Children's home run by Stockton on Tees Borough Council in Stockton-on-Tees

Inspection report children's home: SC456710 1 SC456710 Registered provider: Stockton-on-Tees Borough 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 home is provided by the local authority and is registered to care for up to four children and young people who have emotional and/or behavioural difficulties. The registered manager has been registered since 2015.

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Overall experiences and progress of

children and young people, taking into account

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outstanding

How well children and young people are helped and protected outstanding

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outstanding

The effectiveness of leaders and managers outstanding

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outstanding

The children’s home provides highly effective services that consistently exceed the standards of good. The actions of the children’s home contribute to significantly improved outcomes and positive experiences for children and young people who need help, protection and care.

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outstanding

Overall judgement at last inspection: outstanding

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outstanding

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report children's home: SC456710 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

08/01/2018 Full Outstanding 17/03/2017 Interim Improved effectiveness 22/11/2016 Full Good 07/03/2016 Interim Sustained effectiveness Inspection report children's home: SC456710 3

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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.

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must notify HMCI and each other relevant person without delay if— there is an allegation of abuse against the home or a person working there; (Regulation 40(4)(c)) 01/03/2019

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

The children receive individualised care from a caring, professional and committed staff team. The children develop excellent relationships with the staff team that are characterised by good humour and expressions of love. Children’s feedback throughout the inspection confirmed this. Staff understand the impact of early childhood experiences on the children’s ability to develop and maintain healthy relationships. This helps the children to feel cared for and improves their emotional well-being. The team is exceptionally child centred. The children are at the heart of everything that the staff do. The children thrive and flourish in this home and they take a full part in the day-to-day running of the home. Staff consult with the children and give them choices wherever possible, This makes them feel included and valued. The children achieve well at school and have high levels of attendance. The staff team

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

works closely with other professionals, developing successful relationships. The staff have high aspirations for all the children and believe that they can achieve. A deputy headteacher said, ‘Relationships are effective and supportive. Communication is consistently good. Two recent examples of extremely proactive and successful joint working stand out: a transition from primary school and a re-engagement in education after a considerable gap. Staff went above and beyond to support both children.’ This enables the children to understand the importance of education and to build self-worth. Contact with family is recognised as important and is supported where appropriate. The staff team offers guidance and support to family members. This helps the children to see the benefits of working together and realise that change is possible. A parent said, ‘The staff are brilliant. They have helped and supported me lots, I now have regular contact

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

with my child, which means so much to us both. This helps me know that she is happy Inspection report children's home: SC456710 4 and safe. She has come on leaps and bounds.’ The staff enable the children to consider other people in the community and in the wider world. Fundraising activities and contributions to the community are wide-ranging. The children have recently worked very closely with a local foodbank. They received very positive feedback and thanks from staff at the foodbank for all their hard work and commitment. This reinforces a sense of belonging and enables the children to enjoy the benefits of seeing the impact that they have and can continue to make. A wide range of activities are on offer, such as swimming, ice skating and the cinema. The children have also taken part in fun runs, including the ‘pretty muddy 5k’ and the ‘colour run’, where fun is incorporated with fundraising. Children are consulted regularly

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

in relation to new experiences and activities. Friends are included in activities, when appropriate, to ensure that all of the children can take part

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

The children in this home are kept extremely safe and they say that they feel safe. They are helped to develop strategies to keep themselves safe in the community. Staff are vigilant and understand risk well. They take good precautions and achieve a good balance between minimising risk and allowing the children to take appropriate risks as part of their development of independence skills. Risk assessments are up to date, clear and include appropriate strategies that staff need to use to keep children safe and to mitigate risk. The children are included in the development of assessments and the child-friendly ‘my safety plans’, ensuring that children can be helped to identify and understand risk. There is effective work undertaken with children to help to protect them. The staff use innovative and creative ways to help the children to understand how to stay safe. Fun and interactive quizzes are used to help the children learn how to keep safe.

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

The manager and staff consistently promote and role model effective, positive behaviour and interactions with others. Good manners are seen as important and this helps the children to develop an exceedingly strong sense of how to treat others. Physical interventions are rarely used. On the occasions when interventions have been used, they have been low level and brief and to ensure safety. All physical interventions are well recorded and have been reviewed by a senior member of staff. The use of sanctions to manage behaviour is minimal and is counter-balanced by incentives and rewards for positive behaviour. The children are able to choose the incentives and rewards that they want to work towards. This fosters an awareness of responsibility and consequences for the choices that the children make. The children are very rarely missing from the home. Recently, one child has had a small number of missing episodes related to a difficult time that they are going through. The

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

staff team is aware of the risks to children when they are away from home and make meticulous efforts to minimise such risks. The staff make sure that the children are aware of what they will do in each circumstance to improve safety. This means that consistent messages are given to children, helping to reinforce the need to keep safe and make good choices. Inspection report children's home: SC456710 5 There is an excellent safeguarding culture in the home. Safeguarding is a stand-alone agenda item in supervision and team meetings. Efficient safeguarding procedures ensure that staff have the knowledge and confidence to act promptly if there are concerns for a child’s welfare.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

The manager is highly motivated and committed. He actively seeks to improve the outcomes for the children. He is supported by a dedicated deputy manager and a highly effective and nurturing staff team. The manager knows the children in his care very well. He maintains a thorough oversight of their behaviour, needs and progress. Children talk of having excellent relationships with the manager. A child said, ‘He is good and always listens to us.’ Consequently, children feel confident to raise any issues with the manager about staff practice so that he can address their concerns. Regular and effective supervision enables the staff to reflect on their practice. In addition to this, monthly meetings take place in which the manager recognises the positive work of the staff. Staff spoken to during the inspection felt valued and very well supported by the manager and his deputy. Staff undertake a range of training to give them the skills to meet the needs of the

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

children. They also have the opportunity to have regular training and consultation with staff from the local child and adolescent mental health team. This gives staff an in-depth knowledge and understanding of the children’s previous experiences of trauma. This enables staff to help and support the children in an informed and comprehensive manner. Since the last inspection, the use of the therapeutic model, which promotes thinking, feeling, communicating and behaviour that aims to make children and young people feel safe, has become strongly imbedded in the home. The manager works collaboratively with a care team of other professionals, including social workers, health workers and the police. One professional commented, ‘Staff attend all meetings and prepare well and have updates to share. I feel that there is good and effective joint working and communication between the home and myself.’ On one occasion since the last inspection, the manager failed to inform HMCI of a

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

notifiable incident, but all the required actions to safeguard children were taken. All such incidents should be notified in a timely manner. The manager and staff work very hard to promote positive outcomes for all of the children. They understand the value of developing the children’s confidence, self-esteem and resilience. They have created an environment in which the children are able to thrive and achieve.

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Information about this inspection

Inspection report children's home: SC456710 6 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: SC456710 7

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Municipal Buildings, Church Road, Stockton-on-Tees, Cleveland TS18 1LD

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Inspector

Dot McGough, social care inspector Inspection report children's home: SC456710 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 after children looked, safeguarding and child protection.

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Inspector

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Inspector

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Inspector

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