Children's home run by Duty of Care Limited in County Durham

Inspection report children’s home: SC476602 1 SC476602 Registered provider: Duty of Care Limited Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This home is owned and managed by a private provider. It is registered to provide care and accommodation for up to three children who may have emotional and/or social difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager registered with Ofsted in August 2021.

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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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Information about this children’s home

We last visited this setting on 1 December 2020 to carry out a monitoring visit. The report is published on our website.

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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 requires improvement to be 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: 16 October 2019

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requires improvement to be good

Overall judgement at last inspection: good

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requires improvement to be good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report children’s home: SC476602 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

16/10/2019 Full Good 11/07/2019 Full Inadequate 12/02/2019 Full Outstanding 13/03/2018 Full Good Inspection report children’s home: SC476602 3

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improvement to be good

Children’s overall experience of living in the home is variable. Children say they feel safe and enjoy trusted and secure relationships with some staff. However, the home has seen a significant turnover in staff, including the manager and the responsible individual. Children have been negatively affected by this, with one child having nightmares and expressing anxieties about the remaining staff leaving.

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improvement to be good

Feedback from professionals is variable. One professional said, ‘Staff are absolutely amazing, they do such a good job with [Name]’. However, another professional spoke about staff being ‘risk adverse’ and struggling to manage risks effectively. The lack of stability in the home means that children are not provided with consistent care.

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improvement to be good

The home does not provide children with a warm and nurturing environment. There are photographs of children throughout the home and evidence of toys, books, and DVDs for the children to enjoy. However, while the home is appropriately furnished it is in need of decoration and cleaning in some rooms. Some maintenance tasks, including in the garden and the bathroom, need completing. In addition, one child said that they are not allowed out of their bedrooms in the evening until the following morning. There are door alarms on the children’s bedrooms yet no consent for this is in place. This lack of care and attention to the home is providing children with an institutionalised environment.

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improvement to be good

Staff do not consistently support children to engage in activities. Staff do periodically arrange themed events, such as ‘come dine with me’, and do celebrate major events, including the Olympics. However, planned weekly activities are not in place for some children. This means that children have limited opportunities to explore new hobbies and interests and to socialise with others.

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improvement to be good

Children are not routinely supported to keep in touch with those who are important to them. Staff do support children to see their friends and family where it is safe to do so. However, staff do not keep in regular contact with family members and children’s newsletters are not always received by parents. In addition, one child said that they are not allowed to have their friends visit the home unless there are no other children in the home. This makes the child feel different to other children. This approach does not support children’s identity or their sense of belonging.

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improvement to be good

Children attend school regularly and are doing well. Staff attend education meetings and communicate regularly with education professionals. Staff provide children with informal education opportunities in the home, such as first-aid training and den building outdoors. One child does not have an up to date education, health and care plan (EHCP) or personal education plan (PEP) on their file. This means that the staff do not have the correct information to support the child’s education progression. Inspection report children’s home: SC476602 4 Staff ensure that the children’s health needs are met. Children receive support from a range of professionals, including specialist services. Staff have access to the company’s clinical team. This enables staff to improve their knowledge of the children’s early experiences and the impact this may have had on their development.

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improvement to be good

Children know how to complain and are confident in speaking to staff. The complaints forms are readily accessible in the home, so if children want to make a complaint confidentially they can. By providing children with a range of options, this empowers them to make a complaint if they need to.

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improvement to be good

Children are not supported to manage risks. Staff take immediate action to keep children safe. However, staff manage risk by simply removing the risk altogether without a clear plan in place to review this. While some work is undertaken with children so that they can become increasingly safe online, there are no safety plans in place to manage the risk effectively. This approach of being risk adverse does not teach children to manage risk safely and leaves them exposed to further risk of harm.

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improvement to be good

Children’s risk assessments are not consistent in quality and do not always contain all the current risks for children. The strategies in place to reduce the risks are not always specific and easy to understand. This means that staff do not always have up-to-date information about the children. As the manager does not evaluate and review the strategies used, the effectiveness of the plans is not assessed. This can leave children at risk of harm.

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improvement to be good

Records of physical intervention are not completed as required. Staff debriefs and children’s debriefs are not consistently undertaken, and the record is not always completed in the appropriate timescale. The lack of consistent management oversight means that it cannot be established whether the holds are safe and necessary and proportionate.

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improvement to be good

Rewards given to children far outweigh the use of sanctions. However, the recording of sanctions is poor. The reason for the sanction is unclear and children’s views are not consistently recorded. Sanctions are not restorative in nature and lack any management analysis. On two occasions there has been no plan in place to review the original sanction. This means that children are unaware of what they need to do to earn back their privileges.

