Children's Home run by Active Young People Limited in Stockton-on-Tees

Inspection report for children’s home – monitoring visit: 2625941 1 Registered provider: Huntercombe Young People Ltd

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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 company. In March 2022, the company applied to vary its conditions of registration to only provide care for up to nine children who have learning disabilities or who have social and/or emotional difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

The home changed ownership in March 2021 and the manager registered with Ofsted at that time. She is currently away from the home. The responsible individual currently manages the home with support from other managers.

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This monitoring visit

Ofsted carried out a full inspection on 22 and 23 February 2022 and judged the home to be inadequate. Serious and widespread failures were identified in relation to the safety and protection of children and the leadership and management of the home. Ofsted issued three compliance notices under regulations 12, 13 and 32.

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This monitoring visit

This visit was carried out to monitor the action taken by the provider in response to the compliance notices. The inspector found that since the last inspection, the provider has taken some action to improve the service. However, some of the steps in the compliance notices have not been met and two notices, under regulation 13 and 32, have been reissued in part.

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This monitoring visit

The quality of safeguarding practice is improving. Safeguarding incidents are now dealt with, and where necessary, staff duties are appropriately restricted to protect children from the risk of harm.

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This monitoring visit

Leaders now challenge external agencies when their actions or inactions are not in children’s best interests. For example, managers arrange regular meetings to discuss Inspection report for children’s home – monitoring visit: 2625941 2 children’s needs and to ensure partnership working. As a result, children receive better planned care that reflects their individual needs.

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This monitoring visit

All staff, including agency staff, are being trained to use physical restraint should this measure of control be required to protect children or others from the immediate risk of harm. Managers ensure that staff who have yet to complete this training do not work with those children most likely to require this level of support. This means that when children are in crisis and pose a risk to themselves or others, only competent staff support them.

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This monitoring visit

There is still a reliance on the daily use of agency staff. However, managers now make sure that when agency staff are used, this has the least disruptive impact on the children. For example, using agency staff at night means that during the day children are surrounded by more familiar staff. This means that the children are experiencing more consistent care and support from people that they know.

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This monitoring visit

Agency staff now read the children’s risk assessments and care plans before working with them. Senior staff explore with agency staff whether they are able to understand the children’s needs and know how to support them. They also explore whether agency staff understand their role and responsibilities. This ensures that children receive better care and support.

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This monitoring visit

Managers have made improvements to the information held about agency staff. This includes ensuring that previous training is relevant to the needs of the children in this home. However, there are still some gaps in the information held. For example, there is no confirmation regarding who has provided the agency staff members’ references and what their previous work experience is. This does not provide assurance that these staff have the skills and experience to meet children’s needs. In addition, there is no system in place to verify that agency staff’s Disclosure and Barring Service certificates have been updated when required. These shortfalls mean that the suitability of agency staff to work with the children cannot be confirmed and this places children at risk of harm.

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This monitoring visit

The provider has completed its own internal audit of the home and has implemented an improvement plan to address the shortfalls. Managers have made some improvements to the monitoring systems in the home. However, these need to be personalised to this service, and tested and embedded in practice to ensure that managers have oversight of staff practice, and the care and support that children receive. Furthermore, managers still need to implement a system to ensure that recommendations made by the independent visitor are fulfilled in a timely way.

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This monitoring visit

The remaining 10 requirements raised at the full inspection were not reviewed as part of this monitoring visit. These will be assessed at the next inspection. Inspection report for children’s home – monitoring visit: 2625941 3

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

22/02/2022 Full Inadequate Inspection report for children’s home – monitoring visit: 2625941 4

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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

In meeting the quality standards, the registered person must, and must ensure that staff—

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Requirement Due date

if the registered person considers, or staff consider, a placing authority’s or a relevant person’s performance or response to be inadequate in relation to their role, challenge the placing authority or the relevant person to seek to ensure that each child’s needs are met in accordance with the child’s relevant plans. (Regulation 5 (c)) 18 May 2022

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Requirement Due date

The quality and purpose of care standard is that children receive care from staff who—

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Requirement Due date

understand the children’s home’s overall aims and the outcomes it seeks to achieve for children;

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Requirement Due date

use this understanding to deliver care that meets children’s needs and supports them to fulfil their potential.

