Children's home run by Durham County Council in County Durham

Inspection report children’s home: SC034741 1 SC034741 Registered provider: Durham County 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 home is run by a local authority and is registered for the care and accommodation of up to five children and/or young people who have emotional and/or behavioural difficulties. Since the last full inspection there have been two acting managers, the most recent of whom is the current acting manager, who has been in post since 10 June 2019.

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Overall experiences and progress of

children and young people, taking into account

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requires improvement to be good

How well children and young people are helped and protected requires improvement to be good

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requires improvement to be good

The effectiveness of leaders and managers requires improvement to be good

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requires improvement to be good

The children’s home is not yet delivering good help and care for children and young people. However, there are no serious or widespread failures that result in their welfare not being safeguarded or promoted.

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requires improvement to be good

Date of last inspection: 14 January 2019

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requires improvement to be good

Overall judgement at last inspection: declined in effectiveness

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Enforcement action since last inspection:

A compliance notice was issued under regulation 12. The inspector found evidence at this inspection that the compliance notice has been met. Inspection report children’s home: SC034741 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

14/01/2019 Interim Declined in effectiveness 01/05/2018 Full Good 30/05/2017 Full Good 07/02/2017 Interim Improved effectiveness Inspection report children’s home: SC034741 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. In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to ensure— that staff— help each child to understand how to keep safe. (Regulation 12(a)(ii)) 09/08/2019

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that all employees— undertake appropriate continuing professional development; receive practice-related supervision by a person with appropriate experience; and have their performance and fitness to perform their roles appraised at least once every year. (Regulation 33(4)(a)(b)) 09/08/2019

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Recommendations

 Staff should record information on individual children in a non-stigmatising way that distinguishes between fact, opinion and third-party information. Information about the child must always be recorded in a way that will be helpful to the child. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 62, paragraph 14.4)  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 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 manager should develop a system for ascertaining the

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Recommendations

views of children and young people regarding the outcomes of any complaints that they make. Inspection report children’s home: SC034741 4

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improvement to be good

Since the last full inspection, in May 2018, the home has had an interim inspection and two monitoring visits. These were carried out to monitor the compliance notices issued. At this full inspection, the inspector found that the compliance notice under regulation 12 has been met.

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improvement to be good

The inspector found evidence that, since the interim inspection in January 2019, there has been progress made in improving the quality of care provided for children and young people. There are elements of practice that continue to require improvement to be good, but the inspector found no serious or widespread failings.

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improvement to be good

There is currently one young person in placement. Since the last inspection, two children have moved on to alternative placements. There has been one referral to place another young person in the home. The acting manager did not deem this home to be an appropriate placement, based on the needs of the current young person placed. This means that risk assessments consider the mix of children and young people to ensure that potential placements are well planned and considered.

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improvement to be good

Regular key-working sessions with children and young people are linked to strategies identified in care plans and risk assessments. There is an inconsistent approach to the recording of information in key-working sessions and other documents. It is difficult to distinguish between fact and opinion. Some recordings read as being judgmental. This is likely to be unhelpful to children and young people’s understanding of how they are being helped and protected. Furthermore, this is likely to hinder progress because of the messages it gives to children and young people.

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improvement to be good

Children and young people’s physical needs are met to a good standard. Medical appointments are arranged, and are well attended. The staff ensure that children and young people have access to a range of support services, including specialist services via therapeutic counselling. A professional commented, ‘I am very happy with the staff team. They support [Name] to attend all his appointments that he needs to attend. I get good communication from the staff and updates after [Name’s] appointments. [Name] is having a very unsettled time, but the staff are managing to contain the situation.’

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improvement to be good

Education attendance is good. Enjoying and achieving are seen as important aspects of the quality of care provided. The acting manager is considering new ways in which the staff team can help to capture the progress and attainment of children and young people. Daily logs now include the use of photographs to evidence achievements. This is likely to help children and young people to recognise their own progress and feel proud of their positive contributions.

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improvement to be good

Children and young people are provided with opportunities to engage in a range of Inspection report children’s home: SC034741 5 activities with the adults who care for them. Activities are planned in line with children and young people’s preferences. This enhances children and young people’s experiences, but also helps them to build positive relationships with the adults who care for them.

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improvement to be good

Risk assessments have been revised and are updated to reflect current known risks to children and young people. Some of the strategies for protecting children and young people are not clerly described This means that it is difficult for children and young people to see how they will be helped and protected. This remains an area for development.

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improvement to be good

There has been an inconsistent approach to ensuring that staff supervisions take place and that they are recorded effectively to reflect the extent of the discussions that occur. This means that there is no consistent approach to monitoring the continuation of professional development and reviewing the performance and fitness of staff members. Additionally, safeguarding discussions and concerns are not consistently recorded. This suggests that safeguarding is not at the forefront of thinking within the team.

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improvement to be good

Missing-from-home episodes have reduced in number. When children and young people have been missing from the home, the staff have been proactive in aiding their safe return. Emphasis is given to securing time for return home interviews with an independent visitor. This means that children and young people benefit from talking to someone who is independent of the home.

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improvement to be good

Incidents of physical intervention are appropriately recorded and such interventions are only used to safeguard children and young people in crisis situations. Children and young people are consulted following crisis intervention. This means that children and young people receive support following crisis episodes. The inspector found evidence of missed opportunities to engage children and young people prior to crisis episodes. The acting manager recognises the shortfalls in practice and is arranging training for the staff team to enhance awareness of trauma and the effects it can have on children and young people. This is likely to enhance the staff’s skills in managing behaviour effectively.

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improvement to be good

Children and young people know how to complain and have made several complaints. These matters have been appropriately investigated and responded to, in order to ensure that children and young people are protected. The inspector did not find evidence of children and young people being consulted throughout the process of dealing with the complaints. It was therefore difficult to establish their views on the outcomes of the complaints. This is an area for development.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

Since the last full inspection, the registered manager has left to manage another service Inspection report children’s home: SC034741 6 within the organisation. Between 11 March 2019 and 10 June 2019, a temporary manager was appointed. She took steps to address the shortfalls that led to the compliance notices being issued. On 10 June 2019, a new manager was appointed. He will be applying for registration to formally manage the home. He has the appropriate experience for this position. He is very aspirational for the home, the children and young people, and the development of the staff

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

During this inspection, the inspector identified shortfalls and areas that require improvements to be good. The manager recognises the home’s strengths and weaknesses. He shared the inspector’s views and findings. He has a clear plan in place to help drive improvements forward. The effectiveness of these plans is not known, as some of them are in the early stages of being implemented.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

There have been no serious and or widespread failings that have affected the quality of care provided for children and young people. Inconsistent management oversight has prevented a consistent approach to helping drive improvements forward. Team meetings and training opportunities, which previously had not been prioritised, are being developed. Staff have received some training around harmful behaviours and further training is scheduled. This has boosted staff morale. Feedback from the staff was positive and they feel that there has been clearer guidance and direction from both managers. This supports the home’s development and enables progress to be made’

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

There have been some staffing issues, with several senior staff members being absent for varying reasons. The manager has drawn on the support of the staff team to minimise the use of agency staff or staff from other parts of the organisation. This means that children and young people receive support from a small group of adults with whom they have built positive relationships. Inspection report children’s home: SC034741 7

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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: SC034741 8

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Durham County Council

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: County Hall, Durham DH1 5UL

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Inspector

Jacqueline Tate: social care inspector Inspection report children’s home: SC034741 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 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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