Children's Home run by Durham County Council in Durham

Inspection report for children’s home: 2728373 1 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. It provides care for up to four children with social and emotional difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

This is the first inspection since the home registered in May 2023. There has been no registered manager at the home since February 2024. There is an interim manager in post.

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Information about this children’s home

There were two children living at the home at the time of inspection. The inspector spoke with one child at this inspection.

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Overall experiences and progress of

children and young people, taking into account outstanding

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Overall experiences and progress of

How well children and young people are helped and protected outstanding

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Overall experiences and progress of

The effectiveness of leaders and managers outstanding

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Overall experiences and progress of

The children’s home provides highly effective services that consistently exceed the standards of good. The actions of the children’s home contribute to significantly improved outcomes and positive experiences for children and young people who need help, protection and care.

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Overall experiences and progress of

Overall judgement at last inspection: not applicable

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Overall experiences and progress of

Enforcement action since last inspection: not applicable Inspection report for children’s home: 2728373 2

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outstanding

The manager and staff provide children with a home in which they feel safe, valued and loved. Children grow in self-confidence and have improved self-esteem because of the excellent care and support that they receive.

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outstanding

The atmosphere in the home is warm, welcoming and positive. Children say that they like their home. This creates a real sense of belonging for children. One child said, ‘The staff are just like family.’

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outstanding

A therapeutic approach is used consistently by staff and woven throughout all aspects of the children’s care. Children trust the staff and seek comfort from them. Staff respond to the children with patience, warmth and respect. Children enjoy the time that they spend with staff, which supports children to develop strong and positive relationships with them.

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outstanding

Education is highly valued by staff and there is excellent communication with the head of the virtual school. Considerable focus is placed on ensuring that the right provision is in place for children to help them to reach their full potential. One child, who missed two years of mainstream education, has attended college and achieved an accredited award. This is a significant achievement for the child. Staff encourage children to be ambitious for their future and they celebrate all children’s achievements.

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outstanding

Staff are a constant source of positivity and reassurance for the children. They support children to make progress in relation to their emotional well-being. Staff encourage children to try new experiences and to step out of their comfort zone. As a result, children are constantly having new opportunities, such as going fishing, enjoying beauty treatments, and visiting restaurants. These opportunities enable children to have fun and help to build important childhood memories.

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outstanding

Staff understand the importance of family for children. They go above and beyond to facilitate time with loved ones. This helps to nurture and repair family relationships. For some children, this has helped them to reconnect with their families for the first time in several years. Staff worked with one child’s family to help increase their understanding of the child’s needs and the type of care that they respond best to. This resulted in one child recently moving home to live with their family.

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outstanding

Staff have developed a comprehensive independence programme. One child has engaged well with this and has developed important skills. The child is now able to cook their own meals and independently go shopping. Furthermore, the child has opened a bank account and is developing their awareness of the value of money. Inspection report for children’s home: 2728373 3 Children are helped to experience positive endings, and they have the best chance of successful new starts. The children move in and out of the home with individualised plans such as visual plans that help them to understand what is happening. Children stay in touch with the staff and other children after they move out. This helps all children to feel valued and cared for, even after they move out of the home.

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outstanding

Staff are committed to keeping children safe. Staff are guided in how to do this by following the individualised and comprehensive safety plans. Staff keep these plans up to date and all staff are aware of any changes. The staff team meets regularly to discuss any changes in risk relating to the children and responsively adapt the care and support that they provide.

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outstanding

The strong relationships between the children and staff are used to good effect in helping children to reflect on past behaviours and to make better choices moving forward. The impact of this is powerfully apparent in that one child spoke openly about how they will do things differently when they leave the home.

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outstanding

Staff see beyond the presenting behaviours of the children and appreciate the issues that affect and influence their lives. Staff support children to develop new positive ways of managing their behaviours. This includes staff helping children to understand their own feelings. They take a non-judgemental approach, which supports the children to feel secure.

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outstanding

Staff are highly skilled in how they respond to children in crisis and sensitively care for them when they become distressed. As a result, incidents of physical intervention are rare. When staff need to hold children to keep them safe, staff reflect on these incidents to consider how they managed the situation and take any learning that is available.

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outstanding

Multi-agency working with external professionals is a strength. This approach promotes the full involvement of the professional network around the child. There is excellent communication and joined up working between all the adults that are caring for children. This approach is having a significantly positive impact on the children’s progress and development. One professional said:

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outstanding

‘It is unusual to see a change in trajectory of a child being unsafe to where they are now in such a short time. Communication is brilliant, they know my child very well, because of [name of home] we have a plan with the child’s voice at the heart of it.’

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

Leaders are conscientious and ambitious for both the children and staff team. The careful and considered approach to opening the home, including the recruitment of Inspection report for children’s home: 2728373 4 the manager and staff team, and the dedicated input from the home’s clinical psychologist, has been pivotal in the success of the home. Leaders are proud and celebrate the home’s success on a national level.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

The interim manager is suitably experienced and is well supported by senior managers who visit the home regularly and make strong relationships with staff and children. This ensures that the interim manager has the help and guidance to deliver excellent care to children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

The management team provides a highly supportive environment. They are a visible presence, and both children and staff feel comfortable approaching them with any concerns. Consequently, staff enjoy working at the home and know that they make a valuable contribution to improving children’s lives. One staff member said:

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

‘I love my job, it is about building relationships that are trusting and genuine, healing trauma and supporting children to rewrite their story. Ensuring children believe in themselves and that they can succeed.’

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

Staff receive regular, meaningful and reflective supervision. In addition, staff benefit from weekly team meetings. The home’s clinical psychologist dedicates one day per week for reflective supervision either in small groups or on an individual basis.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

Staff receive extensive training. This includes a programme of training relating to trauma. This helps to enhance their knowledge of how children’s early life experiences have impacted on them. Additionally, a recent training development session resulted in the whole team becoming attuned to their own responses to children. This excellent practice results in high-quality, individualised care and support for the children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

The management team is child-focused and creative in their thinking on how to continually drive improvement. The interim manager is a strong advocate for the children and is well respected by external professionals, who praise the level of commitment she and the staff consistently show the children.

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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: 2728373 5

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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 5UJ

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Inspectors

Claire Webster, Social Care Inspector Tina Ruffles, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2728373 6 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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