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improvement to be good

There is an inconsistent approach to recording information in all documents. There is a lack of attention to detail and accuracy in some records, while others contain blaming and unhelpful language. The registered manager has reviewed one child’s complete records and made significant changes to them for the better. However, the lack of consistency means that it is confusing for staff to understand what is expected of them, which potentially places children at risk. Inspection report children’s home: SC476602 5 The record of visitors to the home is not accurate. On the second day of the inspection, the regulator was not asked to sign in. The daily log also does not accurately reflect staff entering or leaving the home. This means that the provider cannot be assured that those people who enter the home are appropriately vetted and should be in the home. This exposes children to the risk of harm.

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improvement to be good

There have been five occasions where there has been a significant delay in notifying the regulator of serious incidents. This failure means that Ofsted is unable to scrutinise information in a timely manner to ensure that children are kept safe.

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good

The home now has a new manager in post who is very experienced. She has an excellent understanding of the issues and shortfalls found by Ofsted and has a clear vision of how the service needs to develop and improve. She has a strong presence in the home and ensures that she spends time with the children. While some changes have already been made for the better, the manager has not had sufficient time to address all the shortfalls identified.

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good

The previous manager and responsible individual have failed to provide effective leadership. They have failed to ensure that there are effective and consistent internal auditing processes in place to monitor the performance of staff and the operation of the home. The lack of consistent management oversight means that there are shortfalls in the quality of care provided to children.

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good

While the manager ensures that staff receive mandatory training, not all staff have received training to meet the individual needs of children. Training records are not up to date and it is not clear when training needs to be reviewed.

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good

The manager and staff are not provided with regular supervision. When this does occur, it lacks any detailed discussion or reflection on the needs of the children. The lack of consistency in supervision and management oversight means that children are not provided with a consistent care to meet their current needs.

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good

Safer recruitment processes are followed when staff are appointed. This provides assurances that staff are suitably vetted and qualified to provide appropriate care. New staff complete an induction to help them learn each aspect of their role and to help them understand how to respond to the children’s presenting needs.

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good

Children are not regularly given the opportunity to speak with the independent visitor about their experiences in the home. There have been six occasions where children have not been consulted with as part of the independent visits, as these have taken place while the children have been at school. This oversight limits the opportunities for children to talk about their experiences to an independent person. Inspection report children’s home: SC476602 6 Children’s records are inconsistent. There is a lack of attention to detail and accuracy in some records. In addition, some records contain blaming and unhelpful language. The registered manager had identified that children’s records need to improve and has a plan in place to address this.

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good

The statement of purpose is out of date and does not reflect the current staffing structure. This failure means that Ofsted is unable to scrutinise information in order to ensure that children are kept safe. Inspection report children’s home: SC476602 7

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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 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

assess whether each child is at risk of harm, taking into account information in the child’s relevant plans, and, if necessary, make arrangements to reduce the risk of any harm to the child;

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Requirement Due date

help each child to understand how to keep safe;

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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; and that the effectiveness of the home’s child protection policies is monitored regularly. (Regulation 12 (1) (2)(a)(i)(ii)(b)(e)) 16 September

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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 the home has sufficient staff to provide care for each child; 16 September Inspection report children’s home: SC476602 8 ensure that the home’s workforce provides continuity of care to each child;

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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; and

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Requirement Due date

use monitoring and review systems to make continuous improvements in the quality of care provided in the home. (Regulation 13 (1)(a)(b) (2)(a)(d)(e)(f)(h))

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must compile in relation to the children’s home a statement ("the statement of purpose") which covers the matters listed in Schedule 1.

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Requirement Due date

keep the statement of purpose under review and, where appropriate, revise it; and

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Requirement Due date

notify HMCI of any revisions and send HMCI a copy of the revised statement within 28 days of the revision. (Regulation 16 (1) (3)(a)(b)) 16 September

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Requirement Due date

The registered person may only use devices for the monitoring or surveillance of children if—

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Requirement Due date

the monitoring or surveillance is for the purpose of safeguarding and promoting the welfare of the child concerned, or other children; and

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Requirement Due date

the child’s placing authority consents in writing to the monitoring or surveillance. (Regulation 24 (1)(a)(b)) 16 September

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must prepare and implement a policy ("the behaviour management policy") which sets out—

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Requirement Due date

how appropriate behaviour is to be promoted in the children’s home; and the measures of control, discipline and restraint which may be used in relation to children in the home.

