Children's Home run by Derbyshire County Council in Derbyshire

Inspection report for children’s home: SC036248 1 SC036248 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

This home is run by a local authority and provides care and support for up to five children who have emotional or social needs.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager has been registered with Ofsted since 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 outstanding

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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 for children’s home: SC036248 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

13/04/2021 Full Good 04/09/2019 Full Requires improvement to be good 25/07/2018 Full Good 15/11/2017 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: SC036248 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children receive highly personalised care and support from a dedicated staff team. Children see the staff as ‘family’ and there is a family feel to the home. The quality of care provided has led to children making progress in all areas of their lives.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

A key strength of this home is in how well managers and staff work with other agencies and professionals. Regular meetings are used well to consider the developing needs of each child. As a result, high-quality care plans are in place for each child. Children feel that they have a say in any decisions about their care and in how the home is run. Similarly, parents feel fully involved in decision-making about their children.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The staff team works closely with the virtual school and has identified and sourced some imaginative education and training packages for children. Each child has a daily or weekly planner, outlining their educational activities and setting out clear expectations. Staff hold regular meetings with specialist agencies to consider how needs will be met. Although managers and staff work tirelessly to ensure that suitable education packages are identified for each child, attendance and engagement remain a challenge for some children.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children’s health needs are well understood and fully met. Staff ensure that timely and appropriate mental health services, counselling and other specialist services are provided. There is a strong focus on addressing children’s emotional health needs. This has led to children feeling able to share their experiences and feelings with staff. Trusting relationships between staff and children are a feature of this home, with children forming strong bonds with staff and managers over time.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children understand how to make a complaint and feel confident that any concerns they raise will be dealt with thoroughly. Children also have access to independent support and advocacy, should they want this. A consistent independent visitor comes to the home every month and engages with children, seeking their views and opinions.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Timely and careful transition planning takes place for older children as they prepare to leave the home. Staff hold regular transition meetings with relevant agencies, making sure to include family members whenever this is appropriate. Because children are provided with good information about their next steps, any stress or anxiety is minimised.

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

Staff fully understand children’s vulnerabilities. Risk assessments and risk- management plans are regularly reviewed and updated after any significant incident. Inspection report for children’s home: SC036248 4 Children are supported to learn how to manage their own behaviours and emotional responses in a safer manner.

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

Detailed missing-from-care risk assessments enable staff to protect children. This includes contacting children who are missing, actively searching for children and working closely with the police to identify any adults who may be harbouring children. One police officer who works closely with the staff and children stated, ‘I cannot fault the manager and her team. They report and update us regularly. We are particularly impressed with the family-run feel to the home, and the care and patience given to the children.’

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

Staff strive to educate children about reducing their vulnerabilities. This has proven effective, with a reduction in serious incidents as children develop better strategies to reduce risk, particularly the risk of exploitation. There has been some excellent work done to support one child. This has led to a marked reduction in vulnerability to criminal exploitation.

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

There is very little use of physical restraint. This reflects the good relationships between staff and children and the way that staff de-escalate potentially harmful situations.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

The registered manager has worked in the home for many years, both as a residential worker and a manager. She sets high expectations of the children and staff. She is well regarded and seen as a positive role model. Feedback from other agencies about the management of the home is consistently positive.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

Managers show a detailed understanding and awareness of the histories of the children in their care, as well as the progress that each child has made since moving to the home. Managers understand the value of ensuring that staff fully understand how children’s previous experiences have shaped their current behaviours and issues. As a result, staff are empathetic and child-focused in their approach.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

Staff support each other well and feel valued by their managers. They report receiving excellent inductions when starting their jobs, as well as ongoing training that equips them to meet children’s specific needs. Staff all receive regular formal supervision from managers. Reflective practice sessions are also provided. These enable staff to carefully consider their practice and to identify ways of improving the quality of care in the home.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

Managers understand the strengths and weaknesses of the home extremely well. A very reflective approach enables all staff to understand what has worked well and what has not. Managers listen carefully to the views of children and use these to improve the service provided.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

Recent consideration of a new child moving to the home by managers was excellent. Managers took great care to ensure that the child’s needs were well matched to Inspection report for children’s home: SC036248 5 existing residents and to the home. As a result, the child has settled into the home and is beginning to make progress. Inspection report for children’s home: SC036248 6

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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: SC036248 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 for children’s home: SC036248 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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