Children's Home run by Stockton Borough Council in Stockton-on-Tees

Inspection report for children’s home: SC442886 1 SC442886 Registered provider: Stockton-on-Tees Borough Council Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This home is operated and managed by a local authority. It provides care for up to four children who may experience social and emotional difficulties. There were four children living in the home at the time of the inspection.

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Information about this children’s home

There is currently no registered manager in place. A manager has been appointed but has not yet applied to register with Ofsted.

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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: requires improvement to be good

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children’s home: SC442886 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

04/01/2023 Full Requires improvement to be good 15/03/2022 Full Outstanding 11/09/2019 Full Outstanding 22/01/2019 Full Outstanding Inspection report for children’s home: SC442886 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Some children have made significant progress since the last inspection. The cornerstone of the children’s progress is the positive relationships between them and a stable staff team. The staff provide consistency of care, which helps children to feel secure. These trusting relationships enable children to build a strong sense of identity, which helps them to achieve and have positive experiences.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are making progress in education. When barriers have been identified, the interim manager has taken quick and decisive action. He challenges professionals to bring about changes that are in the children’s best interests. Children said that they feel supported to attend education and succeed.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are able to regularly see their families, friends and those important to them. Children’s families are welcomed into the home. Staff also take children to see their families and offer them support when necessary. Children are encouraged to have friends, and staff recognise the importance of these relationships. Family members for two children told the inspector that they are very happy with the care their children receive and that staff are very supportive of their relationship.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are encouraged and supported to attend health appointments, so that their health needs are met in a timely way. Staff provide care that is sensitive to medical issues. This has improved the quality of life for one child. Children are encouraged to access specialist services for more complex health needs.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The children all attend a monthly meeting in the home, where they give their views and participate fully. The children’s meeting takes place before the team meeting. This means that staff are up to date with the views of the children, and their wishes can be responded to in a timely way. Notes from the children’s meeting are produced and are child-friendly and easy to understand. This provides the children with a record of their discussions and demonstrates that staff take what they say seriously.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The home has been redecorated since the last visit, and this has greatly improved how it looks and feels inside. There is additional work planned for both bathrooms, which will further enhance the children’s living environment. The home is now more comfortable and personalised to the children’s tastes and interests. However, not all children’s bedrooms are clean, and some furniture is damaged. This does not provide children with a comfortable private space where they can relax and is not in keeping with the rest of the home.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children who move into the home are well supported by staff. However, the written records for a child who recently moved into the home lacked the necessary detail. The records did not evidence the assessment that the manager had undertaken about the potential risks which may have affected all of the children in the home. Inspection report for children’s home: SC442886 4 Some records still contain stigmatising language. Those records frequently refer to children putting themselves at risk. This supports negative attitudes towards children in care. Children may request to see their records now or in the future and this language may result in them feeling blamed for their behaviour.

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

Staff are skilled in de-escalating children’s behaviours, which has resulted in a decrease in the use of physical intervention. When physical intervention is necessary to protect children from harm, this is carried out by appropriately trained staff. Debriefs are undertaken with children, which enables children to be heard and receive support. Children are helped to empathise and learn how their actions impact others. They are able to show remorse for their behaviours. Managers oversee this practice to ensure that it is proportionate and safe.

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

There has been a considerable reduction in the use of consequences for unwanted behaviours. Restorative approaches are used where possible. This gives children the opportunity to make amends. Management oversight ensures that the effectiveness of these measures is reviewed.

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

Incidents of children going missing from home have reduced and, as a result, children are safer. Staff know what to do when children go missing and their actions are swift. Staff actively look for children and make ongoing attempts to contact them. However, the police are not always provided with up-to-date information about the children. This could delay children being found.

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

Staff have an excellent grasp of children’s risks. They are assisted by individualised risk assessments that also help them to understand the children’s experiences and behaviours. However, for one child, a risk is incorrectly identified. In addition, the child is referred to by the wrong gender throughout the document. Both errors have gone unnoticed for a considerable length of time.

