Children's Home run by Derby City Council in Derby

Inspection report children’s home: SC036019 1 SC036019 Registered provider: Derby City Council Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This local authority children’s home provides care and accommodation for up to five children and young people who are vulnerable and whose behaviours can be challenging. The registered manager has been registered since February 2019.

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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: 19 November 2018

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good

Overall judgement at last inspection: sustained effectiveness

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report children’s home: SC036019 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

19/11/2018 Interim Sustained effectiveness 04/09/2018 Full Requires improvement to be good 29/05/2018 Full Inadequate 18/04/2017 Full Good Inspection report children’s home: SC036019 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 protection of children standard is that children are protected from harm and enabled to keep themselves safe.

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Requirement Due date

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

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Requirement Due date

assess whether each child is at risk of harm, taking into account information in the child’s relevant plans, and, if necessary, make arrangements to reduce the risk of any harm to the child. (Regulation 12 (1)(2)(a)(i)) 31/08/2019

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that full and satisfactory information is available in relation to the individual in respect of each of the matters in Schedule 2. (Regulation 32 (3)(d))

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Requirement Due date

This relates to the need to ensure that references are verified and that a full employment history, together with a satisfactory explanation for any gaps, is sought and placed on staff records. 31/08/2019

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must review the appropriateness and suitability of the location of the premises used for the purposes of the child’s home at least once in each calendar year. (Regulation 46 (1)) 31/08/2019

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children receive highly personalised care and support. Staff and managers understand children’s complex needs well. They provide imaginative and sensitive care to ensure that children make progress in all areas of their lives.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children receive good care and support. Feedback from involved agencies is highly Inspection report children’s home: SC036019 4 positive. Placing social workers, the police and health agencies report a close and positive multi-agency approach. This provides children with the support that they need, in a timely manner. Feedback from agencies includes:

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

 The children in care nurse regularly visits the home to support children and staff, to meet identified needs.  Police informally visit the home regularly to get to know children and discuss any issues or concerns with them and the staff team.  Placing social workers report significant progress for children in a relatively short period of time. This relates to their emotional well-being and engagement with education and staff.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children’s health needs are well met. Staff work closely with health agencies to ensure that identified needs and risks are assessed and met. This includes complex mental health issues. Staff display detailed knowledge and skills in this area. They receive training to enable them to support children’s health needs well.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children have educational provision in place. Staff place a strong emphasis on the need to attend and engage in education. When children do not have formal provision in place, staff ensure that educational activities take place during school hours. An education tracker system enables staff and managers to monitor and support children with their education. A staff member takes the lead for this. This provides a clear sense of areas of need or concern for specific children and enables staff to take action promptly.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children’s emotional well-being improves due to the care and support that they receive. As one involved professional stated: ‘The staff are amazing. They hang in there with children and form positive attachments and bonds with them in a short period.’ Specialist help and support are readily available. The manager is proactive and assertive in challenging any delay in services being provided.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children feel able to express their wishes and feelings with staff and the manager. The manager has an open door policy and children know that they can come to her at any time. Staff regularly seek children’s views on the care and support that they receive. Children influence how the home is run. When children make complaints, the manager responds to them quickly and sensitively. There are clear and robust complaint tracker systems in place for the manager to monitor response times and outcomes.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff support children well for their eventual move from this home. They challenge placing social workers to ensure that pathway plans are started in a timely manner. They work with children to consider their independence skills and needs. This provides children with confidence about the plans for their future and how their needs will be met.

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

Staff demonstrate a clear and commendable understanding of the actual and potential risks posed to and by children in their care. They work with other agencies to ensure Inspection report children’s home: SC036019 5 that clear plans are in place, to support those risk factors. This leads to a reduction in the safety concerns for children.

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

Staff follow agreed protocols and procedures when children go missing from care. They work closely and proactively with the local police to ensure the safe return of children. A tracking system supports staff to record, monitor and track any incidents. This then informs the plans and strategies for children. A placing social worker praised the staff team members for their work with one particular child. There has been a noticeable reduction in episodes of going missing, in a relatively short period of time. Staff also ensure that return home interviews are sought and undertaken. This further enables them to understand why children may go missing and to support them with their behaviours and emotions.

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

There is a clear system in place to record and monitor any incidents of bullying. Staff take prompt action to ensure that such behaviours are identified and that work is completed to eradicate such concerning behaviours. Children report feeling well supported in this area and that staff take such matters seriously.

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

Staff ensure that clear and consistent boundaries and routines are in place for children. They understand the need for consistency of care. Children understand their plans and what consequences or sanctions may be necessary to help them. There is a clear focus on not criminalising children and in working with the police and youth offending services to address any issues at an early stage.

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

One child’s risk assessments are not sufficiently clear. The manager accepts the need to improve the recording of them, in order that staff clearly understand what actions they may need to take in the event of an incident. Risk assessments should clearly reflect the current and changing actual or potential risks and enable staff to take decisive and consistent action. There has been no adverse impact on children due to this minor shortfall.

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

The recruitment and selection of staff are generally robust and secure. Managers should ensure that full employment histories are provided by agency staff and any gaps are clarified in writing. This was evident for one agency staff member’s file that was considered. There is also a need to ensure that references are verified by managers and the outcome of those verifications is recorded on the staff member’s personnel file.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager has the necessary skills and experience to perform the role. She is held in high regard by the staff team. They report feeling highly valued and well supported at all times. They feel able to make suggestions and to share ideas to improve the care and support provided to children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager has worked hard over the past year to consider previous inspection findings and to make improvements to how the service is run. She has very high expectations and is extremely child-focused. An example of this includes her recently Inspection report children’s home: SC036019 6 taking one child abroad on holiday. Such commitment to enhancing the experiences of children is commendable. It reflects the manager’s and staff’s commitment to improving the experience and outcomes for children in their care.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager has designated lead roles to staff. This includes monitoring of education, episodes of going missing and bullying. Tracking systems are now well embedded in the home and are being used effectively. They assist the staff team in better understanding the needs and risks for children. They inform the plans and assessments for each child. This is leading to improved safety and outcomes for children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff receive regular formal and informal supervision. The manager has good oversight and understanding of the training and development needs of staff. She has good systems in place to monitor mandatory and other training needs. This also extends to agency staff used in the home. They receive a comprehensive induction prior to working in the home and report feeling well supported and prepared. Bespoke training is provided as needed to ensure that staff feel competent and confident in their roles.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager has a very detailed development plan in place. This sets out the strengths and areas of need. She regularly reviews and considers the plan to inform how services are provided. She includes children in relevant areas of the plan, to ensure that their wishes, feelings and views are taken into account.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The home operates within its statement of purpose. The manager has effectively challenged the placing authority and other agencies when concerns arise. The staff team has very positive working relationships with other agencies. Feedback is very positive about how well staff consult and work with professionals. Agencies feel that staff and the manager place children at the centre of their practice.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager and staff ensure that children learn to respect others and that they understand that negative behaviours or actions will be challenged. The manager has invited a range of agencies to attend team meetings. One recent meeting considered restorative practices and a child attended this meeting. This reflects the manager’s and staff’s commitment to continuously learning and including children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager has not completed the annual review of the premises and location. It is her intention to do so in the near future, but the timescales for completing the review have been exceeded and need to be prioritised.

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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 Inspection report children’s home: SC036019 7 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: SC036019 8

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Derby City Council, Treasurer’s Department, Council House, Corporation Street, Derby DE1 2FE

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Inspector:

Tracy Murty: social care inspector Inspection report children’s home: SC036019 9 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 looked after children, safeguarding and child protection.

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Inspector:

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Inspector:

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Inspector:

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