Children's Home run by Darlington Borough Council in Darlington

Assurance inspection report for children’s home: SC037861 1 SC037861 Registered provider: Darlington Borough Council

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Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children ’ s home

The home is operated by a local authority. It provides a short-break service 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 September 2025.

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Information about this children ’ s home

At the time of the inspection, there was one child living at the home and no children accessing services. The inspector spoke with the child.

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Inspection date: 20 November 2025

Judgement at last inspection: requires improvement to be good

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Inspection date: 20 November 2025

Enforcement action since last inspection: none

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Information about this inspection

At this inspection, the inspector evaluated:

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Information about this inspection

 the care of children  the safety of children  the effectiveness of leaders and managers. The inspector has looked closely at the experiences and progress of children, using the social care common inspection framework. This assurance 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.’ Assurance inspection report for children’s home: SC037861 2

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Outcome from the inspection

During the inspection, Ofsted identified the following serious and widespread concerns in relation to the care or protection of children:

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Outcome from the inspection

 Leaders and managers have failed to ensure that when children come to live at the home, staff are aware of the child’s known vulnerabilities and risks and develop strategies to reduce concerns.  The registered manager failed to make arrangements to safeguard a child when a serious incident took place, to ensure that staff know what action to take in future.  The registered manager has failed to ensure that there are systems in place to have oversight of children’s risk assessments, safety plans and incidents of concern. Senior leaders and managers have failed to identify shortfalls in the management of the home.

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Findings from the inspection

Leaders and managers have failed to adequately assess whether the child who is living in the home is at risk of harm. Risks to the child, including being vulnerable to exploitation, are not well understood by managers and staff. As a result, the child’s plan lacks essential information about their known risks and vulnerabilities. Therefore, the staff response to support a child when they were injured was poorly managed and left the child vulnerable and at risk of harm.

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Findings from the inspection

The registered manager does not have effective systems in place to have oversight of serious incidents involving the child in their care. Information is not routinely overseen by managers, and staff do not have clear direction of when to inform managers of serious incidents involving the child. As a result, the registered manager was not aware of incidents involving the child, to ensure that they received appropriate responses from staff. Actions identified to safeguard the child are not followed up.

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Findings from the inspection

Some children have moved into this short-break service on an emergency basis while placements are secured for them. When these children move into the home, it is not well planned, but care planning improves for when the children move out of the home. Leaders and managers recognise that the short-break service model is not working well and have applied to vary their registration.

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Findings from the inspection

Managers do not use auditing and monitoring systems consistently. Although the registered manager has implemented audits of children’s records, these do not take place regularly and therefore the child does not have an up-to-date care plan and essential records. This means that staff do not have access to all information about the child who they are caring for, and the registered manager is not escalating requests for missing information. Assurance inspection report for children’s home: SC037861 3 Not all staff have the appropriate qualification to work with children in a residential setting. The registered manager does not explore appropriately other qualifications that staff have and are relied upon when employed and whether they are equivalent or not. This means that not all staff are appropriately qualified to work with children.

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Findings from the inspection

Staff are having important conversations with the child regularly. The child’s views are captured in their records, and their views are listened to during young people’s meetings.

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Findings from the inspection

Staff receive regular supervision sessions and support. There is a focus on children, staff well-being and development. In addition, team meetings regularly take place to discuss changes in the home and support staff learning.

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Findings from the inspection

Following a case review on 24 November 2025, which confirmed that there are serious and widespread concerns at the home, two compliance notices under regulation 12, the protection of children standard and regulation 13, the leadership and management standard were made.

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

08/04/2025 Full Requires improvement to be good 18/12/2024 Full Inadequate 05/12/2023 Full Good 20/06/2022 Full Requires improvement to be good Assurance inspection report for children’s home: SC037861 4

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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

help each child to understand how to keep safe; and

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Requirement Due date

take effective action whenever there is a serious concern about a child’s welfare. (Regulation 12 (1) (2)(a)(i)(v)(vi)) 21 December

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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

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 have the experience, qualifications and skills to meet the needs of each child; and

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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. 21 December Assurance inspection report for children’s home: SC037861 5 (Regulation 13 (1)(a)(b) (2)(a)(c)(h))

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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

seek to involve each child’s placing authority effectively in the child’s care, in accordance with the child’s relevant plans; and

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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 (a)(c)) 21 December

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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

employ an individual to work at the children’s home; or

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Requirement Due date

if an individual is employed by a person other than the registered person to work at the home in a position in which the individual may have regular contact with children, allow that individual to work at the home, if the individual satisfies the requirements in paragraph (3).

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Requirement Due date

the individual has the appropriate experience, qualification and skills for the

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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"); or

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Requirement Due date

a qualification which the registered person considers to be equivalent to the Level 3 Diploma.

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Requirement Due date

in the case of an individual who starts working in a care role in a home after 1st April 2014, the date which falls 2 years 21 December Assurance inspection report for children’s home: SC037861 6 after the date on which the individual started working in a care role in a home. (Regulation 32 (1)(a)(b) (3) (b) (4)(a)(b) (5)(a))

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Requirement Due date

*These requirements are subject to a compliance notice. Assurance inspection report for children’s home: SC037861 7

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Darlington Borough Council

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Darlington Borough Council, Town Hall, Feethams, Darlington DL1 5QT

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Children’s home details

Responsible individual: Christopher Bell

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Inspector

Joanne Wallis, Social Care Inspector Assurance inspection report for children’s home: SC037861 8 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 children looked after, safeguarding and child protection.

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Inspector

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