Children's home run by Darlington Borough Council in Darlington

Inspection report for children’s home: SC038237 1 SC038237 Registered provider: Darlington Borough Council Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This home provides short-break care for up to five children with sensory impairment, learning disabilities or physical disabilities. Two children were staying at the home during the inspection.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager was registered with Ofsted in May 2014.

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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: 22 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: SC038237 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

22/11/2022 Full Good 22/03/2022 Full Good 14/01/2020 Full Good 18/02/2019 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: SC038237 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are supported by a consistent team of staff who know them well. Before children come to live at the home, staff consult with families and other professionals who are working with the child to gather the information that they need. Each child introduced to the home has a series of visits suitable to their needs. When children move on from the home, staff support them to visit their new home. This helps children to build positive relationships with staff.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children stay in a well-equipped home with ample play equipment. Staff have developed social stories and use signs and pictures to make information displayed around the home easier for children to read and understand. Staff have replaced an outdoor area with a new garden room. This gives children an additional room to use for activities and interests. During the visit, one child was enjoying the garden, which is something they cannot do at home.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

A professional described that, for one child, when challenges in their personal life were particularly difficult, the home remained the stable place in their life. This contributes to the child being able to stay with their family and helps with their emotional well-being.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children have made progress from their starting points. This varies and is influenced by how frequently the children come to stay. However, one child is now brushing her teeth, for another child staying away from home is a huge achievement, and another child is becoming more confident with washing their hair. Children have opportunities to spend time with their friends, and the registered manager tries to accommodate this where possible.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff recognise and celebrate the children’s achievements and have developed a new book to try and capture the children’s views. The success of activities is captured through pictures and feedback from staff and children. The book is also used to capture individual work done with children in a planned way. This helps to capture children’s views.

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

Each child has a plan that identifies all known risks relating to them. The plans contain actions that should be followed by the staff to reduce the risk for each child. Appropriate staffing levels also help to mitigate risks to children’s safety. The risks to children are regularly reviewed.

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

Children are learning about fire safety processes. This is done gradually through direct sessions that teach children what to do in an evacuation. This is then practised with the children. The registered manager and staff are supporting Inspection report for children’s home: SC038237 4 children to understand what to do in the event of a fire and some of the children are beginning to engage more with this.

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

Children do not go missing from this home. However, the manager uses staff meetings to keep the knowledge of the staff up to date and to remind them of children’s missing-from-home plans and actions they would need to take if this happened. Staff also talk to children about how to stay safe in relationships, and they capture this in the children’s books. This reduces the risk of harm to children.

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

Staff do not use physical interventions, even though they are trained to do so. Staff use supportive strategies to help children if they become distressed. The registered manager also involves other agencies that promote children’s emotional well-being. Staff share clear expectations with children about behaviour in the home and role model this.

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

Staff are clear about their safeguarding responsibilities to children. There have been no reportable safeguarding incidents in the home since the last inspection. Information is shared well with those who care for the children daily. If children are noted to have any marks or physical injuries, the staff at the home speak to other professionals to ensure that the child is safe.

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

A risk assessment relating to the area in which the home is located was due for review. Local crime figures and details of local amenities were included in the current document. The assessment does not identify who was consulted as part of the risk assessment.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager cares about and supports the children and families who visit the home. Professionals and families describe the registered manager as having a flexible and responsive approach. Communication is a strength of the staff team. Staff are enthusiastic and support the home and service to keep developing.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager and staff recognise the achievements that some children make, and how important these are to children and families. They are beginning to monitor how staff capture these achievements and build on them. This helps children to continue to develop skills and become more independent.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager and senior staff ensure that all staff are regularly supervised. They use meetings and tools to reflect on the children’s experiences, needs and plans. Discussion about these takes place directly with staff and in team meetings. This helps staff to work consistently with children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager understands the strengths and development areas of the home. Professionals and family members acknowledge this. The registered manager works closely with and challenges other professionals when this is required. The focus always remains around the needs of the child. Inspection report for children’s home: SC038237 5 Staff are suitably trained for their role and new staff complete an induction programme. Staff receive specific training around children’s individual needs. Not all staff have completed communication training. The staff team is established and knowledgeable. The team supports children well. However, all staff should be trained to understand children’s sensory needs. Inspection report for children’s home: SC038237 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, 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 must review the appropriateness and suitability of the location of the premises used for the purposes of the children’s home at least once in each calendar year taking into account the requirement in regulation 12(2)(c) (the protection of children standard).

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Requirement Due date

When conducting the review, the registered person must consult, and take into account the views of, each relevant person. (Regulation 46 (1)(2)) 31 March 2024

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Recommendation

 The registered person should ensure that staff have the relevant skills and knowledge to be able to: respond to the health needs of children, help children to manage long-term conditions and, where necessary, meet specific individual health needs arising from a disability, chronic condition or other complex needs, in particular sensory needs of children. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 34, paragraph 7.12)

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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: SC038237 7

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Children’s home details

Registered Provider: Darlington Borough Council

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Town Hall, Feethams, Darlington DL1 5QT

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Children’s home details

Responsible individual: Christopher Bell

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Inspector

Carol Jagger, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: SC038237 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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Inspector

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Inspector

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Inspector

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T: 0300 123 1231 Textphone: 0161 618 8524 E: enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk W: www.gov.uk/ofsted Inspection report for children’s home: SC038237 9

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