Children's Home run by Doncaster Children‟s Services Trust Limited in Doncaster

Inspection report children‟s home: SC032167 1 SC032167 Registered provider: Doncaster Children‟s Services Trust Limited

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Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

A trust runs this children‟s home. It provides short breaks for up to 10 children or young people who have physical and/or learning disabilities as well as long-term accommodation for two young people on a residential basis.

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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

 A resilient, skilled and committed staff team offers consistent care which promotes good outcomes for children and young people. Inspection report children‟s home: SC032167 2  The children and young people are able to build positive relationships with the staff team and their peers and have new experiences which broaden their horizons.  The children and young people feel safe, and parents, carers and professionals report that they are safe, as a result of high staffing levels. The children and young people learn to manage their behaviours within the nurturing and calm atmosphere in the home.  The inspirational manager imbues the staff team with his enthusiasm and passion.  The very good management team consistently uses its shared knowledge and expertise to benefit the staff team. This, in turn, benefits the children and young people. The children‟s home‟s areas for development:

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Key findings from this inspection

 The children‟s and young people‟s communication methods and risks are well known and, for the most part, accurately recorded and well managed. However, there are some areas for improvement in recording that would enhance safety levels.

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

09/03/2017 Interim Improved effectiveness 16/05/2016 Full Good 18/01/2016 Interim Improved effectiveness 04/08/2015 Full Requires improvement Inspection report children‟s home: SC032167 3

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Recommendations

 Some records may be kept electronically (regulation 38) provided that this information can be easily accessed by anyone with a legitimate need to view it and, if required, be reproduced in a legible form. Electronic records should be held at the individual home in accordance with data protection principles. In particular, electronic records should clearly demonstrate who the author of the record is and contain reference to any paper records held in the home that pertain to the entry, for example, a completed skin map. („Guide to the children‟s homes regulations including the quality standards‟, page 61, paragraph 14.2)  Staff should be familiar with the home‟s policies on record keeping and understand the importance of careful, objective, and clear recording. Staff should record information on individual children in a non-stigmatising way that distinguishes between fact, opinion and third-party information. Information

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Recommendations

about the child must always be recorded in a way that will be helpful to the child, for example ensuring that all entries made, new documents prepared and photographs kept are dated. („Guide to the children‟s homes regulations including the quality standards‟, page 62, paragraph 14.4)

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The children and young people who live, or have short breaks, in this home are happy and have warm and nurturing relationships with staff, whom they trust. As a result, they are making good and, in some cases, excellent progress in all aspects of their personal development. The nurturing and skilled staff team enables the children and young people to grow in confidence to build self-care skills and socialise with their peers. One young person said, „I love being at [Name] and don‟t want to move on. The staff are great and I feel like I‟m part of a family.‟ Records maintained in the home are in the form of both electronic systems and paper files. At times, the information between the two systems is not sufficiently detailed to ensure that all staff have a clear picture of the children‟s and young people‟s needs. In addition, the quality of recordings and detail within care plans is inconsistent. For

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

example, a number of records are not appropriately dated and some „All About Me‟ sheets do not have enough detail on them. The good communication between the management and staff team means that this is not a practice issue, but more of recording. As a result, the children and young people are not adversely affected in their day-to-day care. The children and young people enjoy their time in a comfortable and spacious home which is fully equipped to meet their needs. A great deal of work has been undertaken Inspection report children‟s home: SC032167 4 to remodel the outside areas. This provides the children and young people with space to run and play, as well as participate in developing their own sensory garden. The addition of new sensory baths gives the children and young people a choice of bath or shower, as well as allowing them to enjoy complete relaxation in a comforting, yet stimulating, environment. An assessment officer reported, „She has a nice bedroom and the sensory

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

room is well equipped.‟ Parents and carers report positively about the care that their children and young people receive and the excellent communication with the home. This allows them to grow in confidence and provide their children with consistent messages. Families, as well as the children and young people, are empowered to learn new skills, leading to happier home lives and more fulfilled childhoods. A foster carer said, „It was [Name] who got him to sit at a table because he just wouldn‟t do it and it has worked. We‟ve worked with them and it‟s worked.‟ A parent commented, „She has increased in confidence and is more outgoing, animated and grown up in the short time she has been staying at [Name].‟ The majority of the children and young people attend the home on a short-break basis; therefore, the responsibility for their health and education remains with their parents. Nevertheless, the staff‟s excellent relationships with education and health providers

