Children's home run by Darlington Borough Council in Darlington

Inspection report for children’s home: SC038237 1 SC038237 Registered provider: Darlington Borough Council

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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.

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Information about this children’s home

One child was accessing the service 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: 6 February 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: SC038237 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

06/02/2024 Full Good 22/11/2022 Full Good 22/03/2022 Full Good 14/01/2020 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 welcomed to the home with a well-planned introduction. Visits take place with parents to ‘have tea’ and introduce the child to the staff and the environment. The staff talk to children and their families to understand their needs, begin an assessment and create a plan for the first short break.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children benefit from positive relationships with staff who know and understand them. The staff team is long-serving and familiar with the children and their individual communication methods. This creates a sense of stability and well-being for the children, who learn to trust the staff who care for them.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

All children are supported to have a choice on how they experience their stay, including those who cannot communicate verbally. Children are supported to use their own communication methods to choose their activities, meals and what they want to achieve during their time at the home. This allows the children to feel listened to and in control of their short break.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff receive training in how to administer medication correctly. The manager maintains oversight of the records and ensures that medication is stored and administered safely. Additional training for staff is arranged when this is necessary to meet children’s individual health needs. This helps to ensure that the children’s health needs are met during their stay. The staff work closely with families to improve children’s experience and outcomes. This collaborative work improves the sleep routines, independence skills and social relationships of children. This helps to enhance the broader efforts of parents when children return home.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

When children move into adulthood, they are supported to experience a smooth transition to adult services. Staff contribute to the assessment carried out by the child’s local authority in a timely way. The staff work well with new care teams to support their understanding of the child’s individual needs and methods of communication. Staff also share how the child experiences and navigates the world around them. This dedication has a major impact on the success of children’s transitions and helps each child feel settled and safe.

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

The use of locks around the home is only in place for those children where risks are identified and there is a deprivation of liberty order agreed by the court. When children experience difficult times, the staff can support them without the need for physical intervention. This creates an environment that keeps children safe, balanced with allowing as much autonomy and freedom as possible. Inspection report for children’s home: SC038237 4 Risk assessments are individual to each child and give clear guidance for staff to follow. Staff use short scenarios to help them to understand how children may respond to certain triggers, and how each child should be supported. The manager has created emergency packs with contact numbers if an emergency evacuation takes place at the home. This supports the staff to manage difficult situations effectively.

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

Children are supported to take appropriate risks in line with their age and stage of development. Staff work with parents to review plans and promote greater responsibility and independence. Parents and professionals recognise the positive impact of the work completed with their children in helping them to gain confidence and learn new life skills.

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

Staff do not have a consistent understanding of what they should do if a child was to go missing while in their care. Because of the children’s additional needs, they are at an increased risk of harm if they leave the home without supervision. This means that staff could lose critical time in their search for children who have gone missing from their care.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The home is managed by a suitably qualified and experienced registered manager. The staff team is long-serving, staff turnover is low and the home is well resourced to meet the needs of the children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The staff say they feel supported by managers. Supervision takes place regularly and in line with the local authority’s policy. Staff reflect on their role and discuss how they can improve care to children. Line managers offer support to staff in developing their careers through training and to create opportunities across other services within the local authority. Staff have their performance appraised annually.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager and staff have effective working relationships with professionals involved in the children’s lives. Staff record updates about the children’s stay on shared data systems. This helps professionals stay informed about the children’s stay and any progress they are making. There is good collaborative working between the parents, school and the home.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager does not record all complaints appropriately. A concern was raised by a parent about the experience of her child while accessing the service. This was addressed appropriately by the manager but not recorded in line with the complaints policy. Managers recognise that other concerns may have been raised and addressed without the appropriate recording. This reduces the oversight of leaders and managers to review the effectiveness of complaint responses.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager’s monitoring and review systems are not always effective. Consequently, documents that are out of date or missing from children’s files have not been identified. Furthermore, some care plans had not been updated for a significant period of time. Furthermore, the manager does not always follow the home’s escalation policy to obtain Inspection report for children’s home: SC038237 5 the children’s most up-to-date plans and assessments from the local authority. This could result in children not receiving care in line with their current 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 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 within the given timescales.

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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

use monitoring and review systems to make continuous improvements in the quality of care provided in the home. (Regulation 13 (1)(a)(b) (2)(h)) 30 April 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

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 (c)) 30 April 2025

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that a record is made of any complaint, the action taken in response, and the outcome of any investigation. (Regulation 39 (3)) 30 April 2025 Inspection report for children’s home: SC038237 7

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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 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: Town Hall, Feethams, Darlington DL1 5QT

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Children’s home details

Responsible individual: Christopher Bell

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Inspector

Lee Riley, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: SC038237 9 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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