Children's home run by Darlington Borough Council

Inspection report for children’s home: 2723795 1 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

The home is operated by a local authority. It provides care for up to three children who may experience social and emotional difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

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

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Information about this children’s home

The manager registered with Ofsted in June 2023.

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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 outstanding

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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: 23 January 2024

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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: 2723795 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

23/01/2024 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: 2723795 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The environment is homely and filled with photos of the children, staff, friends and family members. The photos are reminders of special memories that children have shared with people who are closest to them. Children’s bedrooms are personalised, which helps them to develop a sense of belonging in the home.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children have trusting relationships with all staff in the home. One child said, ‘I even tell her when I stub my toe.’ The staff invest their time getting to know the children well. This helps children to build trust and develop positive and meaningful relationships.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children engage in a wide variety of activities. They go on holidays and, where appropriate, friends or family members are invited. Staff also support children to enjoy exploring their talents and interests through team sports and hobbies. This means that children can enjoy making memories that contribute to their happiness and fulfilment.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff understand the importance of ensuring that children maintain bonds with the people who are close to them. Children are helped to rebuild relationships, and staff support families to access therapeutic services. This enables children to spend quality time with their loved ones.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Where children have specific health needs, the staff are skilled and equipped to respond to those needs. Children are supported and educated around the importance of having good health so that they can learn to take better care of themselves. For one child, this means that they can better manage their long-term health condition.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children make good progress with their education. When children face barriers to attending their education, staff use incentives to encourage them to attend. This approach means that children’s attendance has improved, and children are engaging in their learning.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are encouraged to share their views. Staff take the time to listen to children and encourage them to have a voice. Children can also share any concerns they have with senior managers in the organisation. When a child speaks English as an additional language, staff access training and resources to help them communicate effectively with them. This ensures that all children feel listened to and able to communicate their views.

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

Children feel safe in their home. Staff have a good understanding of children’s individual vulnerabilities and risks. Risk assessments are detailed and give clear direction to staff about how to manage the children’s risks. Staff take the time to understand trauma and look for alternative strategies to reduce times of distress for children. Inspection report for children’s home: 2723795 4 The frequency of children going missing from home has reduced. This is because staff build trusting relationships with children and understand the factors that affect their behaviour. When children go missing, staff promptly make telephone calls and search for children to return them home. This helps to improve the safety of children.

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

The manager and staff help children to reflect and understand their behaviour. This is done through important discussions. Staff allow the children time to reflect when conflict between children happens. Restorative work is carried out to support children to understand how their behaviour may affect others. This means that children feel able to work on restoring relationships and make better choices.

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

The registered manager ensures that safer recruitment checks are carried out before staff begin working in the home. Disclosure and Barring Service checks are carried out, gaps in employment are explored and references are verified. This helps to reduce the risk of harm to children and keeps them safe.

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

Children are supported to understand the meaning of good care and safeguarding. Therefore, they can recognise when an environment is unsafe for other children. They feel comfortable to share concerns with staff and are supported to make referrals to services that are in place to protect children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

The manager is inspiring, ambitious and dedicated to providing the best of care to children. His approach is guided in research-informed models of care that are then tailored to each child’s individual needs. He ensures that specialist support is available for individual children. His staff team is skilled and fully invests in the aims and ethos of the home. As a result, children are receiving care from adults who understand and meet their needs exceptionally well.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

The manager has effective monitoring and reviewing systems to ensure oversight of staff practice. The manager uses his evaluation of incidents and events to gain a deep understanding of the children’s behaviours and what drives those behaviours. This knowledge helps to improve the care that children receive and informs how they can be better supported.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

Staff receive regular supervision and are supported to reflect on their practice. Supervision involves important discussions about each child and has a strong focus on the expectation of how care should be delivered. This supports staff to work collaboratively together and offers stability to the children. Staff can talk about their own well-being in supervision, which means that they feel cared for. Staff say they feel supported. One staff member said, ‘He (the manager) is always available.’

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

Professionals and family members speak very highly about the manager and the care that children receive. One professional said, ‘[Name of home] offers stability and safety to children.’ A family member said, ‘I can now see my child having a future.’ This is Inspection report for children’s home: 2723795 5 because the manager ensures that children are at the centre of practice. The manager makes a significant difference to children’s progress and experiences.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

The manager considers how he and the staff can meet the children’s needs effectively. Transition planning for children leaving the home is thoughtful and sensitively managed. When children move on from the home in an unplanned way, the manager ensures that everything possible is done to support the child and ensure that they feel confident in their next steps. The manager and staff stay in contact with children who have moved on, which means that children have a good support network.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

The manager is committed to driving improvement. He is aware of the strengths and areas for development in his team. He has plans to broaden the staff’s knowledge of trauma-informed practice to deepen their understanding of children’s early life experiences. This demonstrates a drive for constant improvement in delivering therapeutic care. Inspection report for children’s home: 2723795 6

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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: 2723795 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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Inspectors

Laura Roberts, Social Care Inspector Deb Duffy, Regulatory Inspection Manager Inspection report for children’s home: 2723795 8 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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