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

Inspection report children's home: SC481464 1 SC481464 Registered provider: Doncaster Children's Services Trust

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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 children’s home is operated by an independent trust. The home provides care and accommodation for up to five young people with 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 outstanding

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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: sustained effectiveness

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Good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none

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Key findings from this inspection

 The young people have established strong and trusting relationships with the staff.

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Key findings from this inspection

 The staff actively listen to the voices and views of the young people through regular Inspection report children's home: SC481464 2 consultation.

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Key findings from this inspection

 The young people have regular family contact, with very good support from the staff. This ensures that the young people build and maintain strong family connections and important support networks.

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Key findings from this inspection

 The manager and the staff team are proactive and have implemented highly effective plans and protection strategies that minimise the identified risks for the young people. Staff have an extensive knowledge of the risks and vulnerabilities for each young person.

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Key findings from this inspection

 The new manager sets high standards that are disseminated to all the staff to ensure that they provide the young people with the best consistent and nurturing care.

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Key findings from this inspection

 The staff work extensively with other agencies and professionals. Young people receive good quality care due to close partnership working.

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Key findings from this inspection

 Good standards of care are maintained through the wide range of auditing undertaken by the management team and the monitoring by the provider.

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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

 The young people are not routinely able to access Wi-Fi to support their education, social and leisure pursuits.

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

01/03/2017 Interim Sustained effectiveness 28/09/2016 Full Good 03/11/2015 Full Good 22/09/2015 Full Inadequate Inspection report children's home: SC481464 3

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Recommendations

 Homes must meet children’s basic day-to-day needs and physical necessities. Staff should seek to meet the child’s basic needs in the way that a good parent would, recognising that many children in residential care have experienced environments where these needs have not been consistently met – doing so is an important aspect of demonstrating that the staff care for the child and value them as an individual. ('Guide to the children's homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 15, paragraph 3.7)

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Recommendations

In particular, ensure that the young people can access Wi-Fi safely.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The young people say this is a good place to live. A young person said: ‘It’s like a family here.’

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Good progress is made over time for the young people due to the stable and nurturing care provided by a dedicated and experienced staff team. An independent reviewing officer said: ‘This is the most stable placement that X has had. I can’t praise the staff enough.’ The young people’s progress includes improved emotional well-being, health, education and safety. The young people respond well to the high aspirations and belief that the staff team have for them to succeed. In addition, structured daily routines and the consistent implementation of boundaries assist the young people to feel secure in their home.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The young people benefit from the strong and trusting relationships that they have built with the staff. This trust enables the young people to take on board the advice and guidance from the staff. As a result, this assists them to make constructive choices and decisions. A young person said: ‘I have three staff that I would go to if I was not happy about something.’

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The young people’s health improves as they access routine health checks and specialist services, including those for their emotional well-being. The young people receive advice, guidance and support on living a healthy lifestyle, with information on the dangers of smoking and other matters that affect their health. The staff and other agencies continue to work with the young people to have a positive impact to reduce and/or cease this behaviour. This ensures that the young people’s current and long-term health outcomes improve. Inspection report children's home: SC481464 4 The staff work with determination to encourage the young people to attend education. The young people’s attendance at school and other learning experiences has started to increase. This provides the young people with increased opportunities now, and later as young adults, to access further education.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The young people learn the necessary independence skills to care for themselves that are appropriate to their age. These include taking part in doing chores around the home, baking, and preparing snacks and meals.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The young people benefit from a number of social and leisure activities, such as going to the cinema, going to youth club, playing pool, swimming, spending time with family and day trips out. A young person said: ‘I like playing cards and going to play pool the most.’ This helps the young people build self-confidence, and enjoy social and leisure activities and new experiences.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The young people have regular family contact, with very good support from the staff. The young people visit family members and make telephone calls to them when they wish. One young person said: ‘I see my brother and family all the time.’ A social worker said: ‘Staff support X well to see his parents. They maintain positive relationships with parents.’ This provides the young people with stronger family connections and important support networks.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The staff actively listen to the voices and views of the young people through regular consultation. This is of great benefit to them, and means that they have a say about their care and about the plans made about their future. This happens through the young people being involved in their own young people’s meetings, daily discussions, key work sessions and the manager’s open door sessions. This proves that the staff take seriously and give importance to gathering the young people’s views and opinions. A young person said: ‘We decide about activities and what we have to eat.’

