Children's home run by Middlesbrough Borough Council

Inspection report children’s home: SC472392 1 SC472392 Registered provider: Middlesbrough Borough Council Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This children’s home is owned and run by a local authority. It is registered to provide care and accommodation for up to four children and/or young people who have emotional and/or behavioural difficulties. The manager has been registered since 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 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: 27 February 2019

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requires improvement to be good

Overall judgement at last inspection: outstanding

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requires improvement to be good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report children’s home: SC472392 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

27/02/2019 Full Outstanding 21/03/2018 Full Good 11/01/2017 Interim Improved effectiveness 26/04/2016 Full Good Inspection report children’s home: SC472392 3

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improvement to be good

The children and young people’s progress and overall experiences have been variable. The home is not homely. There has been an unstable period during which damage was caused to the home. This has resulted in staff removing items such as pictures and photographs, resulting in the home having an institutional feel.

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improvement to be good

At times bullying between children and young people is a feature of behaviour in the home. Staff do not intervene effectively, and this has resulted in a child being physically assaulted on more than one occasion. The local authority has accelerated a planned increase in the child’s time with her family to safeguard the child from further bullying. Parents of the child are also concerned, and at the time the child stated she did not want to return to the home.

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improvement to be good

Some children and young people are progressing well with their education and, with the support of staff, are attending school every day. However, those children and young people who are not in school are not provided with a structured daytime routine to ready them for going back to school. There is progress from their starting points but efforts to engage them in formal or informal educational activities continue to be unsuccessful. This is likely to have a negative effect on children and young people fulfilling their potential in later life.

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improvement to be good

Staff actively challenge local authorities in respect of delays in children and young people’s plans, but this has not been successful. The children and young people are unsure of their futures and, as a result, are not able to invest fully in this as their permanent home.

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improvement to be good

The children and young people get on well with the staff and most have good relationships in the home. One child stated that they like it in the home and do not want to move on. Professionals have reported that they have good working relationships with staff and that they are kept updated in relation to the progress of the children and young people.

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improvement to be good

Staff support the children and young people to take part in a range of activities to help them to explore their talents and interests. Children and young people have been swimming and cycling, and some have been to a music festival and a West End show. Photographs are taken at events, and staff are working with the children and young people on memory books to capture the memorable moments of their time in the home.

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improvement to be good

The children and young people know how to complain and have used the complaints procedure effectively with the support of staff. They participate in house meetings, give their views through key-work sessions and on a day-to-day basis, and are encouraged to contribute to their plans. This means that children and young people feel listened to. Inspection report children’s home: SC472392 4

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improvement to be good

The actions of staff have not been effective in preventing children and young people from being exposed to bullying and violent behaviours. De-escalation strategies have not been effective, and staff do not use physical interventions when they become necessary to protect the children and young people. At times staff have relied on the support of the police to manage such situations. When incidents have occurred, they have been appropriately reported.

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improvement to be good

Not all risks to children and young people are fully assessed. Staff do not always evaluate the known risks to the children and young people. This means that key- work sessions are not targeting these potential risks or equipping the children and young people with the skills and knowledge they need to make good choices and learn to protect themselves.

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improvement to be good

When children and young people have been missing from the home there is a robust response which follows each child or young person’s plan. Staff follow an agreed protocol before reporting the children and young people as missing from the home to the police. When children and young people return, staff are proactive in gathering information about the missing episode and sharing this with the relevant agencies. Key-work sessions with the children and young people are effective in helping them to reflect on the risks and consider the consequences. As a result of this work, one young person who was regularly going missing from the home has not been missing for two months.

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improvement to be good

The manager attends monthly meetings with police and other agency partners to share and gather local intelligence. This helps staff to keep up to date with current issues and concerns in relation to criminal and sexual exploitation and county lines. This forum enables staff to build effective working relationships with other agencies in order to better protect children and young people from risks in the local community.

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improvement to be good

When an allegation of abuse was made against a staff member, the protection of the child was the priority of the manager. Staff followed statutory guidance and the investigations were carried out in a timely way. This good practice promotes the safety and well-being of children and young people.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager ensures that all children and young people coming to live in the home do so in a planned way. They have opportunities to meet staff, visit the home and decorate their bedrooms. Plans and records of the decision-making identify the risks both to and from the child or young person in relation to the peer group already living in the home. This helps to ensure that placements are appropriate and contributes to the group of children and young people adjusting to the changes that admissions bring to the home. Inspection report children’s home: SC472392 5 The manager is clear about the strengths of the home, the progress of children and young people and of the ability of her staff team to meet their needs. She ensures that safeguarding procedures are followed. Progress can be seen, from their starting points, for some children and young people but for others the escalation of issues has been unsuccessful in helping them to achieve positive outcomes.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager ensures that staff are well supported through supervision and team meetings. Supervision takes place regularly, and each child or young person is discussed. However, there is no evidence of reflection or analysis of the effectiveness of the care practice. This means that staff are not provided with clear actions following analysis to help them improve practice and achieve good outcomes for the children and young people.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The statement of purpose does not distinguish between how long a member of staff has been employed by the local authority and how long they have been at the home. This has no effect on the care of children and young people but may lead to confusion when other agencies are assessing the stability of staffing in the home. Inspection report children’s home: SC472392 6

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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 education standard is that children make measurable progress towards achieving their educational potential and are helped to do so.

