Children's Home run by Doncaster Children‟s Services Trust Limited in Doncaster

Inspection report for children’s home: SC481439 1 SC481439 Registered provider: Doncaster Children’s Services Trust Limited Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This local authority children’s home provides care for up to six children who may have social and emotional difficulties. There are currently three children living at the home.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager has been registered with Ofsted since February 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 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 for children’s home: SC481439 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

27/04/2021 Full Good 08/05/2019 Full Requires improvement to be good 13/12/2018 Interim Declined in effectiveness 17/04/2018 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: SC481439 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children feel safe, secure and happy as they have trusting relationships with staff. Staff know the children and what children like to do. Staff understand the children’s worries and needs as they spend time talking things through. Children say that staff are helpful and fun.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff promote children’s friendships. Staff have good relationships with children’s friends, their parents and families, and support children to learn about managing healthy relationships. Friends visit the home and children go for sleepovers. Children have longstanding friendships.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children have new experiences as a result of living at this home. They have fun engaging in the various activities they take part in. One child said that a trip to Wembley with staff and a friend was ‘probably the best day of my life.’

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff value children’s education. Collaborative working with education professionals and good daily routines support children to attend school and learn. Staff and children are proud of their exam results and, together, they celebrate children’s success. For one child, staff organised a limousine ride and an end-of-year prom at the home.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

One child is the home’s ‘voice champion’. Children apply and are interviewed for this role. Children learn key life skills and how to express their views. Access to an advocate is available for children, and the home’s ‘hub’ is an interactive area where children access information. Children currently have no cause for complaint as they know what is going on in their lives and feel listened to.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are well matched to live together. Before moving in, children visit the home and get to know the manager and staff and receive a welcome guide. This helps children to settle in quickly as they understand what to expect and who will be looking after them.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The manager takes into account the needs and feelings of all children. Children have positive endings to their time at the home, even when they move sooner than planned.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children personalise their bedrooms and choose the play equipment they need for the games room. Children live in a comfortable and homely environment.

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

Staff work with partner agencies when there are concerns around children’s safety, and these discussions alert staff to increases in risk. Staff follow clear support Inspection report for children’s home: SC481439 4 strategies in children’s plans. Children feel safe living at the home and are protected because of this response.

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

Training in therapeutic approaches enables staff to support children who experience crisis situations effectively. Children improve how they manage their feelings and emotions as they work towards targets set by staff. Staff teach children to take responsibility for their actions. Incidents of aggression for one child have reduced significantly over a sustained period of time.

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

Staff do not receive formal training in managing self-injurious behaviour. Staff do, however, help children to seek medical and therapeutic support as they have informative risk assessments and consult with a child and adolescent mental health practitioner.

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

Children spend time with friends in their local area and the staff forge good relationships with neighbours. Staff talk to children about issues such as exploitation and anti-social behaviour which increases their personal safety. The location risk assessment identifies potential risks in the local area; however, it does not include how the manager mitigates against these risks. The document is unclear about what steps the manager takes to protect children and determine that their home is in a safe place to live.

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

The manager investigates allegations made against members of staff and informs the local authority designated officer. The provider’s timescales for sharing information with professionals have not always been adhered to. This means that they have not received advice from professionals on the action to take. Children are consulted and receive feedback about the outcome. This helps to keep children safe and kept informed.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager promotes a positive culture of nurture for children and staff development. The staff work collectively to fulfil the ethos of the home. A professional stated that the staff’s approach to care is ‘corporate parenting in its truest form’.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager is a strong advocate for children and challenges others to minimise delays in the care and support children receive.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Reflective practice and support for staff extends from regular meetings with their supervisor to include clinical supervision, group debriefs and guest speakers attending team meetings. Staff enjoy working at this home, as they feel well supported and have opportunities to develop their career.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

There is inconsistent evaluation in some children’s missing-from-home and restraint records. This does not provide clarity about the manager’s views on how well staff help and protect children. Inspection report for children’s home: SC481439 5 The manager’s quality-of-care review and regular audits provide oversight and analysis of the day-to-day running of the home. External monitoring is inconsistent. At times, there have been delays in the reporting and not all records include a definitive view of children’s safety and well-being. The manager recognises the need for improvements for external monitoring processes as they value the scrutiny that monthly visits by an independent person bring.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Not all notifications have been submitted to the regulator in a timely way. This limits the regulator’s understanding of how the manager applies procedures to safeguard children and staff. Inspection report for children’s home: SC481439 6

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Statutory requirements

This section sets out the actions that the registered person 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 must comply within the given timescales.

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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

use monitoring and review systems to make continuous improvements in the quality of care provided in the home. (Regulation 13 (2)(h))

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that they record an evaluation of the use of restrictive physical intervention and the action taken in response to children being missing from care. 17 June 2022

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Requirement Due date

The procedure to be followed in the event of an allegation of abuse or neglect must, in particular—

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Requirement Due date

provide for liaison and co-operation with any local authority which are, or may be, making a child protection enquiry in relation to a child accommodated in the home. (Regulation 34 (2)(b))

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that the timescales for referring matters to the local authority designated officer are adhered to. 17 June 2022

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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

there is an allegation of abuse against the home or a person working there. (Regulation 40 (4)(c)) 17 June 2022

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must review the appropriateness and suitability of the location of the premises used for the purposes of the children’s home at least once in each calendar year taking into account the requirement in regulation 12(2)(c) (the protection of children standard). 17 June 2022 Inspection report for children’s home: SC481439 7 (Regulation 46 (1))

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Requirement Due date

This specifically relates to the locality risk assessment, including the strategies that are in place to mitigate risk.

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that staff access training in self-injurious behaviour. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 53, paragraph 10.11)  The registered person should ensure that an independent person completes a monthly visit to the home and that their report is shared within agreed timescales inclusive of the independent person’s opinion on the home’s arrangements for safeguarding and promoting the welfare of the children in the home’s care. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 65, paragraph 15.5, 15.7)

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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: SC481439 8

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Doncaster Children’s Services Trust Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Colonnades House, Duke Street, Doncaster, South Yorkshire DN1 1ER

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Children’s home details

Responsible individual: Catherine Richardson

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Inspector

Alexandra Howitt, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: SC481439 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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