Children's Home run by Young Foundations Limited in Darlington

Inspection report for children’s home: SC061439 1 SC061439 Registered provider: Young Foundations 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

This home is run by a private provider. It offers care for up to five children who may experience social and emotional difficulties. At the time of the inspection, three children were living in the home and two were spoken with.

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Information about this children’s home

There has been no registered manager in post since 25 March 2025.

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Information about this children’s home

A new manager has been recruited, but they have not yet registered with Ofsted.

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Overall experiences and progress of

children and young people, taking into account

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requires improvement to be good

How well children and young people are helped and protected requires improvement to be good

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requires improvement to be good

The effectiveness of leaders and managers requires improvement to be good

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requires improvement to be good

The children’s home is not yet delivering good help and care for children and young people. However, there are no serious or widespread failures that result in their welfare not being safeguarded or promoted.

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requires improvement to be good

Overall judgement at last inspection: requires improvement to be good

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Enforcement action since last inspection:

A full inspection was completed on 16 and 17 July 2024. Ofsted judged the home to be requires improvement overall, but inadequate in leadership and management. An assurance inspection was completed on 23 December 2024, where no serious and widespread concerns were identified. Following concerns received by Ofsted, an Inspection report for children’s home: SC061439 2 additional assurance inspection took place on 13 February 2025, where serious and widespread concerns were identified. Compliance notices were issued under regulation 12, the protection of children standard, regulation 13, the leadership and management standard, and regulation 20, restraint and deprivation of liberty. A monitoring visit took place on 4 April 2025. The compliance notice under regulation 20 was found to be met. Compliance notices under regulations 12, the protection of children standard and 13, the leadership and management standard were reissued.

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Enforcement action since last inspection:

Inspection report for children’s home: SC061439 3

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

16/07/2024 Full Requires improvement to be good 28/11/2023 Full Requires improvement to be good 04/10/2022 Full Good 14/06/2022 Full Inadequate Inspection report for children’s home: SC061439 4

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improvement to be good

The home has recently experienced a high turnover of staff. This has resulted in staff vacancies and the need to use agency staff to provide care to the children. This has affected the children in being able to establish positive and trusting relationships with the adults who care for them. One child has said that they feel frightened in the home when they have unfamiliar staff. The leadership team is working towards establishing consistency and retaining staff members. The use of agency staff is still in place but is reducing.

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improvement to be good

When children become distressed, staff do not always respond appropriately. This has led to behaviours escalating and holds being used. Additionally, the police have been contacted on several occasions to manage children’s behaviours because staff have not been able to do so effectively.

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improvement to be good

Children are sometimes helped by staff to understand and develop strategies to manage their behaviours. However, this does not always happen consistently. This means that children do not always receive consistent messages around difficulties they may experience. This can prevent children from developing the skills they need to regulate their emotions.

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improvement to be good

Some children are not attending education. One child has not attended school for almost six months. While some efforts are being made to seek alternative provision, the delay has led to the child missing out on important learning, structure and routine. The staff have made some efforts to home educate, but they are not qualified to teach formal education. This has resulted in one child having unstructured days in the home, with little incentive to re-engage in education.

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improvement to be good

Staff support children to attend their hobbies, such as horse riding and biking. Children are also given opportunities to attend clubs and other leisure activities. This helps children to develop social skills and stay active.

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improvement to be good

Children are supported by staff to share their views in their home. This takes place through conversations with children and regular children’s meetings. These provide an opportunity for children to have input into their weekly routines, such as food choices and activities. Some children have been involved in the decoration of the home. This helps children to feel a sense of belonging and involved in choosing their environment.

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improvement to be good

Children have not always had clear and up-to-date risk assessments and care plans in place. This means that staff have not been able to understand and manage risks Inspection report for children’s home: SC061439 5 effecting the children. This has led to incidents, which have placed children at risk of harm. The new leadership team has begun implementing changes in the home, reviewing all documents and records. There is an expectation that staff familiarise themselves with the children’s plans and confirm their understanding. This will help to ensure that when children experience difficulties, staff can respond promptly and in the most appropriate way to keep children safer.

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improvement to be good

When children have gone missing from the home, staff have not always followed the home’s policies and procedures. This has meant that children have been placed at risk. However, more recent incidents have demonstrated that staff are developing a greater understanding and awareness of the actions they need to take to keep children safe.

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improvement to be good

Some children have reported feeling unsafe in the home. This is due to peer behaviours. Staff and managers have not always had consistent boundaries in place for children living at the home. This means that when children are distressed or present challenging, unwanted behaviours, staff do not support children consistently.

