staff and managers being directed to wear identification badges within the home. This does not present as homely or welcoming for young people.

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Key findings from this inspection

 The registered manager to challenge the placing authority more robustly for one particular young person, in relation to their care and placement plan not meeting their identified needs.

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

07/02/2017 Interim Sustained effectiveness 15/08/2016 Full Good 08/03/2016 Interim Improved effectiveness 27/10/2015 Full Good Inspection report children's home: SC036266 3

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Statutory requirement

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 engaging with the wider system standard is that children’s needs are met.

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the standard requires the registered person to ensure—

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Requirement Due date

that, if the registered person considers, or staff consider, a placing authority’s performance or response to be inadequate in relation to their role, they challenge the placing authority to seek to ensure that each child’s needs are met in accordance with the child’s relevant plans. (Regulation 5(c)) 31/08/2017

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Recommendation

 Ensure that the home seeks as far as possible to maintain a domestic rather than ‘institutional’ impression. This is with specific reference to the wearing of identification badges by staff and managers within the home. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 15, paragraph 3.9)

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Young people make good progress in all areas of their lives and their confidence increases. They speak positively about the support and care they receive from the staff team. One young person stated, ‘Staff look after me well all of the time because they care. They listen to me and praise me. I love this care home.’ Young people report that staff help them to learn new skills such as cooking, cleaning and how to manage their money. They feel well prepared for their eventual move to adult life. A parent of one young person who recently moved to their own accommodation said: ‘The staff have really tried to help my child with budgeting and cooking skills. I think this past couple of years has been a really nice time in his life.’ Inspection report children's home: SC036266 4 Education is promoted well in this home. Staff fully support young people to engage and attend their educational provisions. One young person has secured an apprenticeship

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

recently. Given their previous difficulties in education, this is seen as a significant achievement for them. A careers adviser who works with this young person commented: ‘The staff have been amazing in supporting him. He is a wonderful success and it is largely down to the support staff have provided.’ Young people see their families and friends on a regular basis. Staff know and understand the agreed contact arrangements for the majority of children and fully support young people with them. However, the contact arrangements for one young person are currently unclear in relation to them seeing family members. There is a need for the manager to challenge the placing authority in order to ensure clarity of contact arrangements and that they are safe and monitored. Young people’s friends are welcome to visit the home, as are parents and others. Young people know how to make a complaint or raise any concerns they may have.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

There have been no formal complaints raised by young people since the last full inspection. This reflects the fact that young people feel able to approach staff informally, confident that their issues will be taken seriously. As one young person said: ‘Staff take any complaints seriously all of the time and deal with them properly.’ Young people receive good support in relation to their health needs. Staff ensure that they learn to consider their own general health needs over time and support them to attend appointments with doctors, opticians and dentists. Staff have also formed close and positive working relationships with specialist healthcare providers. They advocate for young people and make sure that they have the right support in place. There is a positive focus on considering the emotional health needs of young people. One young person reflected on this: ‘The staff take into consideration my needs and struggles and

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

that helps me to talk about them.’ Young people enjoy participating in a range of social activities. Staff consult with them to identify interests and work hard to ensure that they have access to a wide range of fun experiences. Staff have supported one young person to get a passport recently. This young person is about to go on their first holiday abroad. The manager agreed to pay towards the cost of this trip. This reflects the commitment of staff and managers to ensuring that young people looked after have the same opportunities as their non- looked-after peers. It promotes confidence and a sense of being valued in young people.

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

Staff ensure that risk assessments reflect the current and changing needs of each young person living in this home. Local police report having a very positive and close working relationship with the staff and young people. They feel that staff know their roles and responsibilities well and ensure the safety of young people. A police community support officer stated:

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

The staff invite me to visit the home informally on a regular basis to meet with the young people. Staff do not over-contact the police. They know what to do if Inspection report children's home: SC036266 5 there are concerns about a young person and always act quickly and appropriately to support them.

