Children's home run by Duty of Care Limited in County Durham

Inspection report for children’s home: SC476602 1 SC476602 Registered provider: Duty of Care Limited Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This home is owned and managed by a private provider. It provides care for up to three children who experience social and emotional difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager registered with Ofsted in August 2021.

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Information about this children’s home

At the time of this inspection, two children were living in the home.

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Information about this children’s home

Inspectors were aware during this inspection that serious child protection allegations were being investigated by the appropriate authorities. While Ofsted does not have the power to investigate allegations of this kind, actions taken by the setting in response to the allegations were considered, where appropriate, alongside other evidence available at the time of the inspection to inform the inspectors’ judgements.

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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: good

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children’s home: SC476602 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

15/08/2022 Full Good 21/12/2021 Interim Sustained effectiveness 16/08/2021 Full Requires improvement to be good 16/10/2019 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: SC476602 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children say that they are happy. Both children moved in to the home around the same time and have lived there for six years. This has given them stability, allowing meaningful relationships to develop with staff. When coming home, children chat about their day freely, wanting staff to know how they have been getting on.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff provide good support to children with their education. One child attends a mainstream school. They are about to start their final GCSE year. The other is in a provision that is tailored to their learning needs. Both have a positive approach to learning and are achieving their milestones. The daily routine in the home allows children to learn new skills for later life and their independence.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The activities arranged by staff ensure that children’s interests are promoted. One child spoke about going out at weekends to see cars, which is their favourite thing to do. Another child has their artwork displayed in the home so that everyone can see their painting success. Staff take photos of special occasions and trips. This makes sure that children have memories to take with them when they leave the home.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Specialist support is available for children’s emotional well-being. Both children go to their appointments regularly. This allows children to talk about trauma and process what has happened to them in the past. Staff also encourage children to make connections to how they feel. These discussions help children to understand their feelings and behaviour.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff recognise the importance of children staying in contact with people who are important to them. This includes sending a monthly newsletter to families, which keeps them up to date. A family member said that she was grateful for the time that staff spend building these relationships.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The home is comfortable, with a calm atmosphere. Children can eat dinner together with staff, which gives them time to talk and catch up. There has been an issue with the roof leaking during a heavy rainstorm. However, the manager has taken steps to remedy this before the winter.

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

Staff understand the children’s individual risks and vulnerabilities. They know the needs of each child and how best to help and support them. Staff also benefit from the detailed information within the children’s risk assessments and behaviour support plans.

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

However, the manager and staff could not give a clear explanation why the door alarms were always activated on the children’s bedroom doors. It was not clear Inspection report for children’s home: SC476602 4 whether this was due to a safeguarding concern, and the reason for their use was not reflected in the children’s plans. The children say that they want the door alarms to remain in place. The manager will keep this under review.

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

Staff emotionally support children, and this reduces the need for staff to physically hold children to keep them and others safe. However, the staff have been trained so that if they need to physically intervene they can do so safely.

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

Rewards and incentives are used to help children to understand their feelings and behaviours. Consequences are rarely given. This supports the therapeutic approach used by staff when responding to children’s needs. Targeted discussions and work are carried out by staff to educate children and reduce risks, for example, around vaping or e-safety. Children are encouraged to make safer decisions.

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

The manager has responded appropriately to a recent serious allegation. The manager and staff acted promptly to ensure the child’s safety. Staff followed procedures to ensure that safeguarding professionals were informed. There is a multi-agency approach to safeguard children. Furthermore, the manager took action to ensure that the child involved received the necessary help, which includes access to therapeutic support.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager is enthusiastic and wants the best for children. She has a good understanding, and is empathetic to the children’s journeys before they moved to the home. The manager’s child-centred approach filters down to the small, cohesive staff team. Staff are knowledgeable about the children, their needs and how best to care for them.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager is aware of the staff team’s strengths and the challenges that they face. She is open about the continued difficulties in the recruitment of staff. To provide consistency of care for the children, the manager and the deputy manager continue to cover the staff shortages. This is instead of using agency staff.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager and her deputy work well together. The managers have addressed most of the shortfalls identified at the last inspection. This includes improving the monitoring and review systems. However, the manager does not always scrutinise the consequences issued by staff to make sure that they are fair and proportionate.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Leaders and managers have worked alongside, and cooperated with safeguarding agencies following a serious allegation. This was thoroughly investigated by the provider and lessons have been learnt to enhance safeguarding arrangements. These include the manager making changes to staff sleep-in arrangements, staffing ratios, a review of documentation, and increased safeguarding discussions during supervision sessions with staff. An external consultant also holds meetings with staff to help them understand the children’s needs. Inspection report for children’s home: SC476602 5 Staff said that the management team supports them well. Staff said that they do not have to wait for formal supervision sessions as they can have discussions with managers naturally throughout the day. The staff benefit from the regular team meetings, supervision and training. These ensure that staff have the up-to-date knowledge to inform the care of the children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

There is good collaboration with other professionals. One professional said that the staff at the home are ‘amazing’. Professionals spoke of the progress that children make, and know that staff look after them well. The manager seeks feedback from others to help to plan any future changes and developments at the home. Inspection report for children’s home: SC476602 6

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Statutory requirements

This section sets out the actions that the registered person must take to meet the Care Standards Act 2000, The 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 registered person may only use devices for the monitoring or surveillance of children if—

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Requirement Due date

the monitoring or surveillance is for the purpose of safeguarding and promoting the welfare of the child concerned, or other children. (Regulation 24 (1)(a)) 31 December

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Recommendation

 The registered person should ensure that all incidents of control, discipline and restraint are subject to systems of regular scrutiny to ensure that their use is fair, and reflect the ethos of the home. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 45, paragraph 9.36) Inspection report for children’s home: SC476602 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 standard’. Inspection report for children’s home: SC476602 8

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Duty of Care Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: 13 Front Street, Staindrop, Darlington, County Durham DL2 3LZ

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Children’s home details

Responsible individual: David Heartfield

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Inspectors

Miriam Dolman, Social Care Inspector Cat Makel, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: SC476602 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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