Children's Home run by Derbyshire County Council in Derbyshire

Inspection report children's home: SC035976 1 SC035976 Registered provider: Derbyshire County Council Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children's home

A local authority operates the home, which provides care for up to four children or young people with emotional and/or behavioural difficulties.

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Information about this children's home

The registered manager has been registered since 2017.

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Information about this children's home

Due to COVID-19 (coronavirus), at the request of the Secretary of State, we suspended all routine inspections of social care providers on 17 March 2020.

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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: good

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report children's home: SC035976 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

24/07/2019 Full Good 18/02/2019 Interim Sustained effectiveness 05/09/2018 Full Good 28/11/2017 Interim Sustained effectiveness Inspection report children's home: SC035976 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children feel well supported and cared for in this home. One child stated: ‘I am really happy. There is nothing I can think of that they could do differently.’ Children trust the staff caring for them. Having trusting relationships supports the children to make progress in all areas of their lives.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children can keep in touch with family and friends. They get to visit family and to have their friends over to visit. A range of professionals work with the staff to ensure that children’s needs are met. This approach supports children’s progress.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children have education or further education in place. They have aspirations for their futures and feel well supported by staff. For those who have missed a lot of education historically, staff sensitively support them to engage at a level and pace that they can manage. An education provider for one child stated: ‘Communication from the home is excellent. We always feel that they listen to us and take on board any concerns or comments.’

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children have their physical and emotional health needs well met. Staff ensure that the children attend routine appointments. They support children with more complex or specialist health issues, making referrals to appropriate specialist health services in a timely manner.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children have coped well with the COVID-19 pandemic and lockdowns. Staff have supported them to have fun and take part in activities around the home. As restrictions have eased, children are now planning for holidays away with staff. They have now been able to go out more on trips and clearly enjoyed the new freedoms.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children have a clear voice in the care they receive. They feel confident in raising any issues or concerns they may have. Managers respond promptly to any complaints received. Children also have access to independent advocates and benefit from such support. However, there are two complaints that did not provide a clear outcome for the children involved. This is important, because children can then state if they are happy with how their complaint has been dealt with. The recording for one complaint was not sufficiently detailed or clear, in relation to what action managers took to address the specific concerns raised by a child.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children receive practical support to prepare for their eventual move on from this home. This includes teaching them how to budget, cook and meet their own personal needs. Close working with relevant leaving care staff is undertaken in a timely manner. Relevant children are involved in consideration of their post-18 needs and how these will be met. Transitions from the home have been sensitively managed and well planned. Inspection report children's home: SC035976 4

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

Staff understand the actual and potential risks for children. Detailed risk assessments and safe-care plans provide clear guidance for staff. Over time, risks reduce for children. They feel safer, and are safer, due to the support of staff and involved agencies.

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

There has been a reduction in the number of missing from care incidents. This reflects the close partnership working with the police and relevant agencies. It is a testimony to the effectiveness of the staff team in how well they respond to any child who goes missing from the home. Staff also identify and work to reduce concerns relating to other forms of harm, including sexual exploitation.

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

Children know and understand the plans to keep them safe. They work with staff to agree how best to support them. The use of restraint is minimal. This is due to the staff’s skills in de-escalating risky situations with children and supporting them to calm. Children trust that staff will always place their safety first. They understand the rules and boundaries and, generally, adhere to them.

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

Regular strategy meetings take place with relevant agencies to consider any increasing concerns for a child. This enables all involved agencies to share relevant information and make plans to reduce risks. Multi-agency working is strong in this home and is leading to demonstrable reductions in risks posed to and from children.

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

Staff understand the need to support children to take age-appropriate risks. They are not averse to supporting children to try out new things. They appreciate that as they get older, children will have increased independence. They support children to understand the risks posed from the internet and social media, and encourage children to share their concerns.

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

A recent project with the registered manager and police aims to improve working relationships. A training video has been produced which aims to educate and inform police officers about the issues for children looked after and staff in relation to missing incidents. This is an imaginative response and demonstrates the positive working relationship the manager has forged with local police.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager has clear ambition for children living at the home. She strives, along with her deputy and staff team, to provide children with the best possible support and experiences. She knows the children’s histories and supports the staff to provide highly personalised care.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Managers understand the progress made by children and can articulate this. Managers and staff celebrate all successes, no matter how small. They use research- informed strategies to support children. They challenge involved agencies if there are any actual, or perceived, failings in providing support. Inspection report children's home: SC035976 5 Staff feel well supported by each other and by their managers. They receive regular supervision and good training opportunities. Staff also benefit from regular reflective practice sessions. This enables them to meet with a clinical specialist to consider each child’s needs. Staff feel valued and able to express their views and opinions. The manager is seen as a highly competent and skilled person by staff.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager has now embedded a new management reporting system. This reflects the journey of each child, the home and what needs to be done moving forward. Management oversight of all aspects of how the home is run is detailed and reflects strong leadership. This includes a very comprehensive location risk assessment. It contains details of areas where children may go missing to. It provides a clear visual aid for staff when considering risks to children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Records relating to children are clear, detailed and reflect the support provided to children. They would provide a positive account for children of their time living in this home if they were to request access to them in the future. A strong emphasis is also placed on having photo albums for each child. This provides a lovely visual account of things they have done, places they have been and staff who have cared for them. Inspection report children's home: SC035976 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, 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 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 (3)) 20 September

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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: SC035976 7

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Children's home details

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

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Inspector

Tracy Murty, Social Care Inspector Inspection report children's home: SC035976 8 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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Inspector

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Inspector

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Inspector

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