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The young people enjoy and live in the comfort of a well-presented home. The personalisation of rooms enhances the home further, providing the young people with a safe and homely environment in which to live. However, they do not have routine access to Wi-Fi for social, leisure and educational activities.

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

The highest priority is given to the safety and well-being of young people. One young person said: ‘I am safe living here.’ Missing from care incidents have reduced as a result of the action taken by the staff. The staff have an extensive knowledge of the risks and vulnerabilities for each young person. Frequent reviews of each young person’s risk assessments ensures that staff have up-to-date and clear guidance and strategies detailing how to keep them safe. Consequently, the young people become progressively safer .

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

The staff instil, through positive role modelling, good manners, respect for each other and clear expectations about positive behaviour. Incidents of physical intervention Inspection report children's home: SC481464 5 reduce and only occur for those who are at risk of hurting themselves or others. The young people respond well to a consistent care approach, where they have clear rules and boundaries. This includes bedtime routines and set times for returning home in the evening that are appropriate to their age. Therefore, over time, the young people make great advances, and present positive and socially acceptable behaviour. This enables them to participate more constructively and enjoy all aspects of daily life.

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

There is extensive partnership working with safeguarding agencies. A police officer said: ‘We work very closely with the manager and staff, meeting every two weeks to share intelligence and information. These meetings are very helpful.’ The staff immediately notify, consult and meet with the relevant professionals on all safeguarding concerns and agree safety plans. Proactive and highly effective planning and protection strategies minimises the identified risks for the young people. The established and trusting relationships between the young people and the staff allows the young people to follow the advice and guidance given to them. This further protects the young people from harm.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager has been in post since August 2017 and she has over 15 years’ experience of working with children and young people. This includes a number of years’ experience working in managerial positions. Currently, she is undertaking the level 5 qualification in management.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The new manager sets high standards that are disseminated to the whole staff team to provide the young people with the best consistent and nurturing care. This assists the young people to achieve the best outcomes. The manager has quickly implemented clear admissions criteria to ensure that the needs of all the young people living at the home can be met. The care of the young people is delivered in line with the home’s new statement of purpose: to provide long-term placements.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The staff work comprehensively with other agencies and professionals. These include social workers, the police, health workers, and the missing person’s co-ordinator. This close collaborative working enables the staff to improve the outcomes for the young people in the care that they deliver. A professional said: ‘There is such good communication between us. The staff update us all the time, attend meetings and come prepared with all the relevant information. They are very supportive to the young people.’ This close partnership working helps to ensure that the young people receive continued good quality care.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

A supportive environment and the receipt of regular formal supervision assists the staff to work cohesively to carry out their care work with the young people. This is achieved further with very good communication systems. This includes detailed daily handovers from one shift to another and regular staff meetings. Most of the staff team hold the level 3 diploma in caring for children and young people. All mandatory training is provided because the manager recognises the importance of training and invests in the Inspection report children's home: SC481464 6 staff. In addition, staff benefit from access to specialist training. This includes a new approach and model of care, and training around the risks of child sexual exploitation, drugs awareness and ‘Prevent’. This supports staff to be well equipped to meet the needs of the young people.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Action has been taken to implement the one requirement made at the last inspection. The manager’s six-monthly regulation 45 reports demonstrate that the young people, staff, parents and placing authorities have been consulted and their opinions considered.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Good standards are maintained through the wide range of auditing undertaken by the management team and the monitoring by the provider. The manager demonstrates a strong awareness of the strengths of the home and the areas that have been identified to improve on. The identification of deficits allows a speedy response to address them. New methods to care, using the signs of safety, assist to oversee and review the young people’s progress. This supports continued improvement to the care and service provided to the young people.

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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: SC481464 7

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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

Debbie Foster, social care inspector Inspection report children's home: SC481464 8 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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