Children's homes – interim inspection

Inspection report children’s home: SC035105 1 SC035105 Registered provider: Durham 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 is run by a local authority and is registered to provide care and accommodation for up to four 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 outstanding

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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: 9 February 2017

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good

Overall judgement at last inspection: Improved effectiveness

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Enforcement action since last inspection:

None Inspection report children’s home: SC035105 2

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Key findings from this inspection

 The registered manager is a strong, confident leader who manages the staff team well and who is ambitious for the children and young people in her care. She has created a home that is nurturing and warm and where there are clear boundaries and expectations so that the children and young people feel safe and secure.  The home is a safe place to live. The staff understand risks well and help the children and young people to stay safe. Levels of going missing are very low and very few safeguarding incidents occur.  The children and young people are all doing well at their schools, colleges and workplaces. They have good attendance and are all making progress.  All the children and young people have been supported to develop and improve their contact and relationships with their families wherever possible.

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

09/02/2017 Interim Improved effectiveness 25/10/2016 Full Good 24/02/2016 Interim Improved effectiveness 15/12/2015 Full Good Inspection report children’s home: SC035105 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

One young person has left the home since the previous inspection and another child moved in shortly after. The home is now very settled, and all the children and young people have made good or improved progress over the past year. The children and young people have very good relationships with the staff. The staff team members have created a lovely atmosphere where the children and young people feel comfortable and at home. The inspector observed the children and young people coming in from school. They all spoke immediately with staff about their day. One young person who had been feeling unwell went straight for a cuddle with the registered manager and was given lots of attention before being helped to bed with a hot drink.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

There is a family feel to the home and the children and young people are able to have a say in the day-to-day running. They share some of the daily household tasks and learn independence skills in the process. The children and young people participate in a variety of leisure interests. Two are good footballers and others have tried a whole range of other sports and pastimes. They also share in looking after the home’s chickens in the back garden.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

All the children and young people have very good attendance at school or college and all are achieving well. Two of the children and young people are achieving particularly well at school, with above-expected progress. One of them spent time telling the inspector about their plans to go to university. Another young person is in the process of finishing their second year at college. This young person has been studying professional cookery but they have also held down a demanding part-time job and had work experience at a prestigious local restaurant. They are now on the threshold of a promising career.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The staff have also supported the children and young people to develop and improve their contact and relationships with their families, and most have made good progress in this area. One child was very pleased to tell the inspector that their contact with their family had increased significantly, and they commented on how much support the staff had given to help this situation improve.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Some of the children and young people have received some therapeutic support, with counselling or therapy from external specialist workers. This has helped them to start to deal with the traumas and difficulties in their lives. One young person in particular has benefited a great deal from this work. The staff have also offered good-quality personalised work to all the children and young people.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The social worker of one young person who has done particularly well said that there had been a ‘massive turnaround’ in the emotional and mental health of their young person and that they ‘could not have wished for anything more’.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

All the children and young people participate in their care planning. One young person is getting ready to move on and has very much been part of this process. They are now very confident about moving on, after initially admitting to being worried. The staff have Inspection report children’s home: SC035105 4 supported this young person well to achieve progress.

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

The children and young people are very safe. The staff understand risks to children and young people. Risk assessments contain strategies to direct staff and minimise risks.

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

A young person who left the home following the last inspection displayed behaviours that were of a concern to staff. These included a range of behaviours that resulted in the placement ending. Therefore, their placement did not have a positive outcome, despite a significant effort and a significant commitment from the staff team.

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

There are no other current safeguarding concerns. The number of missing from home incidents is now very low. One young person has been supported to significantly reduce their self-harming behaviour.

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

The staff offer a good balance of care and control. They provide clear and effective boundaries and expectations alongside nurturing care so that the children and young people can live in a positive and supportive environment. The children and young people clearly feel safe and secure in the home. A number of the children and young people were able to tell the inspector that they felt safe, but it was clear to the inspector from observations that all of them were relaxed and comfortable within the home.

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

There have been very few other safeguarding issues at this home over the past year. The few that have occurred have been dealt with appropriately. One young person has struggled to come to terms with their traumatic past and has found it difficult to talk about. This has meant that sometimes it is difficult for staff to know how to react. However, the registered manager has provided a strong direction and the young person has now agreed to work with an external specialist counsellor. This work, combined with a consistent approach from the staff, has helped this young person start to make improved progress in this area of their life.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

The registered manager is appropriately qualified and has a great deal of experience. She ensures that the home meets the aims and objectives set out in the statement of purpose. She is confident and ambitious for the children and young people and is clearly influential in them making significant changes in their lives. She leads the staff team very well and has created a skilled and dedicated team of staff who, like her, prioritise the needs of the children and young people. While the registered manager is nurturing, she also provides leadership in maintaining structure and routine for the children and young people, which they respond to and respect.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

The registered manager continues to develop the service and she knows her staff team well. She has encouraged greater depth in the personalised work that the staff undertake with the children and young people and this is promoting more progress. She Inspection report children’s home: SC035105 5 has also started to introduce more frequent input from specialist external workers with the staff team so that they are able to look more explicitly at the needs of the children and young people. This additional input brings up-to-date research into the staff team and is all very positive. It will undoubtedly lead to further progress being made by the children and young people.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

All of the staff are appropriately qualified and the staff team is very settled, with no changes in the complement of staff since the previous inspection. The registered manager ensures that all refresher training is up to date and supervision is regular and of a good standard. The team meetings are well recorded and the discussion is in-depth, which contributes to the strength of team working.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

The registered manager is quick to challenge when necessary and provides a strong, confident lead when working with other professionals. She is able to find and access other services and other professionals as required.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

No requirements or recommendations were made at the previous inspection and none has been made at this one either.

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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: SC035105 6

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: County Hall, Durham DH1 5UL

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Inspector:

Colin Imrie, social care inspector Inspection report children’s home: SC035105 7 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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