Children's Home run by Doncaster Children‟s Services Trust Limited in Doncaster

Inspection report children’s home: SC481447 1 SC481447 Registered provider: Doncaster Children’s Services Trust Limited Interim inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

A local authority trust operates and runs this home. It provides care for up to four children and young people whose plan is for them to live in medium- to long-term residential care. The manager has been at the home for 16 months. He was registered on 9 October 2019.

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Judgement at last inspection: good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none

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and young people since the most recent full inspection

This home was judged good at the last full inspection. At the interim inspection, Ofsted judges that it has improved effectiveness.

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and young people since the most recent full inspection

The children and young people are thriving and making continued progress towards their individual goals. They regularly attend school and college, and the staff promote education and support the children and young people to be aspirational about their futures.

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and young people since the most recent full inspection

The children and young people engage in activities that have really boosted their confidence. One young person is excelling in karate. Other children and young people have been helped to develop positive peer relationships. The children and young people also benefit from breaks away to destinations such as Blackpool, Scotland and Whitby. This provides them with new experiences and happy memories.

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and young people since the most recent full inspection

The needs and complexities of the children and young people underpin the Inspection report children’s home: SC481447 2 individualised and responsive care that they receive. The staff are effective in their responses to the diverse and complex problems that the children and young people feel able to share. The staff help and protect the children and young people with issues such as bullying, self-harm, relationships and online abuse. However, when children and young people have received indecent images via social media, this intelligence was not shared with other registered managers within the organisation, to aid the protection of other children and young people.

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and young people since the most recent full inspection

Missing from home incidents are infrequent. The staff have measures in place to effectively manage the children and young people’s safety when out in the community. The staff know where the children and young people are going. They know their friends and families and they keep in regular contact. If the children and young people go missing, the staff take immediate action to try and find them to ensure their safety. Free time is reviewed in consultation with relevant agencies to maintain the children and young people’s safety and protection.

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and young people since the most recent full inspection

The children and young people’s successes are celebrated. The staff focus on rewarding good behaviours while they appropriately respond to negative behaviours. Time is taken to record all the positive comments that are made about each child or young person, which validates their sense of self-worth.

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and young people since the most recent full inspection

Children benefit from effective planning when moving into or out of the home. A thorough matching process takes place. This enables the current group to continue to flourish. One child had a planned move out of the home. Despite this child displaying challenging behaviours and aggression toward the staff, the manager and his team ensured that this child’s experience of moving was positive. However, when this child moved out of the home, their records and accompanying records were archived and all of them could not be reviewed at this inspection.

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and young people since the most recent full inspection

The stability of the management and staff team is a major factor in the positive outcomes for the children and young people. The manager ensures that the staff understand their roles and responsibilities and that he himself knows his staff’s strengths and weaknesses. The manager is approachable and provides his team with clear guidance and support, including creating individual action plans for staff to address any learning needs.

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and young people since the most recent full inspection

The manager ensures that the children and young people are consistently provided with a high standard of care. The house feels like a home, as the standard of decoration and furnishings continues to improve. The manager has been effective at addressing all requirements and recommendations set at the last inspection. Inspection report children’s home: SC481447 3

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

20/05/2019 Full Good 10/10/2018 Full Requires improvement to be good 06/12/2017 Full Good 03/03/2017 Interim Not judged

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Recommendations

 Registered persons have a key role in seeking to develop the home’s effective working relationships with each child’s placing authority and with other relevant persons which may include services, individuals (including parents), agencies, organisations and establishments that work with children in the local community, e.g. police, schools, health and youth offending teams (Regulation 5 – engaging with the wider system to ensure children’s needs are met). These working relationships will also be key to success in delivering the care planning standard (Regulation 14). (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 52, paragraph 10.3) This is with particular reference to registered managers sharing information between the children’s homes that could impact on the online safety and protection of others.  Regulations 35–39 detail the records that must be kept in children’s homes. All

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Recommendations

children’s case records (Regulation 36) must be kept up to date and stored securely whilst they remain in the home. Case records must be kept up to date and signed and dated by the author of each entry. Children’s case records must be kept for 75 years from the date of birth of the child, or if the child dies before the age of 18, for 15 years from the date of his or her death. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 62, paragraph 14.3) This is with particular reference to ensuring that children’s records are available for review at an inspection. Inspection report children’s home: SC481447 4

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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

This inspection focused on the effectiveness of the home and the progress and experiences of children and young people since the most recent full inspection.

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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’.

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Doncaster Children’s Services Trust Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Colonnades House, Duke Street, Doncaster, South Yorkshire DN1 1ER

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Inspector

Jennifer Fenlon, social care inspector Inspection report children’s home: SC481447 5 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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