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

ensure that the children and young people receive the support necessary to meet their holistic needs. The two young people who are currently resident are both making good progress in their health and education. They have 100% school attendance and attend all necessary health appointments. All of the children and young people make significant progress in building self-esteem and improving well-being as their physical, emotional and psychological needs are understood and met. This prepares them for transition to long- term placements or on to adult provision. A consultant paediatrician reported, „I have a good working relationship with the home and feel that the children are safeguarded and their welfare promoted.‟ The children and young people are fully supported to express their wishes and feelings as a result of the manager‟s commitment to ensuring that they are consulted, wherever they are able, on all aspects of their care and future life plans. The children and young

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

people grow in confidence to express themselves and ask for what they want as a result of their individual communication methods being understood and facilitated by staff. In addition, the children and young people are included in opportunities that would not otherwise be available to them, which further bolsters their self-esteem and feelings of self-worth. For example, the children and young people participate in the staff recruitment process. A social work team manager said, „He has blossomed there,‟ and a young person reported, „I would like to live at [Name]. I would like to work here.‟ The children‟s and young people‟s horizons are broadened as they are empowered to participate in inclusive activities, both in the home and the community, that would not otherwise be available to them. One young person said after attending his first pantomime, „This is the best day of my life.‟ The children and young people enjoy

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

spending time with staff and each other, thus allowing them to build their social skills while they make friendships with their peers and have fun. For some of the young people, who may otherwise be socially isolated, this is empowering. A parent said, „At Inspection report children‟s home: SC032167 5 home she‟s always with adults, and there she‟s got a chance to make friends.‟

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

The children and young people are protected as a result of the stringent attention to safeguarding employed by the manager and staff team. Robust recording and auditing of all incidents ensure that appropriate steps have been taken. Staff understand their roles and responsibilities with regard to whistle-blowing procedures and have attended specialist training courses on safeguarding children and young people with disabilities. A social work team manager said, „They are absolutely safe there.‟ The children and young people‟s communication methods and risks are well known and, for the most part, are accurately recorded and well managed. There are some areas for improvement that would enhance safety levels. For example, one young person‟s self- harm behaviours are not robustly recorded in her „All About Me‟, which would enable staff to recognise grazes or abrasions from the start. In addition, „skin maps‟ completed

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

when marks are seen on children and young people are not always dated and do not have enough information as to how injuries may or could have occurred and when, which could place the child at risk and inhibit safeguarding. This is partly historical because these are old ways of recording. However, this is exacerbated by insufficient detail being recorded on the electronic system. Individual risk assessments ensure that each child and young person‟s unique vulnerabilities are known and planned for. This ensures that not only is that child safe, but that careful matching takes place to ensure that children and young people of similar abilities receive their short breaks together, allowing them all to enjoy the experience safely. A parent said, „I am really really pleased with the staff and service we are getting at the moment. [Name] has never been anywhere else and I didn‟t have trust in anyone else that they would provide for her needs.‟

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

An excellent „bullying floor plan‟ identifies potential high risk areas where children and young people could be vulnerable to aggression or harm from their peers. For example, if a young person is known to nip or pinch, or could become agitated if another young person is loud, staff will be particularly vigilant in these areas of the home to prevent such behaviour occurring. This ensures that children and young people are safeguarded. A young person said, „The staff are like family and they keep me safe.‟

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

High staffing levels and appropriate security mechanisms on doors mean that children and young people do not go missing from the home. Nevertheless, „missing prompt sheets‟ on each individual‟s file mean that staff would know what to do if a child or young person were to stray. One young person accompanied his peers in absenting himself from his school. Staff from the home immediately went to the school when they were alerted and searched the area for the young person, as a good parent would. They followed this up with sensitive discussions with the young person to enable him to understand why adults may be concerned if they do not know where he is. He has not repeated the behaviour. The children and young people are protected by these measures. As a result of their complex needs, some of the children and young people can exhibit some extreme behaviours. Staff carefully plan for these. In many cases, aggressive

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

Inspection report children‟s home: SC032167 6 behaviours within the family are not displayed in the home as staff employ consistent, calm boundaries, thus allowing the children and young people to feel secure and settled. This allows the children and young people to relax and enjoy their stay as well as providing respite for their families. Physical intervention is only used to prevent injury and protect the children and young people from harming themselves. The sensitive use of touch in this manner can guide and deflect the children and young people from inappropriate behaviours. Staff members carefully record all such events, and records are robustly monitored by the manager. The children and young people are protected as a result. Due to their complex needs, the majority of the children and young people who access the home would not understand sanctions and so these are rarely imposed. For those children and young people who are able to comprehend the impact of their behaviours,

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

appropriate sanctions have prevented a repetition. This allows children and young people to understand consequences. A parent said, „He‟s come on in leaps and bounds and is learning new things all the time.‟

