Children's Home run by Darlington Borough Council in Darlington

Inspection report for children’s home - monitoring visit: SC037861 1 SC037861 Registered provider: Darlington Borough Council

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Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

The home is owned and managed by a local authority. It provides short-break care for up to three children who may have behavioural and emotional difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager registered with Ofsted in March 2020.

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Information about this children’s home

No children were accessing the service at the time of the visit.

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This monitoring visit

A full inspection took place on 18 December 2024. Ofsted judged the home to be inadequate. This monitoring visit was carried out to review the provider’s response to the safeguarding issues raised during that inspection. Not all of the requirements were reviewed at this monitoring visit and have therefore been restated.

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This monitoring visit

Risk assessments do not reflect all risks to children. Strategies to manage risks continue to lack sufficient detail. For example, not all risks are updated following incidents, and they do not provide clear actions on how staff should respond. Therefore, safeguards to protect children have not been communicated effectively to staff.

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This monitoring visit

Leaders and managers continue to make decisions about who comes to live in the home. The manager challenged a decision when she assessed that staff could not meet the child’s needs. Leaders accepted the manager’s challenge, and did not place the child.

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This monitoring visit

Staff practice when children are missing from home has been strengthened. Staff know what to do and follow the missing protocol for each child. There is clear management oversight of missing-from-home episodes, and all children are offered Inspection report for children’s home - monitoring visit: SC037861 2 an independent person to speak to on their return. This gives children the opportunity to discuss worries and concerns with staff.

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This monitoring visit

Children are not always supported to learn about things that may pose a risk to them. The records of key-work sessions have improved, but they are not yet delivered consistently enough to be effective in reducing the risks that children face.

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This monitoring visit

One child was moved on from the home without sufficient consideration for where they would move to, or how this would be accomplished. This happened shortly after the last inspection. The manager has now begun to address areas for development and has started to implement changes. This has included reviewing the transition planning for children leaving the home. This has led to an improved experience for two children. Inspection report for children’s home - monitoring visit: SC037861 3

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

18/12/2024 Full Inadequate 05/12/2023 Full Good 20/06/2022 Full Requires improvement to be good 23/03/2022 Interim Improved effectiveness Inspection report for children’s home - monitoring visit: SC037861 4

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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 must comply with the given timescales.

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Requirement Due date

The protection of children standard is that children are protected from harm and enabled to keep themselves safe.

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to ensure—

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Requirement Due date

assess whether each child is at risk of harm, taking into account information in the child’s relevant plans, and, if necessary, make arrangements to reduce the risk of any harm to the child; and

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Requirement Due date

help each child to understand how to keep safe. (Regulation 12 (1) (2)(a)(i)(ii))

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Requirement Due date

This requirement was not met and has been reissued. 20 March 2025

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Requirement Due date

The leadership and management standard is that the registered person enables, inspires and leads a culture in relation to the children’s home that—

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Requirement Due date

helps children aspire to fulfil their potential; and

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to—

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Requirement Due date

lead and manage the home in a way that is consistent with the approach and ethos, and delivers the outcomes, set out in the home’s statement of purpose;

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Requirement Due date

ensure that staff have the experience, qualifications and skills to meet the needs of each child;

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Requirement Due date

ensure that the home’s workforce provides continuity of care to each child; 20 March 2025 Inspection report for children’s home - monitoring visit: SC037861 5 understand the impact that the quality of care provided in the home is having on the progress and experiences of each child and use this understanding to inform the development of the quality of care provided in the home; and

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Requirement Due date

use monitoring and review systems to make continuous improvements in the quality of care provided in the home. (Regulation 13 (1)(a)(b) (2)(a)(c)(e)(f)(h))

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Requirement Due date

This requirement was not met and has been reissued. The care planning standard is that children—

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Requirement Due date

receive effectively planned care in or through the children’s home; and

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Requirement Due date

have a positive experience of arriving at or moving on from the home.

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to ensure—

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Requirement Due date

that children are admitted to the home only if their needs are within the range of needs of children for whom it is intended that the home is to provide care and accommodation, as set out in the home’s statement of purpose;

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Requirement Due date

ensure the effective induction of each child into the home;

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Requirement Due date

manage and review the placement of each child in the home; and

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Requirement Due date

plan for, and help, each child to prepare to leave the home or to move into adult care in a way that is consistent with arrangements agreed with the child’s placing authority;

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Requirement Due date

that the child’s placing authority is contacted, and a review of that child’s relevant plans is requested, if—

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Requirement Due date

the registered person considers that the child is at risk of harm or has concerns that the care provided for the child is inadequate to meet the child’s needs.

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Requirement Due date

This requirement was not met and has been reissued. 20 March 2025

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Requirement Due date

The registered person may only use devices for the monitoring or surveillance of children if— 20 March 2025 Inspection report for children’s home - monitoring visit: SC037861 6 the monitoring or surveillance is for the purpose of safeguarding and promoting the welfare of the child concerned, or other children; and

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Requirement Due date

the monitoring or surveillance is no more intrusive than necessary, having regard to the child’s need for privacy. (Regulation 24 (1)(a)(d))

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Requirement Due date

This requirement was not reviewed and has been restated.

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must maintain records ("case records") for each child which—

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Requirement Due date

include the information and documents listed in Schedule 3 in relation to each child;

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Requirement Due date

are signed and dated by the author of each entry. (Regulation 36 (1)(a)(b)(c))

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Requirement Due date

This requirement was not reviewed and has been restated. 20 March 2025

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Requirement Due date

In meeting the quality standards, the registered person must, and must ensure that staff—

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Requirement Due date

seek to involve each child’s placing authority effectively in the child’s care, in accordance with the child’s relevant plans; and

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Requirement Due date

if the registered person considers, or staff consider, a placing authority’s or a relevant person’s performance or response to be inadequate in relation to their role, challenge the placing authority or the relevant person to seek to ensure that each child’s needs are met in accordance with the child’s relevant plans. (Regulation 5 (a)(c))

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Requirement Due date

This requirement was not reviewed and has been restated. 20 March 2025

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that all employees—

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Requirement Due date

have their performance and fitness to perform their roles appraised at least once every year. (Regulation 33 (4)(c))

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Requirement Due date

This requirement was not reviewed and has been restated. 20 March 2025 Inspection report for children’s home - monitoring visit: SC037861 7

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Recommendation

 The registered person should ensure that there are systems in place so that all staff, including the manager, receive supervision of their practice, which allows them to reflect on their practice and development. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 61, paragraph 13.2)

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Information about this inspection

The purpose of this visit was to monitor the action taken and the progress made by the children’s home since its last Ofsted inspection.

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Information about this inspection

This inspection was carried out under the Care Standards Act 2000. Inspection report for children’s home - monitoring visit: SC037861 8

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Darlington Borough Council

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Children’s home details

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

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Children’s home details

Responsible individual: Christopher Bell

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Inspector

Natalie Clark, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home - monitoring visit: SC037861 9 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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