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

Inspection report children’s home: SC442886 1 SC442886 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

The children’s home is registered to care for up to four children and young people who have emotional and/or behavioural difficulties. The registered provider is a local authority. The manager has been registered for three years.

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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

Date of last inspection: 29 November 2017

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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: SC442886 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

29/11/2017 Full Outstanding 02/03/2017 Interim Improved effectiveness 08/11/2016 Full Outstanding 11/03/2016 Interim Improved effectiveness Inspection report children’s home: SC442886 3

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Recommendations

 The registered provider should also ensure that the independent person they appoint has the skills and understanding necessary to: − relate to children in a home’s care; − assess all relevant information; and − form an impartial judgement about the quality of the home’s care. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’) page 65, paragraph 15.8) In particular, the independent visitor should ensure that they carry out the visit when children are available to be consulted.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

The children are extremely well cared for. They receive a high level of individual care. Staff are knowledgeable about them and provide a nurturing and supportive environment in which they flourish and succeed. The children are happy and all said that they love living at the home. Children like spending time with the staff and have positive relationships with them. The children are well supported and confident to voice their opinions about all areas of their lives. This enables them to contribute enthusiastically to, and directly influences, the quality of the care that is being provided. This encourages the children to feel valued and promotes self-worth.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

The children take an active part in their plans and in the decision-making in the home. The child-friendly ‘my plans’ gives them a sense of ownership, increasing their ability to make positive decisions and choices. Plans are reviewed and updated on a regular basis and shared appropriately with families and professionals. A social worker said, ‘The communication with the staff is fantastic. They attend all meetings and produce very high-quality reports that are always on time. They are extremely professional.’

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

The home is well maintained, warm and welcoming. Staff have worked closely with the children in respect of furnishing and decor throughout the home. The children’s bedrooms are personalised spaces that they are proud of and which reflect their individuality.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

The emotional well-being of the children is given the highest priority. The staff are well trained and have a thorough understanding of their needs. They work closely with the local child and adolescent mental health team finding creative and effective ways to Inspection report children’s home: SC442886 4 meet the children’s needs.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

School attendance is high. Staff are creative in encouraging and supporting children’s education. There is a wide range of educational toys, books and games. This contributes to learning being made fun. Staff have very high aspirations for the children. This helps them to grow in confidence and self-esteem. A teacher said, ‘The staff are amazing. They are supportive and the children’s education is a top priority for them. The child that attends our school has some additional needs, and they have gone above and beyond to support her in every way possible.’

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

Children have developed age-appropriate independence skills that have helped them to manage personal care needs. They have become confident and are proud of their achievements. Progress is well recognised and rewarded with certificates and celebrations. Staff have created a culture in which children are praised and valued, which gives them a sense of being loved and nurtured.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

The children benefit from numerous holidays. In addition, they are involved in a wide range of activities, including the membership of local youth groups and a specialist youth club. They are involved in local charity projects, which helps them to understand the value of helping other people in the community. Children take responsibility for and benefit from keeping pets. This helps them to care for, love and look after animals, helping them develop emotional warmth and empathy.

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

Children said that they feel safe. Staff provide them with a safe place to live. There are clear boundaries in place, which help children to manage their behaviour and regulate their responses.

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

There is a strong, robust and proactive response to risk. Staff understand risk well and are extremely vigilant. The staff take good precautions. They achieve a good balance between minimising risk and allowing the children to take appropriate risks as part of their development of independence skills.

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

Clear and comprehensive risk assessments support the children’s safety inside and outside of the home. Children’s ‘my safety plans’ help them to develop an understanding of risk and how to keep themselves safe. Alongside this, the innovative use of child- friendly resources such as the ‘let’s talk pants’ activity packs and videos helps children understand how to keep safe in a fun and supportive way.

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

Children do not go missing from this home. There have been no incidents of bullying, physical intervention or sanctions since the last inspection. The staff have a clear understanding of the impact of early childhood experiences on children’s ability to develop and maintain healthy relationships. They are dedicated to developing trusting and protective relationships with the children. They display genuine warmth and affection, ensuring that the children are safe, secure and happy in their home. Inspection report children’s home: SC442886 5 The safeguarding culture in the home is well embedded. Effective safeguarding procedures are in place, enabling the staff to have the skills and knowledge to act quickly if there are concerns about a child’s welfare. Safeguarding is a stand-alone agenda item in supervision and team meetings. This gives the staff the opportunity to discuss and explore any worries or concerns they have about the children

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

The manager has created an excellent service. She is skilled, confident and experienced. She is well supported by a committed and caring deputy manager. Between them, they have put considerable effort into creating a culture and ethos in the home that is consistently successful. The manager is a dynamic and effective role model. She is ambitious for all the children, knows them well and ensures that they are at the centre of all practice within the home.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

The manager has created a staff team that takes her values and is able to put them into practice. She ensures that the staff are well supported and closely monitors their efficiency and effectiveness. The staff feel supported, valued and motivated. A member of staff said, ‘I love working here. The team is one big family. The manager is caring and always on hand with help, support and praise.’

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

The staff are qualified and highly experienced in providing care for children. They benefit from an extensive training programme. The manager has ensured that they are equipped to meet the individual needs of the children. Recently, specialist training has been sourced to help the staff to effectively communicate with a child who has additional needs.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

An area of strength in the home is the work that the staff do in partnership with others. There is a great deal of evidence of effective partnership working with education and health. Professionals spoken to confirmed this and complimented the staff team for its professionalism and immense dedication to achieving the best possible outcomes for all of the children. Another strength is the work with families, who are encouraged to contribute and be part of children’s lives as appropriate. A family member said, ‘The staff are lovely. They have been so good to me. I feel they keep the children safe. This is a real home. They love the children.’

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

The independent visitor provides the home and the regulator with a regular overview of the home. However, the views of the children are not always sought. This means that they are not able to share their views and feeling about the care they are receiving with an independent person on a regular basis.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

The manager is innovative and encourages this in her staff team. She clearly uses wide- ranging research to inform her practice and to help staff to develop and learn more about the work and the needs of the individual children. Inspection report children’s home: SC442886 6 The manager, her deputy and the staff team work successfully to ensure positive outcomes for the children. They understand the importance of developing the children’s self-esteem and confidence. The home is warm and nurturing, enabling the children to grow and flourish.

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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: SC442886 7

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Stockton Borough Council

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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: SC442886 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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