Children's Home run by Durham County Council in Durham

Inspection report children's home: SC035137 1 SC035137 Registered provider: Durham County Council Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

The home is operated and managed by a local authority. It provides care for up to three children who may have emotional and/or social difficulties. Three children live in the home.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager registered with Ofsted in October 2019.

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Information about this children’s home

Due to COVID-19, at the request of the Secretary of State, we suspended all routine inspections of social care providers carried out under the social care common inspection framework (SCCIF) on 17 March 2020. We returned to routine SCCIF inspections on 12 April 2021.

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Information about this children’s home

We last visited this setting on 18 December 2020 to carry out an assurance visit. The report is published on the Ofsted website.

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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: SC035137 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

17/06/2019 Full Good 09/04/2018 Full Good 16/05/2017 Full Good 19/01/2017 Interim Improved effectiveness Inspection report children's home: SC035137 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children make good progress from their starting points. Staff work effectively with a range of professionals and agencies, to improve the children’s outcomes. Children say that they like living in the home.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children’s educational outcomes have improved as the staff support the children well to learn and develop. Staff ensure that the children’s education plans are kept under review and focus on the children’s individual set targets. Children are praised and rewarded for the progress that they make in education. This boosts the children’s confidence and motivates them to continue to work hard in school.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children achieve good health. Staff support the children in line with their individual healthcare plans. The staff work with a wide range of health professionals to improve the children’s health, which supports the children’s overall health and well- being.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children feel valued because their wishes and feelings are considered and acted on when appropriate. Staff regularly consult with the children in key-work sessions and house meetings, and the staff ensure that the children have access to an independent advocate.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are supported to spend time with their families. Staff advocate on behalf of the children to ensure that the children maintain key relationships with those people who are important to them. A professional said:

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

‘The staff are fully committed and nurturing. They offer excellent care to the children. They are firm and consistent, but flexible when needed. They also work in close partnership with families and have developed excellent relationships.’

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children benefit from living in a comfortable and clean home. There is minimal damage caused in the home. When there is damage in the home, the manager acts quickly to make the necessary repairs. Children are proud of their home. They are particularly proud of their individualised bedrooms. A child said: ‘I really like it here. I like my bedroom. It is like my sanctuary.’

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

Children receive good care and support that helps to protect them. Children’s risks are identified, understood and managed well by the staff. Children’s safety plans and care plans provide clear guidance for the staff to follow. Key-work sessions are well planned to focus on relevant topics. They provide the children with opportunities to discuss their worries and concerns with the staff. The risks to children have reduced because of this support. Inspection report children's home: SC035137 4 The mix of children living in the home is good. The range of children’s needs are carefully considered before children move into the home. The manager completes impact risk assessments to carefully consider the impact of group living. Children settle quickly because of this.

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

The manager has effective arrangements in place to reduce the risks of COVID-19 infection in the home. He regularly reviews these arrangements in line with the government guidance. This helps to protect the children and staff as well as the visitors.

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

Children are protected from causing harm to themselves and each other. Staff are proactive in challenging bullying behaviour. The topic of bullying is regularly explored with the children in their house meetings and key-work sessions. The staff also discuss the issues of bullying, in staff supervision and team meetings. However, the staff do not consistently record the use of disciplinary measures used to manage the children’s behaviour. This limits the manager’s ability to monitor the children’s behaviour and the effectiveness of the interventions used.

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

When the children are in crisis, the staff support the children well. The use of physical intervention to manage the children’s behaviour is very rare. There has been one incident of the staff physically intervening to safeguard the children; however, this was not suitably recorded. The manager has therefore, not reviewed the incident as part of his review process. This limits the manager’s ability to effectively evaluate the quality of care that children receive, particularly when physical interventions are used to manage children’s behaviour.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager is supported in his role by a nurturing staff team who have varying skills and experience. The impact of COVID-19 has meant some staff assisting in the provider’s other children’s homes during periods of staff shortage due to illness and other reasons. A core group of staff have remained working in the home to reduce the potential disruption for the children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Effective leadership in the home improves the children’s outcomes. The manager knows the home’s strengths and areas for development. He has good monitoring systems in place to ensure that the staff provide good care to the children, in line with the home’s statement of purpose.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

A skilled workforce provides the children with better care and support. The manager recognises the importance of training and developing his staff. He seeks out additional training opportunities for his staff to ensure that all the children’s current and emerging needs are met.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff receive regular supervision which provides them with an opportunity to reflect on their practice, learning and development. Due to COVID-19 and the impact of staffing arrangements, the organisation suspended their formal appraisals for staff. Inspection report children's home: SC035137 5 Therefore, some of the staff have not had their annual appraisal since their probationary period ended in 2019, and the manager has yet to arrange these. This limits the manager’s ability to satisfy himself that his staff’s practice is sufficiently appraised as part of his performance management process.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The statement of purpose and the children’s guide are reviewed regularly. The children’s guide provides the children with information about the home’s complaints procedure and advocacy support. However, some important information is missing. For example, the details of how to contact the Children’s Commissioner are not included. This hinders the children in being able to contact the independent organisation that is there to support their rights. Inspection report children's home: SC035137 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, and 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

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

the date, time and location of 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 name of the person who used the measure ("the user"), and of any other person present when the measure was used;

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Requirement Due date

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

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Requirement Due date

a description of any injury to the child or any other person, and any medical treatment administered, as a result 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 3 December 2021 Inspection report children's home: SC035137 7 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 (3)(a)(i)(ii)(iii)(iv)(v)(vi)(vii)(viii) (b)(i)(ii)(c))

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that there is a consistent approach to record incidents of bullying and the use of physical intervention.

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that the children’s guide includes details of how to contact the Office of the Children’s Commissioner. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards,’ page 24, paragraph 4.22)  The registered person should ensure that all of the staff receive a formal appraisal to evaluate their practice. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards,’ page 61, paragraph 13.5)

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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: SC035137 8

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Durham County Council

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: County Hall, Durham DH1 5UJ

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Inspector

Jacqueline Tate, Social Care Inspector Inspection report children's home: SC035137 9 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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