Children's home run by Derbyshire County Council in Derbyshire Dales

Inspection report children’s home: SC441513 1 SC441513 Registered provider: Derbyshire 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

This local authority home provides care and accommodation for up to six young people who have learning disabilities.

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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

Overall judgement at last inspection: outstanding

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report children’s home: SC441513 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

13/06/2018 Full Outstanding 25/07/2017 Full Outstanding 24/03/2017 Interim Improved effectiveness 28/09/2016 Full Good Inspection report children’s home: SC441513 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 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

helps children aspire to fulfil their potential; and promotes their welfare. (Regulation 13 (1)(a)(b)) 30/03/2020

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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—

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Requirement Due date

that the premises used for the purposes of the home are designed, furnished and maintained so as to protect each child from avoidable hazards to the child’s health. (Regulation 12 (1)(2)(d)) 01/03/2020

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Requirement Due date

Subject to paragraph (6), the registered person must establish a procedure for considering complaints made by or on behalf of children. The registered person must ensure that a record is made of any complaint, the action taken in response, and the outcome of any investigation. (Regulation 39(2)) 01/03/2020

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Recommendations

 Ensure that children are encouraged to add their views and comments to the record of restraint. Children should be offered the opportunity to access an advocacy support to help them with this. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 50, paragraph 9.60) Inspection report children’s home: SC441513 4

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Most young people currently living at the home are making good progress. They have trusting and positive relationships with staff. Care is highly individual, and each young person has a high staffing ratio to help them with their daily lives. Staff monitor young people’s health very carefully and use pictures and symbols to help them to understand what is happening.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff make sure that each young person has a voice. They help young people to understand what is happening to them and to have a say about their own lives. For some young people, this significantly reduces their anxiety.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Each young person attends school. Relationships between care staff and school staff help to break down barriers to learning. Solutions are found when young people struggle to attend. Multi-agency working with other professionals is excellent. This ensures that other professionals are knowledgeable and can make good decisions based on up-to-date information.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Young people regularly go on activities and have access to their local community. Staff help young people to overcome challenges in relation to their disability. This means that they can continue to have new experiences as they would if they were non- disabled. For example, each young person has participated in a summer holiday and one young person recently had their own box at the local theatre. As a result, they were able to watch a show without being around too many people. Memory books and photographs are used well to capture the good times. There are regular celebrations about young people’s progress and creative communication is used so that young people can experience praise.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Two young people’s bedrooms had an unpleasant odour during the inspection. Staff have been working on a solution to this and there has been some improvement; however, this remains an issue. In addition, some fridges were found to contain uncovered meat and dairy products. There was also some milk which was several days past its use-by date. These issues have the potential to impact on young people’s health if they are not put right.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

One young person is not experiencing a positive placement, and this has been the case since March 2019. The home no longer suits his needs in line with its ethos. Managers and staff want to keep the young person at the home while another placement can be found to prevent a further placement breakdown. There is a real commitment to this young person, which is testament to managers and staff. However, the situation is dragging on for him and he has not made progress for some months. There is also the potential for other young people to be affected. Other young people have started to see and hear a level of violence from their peer. There is the potential for their experiences to be unpleasant. Inspection report children’s home: SC441513 5

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

Young people are helped to develop the skills they need to manage new situations. This is particularly positive for some young people who find anything new very difficult because of their disability. Careful planning reduces risk. When things do not go to plan, good reflection from staff and managers means that young people are safer next time.

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

Risk assessments and care plans clearly identify areas of risk for each young person. They contain a lot of helpful detail and all staff are clear about how to ensure that young people remain safe and protected.

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

One young person’s behaviour is such that they are no longer making progress. The young person often chooses to be alone and his life has become largely solitary. He is often locked in his flat, sometimes of his own choosing. This is seen as the least restrictive measure of physical intervention and prevents him from being physically restrained or hurt, or him harming others. Social workers, independent reviewing officers and community psychiatric services are all aware of this and the young person’s care plan sets out this measure. All professionals are also clear that this is the safest way to manage the young person’s behaviour. There is constant evaluation and monitoring of this part of the care plan. However, this is no longer sustainable for the young person. He is not making progress with his behaviour and is becoming less able to cope with daily life.

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

When there are physical interventions, young people find it hard to talk about this. There is an independent advocate who comes to the home regularly. They do not, however, routinely review the records of when physical interventions are used. This weakens independent scrutiny at a time when there are a lot of physical restrictions, particularly for one young person.

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

There is strength in reflective practice. Where an allegation from a child was not passed on promptly, there has been learning and reflection. Further training and direction for staff have helped to make sure that this will not happen again. This delay did not affect the young person.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The organisation is responding to the fact that one young person is not making progress. Leaders have taken some decisive action and have acknowledged that this is not the right placement for him. However, a solution has not been found and the young person remains in a placement that is not suited to him.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff are highly committed to each young person. Even when staff sustain injuries due to young people’s complex behaviour, their commitment is such that they continue their work with a loving and caring attitude. One staff member spoke about a young person, saying: ‘He melts my heart.’ Staff think the world of young people and enjoy their work with them. Inspection report children’s home: SC441513 6 The staff team is established and to some extent this gives young people consistency. However, numerous part-time staff contracts mean that young people experience a lot of different faces. Communication between the staff team is excellent. This helps ensure that all staff members are working with the most up-to-date information. All are exceptionally clear about how to care for young people, despite presenting behaviours changing on a daily, and sometimes hourly basis.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff receive excellent support. They receive injuries from young people but have access to outside support and counselling. They have regular meetings with their managers to reflect on their practice and gain support. There is a very positive team ethos, and everyone remains motivated to provide good-quality care, despite the current unsettled nature of the home.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager makes sure that young people have a say in their care and that all concerns and complaints are dealt with. Not all complaints are recorded as such and despite a resolution being reached, the outcome is not always recorded.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

There is a new management team, but the transition has been very smooth. The manager intends to apply to Ofsted to become registered but there has been a delay and Ofsted has not yet received the application. He and the deputy manager are working well together. Staff feel that management has continued to be good and speak very highly of their leaders.

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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: SC441513 7

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Derbyshire County Council,

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: County Offices, Matlock, Derbyshire DE4 3AG

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Inspector

Caroline Brailsford, social care inspector Inspection report children’s home: SC441513 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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