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improvement to be good

When children have been involved in criminal behaviour, they have not always been given appropriate support by staff and the manager. One member of staff refused to act as an appropriate adult for a child being detained by the police. This goes against the ethos of the home in providing therapeutic and individualised care to children. However, more recently, staff and managers have provided support to children when police have been involved. The manager has also accessed the services of the police to educate children. This helps children to form positive views of the emergency services.

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improvement to be good

Over recent weeks, there has been a reduction in the number of incidents in the home. When incidents do occur, these are becoming less volatile. As a result, the use of physical intervention is reducing. The manager has worked with staff around this, and staff have a clearer understanding of when holds should be used to keep everyone safe.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

The home’s registered manager has left and this has led to gaps in the leadership of the home. Staff said that they have felt unsupported, which has led to difficulties in them being able to meet the needs of children. One staff member expressed concern about the safety of children due to the lack of management oversight and support. The new leadership team has begun to provide some consistency and security for both staff and children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

The current manager has implemented a new monitoring system, which gives them oversight of children’s needs, staff needs and the general upkeep of the home. However, this new system is in its infancy and is not yet firmly embedded in the manager’s quality assurance processes.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

Staff have not been supported by leaders to enable them to provide suitable care to children. This has meant that children’s needs have not always been met. This has led to staff feeling ‘isolated’ and ‘unsupported’. The manager has implemented a structure of Inspection report for children’s home: SC061439 6 supervision sessions to combat this. Sessions now take place on a frequent basis and are reflective in nature. The impact of this means that staff are supported in their role in meeting the needs of the children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

The new manager demonstrates a good level of understanding around the needs of the children. The manager is open and transparent and recognises where development is required. It is also acknowledged by the leadership team that some areas of development will require long-term change. This helps to provide assurances that the leadership team is open to implementing changes.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

Most staff working in the home are not qualified. Some staff members have not completed the relevant qualification needed within the set timeframe. The new leadership team has identified the training and development needs of staff, and some staff have now been enrolled. The manager is focused on upskilling and developing the staff team and has sought additional training to help with this.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

Safer recruitment procedures are being followed. This helps to assure the manager that new staff members are suitable to care for children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

Despite a raft of shortfalls, there has been some progress made. Both compliance notices under regulations 12, the protection of children standard and 13, the leadership and management standard have been met. Inspection report for children’s home: SC061439 7

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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 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;

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Requirement Due date

have the skills to identify and act upon signs that a child is at risk of harm;

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Requirement Due date

manage relationships between children to prevent them from harming each other;

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Requirement Due date

understand the roles and responsibilities in relation to protecting children that are assigned to them by the registered person;

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Requirement Due date

take effective action whenever there is a serious concern about a child's welfare; and

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Requirement Due date

that the home's day-to-day care is arranged and delivered so as to keep each child safe and to protect each child effectively from harm. (Regulation 12 (1) (2)(a)(i)(iii)(iv)(v)(vi)(b)) 5 August 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;

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Requirement Due date

and promotes their welfare. 5 August 2025 Inspection report for children’s home: SC061439 8 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 work as a team where appropriate;

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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; and

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Requirement Due date

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. (Regulation13 (1)(a)(b) (2)(a)(b)(c)(e)(f))

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Requirement Due date

The education standard is that children make measurable progress towards achieving their educational potential and are helped to do so.

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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

understand the barriers to learning that each child may face and take appropriate action to help the child to overcome any such barriers;

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Requirement Due date

help each child to understand the importance and value of education, learning, training and employment;

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Requirement Due date

promote opportunities for each child to learn informally;

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Requirement Due date

help a child who is excluded from school, or who is of compulsory school age but not attending school, to access educational and training support throughout the period of exclusion or non-attendance and to return to school as soon as possible; and

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Requirement Due date

help each child to attend education or training in accordance with the expectations in the child's relevant plans. 05 August 2025 Inspection report for children’s home: SC061439 9 (Regulation 8 (1) (2)(a)(iii)(iv)(v)(viii)(x))

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must recruit staff using recruitment procedures that are designed to ensure children's safety.

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Requirement Due date

For the purposes of paragraph (3)(b), an individual who works in the home in a care role has the appropriate qualification if, by the relevant date, the individual has attained—

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Requirement Due date

the Level 3 Diploma for Residential Childcare (England) ("the Level 3 Diploma"). (Regulation 32 (1) (4)(a)) 5 August 2025

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Recommendation

 The registered person should agree with their local police force, procedures and guidance on police involvement with the home to reduce unnecessary police involvement in managing behaviour and criminalisation of behaviours. Children should not be charged with offences resulting from behaviour within a children’s home that would not similarly lead to police involvement if it occurred in a family home. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 47, paragraph 9.4)

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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: SC061439 10

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Young Foundations Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Alexander House, Highfield Park, Llandrynog, Denbighshire, Wales LL16 4LU

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Inspector

Kerry Chater, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: SC061439 11 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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