Children's Home run by City of Doncaster Council in Doncaster

Inspection report for children’s home: 2701843 1 Registered provider: Doncaster Metropolitan 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 is managed by a local authority. It is registered to provide care for up to four children who may have social and emotional difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

There were four children living in the home at the time of the inspection. The home has a suitably qualified registered manager.

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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 effective services that meet the requirements for good.

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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: 2701843 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

28/08/2024 Full Outstanding 14/06/2023 Full Good 31/10/2022 Full Requires improvement to be good Inspection report for children’s home: 2701843 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

All four children were seen or spoken to as part of this inspection.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

There is significant evidence of the quality and care provided to children and the impact this has had on their progress and life opportunities. Staff are skilled at building trusting and secure relationships with children in the home. These relationships help children to develop and grow in confidence and improve their lives. Staff offer nurturing care and commitment to all children in the home and ensure that newer children feel welcomed and supported to start to build trust.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

The manager and staff team understand and promote the importance of education for children. Staff work closely with education professionals and advocate to ensure that all children have suitable arrangements in place. Some children are engaged and making excellent progress in their education. For some children who are not currently engaging in education staff promote educational options and support them by attempting to structure their days. They implement routines that include learning opportunities. One child is making tentative steps back towards education as a result of encouragement and support from staff.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

Staff are committed to the children and their futures. One staff member is continuing to support a child who is leaving the home as part of a transition plan, and staff will continue in a supporting role once the child moves. This provides confidence, reassurance and stability to children going through significant life changes. Staff recently invited a child who had left the home to celebrate a notable birthday with the children and the team. Children value the ongoing support offered by staff, which provides reassurance to children regarding ongoing stability for the future.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

The home is welcoming and homely and reflects the children’s interests. Children are offered new experiences and have had trips to theme parks, holidays, secured part-time jobs and attended local activities and groups. Some children grow in confidence through these opportunities.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

The manager and staff create an atmosphere that feels very much like a family home. The manager recognises the importance to children of spending time with their families and they invite families to visit and have a meal with their child, where possible. Staff work closely with families and have advocated for one child to have more time with the people who are important to them. Staff remain sensitive to children’s wishes and feelings around this. One parent said: ‘I feel like I have my [child] back in my life.’

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

The manager and staff have a proactive approach to safeguarding children. They work closely with other professionals to reduce risks and ensure consistency and Inspection report for children’s home: 2701843 4 accountability. This has been effective for most children and the home has increased safety for children who struggle at times to keep themselves safe. Staff share strategies with other professionals and work openly and transparently.

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

For one child, the risks are very well understood by the manager and staff, and they have been tenacious in their efforts to work with other agencies and professionals to support the child and help them feel safer. The manager has attended all meetings related to the risk management for the child and contributed ideas relating to the disruption of risks within the community. The manager and staff have advocated for the child, ensuring that their needs are central to any multi-agency meetings and challenging services when the child’s needs are not being met. As a result, the child knows the staff are there to support them and this instils a strong sense of safety and well-being

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

The physical environment of the home is safe and secure. Children’s plans and risk assessments are regularly reviewed, and staff understand and implement agreed strategies to help better safeguard children.

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

Staff and children engage in reflective learning sessions following any physical intervention. This allows an opportunity to refine staff practices and enhance their understanding. Managers actively involve external agencies in this process, ensuring children receive meaningful support. This approach helps children to express their emotions without requiring physical intervention from staff.

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

Staff are aware of the missing-from-home protocol and diligently follow this when children are reported missing from care. They ensure that children are offered an independent return home interview after each missing episode and carefully explore the reasons behind their absence. In one child’s case, this approach led to increased time with the child’s family, resulting in no further missing episodes and ensuring a greater trust between the child and staff.

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

When a child is reported missing, staff promptly escalate concerns to the relevant professionals and share crucial information to assess potential risks and implement proactive measures to mitigate these risks. They remain vigilant in identifying and responding to possible signs of child exploitation, prioritising the safety and well-being of the children in their care.

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

Staff are safely recruited and inducted into their role. Their progress is monitored by managers as they learn. Children who expressed a view say that they feel safe in the home and that they like the staff. The staff team is established, consistent and experienced.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

Leaders and managers promote a culture of being ambitious for the children and setting high expectations for their staff. They are committed to driving meaningful change and Inspection report for children’s home: 2701843 5 improving the lives of the children in their care, ensuring that every child receives the support and opportunities they need to thrive.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

The home is managed efficiently by the experienced managers and staff feel supported and inspired to make a difference for children. The manager is tenacious in pursuing the best possible outcomes for children and cares deeply for the children and staff in the home. The staff cover the rota between them so that children are supported by staff who know them well.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

Managers and seniors work together to ensure that all staff feel supported through high- quality supervision. Supervision sessions are reflective, child centred and supportive, with clear actions to follow. Staff offer constructive feedback to managers and value the support they are offered.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

Leaders and managers work closely with all partner agencies and schools to ensure the best possible care for children. The manager requests meetings with professionals when they are concerned about children. The manager consistently advocates for the children and ensures that their voices are captured and heard.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

Managers evaluate incidents and learn from them, involving the staff team and other professionals in this learning. The managers continually push for improvements that will make a difference in children’s lives. This is achieved through responsive training to meet children’s needs and through reflection on national learning from case reviews.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

Children’s records are written sensitively. They are addressed to the children and staff ensure that they record from a strengths and empathic approach, especially when the child has had a difficult day.

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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: 2701843 6

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Civic Office, Waterdale, Doncaster DN1 3BU

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Children’s home details

Responsible individual: Catherine Richardson

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Inspector

Carol Jagger, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2701843 7 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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