Children's Home run by Durham County Council in Durham

Inspection report for children’s home: SC035137 1 SC035137 Registered provider: Durham County Council 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 local authority. It provides care for up to three children who may have social and emotional difficulties. All three children were seen and spoken with during this inspection.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager registered with Ofsted in October 2019.

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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

Date of last inspection: 2 November 2021

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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: SC035137 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

02/11/2021 Full Good 17/06/2019 Full Good 09/04/2018 Full Good 16/05/2017 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: SC035137 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children enjoy trusting relationships with their carers, who provide a nurturing, supportive and homely environment where children make progress. One child said, ‘It is just like a big family, not always happy, but everything gets resolved in the end.’ This means that the children feel comfortable and supported in the presence of each other and the staff.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are treated with dignity and respect. They enjoy the consistency of care provided by a stable staff group. Children are helped to understand their behaviours and feelings in a variety of ways. Staff take time to talk to the children individually through planned and unplanned one-to-one chats. The family feel is none more apparent when the children sit down together with the staff to eat. Staff help the children to express themselves in this relaxed environment, sharing their thoughts and individual experiences. This helps the children to develop their confidence and well-being.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children have an independent advocate. This is an effective process, which enables the children to spend time with a familiar adult and to share their experiences and explore their feelings. This positively supports the child’s voice and aids their social development.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children achieve good health. Staff engage with relevant health professionals to ensure that the children’s emotional and physical health are supported. Staff ensure that effective communication and prompt action leads to the children receiving specialist support when required. This means that the children’s overall health and well-being are always prioritised.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are at various stages of their education and are doing well. However, staff are not always consistent in ensuring that the children who become less motivated are quickly engaged back into a structured day to avoid lethargy and lack of direction.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are encouraged and supported to attend after-school clubs, outdoor activities, visits to the local skate parks, and trips out to the cinema together. Personal interests and volunteer experiences are encouraged and supported through staff spending positive time with the children, exploring their interests and passions. As a result, children feel valued and respected.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children spend time with their families. Professionals spoke positively about the support that the staff and the manager provide to the children and their families. This provides the children with a sense of family and belonging. Additionally, this improves relationships and partnership working with the children’s families.

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

Inspection report for children’s home: SC035137 4 Children feel safe. Their behaviours and vulnerabilities are known by the staff, who are quick to address any areas of potential concern. Staff ensure that the children are provided with opportunities to discuss their feelings and any worries. As a result, children feel settled and cared for by trusted adults.

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

There have been no incidents of the children going missing from the home, or of serious safeguarding behaviours that require physical intervention since the last inspection. This safe and caring environment has enabled the children to flourish.

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

Children are encouraged to take part in their safe care and that of others through their involvement in promoting safety in the home. For example, the children all attended a course in being a ‘fire marshal’. They also helped the staff to understand how to use a fire extinguisher, for which each child received a certificate. The facilitator spoke highly of the children and their involvement in the course.

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

The home has installed external closed-circuit television, and the use of children’s bedroom alarms is practised by the manager and the staff. Risk assessments and consents from social workers are recorded and reviewed via auditing processes. However, the policy for the bedroom alarms is not fully followed. An example of this was seen during the inspection as the alarms were still on when not all the children had left for school. This unnecessary practice restricts and monitors the children’s movement around their home, outside of the agreed times.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager is qualified for the role and he is knowledgeable about the children in his care. He is supported by a recently appointed deputy manager and an experienced and stable staff team. Staff spoke well of the manager. One said, ‘He is always open to discuss with the staff any issues or concerns and is empathetic and well organised, and lets us play to our strengths.’

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Professionals spoken to through the course of the inspection expressed their appreciation of the effective communication between themselves, the staff and the manager. They were also complimentary about the consistency of care provided to the children, which has led to all the children making progress in a stable and nurturing environment.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff receive regular supervision and attend purposeful team meetings. They enable the staff to reflect on their practice and the progress that the children make. Any developing concerns are discussed openly and, collectively, strategies to support the children are considered, with agreed actions identified. This supports consistency of care to the children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

There is an electronic system in place for the staff to engage in their personal development review. However, there is uncertainty among the staff team about this process, which is in fact their annual appraisal. The manager is aware that this Inspection report for children’s home: SC035137 5 system currently limits the ability for him to appraise the performance of his staff effectively and, therefore, not all staff have had an annual appraisal.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager has a monthly monitoring system in place that helps him to identify what is happening in the home and areas for improvement. The quality of care documents and the progress of the children is further reviewed through the quality assurance manager completing her own audit. This, alongside the independent visitor’s scrutiny, is welcomed by the manager and supports the overall effective management of the home. Inspection report for children’s home: SC035137 6

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that the staff familiarise themselves with the written policy on the use of monitoring equipment in the home. In particular, if the children’s bedroom door alarms are to be used. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 16, paragraph 3.16)  The registered person should ensure that the children are encouraged to continue their education or training and support them until their 18th birthday. This will include supporting children to choose how to participate. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 28, paragraph 5.16)  The registered person should ensure that all staff receive a formal appraisal to evaluate their practice. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’ page 61, paragraph 13.5)

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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: SC035137 7

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Durham County Council

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: County Hall, Durham DH1 5UJ

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Inspector

Michael Dack, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: SC035137 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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