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

Inspection report for children’s home: SC456710 1 SC456710 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.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager registered with Ofsted in March 2022 and is suitably qualified for the role.

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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: outstanding

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children’s home: SC456710 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

16/08/2022 Full Outstanding 29/06/2021 Full Good 28/01/2020 Full Good 16/01/2019 Full Outstanding Inspection report for children’s home: SC456710 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children in this home are loved and valued by the caring staff team. Children have consistently good experiences while living in the home. This is because staff understand and respond to their individual needs.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff interact warmly with children. This reflects the home’s ethos of a family environment. The children have trusting relationships with staff. They can talk about their experiences, and staff provide practical solutions to overcome challenges that children face.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Relationships with families and professionals are positive. One family member said, ‘The staff are just amazing.’ Professionals speak highly of the quality of care that children receive and the communication between themselves and the home. The manager and staff advocate for children when they believe their rights are not met. For example, when education providers do not follow children’s agreed plans of care, the manager responds quickly to challenge this.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff provide an environment where children develop strong friendships with each other. They offer individual and group activities, such as high ropes courses and camping holidays, which help children to develop team-building and resilience skills. One child described their relationship with another peer who lives in the home as ‘mint’ and said, ‘They are my best bud, we hang out a lot.’

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children make consistently good progress. This is because the team works creatively to help children overcome the barriers they face. All children attend education that is appropriate and meaningful to their learning needs. The staff provide additional home tutoring to children on topics they are finding difficult. As a result, some children are now exceeding their expected grades. One teacher said, ‘They treat the children like their own and that’s what you can expect from them.’

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff celebrate children’s experiences and achievements, big and small. Children’s photos and certificates are proudly displayed in the home. Children and staff have recently supported one child, who is part of a drama school. They all attended her first show, which is reported to have been a huge success. Staff have a clear sense of pride about the children’s achievements.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff meet children’s physical and emotional health needs. They ensure that children attend their routine health appointments. Staff receive therapeutic training to support children’s emotional health needs. When staff do not have the specialist skills required to help children, the manager works with health professionals to provide appropriate support.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children contribute towards the decision-making in the home. Staff value the children’s views, wishes and feelings. Children say that they like attending the Inspection report for children’s home: SC456710 4 monthly group meetings. This is because they can plan group and individual activities. They have regular themed events, such as Pride, Easter egg hunts and hot tub parties, which the children help to organise. The children’s involvement in the running of the home provides them with a sense of security and belonging.

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

Children have personalised missing-from-home plans, which are effective during the daytime hours. However, there is a reduction in the number of staff on shift at night. The on-call arrangements are not sufficient to ensure that children’s plans are followed. This means that when children are missing from home at night, staff are not able to leave the home to look for them. This is not in keeping with the safeguarding aims of the home and means that children may be at increased risk of harm.

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

Staff receive regular training which is specific to children’s individual needs and risks. The manager invites guest speakers to staff meetings to discuss specific areas of safeguarding practice. This supports staff’s knowledge and understanding and develops the skills they require to meet children’s needs.

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

Staff understand the risks to children. They develop risk assessments which are detailed and provide clarity about what action should be taken to keep children safer. Assessments are regularly updated and consider the views of partner agencies and the children. Staff work directly with children to educate them about their risks and how to make safer choices.

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

Staff are vigilant to changes in children’s behaviour and mood. When changes occur, staff take prompt action to support children. Staff are effective in preventing situations from escalating. Staff reflect with children about their feelings and behaviour. They offer alternative coping strategies to help children to learn how to stay calm. As a result, there have been no incidents of restraint since the last inspection.

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

Children have age-appropriate boundaries that are consistently reinforced by staff. For example, children are asked to hand in their mobile phones at night to help promote healthy sleep patterns. When children are ready to have a greater level of autonomy over their mobile phones, staff work with the child to manage this safely. This helps children to develop positive routines and work towards independence.

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

Consequences are used to support children’s learning and not as a punishment. Direct work is carried out with children following any incidents. This helps children to understand their actions and any associated risks. Recording of consequences is not consistent. Some of the reports lack detail, which makes it difficult to understand the rationale for the consequence being given and what impact it has for the child.

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

When staff have concerns about children, they may carry out a search of the child’s bedroom. When possible and appropriate, staff seek children’s permission to search Inspection report for children’s home: SC456710 5 their bedrooms. However, this is not always recorded clearly in the children’s records.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager’s vision for the home is admirable. The manager and her deputy work dynamically to ensure that children’s needs are met and that all children make progress. Managers have high aspirations for children and staff, and they accept nothing less than good outcomes for the children they support.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The children are cared for by a united team of staff who work collaboratively in line with the children’s plans. However, recent changes to their working patterns have had a negative impact on staff morale and well-being. The manager strongly advocates on behalf of their team and has challenged leaders about these changes. Staff report feeling tired due to long working hours. This may begin to impact on the resilience of staff and therefore the standards of care provided to children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff value the manager and the ethos she brings to the home. Staff supervision sessions are incredibly thorough and follow a comprehensive agenda. They are reflective and provide the team with opportunities to evaluate the effectiveness of the care children receive. The manager supports staff with personal issues at home and at work. As a result, staff feel supported and respected.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager holds regular team meetings to discuss the children and team dynamics. This promotes consistency in practice across the staff team and provides a platform for reflective discussion.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The team of staff have a diverse range of skills. They receive mandatory training in line with the organisation’s policy. The manager sources additional training for the staff. This helps to ensure that all staff have the relevant skills and knowledge required to meet the children’s needs.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager promotes an inclusive environment where children thrive. She educates children about equality and diversity through hosting themed events. Children take part in the planning of these events and report that they thoroughly enjoy them.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager scrutinises the performance of the home. She consults with families, professionals and children to review how they feel about the service and how the needs of the children are being met. The manager uses internal and external monitoring activities to understand the home’s strengths and areas for development. Inspection report for children’s home: SC456710 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

assess whether each child is at risk of harm, taking into account information in the child’s relevant plans, and, if necessary, make arrangements to reduce the risk of any harm to the child;

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Requirement Due date

take effective action whenever there is a serious concern about a child’s welfare; and

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Requirement Due date

that the home’s day-to-day care is arranged and delivered so as to keep each child safe and to protect each child effectively from harm. (Regulation 12 (1) (2)(a)(i)(vi)(b))

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Requirement Due date

This specifically relates to the impact of staffing arrangements on support for children who go missing from the home at night. 4 August 2023

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Recommendation

 The registered person should ensure that staff are familiar with the home’s policies on record-keeping and understand the importance of careful and clear recording. In particular, records of children’s bedroom searches should include information about whether the child was present and if they provided consent. If this is not the case, staff should record the reason why the search has gone ahead. Records of consequences should include clear information about the rationale for the consequence being given. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 62, paragraph 14.4) Inspection report for children’s home: SC456710 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: SC456710 8

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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

Beth Forster, Social Care Inspector Emma Ridley, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: SC456710 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 looked after children, safeguarding and child protection.

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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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