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

Inspection report for children’s home: SC442886 1 SC442886 Registered provider: Stockton-on-Tees Borough Council Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This home is operated and managed by a local authority. It provides care and accommodation for up to four children who may have social and/or emotional difficulties. There are currently four children living in the home.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager registered with Ofsted in November 2016. She holds suitable qualifications for this role. A new manager started in November 2021. She is in the process of registering with Ofsted.

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Information about this children’s home

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, 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 11 September 2019 to carry out a full inspection. 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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outstanding

How well children and young people are helped and protected outstanding

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outstanding

The effectiveness of leaders and managers outstanding

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outstanding

The children’s home provides highly effective services that consistently exceed the standards of good. The actions of the children’s home contribute to significantly improved outcomes and positive experiences for children and young people who need help, protection and care. Inspection report for children’s home: SC442886 2 Date of last inspection: 11 September 2019

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outstanding

Overall judgement at last inspection: outstanding

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outstanding

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children’s home: SC442886 3

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

11/09/2019 Full Outstanding 22/01/2019 Full Outstanding 29/11/2017 Full Outstanding 02/03/2017 Interim Improved effectiveness Inspection report for children’s home: SC442886 4

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outstanding

Children thrive in this welcoming, cosy and nurturing home. They are the centre and focus of every routine and activity, and their presence is felt throughout the home from the abundance of photographs and the constant sound of children engaging with their peers and with staff. This is a happy home and several professionals commented that it was ‘just like a family home’.

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outstanding

The children have a strong sense of belonging to the home. The special relationships they have with staff are clear to see. One child said, ‘The staff bend over backwards for me.’ The children feel able and safe to express their true selves and are supported to do so by the staff. One child said, ‘I can always talk to staff.’

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outstanding

All children access education. The managers and staff are described by professionals as working ‘tirelessly’ for this to happen and that they are ‘more than proactive’. The managers and staff advocate on behalf of children when they experience barriers to education. This has resulted in additional support and alternative education provisions which are better suited to meet the children’s needs. Staff support children who face issues with attending education to complete learning at home. As a result, all of the children are making progress with their education. For one child, a professional described his progress as a ‘transformation’ from his starting point. One professional said they will ‘miss working with the home when [name of child] transitions to secondary school, because what they do for the children is amazing’.

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outstanding

Staff sensitively explain to children the significant events in their lives, and also help them to understand their backgrounds and culture. This promotes the children’s sense of identity. Important occasions are captured and celebrated in a variety of creative ways such as photograph books and journey letters. As a result, children feel important and have special mementos to take with them when they move on.

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outstanding

All of the children attend and engage in regular meetings where they set the agenda, which staff respond to. Children choose the weekly menus where their individual diets are respected and catered for. The children also choose and plan activities and events. As a result, the children have enjoyed unique experiences such as holidays abroad. The children are encouraged and supported to attend groups and activities based on their individual interests. This has enabled children to flourish and succeed. Together, the children also attend the local weekly youth club at a nearby church. This creates positive links for the children to their local community.

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outstanding

The children have taken part in fundraising for the NHS and The Captain Tom Foundation. At the time of the inspection, the children had each filled a shoebox full of gifts for a Ukrainian child. They have included a hand-written letter which they have translated into Ukrainian. The children have also decorated their house tree in Inspection report for children’s home: SC442886 5 support of the Ukrainian people. This has enabled them to help, and increased their social conscience and understanding of global issues.

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outstanding

Positive consequences far outweigh negative consequences, with frequent praise and rewards given for good behaviour and progress made. This makes children invest in positive behaviour and want to achieve. The children understand the need for sanctions, and that they are an important part of their learning. Children are given the opportunity to change their behaviours before a sanction is imposed and this results in fewer sanctions. However, not all sanctions are identified or recorded as a sanction. This impacts on the managers’ ability to monitor these.

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outstanding

Children are incredibly well supported by the staff team when moving out of the home and for as long as needed. Great care is taken in creating individualised support packages. This results in positive and successful experiences for the children. Children keep in touch with the staff many years after moving on and are invited back into the home. This shows the strength of the connection children have to the home.

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outstanding

Children’s risk assessments and plans are clear, thorough and individualised. When existing risks change or new risks emerge, they are updated with new strategies to help keep the children safe. However, some recent health appointments are not reflected in these documents.