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Requirement Due date

within 24 hours of the use of a measure of control, discipline or restraint in relation to a child in the home, a record is made which includes— 16 September Inspection report children’s home: SC476602 9 details of the child’s behaviour leading to the use of the measure;

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Requirement Due date

a description of the measure and its duration;

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Requirement Due date

details of any methods used or steps taken to avoid the need to use the measure;

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Requirement Due date

the effectiveness and any consequences of the use of the measure;

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Requirement Due date

within 48 hours of the use of the measure, the registered person, or a person who is authorised by the registered person to do so ("the authorised person")—

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Requirement Due date

has spoken to the user about the measure; and

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Requirement Due date

has signed the record to confirm it is accurate; and

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Requirement Due date

within 5 days of the use of the measure, the registered person or the authorised person adds to the record confirmation that they have spoken to the child about the measure. (Regulation 35 (1)(a)(b) (3)(a)(ii)(iv)(v)(viii)(b)(i)(ii)(c))

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Requirement Due date

This specifically relates to the use of sanctions.

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must prepare and implement a policy ("the behaviour management policy") which sets out—

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Requirement Due date

how appropriate behaviour is to be promoted in the children’s home; and the measures of control, discipline and restraint which may be used in relation to children in the home.

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Requirement Due date

within 24 hours of the use of a measure of control, discipline or restraint in relation to a child in the home, a record is made which includes—

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Requirement Due date

details of the child’s behaviour leading to the use of the measure;

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Requirement Due date

details of any methods used or steps taken to avoid the need to use the measure; and 16 September Inspection report children’s home: SC476602 10 the effectiveness and any consequences of the use of the measure;

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Requirement Due date

within 48 hours of the use of the measure, the registered person, or a person who is authorised by the registered person to do so ("the authorised person")—

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Requirement Due date

has spoken to the user about the measure; and

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Requirement Due date

has signed the record to confirm it is accurate; and

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Requirement Due date

within 5 days of the use of the measure, the registered person or the authorised person adds to the record confirmation that they have spoken to the child about the measure. (Regulation 35 (1)(a)(b) (3)(a)(ii)(v)(vii)(b)(i)(ii)(c))

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Requirement Due date

This specifically relates to the use of physical intervention.

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Requirement Due date

Schedule 4 sets out the other information that the registered person must keep in relation to a children’s home.

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Requirement Due date

maintain in the home the records in Schedule 4;

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Requirement Due date

ensure that the records are kept up to date; and

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Requirement Due date

retain the records for at least 15 years from the date of the last entry. (Regulation 37 (1) (2)(a)(b)(c))

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Requirement Due date

This specifically relates to a record of all visitors to the home. 16 September

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must notify HMCI and each other relevant person without delay if—

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Requirement Due date

a child is involved in or subject to, or is suspected of being involved in or subject to, sexual exploitation;

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Requirement Due date

an incident requiring police involvement occurs in relation to a child which the registered person considers to be serious;

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Requirement Due date

there is an allegation of abuse against the home or a person working there;

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Requirement Due date

a child protection enquiry involving a child — is instigated; or 16 September Inspection report children’s home: SC476602 11 concludes (in which case, the notification must include the outcome of the child protection enquiry); or

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Requirement Due date

there is any other incident relating to a child which the registered person considers to be serious. (Regulation 40 (4)(a)(b)(c)(d)(i)(ii)(e))

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Recommendations

 The registered provider should ensure that the home is maintained to a good standard. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 15, paragraph 3.9)

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Recommendations

 The registered manager should ensure that children are able to access all shared areas of their home at any time unless there are specific reasons why this would not meet a child’s needs. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 15, paragraph 3.10)

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Recommendations

 The registered manager should ensure that staff have the knowledge and skills to understand each child’s education and targets and their next steps for learning. This includes having access to the most recent PEP and EHCP. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 27, paragraph 5.11)

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Recommendations

 The registered manager should ensure that children are offered a wide range of activities both inside and outside of the home and are encouraged to participate in those activities. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 31, paragraph 6.5)

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Recommendations

 The registered manager should ensure that children are able to spend time with their friends in the local community, in their home area, and by having friends visit them at the home. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 38, paragraph 8.7)

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Recommendations

 The registered manager should ensure that training records are kept up to date and staff receiving training specific to the individual needs of the children. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 53, paragraph 10.8)

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that systems are in place so that all staff, including the manager, receive regular supervision so that they can reflect on their practice and the needs of the children assigned to their care. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 61, paragraph 13.2) Inspection report children’s home: SC476602 12  The registered manager should ensure that staff are familiar with the home’s policies on record-keeping and understand the importance of careful, objective, and clear recording. Staff should record information on individual children in a non-stigmatising way that distinguishes between fact, opinion and third-party information. Information about the child must always be recorded in a way that will be helpful to the child. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 62, paragraph 14.4)

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Recommendations

 The registered manager should ensure that the independent person consults regularly with children, families and other professionals and records the outcome in their report. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 65, paragraph 15.8)

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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: SC476602 13

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Duty of Care Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: 13 Front Street, Staindrop, DARLINGTON, County Durham DL2 3LZ

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Children’s home details

Responsible individual: David Heartfield

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Inspector

Paula Shepherd, Social Care Inspector Inspection report children’s home: SC476602 14 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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