Children's home run by Duty of Care Limited in County Durham

Inspection report children‟s home: SC476602 1 SC476602 Registered provider: Duty of Care 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

This home provides care and accommodation for up to three children or young people who may have emotional and/or behavioural difficulties. The staff work alongside a psychologist to deliver a therapeutic parenting model of care and support that aims to increase the children‟s and young people‟s sense of safety and security. The home is operated by a private provider. The manager is registered and qualified.

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Overall experiences and progress of

children and young people, taking into account

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inadequate

How well children and young people are helped and protected inadequate

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inadequate

The effectiveness of leaders and managers requires improvement to be good

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inadequate

There are serious widespread failures that mean children and young people are not protected or their welfare is not promoted or safeguarded.

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inadequate

Date of last inspection: 12 February 2019

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inadequate

Overall judgement at last inspection: outstanding

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inadequate

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report children‟s home: SC476602 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

12/02/2019 Full Outstanding 13/03/2018 Full Good 16/03/2017 Interim Improved effectiveness 03/05/2016 Full Good Inspection report children‟s home: SC476602 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, the 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 standards 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 ─

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Requirement Due date

have the skills to identify and act upon signs that a child is at risk of harm;

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Requirement Due date

understand the roles and responsibilities in relation to protecting children that are assigned to them by the registered person;

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Requirement Due date

take effective action whenever there is a concern about a child‟s welfare; and

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Requirement Due date

that the day-to-day care is arranged and delivered so as to keep each child safe and to protect each child effectively from harm. (Regulation 12 (1)(2)(iii)(v)(vi)(b)) 01/09/2019

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Requirement Due date

The leadership and management standard is that the registered person enables, inspires and leads a culture in relation to the children‟s home that—

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Requirement Due date

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

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Requirement Due date

understand the impact that the quality of care provided in the home is having on the progress and experiences of each child and use this understanding to inform the development of the care provided in the home; and

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Requirement Due date

use monitoring and review systems to make continuous improvements in the quality of care provided in the home. 01/09/2019 Inspection report children‟s home: SC476602 4 (Regulation 13 (1)(b)(2)(f)(h)) The registered person must compile in relation to the children‟s home a statement (“the statement of purpose”) which covers the matters listed in Schedule 1.

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Requirement Due date

Subject to paragraph (6), the registered person must ensure that the home is at all times conducted in a manner which is consistent with its statement of purpose.

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Requirement Due date

Nothing in paragraph (5) or regulation 46 (review of premises) requires or authorises the registered person to contravene or not comply with—

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Requirement Due date

any other provision of these Regulations; or

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Requirement Due date

any conditions in relation to the registration of the registered person under Part 2 of the Care Standards Act 2000. (Regulation 16 (5)(6)(a)(b)) 01/09/2019

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Requirement Due date

the privacy of children is appropriately protected. (Regulation 21 (a)) 01/09/2019

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Requirement Due date

Schedule 4 sets out the other information the registered person must keep in relation to a children‟s home.

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must maintain in the home the records in Schedule 4 and ensure that the records are kept up to date. (Regulation 37 (1)(2)(a)(b))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, ensure that there is a copy of the staff duty roster of persons working at the home, and a record of the actual rosters worked. 01/09/2019

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must complete a review of the quality of care provided for children (“a quality care review”) at least once every 6 months.

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Requirement Due date

In order to complete a quality of care review the registered person must establish and maintain a system for monitoring, reviewing, and evaluating—

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Requirement Due date

the quality of care provided for children;

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Requirement Due date

the feedback and opinions of children about the children‟s home, its facilities and the quality of care they receive in it. The system referred to in paragraph (2) must provide for ascertaining and considering the opinions of children, their parents, placing authorities and staff. (Regulation 45 30/09/2019 Inspection report children‟s home: SC476602 5 (1)(2)(a)(b)(5))

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Requirement Due date

* This requirement is subject to a compliance notice.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: inadequate

Outcomes for the overall experiences and progress of the children are inadequate because the inspection judgement for how the children and young people are helped and protected is inadequate. This is a limiting judgement.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: inadequate

Serious safeguarding failings have exposed the children to adults who have not been suitably checked and vetted. The registered persons have permitted new staff to have direct access to the children, and private information about the children, before carrying out required disqualifying and barring checks or verifying references. These actions put the children at risk of harm.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: inadequate

The children have progressed from their starting points and they continue to develop and achieve. The staff are caring, and they adopt a nurturing approach towards the children. This way of working enables the children to learn how to form positive bonds and attachments. As a result, the children have good relationships with the staff and with each other.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: inadequate

The children are achieving and progressing in their respective schools. They have good attendance and have attained their expected educational goals. The staff act as good parents by regularly communicating with teachers about the children‟s needs, and by taking part in social events and parents‟ evenings. This wraparound support gives the children positive continuity and consistency.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: inadequate

The children‟s health needs are met. They have access to local primary healthcare services and, where appropriate, relevant specialist healthcare professionals.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: inadequate

There is a wide range of group activities where the children can socialise together, and they are fully supported to pursue their individual hobbies and interests. Consequently, the children are developing their social and communication skills and are integrating into the local community.

