Children's Home run by Acorn Care (UK) Limited in Darlington

Inspection report children’s home: SC390751 1 SC390751 Registered provider: Acorn Care (UK) Limited

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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 home is run by a private organisation and is registered for the care and accommodation of up to five children who have emotional and/or behavioural difficulties. The manager has extensive experience of managing residential homes and has been registered since 2014

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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 good

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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

Date of last inspection: 22 January 2018

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good

Overall judgement at last inspection: good

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report children’s home: SC390751 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

22/01/2018 Full Good 14/03/2017 Interim Sustained effectiveness 14/06/2016 Full Good 10/02/2016 Interim Sustained effectiveness Inspection report children’s home: SC390751 3

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Recommendations

 Regulation 19(2) details sanctions that are prohibited in behaviour management. Any sanctions used to address poor behaviour should be restorative in nature, to help children recognise the impact of their behaviour on themselves, other children, the staff caring for them and the wider community. In some cases it will be important for children to make reparation in some form to anyone hurt by their behaviour and the staff in the home should be skilled to support the child to understand this and carry it out. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 46, paragraph 9.38)  Staff should encourage children to share any concerns about their care or other matters as soon as they arise. Children must be able to take up issues or make a complaint with support and without any fear that this will result in any adverse consequences. Regulation 39 sets out the requirements on the registered person

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Recommendations

to have a complaints procedure. Children must be aware of this procedure and be reminded of it as necessary. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, pages 22 to 23, paragraph 4.13) In particular, the staff must ensure that when children make a complaint they are given the opportunity to record their views on the outcome of any investigation.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children and young people living in this home receive a good standard of care. The manager and the staff team build trusting relationships with the children and young people. This helps the children and young people settle quickly.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children and young people are making good progress in most areas. For some children and young people, education is currently an issue. The manager and her staff team are working hard to address this. One young person was not attending school at the time of the inspection. Alternative educational activities were in place. This is likely to assist with reintegration into an education setting.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The manager and her staff team are excellent advocates for all the children and young people, supporting their views, wishes and feelings. One young person has been supported to secure an allotment that he requested. Others have accessed activities such as swimming and horse-riding lessons. The requests of children and young people to have contact with friends and family is well supported where safe to do so. One young person commented, ‘The staff are brilliant. We can have a right laugh with them. The best bit about living here is definitely the staff and the activities. The food isn’t bad either.’ Inspection report children’s home: SC390751 4 The health needs of children and young people are met to a very good standard. Statutory medicals and health checks with dentists and opticians are well supported and attended. This means that any changes in health needs are addressed promptly.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

There is a real sense of family values. All meals are taken together in the dining room. This creates a family atmosphere and provides the children and young people with an opportunity to engage with the adults who care for them. Homemade meals are made in consultation with the children’s and young people’s preference. Takeout meals are a weekly treat, and the children and young people look forward to this.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The children and young people enjoy relaxing in the communal areas of the home and having the privacy of their personalised bedrooms. There are incentive schemes in place. Children and young people can work towards having a large-screen television in their bedrooms. This offers children and young people a sense of achievement and improves their self-esteem.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children and young people are sensitively welcomed into the home. Impact risk assessments are completed pre-admission to consider the needs of all children and young people, ensuring appropriate matching. This enhances children’s and young people’s experiences.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Young people are well supported when transitioning to independent living. Subsequently, young people continue to utilise the support available to them as part of outreach care when they move on.

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

Since the last inspection, the manager has improved the safeguarding culture in the home. Safeguarding is added as a standard agenda item in staff supervisions, team meetings and children’s and young people’s house meetings. Topics such as bullying, knife crime and many more are discussed with children and young people weekly. There is good evidence that children and young people are effectively safeguarded.

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

There are good risk management processes in place. Individual risk assessments identify strategies to manage risks effectively. Risk assessments are regularly kept under review and updated following new incidents. Where there have been safeguarding concerns, the staff take appropriate action following safeguarding protocols. Regular keyworker sessions are completed in line with individual care planning and risk assessments. There is a good balance of key worker sessions being proactive and reactive in nature to manage risks effectively.

