Children's Home run by Young Foundations Limited in Darlington

Inspection report children’s home: SC061439 1 SC061439 Registered provider: Young Foundations Limited Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

The home is owned and managed by a private provider. It provides care for up to five children who may have social and emotional difficulties and/or learning disabilities and/or mental health disorders.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager registered with Ofsted in September 2022.

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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 requires improvement to be 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: inadequate

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Enforcement action since last inspection:

Ofsted carried out a full inspection on 14 and 15 June 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 of the home. Ofsted issued three compliance notices under regulations 11, 12 and 13.

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Enforcement action since last inspection:

A monitoring visit was carried out on 9 August 2022 to monitor the action taken by the provider in response to the compliance notices. The inspector found that, since the previous inspection, the provider has taken action to improve the service and the three compliance notices have been met. Inspection report children’s home: SC061439 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

14/06/2022 Full Inadequate 28/09/2021 Full Good 27/08/2019 Full Good 31/07/2018 Full Outstanding Inspection report children’s home: SC061439 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

There were two children living in the home at the time of the inspection.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are happy living in this home. They feel safe, cared for and able to relax and spend time with each other and staff. One child said, ‘It is so much better living here now. I am not always waiting for something to happen.’ Another said, ‘The house is a lot quieter now. It is the best I have felt since I moved in.’

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are listened to and their opinions matter. Their views and wishes are obtained in a variety of ways throughout the day. This enables children to have a say in their day-to-day care and plans for their future. As a result, children feel important and valued.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are encouraged by staff to value education, and staff are supportive of children’s education. They welcome education professionals into the home and share their resource library to assist children’s learning. As a result, some children make significant progress and sit important exams. Others have begun the move to college, which is significant progress for them. One education professional described the staff as ‘fantastic’. They said that staff are extremely supportive of [name of child], which has made a difference. The education professional commented that staff have gone out of their way to help one child.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are provided with social opportunities which are suited to their unique needs. This helps the children to have positive experiences and to make friends, which promotes their emotional well-being. Staff take children to special events in line with their wishes, which gives them memorable experiences. This helps children to feel cared for.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are encouraged and supported to attend routine and specialist health appointments. This means that their health needs are met, sometimes for the first time. Children are helped to learn about different dietary needs and to understand how positive choices support good health.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are provided with particularly good support from the manager and staff when they transition on from the home. This is regardless of whether the move is planned or unplanned. Where possible, children are carefully prepared, emotionally and practically, and extensive co-working takes place with the new provision. The managers and staff are alert to children’s anxieties and are proactive in reducing them. The children have close relationships with the staff and find it difficult to move on from the home. Inspection report children’s home: SC061439 4

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improvement to be good

Incidents of self-harm have reduced considerably. Room searches and staff supervision of children are now consistent and effective. The children are content, feel safer and are making more positive choices. One child said, ‘Staff have helped me learn how to express my feelings.’

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improvement to be good

Children’s risk assessments and support plans are clear, concise and understood by staff. This means that staff have been able to prevent some situations escalating. Those incidents which have taken place have been responded to quickly and robustly by staff. As a result, children are better safeguarded.

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improvement to be good

Alternative placements are sought for children when their needs change and the home is no longer able to meet them. This ensures that children receive the care which is right for them. Additional safeguarding measures are sought for children when this is felt necessary for their protection. One professional described the staff as ‘really good advocates for [name of child]’. They said that the request was definitely right for the child.

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improvement to be good

A significant amount of direct work takes place with the children in both a planned way and as and when an issue arises, including after an incident. This enables children to raise and talk about any worries they may have and to reflect and learn. Staff are skilled in empathising with children. This helps children to talk things through without feeling judged.

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improvement to be good

Despite some of the improvements made, an identified risk has not been sufficiently explored by staff or addressed with one child. This means that the child is unaware of the potential impact of their behaviour on themself or of how to protect themself. As a result, the risk has increased.

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improvement to be good

There was a lengthy delay in Ofsted being notified of a serious incident. This oversight prevented Ofsted from having a timely understanding of this incident and being assured that all the necessary actions have been taken to safeguard the child.

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improvement to be good

Measures are in place and followed to ensure that new staff are recruited safely. This prevents unsuitable people being recruited to work with the children in this home.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Leaders and managers have made significant improvements to the home since the last inspection. They have devised auditing tools which enable the manager to monitor all aspects of the care that children receive. When shortfalls are identified, the manager acts swiftly to address any issues. This demonstrates her commitment to ensuring that children are well cared for. Inspection report children’s home: SC061439 5 The manager is a strong advocate for the children. She is proactive in challenging services when children’s plans are not progressing. She is successful in changing children’s plans when they no longer meet children’s needs. The manager has ensured that vital equipment was provided to aid a child’s learning.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff like working at the home. One member of staff described the home as an ‘exceptional’ place to work. Another said, ‘I love getting up every day and going to work, my job is amazing, and I wouldn’t change it for the world.’ Staff feel supported with work and personal issues. One staff member said, ‘I couldn’t ask for any more support.’

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The importance of staff development is recognised and invested in. There is an extensive induction programme for new staff and ongoing training opportunities for all staff, which are continually being added to. This enables staff to better understand and respond to children’s specific needs and risk issues. As a result, children receive improved care.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Team meetings and supervision sessions take place regularly. Staff are routinely praised by the managers and any areas of concern are fully addressed. Discussions take place around how best to meet the children’s needs, and staff are encouraged to contribute and share their ideas. This practice helps staff to feel important and involves the whole team in raising the standard of care that children receive.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff very much value the debriefs which take place with them after significant incidents because they provide them with an opportunity to reflect on what happened and identify any learning. It also enables the staff to receive emotional support, which helps them to continue to care for the children effectively. However, recently, staff have been left feeling disappointed as a debrief has not taken place following a particularly distressing incident. Inspection report children’s home: SC061439 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, 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

The protection of children standard is that children are protected from harm and enabled to keep themselves safe.

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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

help each child to understand how to keep safe;

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Requirement Due date

understand the roles and responsibilities in relation to protecting children that are assigned to them by the registered person. (Regulation 12 (1) (2)(a)(ii)(v)) 16 November

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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

a child is involved in or subject to, or is suspected of being involved in or subject to, sexual exploitation;

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Requirement Due date

an incident requiring police involvement occurs in relation to a child which the registered person considers to be serious;

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Requirement Due date

there is an allegation of abuse against the home or a person working there;

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Requirement Due date

a child protection enquiry involving a child—

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Requirement Due date

concludes (in which case, the notification must include the outcome of the child protection enquiry); or

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Requirement Due date

there is any other incident relating to a child which the registered person considers to be serious. (Regulation 40 (4)(a)(b)(c)(d)(i)(ii)(e)) 16 November Inspection report children’s home: SC061439 7

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Recommendation

 The registered person should oversee the welfare of the children in their care through engagement with the home’s staff. In particular, a debrief with staff should take place following every serious incident. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 54, paragraph 10.23)

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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: SC061439 8

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Young Foundations Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: 7 Grosvenor Street, Chester CH1 2DD

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Inspector

Emma Ridley, Social Care Inspector Inspection report children’s home: SC061439 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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