Children's home run by ARRONBETH LTD

Inspection report for children’s home: SC000802 1 SC000802 Registered provider: Arronbeth Limited 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 managed by a private company. It provides care for up to four children who may experience social and emotional difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager registered with Ofsted in March 2007.

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Information about this children’s home

Three children were living in the home at the time of the inspection.

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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

Overall judgement at last inspection: good

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children’s home: SC000802 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

07/05/2024 Full Good 26/10/2023 Full Good 23/08/2022 Full Good 29/04/2021 Full Outstanding Inspection report for children’s home: SC000802 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are making progress from their individual starting points. The staff are committed to the children and know them well. This helps the children to feel a sense of belonging in their home.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff build strong and trusting relationships with children. Staff demonstrate great pride in children and interact positively with them. The consistency of the staff team helps to provide children with stability and allows them to feel a sense of permanency.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff help children to learn the skills they will need as they prepare for adulthood. Written feedback from one young adult said, ‘You have no idea how much of an impact you have all had on my life. Somehow you guys stuck with me without giving up.’ Young adults who have moved on from the home stay in contact with staff and visit on occasion. This is testament to the strong relationships that staff build with the children while they are living in the home.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff understand the importance of supporting children to maintain relationships with their family and friends. The staff build positive relationships with the children’s families and share weekly updates with those who are important to the children. One child has recently seen their parent for the first time in many years. This was achieved through staff’s advocacy, and staff have supported the child through this experience. Staff encourage the children’s family and friends to come to the home and spend time with the children. This gives children a safe and familiar environment where they can continue to maintain relationships with those who may be a support network in the future.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are encouraged and supported to attend their medical appointments. When children experience barriers to attending appointments, staff are creative in helping them to overcome any issues.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff understand that children’s education is important and prioritise this appropriately. Some children face challenges to attending their education setting. Staff work with education professionals to develop effective strategies to encourage children to attend and engage with school. The feedback from education professionals has been positive in relation to how well staff advocate for the children to have a learning environment that meets their individual needs.

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

Staff are familiar with children’s plans and risk assessments, which are updated regularly. This provides the staff with a clear understanding of the needs and risks of children and directions on how to keep them safer. The plans and risk assessments are child centred and staff involve children in creating and reviewing their own plans. This Inspection report for children’s home: SC000802 4 approach supports the children to take an active role in learning how to keep themselves safer.

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

Staff help the children to understand their feelings and behaviours. When children are angry or upset, staff give them space to process their feelings and ensure that children do not feel judged or blamed. Staff use the home’s therapeutic model of practice to support children and have a good understanding of each child’s possible triggers and patterns of behaviour. This allows staff to be effective in managing children’s behaviour. As a result, there have been no physical interventions used since the last inspection.

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

Children rarely go missing from the home. Staff understand the protocols that they need to follow if a child is missing from home. This provides assurances that there is an effective response that helps to keep children safer.

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

One child struggles to maintain an active daily routine without encouragement. Staff are not always consistent in their approach to ensuring that the child is supported to have structure to their day. This includes boundaries around gaming, mobile phone use and bedtimes. One professional said the child’s use of technology during the night is impacting on their sleep pattern.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

There is an experienced leadership team that provides support and guidance to the children and staff. Staff say that they feel supported by leaders and managers. The consistency of the staffing arrangements helps to provide stability for the children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff are well trained to meet the children’s needs. New staff complete their induction and mandatory training in their probationary period. Leaders and managers respond to staff training requirements in response to the children’s changing needs. Staff are supported to pursue the required qualification to enhance their skills and knowledge to improve the care provided to children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager and staff are proactive and consistent in building positive relationships with other partner agencies and strive to maintain effective working relationships. This has been raised by professionals as being a particular strength of the home.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager and staff advocate well on behalf of the children. Staff work collaboratively with other professionals to ensure that children’s plans progress in a timely way. Staff attend regular multi-agency meetings to review the children’s care. This helps to ensure that professionals are working together effectively to meet the needs of children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The staff work to a clear model of practice, which is embedded in their everyday practice. Leaders and managers are promoting the model practice with support from their therapeutic lead and external clinical psychologist. Inspection report for children’s home: SC000802 5

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Recommendation

 The registered person should ensure that staff provide a nurturing environment for children that is welcoming and supportive and which provides appropriate boundaries in relation to their behaviour. In particular, that children have consistent routines and that they understand the expectations for their behaviour. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’ page 15, paragraph 3.7)

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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: SC000802 6

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Hurworth Community Association, 41 Hurworth Road, Hurworth Place, Darlington DL2 2BN

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Inspector

Dawn McCluskey, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: SC000802 7 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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