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

The registered persons have not adequately protected the children. Consequently, they have placed the children at risk of harm.

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

Failures to carry out safeguarding recruitment checks on persons applying to work at the children‟s home have resulted in some applicants accessing the children‟s home before Inspection report children‟s home: SC476602 6 the registered persons have received and verified a valid Disclosure and Barring Service certificate, professional references or the applicants signing a contract of employment.

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

At the same time as accessing the home, the applicants have had contact with the children and access to private and confidential information. This potentially exposes the children to unsuitable adults.

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

The registered manager has not followed the home‟s safeguarding policy that relates to staff recruitment as set out in the home‟s statement of purpose. This has increased the risks to children. A compliance notice has been issued to the provider to ensure that these concerns are addressed immediately.

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

The staff strive to deliver positive behaviour management. They use therapeutic parenting techniques to establish good relationships with the children, with good effect. All the children have individual incentive reward plans that help them to understand that good behaviour leads to positive outcomes.

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

The children live in a comfortable environment that meets their needs. The staff carry out regular fire and safety checks and ensure that all services are in good working order and maintained.

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

The home operates a „zero bullying‟ policy, and any incidents of bullying behaviour are managed in a positive, learning way. This approach helps the children to understand how bullying can have a negative impact on their peers. This teaches them positive empathy and understanding.

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

The registered manager has the appropriate qualifications and experience to meet the requirements of her role. She leads a team of staff who care about the children and want the best outcomes for each child. Staff morale is improving after an unsettled period caused by staff sickness and absence, which is in the process of being resolved.

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

There are some lapses in the home‟s operation that include poor record-keeping in relation to the monitoring of the staff‟s duty rosters, recording of private information about the children and young people, and failings in the monitoring of the home.

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

The home‟s duty rosters do not set out the proposed shifts to be worked by the staff or the actual hours worked, including the hours worked by the registered manager and her deputy manager. In addition, there is no staff signing in/out book. As a result, there are no valid records of when leaders and managers and the staff have been in the home caring for the children. This impedes the monitoring of the home, including who has access to the children and when, and could potentially compromise future investigations by the provider and/or external safeguarding agencies.

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

Private and confidential information relating to the children is not always kept secure. Inspection report children‟s home: SC476602 7 The children have individual case notes and files that are used to store their private and confidential information. This information is identified as being private and confidential and is appropriately secured in a locked cabinet in a locked office. However, the staff regularly record private and confidential information in the home‟s logbook, which is often left unsecured in the office. In addition, there are no protocols in place as to who can access the logbook. This increases the risk of private and confidential information being accessed and potentially misused.

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

The home‟s monitoring, specifically the Regulation 45 report, does not fully meet regulation. The registered manager has not consulted with the children, other professionals such as social workers, and the staff on their views and opinions about the operation of the children‟s home. This reduces opportunities for the children and other relevant people to voice their views and influence the running of the home.

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

There has been progress since the last inspection, which is testament to its leaders, managers and the staff team working together in accordance with the home‟s ethos.

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

The registered manager and the staff have formed good relationships with other professionals who are involved in the children‟s care and support. Good communication was highlighted by several professionals who gave feedback for this inspection, as well as positive feedback about the staff being focused on improving the children‟s lives and their outcomes.

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

The children benefit from the provider employing additional psychological services to support and train the staff to deliver the home‟s therapeutic model of care. A visiting clinical psychologist offers regular support to the staff by way of clinical supervision and the provision of good-quality staff training and development. This investment in the children‟s psychological support and development demonstrates the provider‟s commitment to offer a holistic care package.

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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: SC476602 8 children‟s homes regulations including the quality standards‟. Inspection report children‟s home: SC476602 9

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Duty of Care Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: 13 Front Street, Staindrop, Darlington, County Durham DL2 3LZ

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Children’s home details

Responsible individual: David Heartfield

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Inspector

Debbie White: social care inspector Inspection report children‟s home: SC476602 10 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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