Children's home run by Stockton on Tees Borough Council in Stockton-on-Tees

Inspection report children’s home: SC040583 1 SC040583 Registered provider: Stockton On Tees Borough 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 owned and operated by a local authority. It is registered to provide care and accommodation for up to three children and/or young people who have emotional, social and behavioural difficulties. The manager is suitably qualified for the post and is awaiting registration.

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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: SC040583 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

12/03/2019 Full Outstanding 10/08/2017 Full Outstanding 28/02/2017 Interim Improved effectiveness 24/08/2016 Full Outstanding Inspection report children’s home: SC040583 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The staff make it their priority to form secure, nurturing and trusting relationships with the young people they care for. This means that young people develop a sense of being cherished and respected which in turn helps them to learn social and emotional skills. Care plans and assessments are carefully monitored by a team of multi-agency professionals and are individualised. This ensures that young people are receiving effective services that are targeted to meet their overall needs.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Young people are in good health, and routine health appointments are well attended. Staff support young people to engage with specialist services to meet their emotional needs. Staff receive support from a newly appointed therapeutic practitioner to assist them in meeting the individual needs of young people. This enables staff to support young people to regulate their emotions, creating an environment where young people feel safe and understood.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff are committed to promoting education even when young people have refused to attend for long periods of time prior to coming to the home. One worker commented, ‘[Name] had no education when he came to us. He’s really proud of his schoolwork now and brings it home to show us.’ Promoting the value of education ensures that young people are given the best possible chance to gain qualifications that will help them to achieve their career goals and ambitions.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff encourage young people to take part in a wide variety of social, educational and recreational activities. Cultural events are celebrated with themed nights where young people get to experience food and entertainment from another country or culture. Achievements and special days are celebrated with lots of verbal praise and small rewards. By celebrating with the adults who care for them, young people feel valued and proud of their achievements and this improves their confidence and self-esteem.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Relationships between staff, young people and their parents are exceptionally good. Staff work directly with parents to support them to develop the skills necessary to manage challenging behaviour. As a result, the amount of quality time spent with loved ones has increased and young people feel safe, happy and part of a family.

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

Young people live in a home that is comfortable and well maintained. The nurturing environment allows young people to develop the confidence required to become more independent, safe in the knowledge that if they make a mistake there are people there to help and protect them.

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

Risk assessments are detailed, with strategies that staff understand and follow. This helps staff to keep young people protected. Young people are encouraged to help staff in writing and reviewing their plans. In doing so, young people gain an insight into what Inspection report children’s home: SC040583 4 staff are worried about and can suggest ways in which staff can support them to reduce the risks.

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

Young people have significantly reduced the number of times they have been missing from the home. On the occasions when young people have been missing from the home, staff work hard to locate the young people and return them to the safety of the home as quickly as possible. This makes young people feel cared for and valued. Information gained from return home interviews is used to make missing episodes less likely to happen again. As a result, young people become increasingly safe.

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

Staff use one-to-one sessions effectively to develop young people’s ability to keep themselves safe. Such sessions are used to encourage young people to reflect on situations that have previously been harmful to them. This reflection supports young people to identify when others may wish to cause them harm and increases the young people’s ability to recognise signs of danger.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager is creative and highly motivated. He has developed the service in a relatively short space of time and has used research-led initiatives to guide his practice. He has extremely high aspirations for the young people and is supported by a team of people who share his desire to ensure that young people are given the best possible opportunity to achieve their maximum potential.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager and his staff have developed excellent working relationships with other professionals who can improve and support the service. The development of a menu of services for parents and professionals will support young people to be able to access the services they need quickly.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Training, development and induction programmes are thorough and relevant to the individual needs of the young people. Staff receive support from managers through reflective supervision, team meetings and extended daily handovers. This ensures that young people receive a consistent approach from staff who are knowledgeable about the plans for young people. Safeguarding is discussed in supervision and at team meetings. This ensures that staff are given the chance to share any concerns they may have about the welfare of young people, which can then be addressed quickly.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager knows the strengths and weaknesses of the home. Where there are areas for development, the manager has robust plans in place to address these. Continuous and detailed monitoring and development of the home ensures that young people receive the best possible care. Inspection report children’s home: SC040583 5

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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: SC040583 6

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Stockton On Tees Borough Council

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Municipal Buildings, Church Road, Stockton on Tees, Cleveland TS18 1LD

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Inspector

Mark Proffitt, social care inspector Inspection report children’s home: SC040583 7 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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