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Requirement Due date

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

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Requirement Due date

help each child to achieve the child’s education and training targets, as recorded in the child’s relevant plans; promote opportunities for each child to learn informally;

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Requirement Due date

help a child who is excluded from school, or who is of compulsory school age but not attending school, to access educational and training support throughout the period of exclusion or non-attendance and to return to school as soon as possible. (Regulation 8 (1)(2)(a)(i)(v)(viii))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, ensure that when children and young people are not in education, their day-to-day plans promote a structured day. Children and young people should be engaged in activities to occupy their time constructively and ensure that learning opportunities are available to them. 27/03/2020

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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— that staff—

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Requirement Due date

manage relationships between children to prevent them from harming each other;

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Requirement Due date

that the home’s day-to-day care is arranged and delivered so as to keep each child safe and to protect each child effectively from harm; 27/03/2020 Inspection report children’s home: SC472392 7 that the effectiveness of the home’s child protection policies is monitored regularly. (Regulation 12 (1)(2)(a)(iv)(b)(e))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, when children and young people are experiencing bullying staff should intervene to protect the child or young person and to prevent any escalation of behaviour. The effectiveness of key-work sessions should be kept under review, and the necessary changes must be made to secure good outcomes.

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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.

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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

lead and manage the home in a way that is consistent with the approach and ethos, and delivers the outcomes, set out in the home’s statement of purpose;

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Requirement Due date

ensure that staff work as a team where appropriate;

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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 quality of care provided in the home. (Regulation 13 (1)(a)(b)(2)(a)(b)(f))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the manager should ensure that she and her staff work together to promote positive experiences, good progress and welfare of each child in the home. The responses to children and young people who experience bullying and violence should ensure that they are protected and that steps are taken to prevent any further incidents. 27/03/2020

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Requirement Due date

The care planning standard is that children—

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Requirement Due date

receive effectively planned care in or through the children’s home; and

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Requirement Due date

have a positive experience of arriving at or moving on from the home. 27/03/2020 Inspection report children’s home: SC472392 8 In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to ensure—

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Requirement Due date

plan for, and help, each child to prepare to leave the home or to move into adult care in a way that is consistent with arrangements agreed with the child’s placing authority. (Regulation 14 (1)(a)(2)(b)(iii))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, ensure that there is effective planning so that children and young people leaving the home do so in a planned way and not in response to incidents in the home.

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Recommendations

 The information set out in the Statement of Purpose is an essential part of the process of agreement between the registered person and placing authority that a placement in that home is the right one for that child, and that the home will be able to respond effectively to the child’s assessed needs. Emergency admissions should not be taken unless the home’s Statement of Purpose and its capacity and support systems mean that it has the capability to care for children admitted at very short notice while continuing to offer high quality care to children already living in the home. (‘Guide to the children’s home regulations including the quality standards’, page 15, paragraph 3.6)

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Recommendations

In particular, information about staffing should reflect the length of time members of staff have worked at the home. This demonstrates the stability of staffing in the home and not the organisation as a whole.

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Recommendations

 For children’s homes to be nurturing and supportive environments that meet the needs of their children, they will, in most cases, be homely, domestic environments. Children’s homes must comply with relevant health and safety legislations (alarms, food hygiene etc.); however in doing so, homes should seek as far as possible to maintain a domestic rather than ‘institutional’ impression. (‘Guide to the children’s home regulations including the quality standards’, page 15, paragraph 3.9)

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Recommendations

 The registered person should agree with their local police force, procedures and guidance on police involvement with the home to reduce unnecessary police involvement in managing behaviour and criminalisation of behaviours. Children should not be charged with offences resulting from behaviour within a children’s home that would not similarly lead to police involvement if it occurred in a family home. (‘Guide to the children’s home regulations including the quality standards’, page 47, paragraph 9.40) Inspection report children’s home: SC472392 9  The registered person must have systems in place so that all staff, including the manager, receive supervision of their practice from an appropriately qualified and experienced professional, which allows them to reflect on their practice and the needs of the children assigned to their care. (‘Guide to the children’s home regulations including the quality standards’, page 61, paragraph 13.2)

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Information about this inspection

Inspectors have looked closely at the experiences and progress of children and young people, 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: SC472392 10

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Middlesbrough Borough Council

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Middlesbrough House, 50 Corporation Road, Middlesbrough TS1 2RH

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Children’s home details

Registered manager: Kalia-Marina Kourou-Paradeli

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Inspectors

Deb Duffy: Social Care Inspector Lisa Summers: Her Majesty’s Inspector Inspection report children’s home: SC472392 11 to 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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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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