Children's Home run by Derbyshire County Council in Derbyshire

Inspection report children’s home: SC035976 1 SC035976 Registered provider: Derbyshire County Council

p.1

Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

p.1

Information about this children’s home

A local authority operates this home, which provides care and accommodation for up to five young people who have emotional, behavioural and social difficulties.

p.1

Overall experiences and progress of

children and young people, taking into account

p.1

good

How well children and young people are helped and protected good

p.1

good

The effectiveness of leaders and managers good

p.1

good

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

p.1

good

Date of last inspection: 28 November 2017

p.1

good

Overall judgement at last inspection: sustained effectiveness

p.1

good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none

p.1

Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

28/11/2017 Interim Sustained effectiveness 07/06/2017 Full Requires improvement to be good 04/01/2017 Interim Sustained effectiveness 14/09/2016 Full Good Inspection report children’s home: SC035976 2

p.1

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.

p.2

Requirement Due date

The positive relationship standard is that children are helped to develop, and to benefit from, relationships based on— (a) mutual respect and trust; (b) an understanding about acceptable behaviour; and (c) positive responses to other children and adults.

p.2

Requirement Due date

(2) In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to ensure—

p.2

Requirement Due date

(iv) help each child to develop and practice skills to resolve conflicts positively and without harm to anyone. (Regulation 11 (1)(a)(b)(c)(2)(iv)) 11/10/2018

p.2

Requirement Due date

notify HMCI of any revisions and send a copy of the revised statement of purpose within 28 days of the revision. (Regulation 16 (3)(b)) 11/10/2018

p.2

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Young people have made good progress with education and training as a result of receiving good support from staff to achieve their goals. One young person has done particularly well at college and he is on track for successful outcomes. He has high aspirations and plans for the future. The other young person is also planning to attend college. This demonstrates considerable progress for both young people since moving to the home.

p.2

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Both young people are now enjoying better health. Their physical development has improved and they receive the primary healthcare services they need. Unfortunately, both young people smoke tobacco, despite the efforts of staff to help young people reduce or quit. Staff have helped young people, through individual key-work sessions, to Inspection report children’s home: SC035976 3 become more aware of the harmful effects of smoking on their longer-term health.

p.2

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The manager and staff ensure that young people live in a comfortable and well- maintained environment. Young people provide their views on the decor of the home and personalise their home to their liking. This helps young people to understand the importance of valuing their home and taking care of possessions.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The manager and staff understand the emotional importance to young people of regular family meetings. Staff have recognised that, on some occasions, seeing family members has not been safe or in the best interest of young people. On these occasions, staff, together with partner agencies, have protected young people well.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff prepare young people well for the future. Purposeful work takes place with young people to develop the independent living skills they need. This means young people are well prepared for more independent living when the time comes to leave care.

p.3

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

The manager and staff have a good understanding of young people’s vulnerabilities and risks. This has aided staff in managing some very difficult incidents since the last inspection. The behaviour of young people has been highly challenging at times and most staff have demonstrated perseverance and determination to keep young people safe. On one occasion, staff practice fell below expectation in diffusing a confrontational situation. Leaders of the service took immediate and decisive action in relation to the staff involved.

p.3

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

When young people have been missing, staff have taken timely action to bring them home. Staff visit known addresses, try to contact the young person and search the local area. One social worker said that ‘staff have gone above and beyond’ in safeguarding young people. When young people return home, the manager ensures that independent interviews take place, so that any valuable lessons can be learned in order to avoid repetition of these high-risk behaviours.

p.3

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

The manager completes detailed risk assessments and thorough care plans to keep young people safe. Staff understand the importance of these assessments and receive regular briefings on any amendments to these plans. This means that staff know what action they should take to protect young people.

p.3

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

Young people are safer because staff understand the risk to young people from the location of the home. Working with the police and safer neighbourhood teams, the manager has identified, through the location risk assessment, any areas of concern in the community. The staff deter young people from visiting these places and this helps minimise risk to young people when they are in the local community. Inspection report children’s home: SC035976 4

p.3

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

A committed and hardworking manager, who has been registered with Ofsted since June 2017, leads the service. She is nearing completion of the recognised qualification for residential managers. She receives very good support from a deputy manager who is experienced and knowledgeable. Additionally, she receives very regular and good-quality professional supervision from her immediate manager. This means that the service benefits from very good and robust oversight from leaders, at all levels of the organisation.

p.4

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff report that they enjoy their jobs and feel valued by managers. Managers listen to the views and ideas of staff and any suggestions for improvement of the service are given proper consideration. Staff receive consistent professional supervision together with regular developmental appraisals. The provision of training for staff is good, and means that staff receive the training they require to meet the needs of young people.

p.4

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

A particular strength in this service is partnership working with other agencies. Very good relationships exist with agencies, who speak highly of the staff team. A police officer said, ‘The home takes matters up quickly and get things sorted for young people.’ The manager and staff understand the importance of working collaboratively with agencies to ensure that all agencies work to safeguard and promote the welfare of young people.

p.4

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager retains a very good understanding of young people’s plans. The manager attends multi-agency meetings and is instrumental in driving young people’s plans forward. The manager holds other agencies to account if required and is a strong advocate for young people, ensuring that they have the right services in place to meet their needs.

p.4

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager has not forwarded to Ofsted the statement of purpose following its review and revision. This shortfall hinders Ofsted from being assured that the service is meeting its obligations as set out in its statement of purpose.

p.4

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager has a good grasp of the strengths and weaknesses of the service. She has developed a range of systems to provide her with a good range of information and she analyses this information to identify any emerging patterns. This enables her to take proactive action to put right any weaknesses. The manager is committed to supporting the staff team and she is determined to improve the service for the benefit of young people.

p.4

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 Inspection report children’s home: SC035976 5 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.

p.4

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: SC035976 6

p.5

Children’s home details

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

p.6

Inspector

Phillip Morris: social care inspector Inspection report children’s home: SC035976 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.

p.6

Inspector

If you would like a copy of this document in a different format, such as large print or Braille, please telephone 0300 123 1231, or email enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk . You may reuse this information (not including logos) free of charge in any format or medium, under the terms of the Open Government Licence. To view this licence, visit http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence , write to the Information Policy Team, The National Archives, Kew, London TW9 4DU, or email: psi@nationalarchives.gsi.gov.uk .

p.7

Inspector

Interested in our work? You can subscribe to our monthly newsletter for more information and updates: http://eepurl.com/iTrDn .

p.7

Inspector

T: 0300 123 1231 Textphone: 0161 618 8524 E: enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk W: http://www.gov.uk/ofsted

p.7