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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

ensure that the premises used for the purposes of the home are designed and furnished so as to—

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Requirement Due date

enable each child to participate in the daily life of the home. (Regulation 6 (1)(a)(b) (2)(c)(i)(ii)) 18 May 2022

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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—

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Requirement Due date

that staff— 18 May 2022 Inspection report for children’s home – monitoring visit: 2625941 5 help each child to achieve the child’s education and training targets, as recorded in the child’s relevant plans;

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Requirement Due date

understand the barriers to learning that each child may face and take appropriate action to help the child to overcome any such barriers;

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Requirement Due date

help each child to understand the importance and value of education, learning, training and employment;

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Requirement Due date

raise any need for further assessment or specialist provision in relation to a child with the child’s education or training provider and the child’s placing authority; and

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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;

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Requirement Due date

help each child to attend education or training in accordance with the expectations in the child’s relevant plans. (Regulation 8 (1) (2)(a)(i)(iii)(iv)(vii)(viii)(x))

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Requirement Due date

The health and well-being standard is that—

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Requirement Due date

the health and well-being needs of children are met;

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Requirement Due date

children receive advice, services and support in relation to their health and well-being. (Regulation 10 (1)(a)(b)) 18 May 2022

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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

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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; 18 May 2022 Inspection report for children’s home – monitoring visit: 2625941 6 ensure that staff have the experience, qualifications and skills to meet the needs of each child;

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Requirement Due date

ensure that the home has sufficient staff to provide care for each child;

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Requirement Due date

ensure that the home’s workforce provides continuity of care to each child; 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)(c)(d)(e)(h))

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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. (Regulation 14 (1)(a))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person must ensure that impact risk assessments are completed for each child before their admission and consider any training needs for the staff team. 18 May 2022

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Requirement Due date

the privacy of children is appropriately protected;

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Requirement Due date

children can access all appropriate areas of the children’s home’s premises; and

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Requirement Due date

any limitation placed on a child’s privacy or access to any area of the home’s premises—

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Requirement Due date

is intended to safeguard each child accommodated in the home;

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Requirement Due date

is kept under review and, if necessary, revised; and

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Requirement Due date

allows children as much freedom as is possible when balanced against the need to protect them and keep them safe. (Regulation 21 (a)(b)(c)(i)(ii)(iii)(iv)) 18 May 2022

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Requirement Due date

*The registered person must recruit staff using recruitment procedures that are designed to ensure children’s safety.

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Requirement Due date

The registered person may only— 18 May 2022 Inspection report for children’s home – monitoring visit: 2625941 7 employ an individual to work at the children’s home; or

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Requirement Due date

if an individual is employed by a person other than the registered person to work at the home in a position in which the individual may have regular contact with children, allow that individual to work at the home, if the individual satisfies the requirements in paragraph (3).

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Requirement Due date

the individual is of integrity and good character;

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Requirement Due date

the individual has the appropriate experience, qualification and skills for the work that the individual is to perform;

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Requirement Due date

the individual is mentally and physically fit for the purposes of the work that the individual is to perform; and

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Requirement Due date

full and satisfactory information is available in relation to the individual in respect of each of the matters in Schedule 2. (Regulation 32 (1) (2)(a)(b) (3)(a)(b)(c)(d))

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Requirement Due date

ensure that each employee completes an appropriate induction.

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that all employees—

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Requirement Due date

undertake appropriate continuing professional development;

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Requirement Due date

receive practice-related supervision by a person with appropriate experience; and

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Requirement Due date

have their performance and fitness to perform their roles appraised at least once every year. (Regulation 33 (1)(a) (4)(a)(b)(c)) 18 May 2022

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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

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Requirement Due date

the measures of control, discipline and restraint which may be used in relation to children in the home. 18 May 2022 Inspection report for children’s home – monitoring visit: 2625941 8 The registered person must ensure that—

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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. (Regulation 35 (1)(a)(b) (3)(b)(i))

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must maintain records (“case records”) for each child which—

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Requirement Due date

are signed and dated by the author of each entry. (Regulation 36 (1)(b)(c)) 18 May 2022

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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)) 18 May 2022

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Requirement Due date

* These requirements are subject to a compliance notice.

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Information about this inspection

The purpose of this visit was to monitor the action taken and the progress made by the children’s home since its last Ofsted inspection.

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Information about this inspection

This inspection was carried out under the Care Standards Act 2000. Inspection report for children’s home – monitoring visit: 2625941 9

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Huntercombe Young People Ltd

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Morton House, Morton Road, Darlington DL1 4PT

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Inspector

Emma Ridley, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home – monitoring visit: 2625941 10 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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