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

Work is undertaken with children in line with their care plans, including when an incident happens. This means that children are helped according to their fluctuating needs. Staff are creative in helping children to understand how unsafe choices may negatively affect their lives. Children learn about their emotions and how to manage them appropriately. They are able to talk to staff about their worries and, with support from staff, their risks significantly reduce. However, much of the important work caried out by staff with the children goes unrecorded. As a result, the manager is not able to fully scrutinise this work and ensure staff accountability.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The current manager has brought about significant improvements in the home. The staff team is more settled, and staff are confident in their abilities. This means that the children receive effective responses, including at difficult times. Inspection report for children’s home: SC442886 5 One staff member described seeing significant changes, and another said, ‘I do feel like we are getting the old [name of home] back, which is a great feeling.’ Staff follow the children’s routines and provide them with consistent care. Staff described a very supportive environment, where ‘nothing is too much for managers’.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

New staff are welcomed into the home and quickly settle. They are provided with a mentor who helps them to learn their role. The training provided means that staff are able to understand trauma and how this affects children. This helps them to better meet the needs of the children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Debriefs that take place after serious incidents are valued by staff. They provide staff with an opportunity to reflect on what took place and identify what they have learned. They also receive emotional support, which in turn helps them to meet the emotional needs of the children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Team meetings and supervision take place regularly. The children and any safeguarding concerns are central to both. Staff are encouraged to contribute and share their ideas. This practice helps staff to feel empowered and also involves the whole team in raising the standard of care that children receive.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

While some important documents have evidence of management oversight, others are not reviewed and, therefore, shortfalls have not been identified. In addition, it is often unclear which managers and staff review documents. While children undoubtedly make progress, this is not captured in the children’s plans. This does not provide children with an accurate account of their progress.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The six-monthly quality of care review completed by the manager does not sufficiently review the quality of care provided for children. There is also a lack of feedback from children about the children’s home, its facilities and the quality of care they receive. This means that areas for development may be overlooked. Inspection report for children’s home: SC442886 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

take effective action whenever there is a serious concern about a child’s welfare. (Regulation 12 (1) (2)(a)(vi))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, ensure that each child’s Philomena Protocol documents are up to date and include known addresses. 26 July 2023

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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

use monitoring and review systems to make continuous improvements in the quality of care provided in the home. (Regulation 13 (1)(a)(b) (2)(h)) 26 July 2023

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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

include the information and documents listed in Schedule 3 in relation to each child;

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Requirement Due date

are signed and dated by the author of each entry. 26 July 2023 Inspection report for children’s home: SC442886 7 (Regulation 36 (1)(a)(b)(c))

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must complete a review of the quality of care provided for children ("a quality of care review") at least once every 6 months.

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Requirement Due date

In order to complete a quality of care review the registered person must establish and maintain a system for monitoring, reviewing and evaluating—

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Requirement Due date

the quality of care provided for children;

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Requirement Due date

the feedback and opinions of children about the children’s home, its facilities and the quality of care they receive in it; and

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Requirement Due date

any actions that the registered person considers necessary in order to improve or maintain the quality of care provided for children. (Regulation 45 (1) (2)(a)(b)(c)) 26 July 2023

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that the children’s home is a nurturing and supportive environment that meets the needs of the children and provides a homely, domestic environment. In particular, ensure that children’s bedrooms are tidy and that damaged items and furniture are swiftly repaired or replaced. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 15, paragraph 3.9)  The registered person should ensure that staff are familiar with the home’s policies on record-keeping and understand the importance of careful, objective and clear recording. Staff should record information on individual children in a non-stigmatising way. Information about the child must always be recorded in a way that will be helpful to the child. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 62, paragraph 14.4)

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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: SC442886 8

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Stockton-on-Tees Borough Council

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Municipal Buildings, Church Road, Stockton-on- Tees, Cleveland TS18 1LD

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Inspectors

Emma Ridley, Social Care Inspector Gail McGann, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: SC442886 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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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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