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 operated and managed by a local authority. The home provides care for up to three children with social and emotional difficulties. The manager registered with Ofsted in October 2019.

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Information about this children’s home

There were three children living in the home at the time of the inspection. The inspector spoke with all three children during this inspection.

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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: 21 November 2022

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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

21/11/2022 Full Good 02/11/2021 Full Good 17/06/2019 Full Good 09/04/2018 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: SC035137 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The children receive care and support from a nurturing, caring and committed staff team. The experienced and skilled staff know the children well. The staff are calm and supportive and listen to the children, whose views are valued and acted on. The children receive consistent care, which makes them feel safe and secure, and this, in turn, helps them to thrive.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The children have lived in the home for some time. The staff support the children when they are ready to move on to their next home. This includes the registered manager, staff team and professionals, and involves planning the move with the children. Staff support the children to prepare for adult life by involving them in food choices and creating simple menus. The children can take these recipes, along with photos, so that they can use them when they leave the home.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The children take part in a range of activities to expand their horizons. They attend voluntary work, take part in first aid and fire safety training, visit local parks, go swimming, as well as going on trips away from the home. Additionally, each child has an independent visitor who they go out with regularly. The staff support the children to visit their families where this is possible.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

All the children are in education or training and one child completes voluntary work. Some children are sitting exams. The children all make good progress in education. This prepares them for success in later life.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The children have several ways to express their views and take part in life decisions. This includes the children attending regular house meetings. If an incident occurs or the children make a request, the staff are responsive and talk to them about this. As a result, the children grow in confidence to share their views with adults. This also gives the children confidence and lets them know that their views are important.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The home is currently undergoing improvements. This includes the conservatory being made into a room which the children can use all year round. A shed has been built to store children’s bikes and scooters. The décor in the house is tired but decorators are booked. The home has a warm, homely and welcoming feel even with the ongoing works.

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

Children all said that they feel safe in the home and could identify a person who they would talk to if they were worried about anything. Children’s meetings with professionals are often held in the home, which gives other people the chance to see children in their home environment. One child said that they could talk to any member of staff in the home. This reflects the positive relationships and openness between children, staff and professionals. Inspection report for children’s home: SC035137 4 Children rarely go missing from care. On an occasion where a child wanted to stay out overnight, staff sensitively supported them. Staff put safeguards in place without damaging the relationship between themselves and the child. They use these opportunities to help the children to consider age-appropriate risks. This helps the children to learn how to stay safe, and also encourages the children to have open

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

There have been no incidents of children being held by the staff. This is due to the settled atmosphere and trusting relationships that the children have with the staff. The children’s risk assessments hold relevant and up-to-date information to guide staff if needed. The children manage their emotions and differences themselves with little support required from staff.

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

The staff support the children to lead healthy lifestyles. The children attend health appointments and the staff have conversations with the children about issues that they may require advice and support about. However, the staff do not always refer the children to more specialist services for guidance with their emotional well-being and health.

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

The registered manager is part of a group tasked with reviewing the policy and developing training on whistleblowing and staff conduct. Some staff have had discussions about whistleblowing in supervision recently. Staff were confident that they would respond and safeguard the children, but not all staff had a full and clear understanding of this process.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The experienced manager is respected by the children, staff team and professionals. He has a child-centred and calm approach and this is reflected within the team. All the children identify him as a trusted person.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The staff receive regular supervision, and the manager has adapted the appraisal process to ensure that it is meaningful to staff. This helps staff have a clear path for development.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff are qualified and trained to a high standard. Staff said that they are well supported and equipped to fulfil their role. The staff team makes sure that the children receive consistency of care, so they cover staff shortages instead of using agency staff.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager has good oversight of records and practice within the home. He looks at creative ways to improve systems to make them more efficient. This includes a new health and safety monitoring system that makes it easier to track repairs and services due. The manager is currently working with a local college to create an online children’s application through which children will present their views and ideas. Inspection report for children’s home: SC035137 5 The registered manager makes sure that he informs professionals, through the provision of regular reports, of the progress of children. He has ongoing communication with other people involved with the children. This good communication and open and honest approach ensure that children are supported well in all areas of their lives.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager is responsive to feedback, and promptly responds to improve staff’s practice. This includes the manager addressing the shortfalls from the last full inspection. The manager has focused on making sure that staff’s language and recording within records is child centred. This improved recording by staff helps the children who request access to their care records to better recall and understand their journey. Inspection report for children’s home: SC035137 6

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Recommendations

 The registered manager should ensure that staff are engaged in the safeguarding culture of the home so they understand what they would need to do if they found other staff misusing or abusing their position to the detriment of the safety of a child. ‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 43, paragraph 9.14)  The registered manager should ensure that the children’s homes staff should encourage children to take a proactive role in looking after their day-to-day health and well-being. When a child needs additional health or well-being support, staff should work with the child’s placing authority to enable proper and immediate access to any specialist medical, psychological, or psychiatric support required. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 34, paragraph 7.10)

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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 5UL

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Inspectors

Carol Jagger, Social Care Inspector Lisa Finch, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: SC035137 8 regulates and inspects 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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