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

Young people say that staff keep them safe from harm. If a young person goes missing, there is a coordinated and professional response from staff and managers. They demonstrate a clear understanding of safeguarding policies and procedures. Missing from care risk assessments contain detailed analyses of each young person’s needs and risks. Records reflect that staff take all necessary action to safeguard. Staff offer young people the chance to meet with an independent person on their return from being missing. Information gained from such interviews is then used to inform risk assessments and plans. Restraint is only used as a last resort with young people. Staff always try to de-escalate situations and to discuss concerns with young people. One young person stated that staff deal with hard situations. Staff prefer to use positive reinforcement and rewards, rather than having to resort to physical interventions. Over time, young people learn to

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

manage their own difficult or potentially risky behaviours and emotions more positively. The use of incentives is also seen as positive by both staff and young people. Staff praise young people for their achievements, no matter how small, and this leads to them taking pride in their achievements and managing situations more productively. Staff support young people well in relation to the use of social media and the internet. They understand the specific risks and associated concerns and ensure that young people use such media safely. This also includes working closely with the police and other relevant agencies, if concerns are identified. Multi-agency working is a key strength of this home and the staff team. The recruitment and selection procedures for staff are robust and prevent unsuitable people from being recruited. The manager has a lead role for recruitment within the local authority and demonstrates a detailed and commendable understanding of safer

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

recruitment practices. One young person, recently admitted to the home, has refused to engage with staff and is spending considerable periods of time with a family member. Staff make daily visits to ensure that they are safe and well. The manager has arranged for a looked after review to take place in the near future, which is positive and should address how the young person’s needs can and will be met.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager has the necessary skills, qualifications and experience to perform his role. He has been in post for several years and provides effective and efficient management. Staff speak highly of him and the support he provides to them. They state that he encourages them to share their ideas and is always keen for them to develop their skills and interests. The home has sufficient staff to meet the needs of the young people. Permanent staff cover any staff shortages due to sickness or other reasons. This provides young people with consistency of care from a staff team they know and trust. A key-worker system is Inspection report children's home: SC036266 6 in place. This provides each young person with two key workers. They provide focused support and guidance to young people on all areas of their needs. Records reflect that regular sessions take place with young people to consider their needs. Following any

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

incidents or significant events, staff meet with young people to discuss what additional support they may need. Agencies report high levels of satisfaction with the support provided to young people by the staff and managers. Several commented on the fact that staff clearly want to spend time with the young people, supporting them. One professional commented: Whenever I visit, the staff are with the young people – talking and spending quality time with them. They want to be with the young people and not sat in the office, which is really positive. Young people feel integrated into the local and wider community. They form positive peer relationships over time and engage in local activities and use local resources well. The manager has forged positive working relationships with neighbours and the local community over a long period of time. There have been no formal complaints received from neighbours or others in the community since the last inspection. This reflects the

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

positive work done by the manager in this area. Management monitoring systems are robust. There is a detailed and comprehensive development plan in place for the home. The home’s location risk assessment is up to date and reviewed annually. This includes consultation with police and other relevant agencies. The manager demonstrates a detailed understanding of how the care and support provided to young people is improving their experiences and outcomes. Staff report high levels of satisfaction in their roles. They receive regular supervision and annual appraisals of their performance. Staff are positive about the training and development opportunities, which are easily accessible. There is a positive and strong learning culture and ethos evident. A student from a local university has recently been undertaking some research for their PhD with staff, managers and young people at the home. The findings from this research have yet to be shared with staff and managers,

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

but it is very positive that such learning initiatives have been supported and encouraged. The home presents as generally welcoming and well maintained. Senior management outside of the home recently directed the registered manager and all staff to wear their identification badges at all times when working in the home. Young people state that they are not happy at this, as it presents as institutionalised. The manager and staff also report feeling unhappy about this. There is a need for senior management within the local authority to consider this, as it does not present as homely or welcoming to young people, staff or visitors. The manager needs to challenge the placing authority more robustly in respect of one young person whose care plan does not sufficiently provide for their needs in relation to their health, education and contact arrangements. Although the manager and staff have attempted to address their concerns with the placing authority, this has been with

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

limited success to date and so requires further escalation.

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Information about this inspection

Inspection report children's home: SC036266 7 Inspectors have looked closely at the experiences and progress of children and young people. Inspectors considered the quality of work and the difference 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. Whenever 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 and 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: SC036266 8

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Treasurers Department, Council House, Corporation Street, Derby DE1 2FE

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Inspector

Tracy Murty, social care inspector Inspection report children's home: SC036266 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 children looked after, safeguarding and child protection.

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Inspector

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Inspector

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Inspector

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