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The passionate and inspirational manager has 23 years‟ experience in residential childcare. He has held registered manager status for this home since August 2016. He is part-way through completing his level 5 management qualification. He knows all of the children and young people in his care extremely well and works hard to ensure that all of their holistic needs are met. He is proud of the consistent and skilled staff team and ensures that staff are provided with opportunities to learn new skills and take additional responsibilities that enhance care and outcomes for the children and young people. For example, this might include overseeing the induction programme for new staff members, or facilitating the parents‟ coffee mornings. A staff member said, „I think he is a really child-oriented and good manager. I think that he and the deputy are a really good team. When you know that management works well it makes you feel safe, and they do work

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

well.‟ The manager was absent from the home for a three-month period over the summer of 2017 as he was managing another home for the trust. His skilled and experienced deputy manager, ably supported by three senior staff members, covered in his absence so that the care for the children and young people was not negatively affected. However, it is evident that the period of time he spent away from the home had an adverse effect on his plans here. Staff supervisions and annual assessments suffered and the development plan steps were delayed. The manager is getting back on track now; however, in order for this home to achieve its full potential for the children and young people who use the service, that consistency is needed. The one requirement raised at the last inspection, that a cook is appointed, has been met. This demonstrates the home‟s capacity to improve. The children and young people‟s health and well-being are enhanced as staff have more time to devote to their

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

care, and they are offered the choice of nutritious and healthy meals. The stability and continuity of the staff team are a major strength in this home. Many staff members have over 20 and 30 years‟ experience in caring for children with Inspection report children‟s home: SC032167 7 disabilities. Their knowledge and skill is evident. Supervision sessions are now taking place consistently after a period when not all staff were able to receive formal support due to the manager‟s absence. This could have had a detrimental effect on morale and practice, but both long-standing and new staff members report positively about their relationships with each other, support from management and how much they enjoy their roles. Staff‟s warmth and happiness in their jobs provide the children and young people with a caring and stimulating environment in which they thrive. Excellent external monitoring reports actively promote discussion with staff and

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

effectively contribute towards the safety and well-being of the children and young people. The manager‟s report under regulation 45 tells the story of the progress and developments of the last six months from the perspective of the children, staff, families and professionals. It demonstrates how the manager is working with everyone involved in the home, as well as professionals from outside agencies. This report could be used as an example of good practice for other homes within the trust. The home‟s statement of purpose states that: „[Name] recognises that children are children first and foremost, regardless of their individual needs and disabilities. Each child will therefore be valued and supported in their religion, culture and identity. As such, we respect individual‟s privacy and their personal dignity at all times. This is a priority when working with children and families and with each other. At all times

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

[Name] will respect differences in others as something that contributes positively to creating a sense of “community” and “belonging”.‟ This ethos underpins every aspect of the children‟s and young people‟s experience during their stay, demonstrating that the home is meeting its aims and objectives. The active celebration of each individual‟s unique and diverse needs empowers them to be who they are and explore who they want to be. This includes support for family members, who may be isolated in the community without the support of the home. The children and young people take pride in themselves and are fulfilled as a result. A staff member said, „When her mum went into labour and was giving birth, she rang here and asked for us to come and take [Name]. We went and collected [Name] from the labour ward. Mum was so happy because she could concentrate on having the baby and [Name] was safe.‟ The proactive manager promotes good working relationships with all partner agencies.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Consistent and comprehensive communication between agencies ensures that the children‟s and young people‟s holistic needs are met on a day-today basis and positive outcomes promoted. This includes advocating effectively for young people to ensure that suitable further placements are identified for them if they are moving into long-term residence or an adult provision. A social work team manager said, „We had lots of respite at [name] for a very complex boy. We needed that place to settle him and, without their input, I wouldn‟t have had the time to assess the right place for him. I will always be in debt to them for what they did for him.‟ The manager encourages and empowers the children and young people, wherever they are able, to actively participate in decision-making around their care and their future. For example, one of the young people sat on the interview panel for new staff for the home. This ensures that the children and young people‟s voices are heard and that they know

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

they are valued, giving them the confidence and skills to express themselves and Inspection report children‟s home: SC032167 8 contribute towards practice in the home. A staff member said, „[Name] interviewed me and it was absolutely fantastic. One of the things he asked me was what would you do if I was upset, and the other thing was what do you know about flying kites.‟

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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: SC032167 9

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Doncaster Children‟s Services Trust Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Blue Building, 38 40 High Street, Doncaster DN1 1DE

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Inspector

Ann-Marie Born, social care inspector Inspection report children‟s home: SC032167 10 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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