Children's home run by Pear Tree Projects Limited in County Durham

Inspection report for children’s home: SC418605 1 SC418605 Registered provider: Pear Tree Projects Limited

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Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

The home is owned and run by a private company. 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

The manager registered with Ofsted in December 2020. The manager was present for the first day of the inspection.

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Information about this children’s home

At the time of the inspection, there were three children living at the home. The inspector spoke with all three children during this inspection.

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Overall experiences and progress of

children and young people, taking into account

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outstanding

How well children and young people are helped and protected outstanding

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outstanding

The effectiveness of leaders and managers outstanding

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outstanding

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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outstanding

Date of last inspection: 30 January 2024

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outstanding

Overall judgement at last inspection: outstanding

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outstanding

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children’s home: SC418605 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

30/01/2024 Full Outstanding 18/03/2023 Full Outstanding 16/02/2022 Full Good 25/06/2019 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: SC418605 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

Children make significant progress from their starting points. Children experience consistent care, routines and boundaries, which help them to develop strong, trusting relationships with staff. Children say that they can speak to staff about anything and feel loved and cared for. One child said, ‘I feel safe here. I’m happy. I wouldn't change anything.’

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

The home is warm and welcoming and provides children with a calm environment to live in. Children speak positively about this being their family home. Staff are responsive to the views and wishes of children. One child has lived in the home for almost six years and is due to move to live independently. The manager has advocated strongly with the child’s local authority about the child’s wishes to stay close to the home. He has also arranged for an independent advocate to support the wishes of the child. This empowers children to influence the care they receive and know that their views are important and valued.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

Children’s attendance, engagement and progression in education have been excellent. All are in full-time education. The manager maintains a strong aspirational ethos in the home and all achievements are celebrated. Children see how well older children are doing and aspire to be as successful. Staff’s exceedingly strong working relationships with education providers has helped children to settle well and make progress in their individual education settings.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

Staff are proactive in accessing the right health support to address children’s health needs. As a result, children attend all appointments and their health is improved. This helps children to feel confident that their health needs will be met and promotes their physical and mental well-being.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

The manager and staff promote positive family relationships. One child experienced some relationship difficulties with a family member. The manager sensitively used mediation to help them understand each other’s perspective, reach a positive outcome and reunite their relationship. This helps children to feel that their relationships are important and valued. The family member said, ‘The manager always helps us out like that.’

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

Staff help children to access a wide range of activities, which broaden their opportunities and experiences to develop interests and self-esteem. One professional said:

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

‘[Name of child] had very limited opportunities before moving to [name of the home]. [Name of child] has now done so much, has gone from strength to strength and has really grown in confidence.’ Inspection report for children’s home: SC418605 4 Children are given opportunities to learn about different cultures and appreciate differences. Staff help children to support local community interest groups by donating their time and resources to help others. This helps children to develop empathy and a sense of social responsibility.

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

Staff have an in-depth knowledge of children’s individual risks and vulnerabilities. Risk assessments are clearly written and demonstrate an understanding of how children’s experiences can impact their behaviour. Staff have supportive discussions with children that help the children to identify risks and keep themselves and others safe. As a result, children’s risks reduce. Children say that they feel safe living in the home.

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

Children have strong and trusting relationships with the manager and staff. Children can confidently speak to staff about their worries, and know how to complain if they need to. This open communication helps children to understand their own behaviours. Staff are skilled at understanding children’s individual personalities and triggers that evoke unwanted behaviour. As a result, staff use de-escalation techniques, which are highly effective as there have been no occasions when children have been physically restrained.

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

Children do not go missing from the home. The manager ensures that staff are highly prepared to respond effectively should a missing incident occur. The manager gives staff different scenarios and tests their knowledge of how to respond. This helps staff to maintain a strong knowledge of how to keep children safe in the event of missing incidents.

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

Staff plan for children to develop independent living skills that are appropriate to their age. Children are supported to take age-appropriate risks to develop their ability to solve problems for themselves. This gives children a wide range of experiences to draw on, which help them to navigate any issues that they may encounter.

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

Consequences are rarely used in the home. The manager and staff prefer to reward positive behaviour. When consequences are given to address unwanted behaviour, they are proportionate and restorative in nature. Clearly written records help the manager to monitor the effectiveness of these consequences. Staff help children to learn appropriate social responses. This helps children to understand the impact that their own behaviour has on others.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

The manager is inspirational and leads an ethos of high aspiration, which is shared by the team. The manager is enthusiastic about understanding successes and challenges, and drives a strong learning culture in the home. All children and staff speak positively about the manager and hold him in high regard. One staff member said, ‘[Name of manager] pushes us to develop all the time.’ Inspection report for children’s home: SC418605 5 The manager accesses external research-based training to develop his own practice and that of the team. Regular team meetings support staff to apply this training to the care that they give children. This helps the manager to drive forward the development and understanding of the team. Staff say that this provides them with opportunities to discuss and think about the impact of their practice on the children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

The manager uses regular supervision sessions to support the constant development of staff’s skills. Staff benefit from these sessions and say that they feel highly supported by the manager. The manager creatively seeks feedback from staff about their practice, to test their knowledge and consolidate their learning. This has helped staff to focus on key achievements of the team and to look at their work in a more analytical way.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

The manager has a strong presence in the home and his care and support for children and staff are clear. He recognises the importance of listening to the voices of children, and chairs all children’s meetings to help him do that. He has nurtured a family environment in the home, which benefits children and staff.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

The current staff team has been in place for a significant period. One staff member said, ‘This isn't work to me, this is life and seeing these children make progress and move on with their lives is second to none, I love it.’

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

The team has developed effective working relationships with external professionals to help the team meet the needs of children. Where the manager identifies ways of working with children to support their progress, he shares these with relevant professionals to strengthen care planning. Professionals give consistently positive feedback about the proactive and tenacious approach of the manager.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

The manager’s quality assurance systems ensure that he has a comprehensive oversight of the home and tracks the progress of children. The manager uses marginal gains assessment tools to identify any areas for individual development, which are quickly addressed with children. This clear direction helps staff to be responsive to the needs of all children, which promotes sustained progress. Inspection report for children’s home: SC418605 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: SC418605 7

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Pear Tree Projects Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Peartree House, Bolam, DARLINGTON, County Durham DL2 2UP

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Inspector

Mark Cryer, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: SC418605 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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Inspector

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Inspector

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Inspector

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