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outstanding

Child-friendly plans are in place and the children also devise and complete their own plans. This supports the children’s understanding of the risks they face, using language that they understand. This enables them to contribute towards their own safety planning.

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outstanding

The managers and staff fully understand the needs, risks and behaviours of each child. Because they know the children so well, they can recognise changes in the children’s behaviour. They respond quickly to any incidents using distraction techniques, which quickly de-escalate the situation. As a result, there have been no restraints in this home for over 18 months.

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outstanding

Staff work tirelessly with the children during key-work sessions to educate them about the risks associated with their behaviours. Staff use different techniques to engage children, such as quizzes, videos and workshops. As a result, children are making better choices and are safer.

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outstanding

When a need is identified, children are referred to specialist services including the in-house therapist. This helps children who are struggling with their emotions or engaging in risk-taking behaviours.

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outstanding

The family ethos and culture in the home has created a strong sense of belonging for the children. This has resulted in very few missing from home episodes. Inspection report for children’s home: SC442886 6 However, on such occasions, staff know what to do and there are individualised procedures in place for each child based on their vulnerabilities. Staff are very proactive in looking for children and have an excellent knowledge of where they visit and with whom. This safeguards children and helps them feel cared for.

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outstanding

The staff and the managers know the children’s family members and friends well through regular communication and spending time with them. The children appreciate the time the staff take to develop these relationships, which contributes towards the trusting relationships the children have with staff. The relationships the staff have with the children’s family members and friends allow the staff to assess any safeguarding risks. This enables them to take any necessary steps to protect the children and promote their well-being.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

The management team consists of a registered manager, an acting manager, and a highly competent deputy manager. All are ambitious, passionate and dedicated. The managers are supported by a stable, experienced, diverse and highly skilled staff team that is fully committed to improving the lives of the children who live in this home. The love that staff have for the children is evident, as are the efforts they make to protect the children and help them progress and achieve. The children feel this and respond to it.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

Staff feel incredibly supported by the managers, all of whom have an open-door policy. One staff member said, ‘I feel so supported here and it is a totally different environment to anywhere I’ve worked before.’ Regular supervision is provided, which is reflective and considerate of staff members’ needs. Staff are frequently praised for good work, and this helps them feel valued. Debriefs take place after incidents, which enable staff to be supported and also to think about their practice and whether alternative strategies might have been more effective.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

The children and any safeguarding concerns are discussed in great detail in regular, well-attended team meetings, daily handovers and supervision. This ensures that staff have a current understanding of any issues and can respond appropriately and consistently. Staff are encouraged to contribute and share their ideas. This practice helps to involve the whole team in raising the standard of care that children receive.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

Staff have completed all mandatory training. They also obtain additional skills through a programme of ongoing training. This enables them to better understand and respond to children’s specific needs and risk issues. This means that children are better safeguarded and cared for. However, the training matrix is not fully up to date and recent training is recorded in different places. This makes it confusing for managers to monitor.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

Managers and leaders scrutinise new referrals. Care is taken to ensure that children’s needs can be met at this home prior to their admission. Children only move in when it would not increase their risks, or the risks of the children already Inspection report for children’s home: SC442886 7 living in the home. If required, additional staff support is put in place to enable a more successful settling-in period.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

Communication from the managers and staff team to professionals is described as ‘excellent’. They notify relevant professionals swiftly when an incident has occurred, or when an incident may occur due to a triggering event. Professionals appreciate this and are better able to prepare, plan and respond to the child.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

The management team has a comprehensive monitoring system in place. This means that it knows what takes place in the home involving the children and staff, and can respond to any shortfalls. Inspection report for children’s home: SC442886 8

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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

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

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. 27 April 2022 Inspection report for children’s home: SC442886 9 (Regulation 35 (3)(a)(i)(ii)(iii)(iv)(v)(vi)(vii)(vii)(b)(i)(ii)(c)(iv))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, ensure that all sanctions are recorded in line with the regulation.

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Recommendations

 The registered person should make best use of information from internal monitoring to ensure continuous improvement. In particular, ensure that staff training records are kept up to date and are clearly set out. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 55, paragraph 10.24)

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that all children’s case records (regulation 36) are kept up to date. This includes children’s risk assessments and risk management plans. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 62, paragraph 14.3)

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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 for children’s home: SC442886 10

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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

Emma Ridley, Social Care Regulatory Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: SC442886 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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Inspector

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Inspector

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Inspector

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