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

There is an increase of physical interventions for one young person. More recently, they have begun to reduce in their frequency and duration. The staff use consistent boundaries, routines and incentives to help interrupt negative behaviours.

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

Missing from home incidents have not been an issue of concern for children and young Inspection report children’s home: SC390751 5 people currently living in this home. The manager does not become complacent and continues to maintain positive working relationships with the police. Staff continue to receive training in missing protocols and know how to respond to missing incidents should they occur.

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

The home takes a proactive approach to managing potential bullying incidents. Proactive approaches to tackling bullying are regularly discussed in the children’s and young people’s house meetings, team meetings and staff supervisions. This creates a zero- tolerance culture to bullying in the home.

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

Information on how to make a complaint and how to access an independent advocate is available in the children’s and young people’s guide. When children and young people complain, the manager ensures that the complaint is taken seriously. Children and young people receive a letter informing them of the outcomes. This means that the children and young people know they are listened to. There is not yet an effective system in place that records the children’s and young people’s views following the outcome of any complaint. This would enable children and young people to express their views on how satisfied they are in response to the actions taken. Furthermore, it creates an opportunity to highlight any changes to the ways in which children and young people would like to be cared for.

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

In the main, the recording of sanctions is good, and consequences are fair. The inspector found one incident in which there was an altercation between two children and a consequence imposed. There was a missed opportunity to apply a restorative approach to help to restore their relationships and enable them to understand the impact of their behaviour. This has been made as a recommendation.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager is very experienced and qualified to manage the home. She is very well supported by a competent deputy and dedicated staff team. She leads by example, ensuring that the practice in the home is based on a therapeutic and nurturing model of care.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The staff team is well established. Two members of staff have been employed in this inspection period. Safer recruitment checks are completed in line with the organisation’s own company policy. New members off staff receive an appropriate induction and training.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff morale is good. This creates a natural and pleasant atmosphere for staff, visitors and the children and young people. A professional commented, ‘I think that the staff create a welcoming and homely environment. [Name] always tells me how happy she is there. I’m always made to feel welcome. The staff are very skilled at keeping [Name] occupied and understanding her behaviours.’

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Quality assurance processes are good. The inspector found evidence of records, reports and key documents being regularly reviewed by the manager and her deputy. The Inspection report children’s home: SC390751 6 manager welcomes feedback from her responsible individual, independent visitor and inspector to help drive improvements forward. This means she is not complacent and understands the necessity to monitor practices to ensure that they are good and benefiting children and young people in her care.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager understands the benefits of having a skilled workforce. Mandatory training is in date. Additional training, including that on self-harm, trauma and attachment, the teenage brain, sensory difficulties and much more, has been provided to the team. Staff feel valued and confident in their roles as a result.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager and her staff team have excellent relationships with a wide range of professionals. The manager utilises the input of a consultant clinical psychologist to help develop individual care plans and behaviour management plans that are effective. The experiences of children and young people are well considered to help develop interventions. This means that children and young people receive individualised care that helps them to make progress, taking into account their starting points.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

There is a good culture in the home to ensure that the children and young people remain the focus of priority. Sufficient staffing levels mean that children and young people are individually supported to attend activities of choice and receive regular keyworker sessions. Additionally, team meetings consider the views of children and young people. This provides a consistent approach to how children and young people are cared for.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager knows the home’s strengths and areas for development. Where there have been shortfalls in practice, the manager has taken decisive action to manage situations. This supports professional growth and ensures that practice is safe. There is good evidence that the manager continues to meet the aims and objectives as set out in the home’s statement of purpose.

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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 Inspection report children’s home: SC390751 7 children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’.

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Acorn Care (UK) Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: 33 Kellaw Road, Yarm Road Business Park, Darlington, County Durham DL1 4YA

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Children’s home details

Responsible individual: Julie-Ann Foxton

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Inspector

Jacqueline Tate, social care inspector Inspection report children’s home: SC390751 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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