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

Inspection report children’s home: SC040583 1 SC040583 Registered provider: Stockton-on-Tees Borough Council

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Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

The home is owned and operated by a local authority. It is registered to provide care and accommodation for up to three children or young people who have emotional, social and behavioural difficulties. The manager was registered by Ofsted for this home in August 2018. The manager has a recognised qualification in leadership and management.

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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: SC040583 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

10/08/2017 Full Outstanding 28/02/2017 Interim Improved effectiveness 24/08/2016 Full Outstanding 30/03/2016 Interim Improved effectiveness Inspection report children’s home: SC040583 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

Young people receive exceptionally nurturing, individual care. This helps young people to develop very strong relationships with the staff caring for them. Young people trust staff, respect them and enjoy spending time with them. Young people in this home are happy, settled and content and they make very good progress across all areas of their development. A social worker said of a young person, ‘She has made remarkable progress.’

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

The manager and staff understand how important educational attainment is for the future of young people. Consequently, young people make excellent progress at school. They attend school full time and achieve very good attendance. Many young people have previously had negative experiences of education and struggled to engage. This has been reversed and now young people are eager to participate in their education. In addition to school, they undertake further studies to help them make better progress. Staff support homework, attend parents’ evenings and encourage reading and additional mathematics. The manager and staff have established a culture whereby education attainment is a rich and fundamental part of life at the home.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

Young people and staff have particularly strong relationships. Staff greatly enjoy spending time with young people, either undertaking activities or at mealtimes. Young people enjoy a wide and varied range of recreational activities. Staff encourage and support these activities because they understand the important contribution this makes to developing young people’s self-confidence and improving social development. There is a great deal of laughter and fun between young people and staff, and this creates a warm and friendly atmosphere.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

Young people enjoy living in a home which is exceptionally well presented and maintained. The home is comfortable, clean and there are pictures of the young people throughout. Young people choose the decor and soft furnishings, and they have very nice bedrooms, decorated to their tastes. There are no signs of damage because young people care about their home environment. They value their home and want it to remain a lovely place to live.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

The manager and staff work very effectively with social workers to ensure that young people get to see their families and those important to them regularly. For staff, contact with family is a high priority, but they understand the importance of monitoring these relationships and meetings closely. The staff respond well and sensitively when contact has not gone well to support the young people emotionally. These strong arrangements mean that young people develop a sense of identity and belonging.

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

Young people’s behaviour significantly improves because of the nurturing care they receive and the strong and effective behavioural boundaries implemented by staff. Inspection report children’s home: SC040583 4 Additionally, young people benefit from having consistent daily routines and are supported well to prepare for school Following school, they undertake activities and are in bed at a reasonable time. These routines, complemented by very good relationships with staff, mean that incidents of negative behaviour remain rare.

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

Staff understand the potential dangers of social media and internet use. Staff have developed a very effective culture in the home of keeping young people safe online. Staff have the young people’s passwords and so will undertake daily checks, complementing the safeguards that already exist. Young people are happy to share with staff their online activities. This has led to young people enjoying their online lives in a healthy and enjoyable manner.

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

Young people enjoy good relationships with each other, and consequently there is no bullying. One young person said of others in the home, ‘They are like my brother and sister.’

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

Some young people previously went missing regularly and were placing themselves in concerning situations. The manager and staff took strong and swift action to prevent this. Staff took appropriate action at the time and worked with the individual young people to understand why they were going missing, and this resulted in a reduction of missing from home episodes.

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

The deputy manager has completed an excellent location risk assessment. He has worked very well with local police to identify areas in the nearby location that present a risk to young people. The assessment helps staff to take effective action to divert young people from these areas. The assessment corresponds to young people’s individual risk assessments and known vulnerabilities to make this a very strong and effective tool to keep young people safe.

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

Staff are highly knowledgeable about the actions they should take to keep young people safe. This is because they fully understand the vulnerabilities of young people. They understand procedures for reporting safeguarding concerns and they undertake a comprehensive range of safeguarding training. Reflective practice that focuses on keeping young people safe is evident throughout team meetings, staff handovers and the staff members’ individual supervision sessions. Safeguarding remains a constant throughout all areas of care practice, and this is outstanding because it keeps young people safe.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

The manager is still relatively new to the home, but she has settled quickly. She is focused on providing outstanding care that meets each young person’s specific needs. She is organised, provides excellent leadership and is qualified. She receives a great deal of support from the deputy manager and together they provide exceedingly good leadership. This is valued by staff.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

Managers provide daily support to staff; they are visible and accessible and provide staff Inspection report children’s home: SC040583 5 with regular professional supervision. This supervision focuses on staff well-being, safeguarding and ways to improve the care provided to young people. Managers strive for the continued development of staff through provision of relevant training and development reviews. Moreover, staff feel listened to, their views and ideas are valued, and this helps them to feel happy and content in their jobs. This means that young people feel valued and cared for.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

The manager has prioritised staff completing the recognised qualification in residential care, diploma level 3. They have all completed this, with the exception of one staff member who is currently undertaking the qualification. The manager understands the importance of having a skilled and knowledgeable staff team.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

Young people receive excellent care because the manager has developed systems to evaluate the effectiveness of care. The manager routinely asks young people and professionals to complete questionnaires. She utilises information from young people’s meetings, staff meetings and the monthly independent visitor report. The manager ensures that she reviews all daily recording and any incidents. She utilises this information to good effect and identifies areas requiring improvement and drives these improvements through.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

The statement of purpose is detailed and accurate and the service meets the aims and objectives as set out in this document. Young people do receive the outstanding care they deserve. One young person stated in a questionnaire, ‘The staff are great, and I have it good.’

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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: SC040583 6

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Stockton-on-Tees 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

Phillip Morris, social care inspector Inspection report children’s home: SC040583 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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