Children's Home run by Derbyshire County Council in Derbyshire

Assurance inspection report for children’s home: 2508344 1 Registered provider: Derbyshire County Council

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Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This home is owned and operated by a local authority. It provides care for up to four children who experience social and emotional difficulties. At the time of this inspection, three children were living at the home. All three children were spoken to and contributed to the inspection.

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Information about this children’s home

The home currently has no registered manager.

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Information about this children’s home

Judgement at last inspection: requires improvement to be good

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Information about this children’s home

Enforcement action since last inspection: none

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Information about this inspection

At these inspections, 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. Inspectors have 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: 2508344 2

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Findings from the inspection

We did not identify any serious or widespread concerns in relation to the care and protection of children at this assurance inspection.

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Findings from the inspection

Children live in a home that is well presented, welcoming and provides ample space for them to spend time together or have time alone when needed. Children’s bedrooms are personalised and thoughtfully decorated, enabling their individual identities and preferences to be reflected. Communal areas of the home are adapted in response to the children’s evolving needs and interests. Children are actively involved in decisions about how their home looks and feels, and their views meaningfully influence the environment.

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Findings from the inspection

Staff know the children well and speak about them with genuine warmth and pride. Children are relaxed and comfortable in their home and in the presence of staff. As a result, children feel safe in their home.

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Findings from the inspection

Staff use creative and thoughtful approaches to gather children’s wishes and feelings. Children’s voices are routinely captured and meaningfully considered in day-to-day decisions made about their care. Staff offer consistent praise and encouragement to children, which helps them to develop confidence and self- esteem.

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Findings from the inspection

Staff have a clear understanding of the risks faced by children. Plans relating to children are regularly reviewed and updated to ensure that they remain current and relevant. They provide clear, detailed guidance on the actions that staff should take to safeguard and support children effectively.

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Findings from the inspection

Staff do not consistently raise safeguarding concerns with managers through the appropriate reporting channels when they become aware of concerns. Managers have had to rely on reviewing logs to identify potential concerns. However, any missed concerns have been promptly addressed on the same day by management, ensuring that there have been no significant delays in safeguarding responses or in maintaining children’s safety.

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Findings from the inspection

Staff have undertaken additional safeguarding training, including direct guidance from the local authority designated officer (LADO). This has deepened their understanding of safeguarding procedures which is being embedded into practice.

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Findings from the inspection

When children raise concerns about staff, managers complete enquiries and speak with relevant staff to gather further information. Management will notify the social worker. However, not all concerns that meet the threshold for an allegation have been managed in line with the home’s safeguarding policy. On some occasions, the LADO was not notified. This limits the level of independent oversight of the actions taken by the manager. Assurance inspection report for children’s home: 2508344 3 Staff report that they feel well supported by the management team. In the absence of a registered manager, the home has been overseen by an interim manager, supported by the deputy manager and the operations manager. This ensures continuity of leadership and oversight. The senior management team is actively recruiting for a replacement for the manager.

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Findings from the inspection

Staff receive regular supervision in line with the home’s statement of purpose. Staff report that these sessions are highly beneficial to their practice. However, children’s progress and well-being are not routinely discussed during supervision, which limits opportunities for staff to reflect on and improve direct care.

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Findings from the inspection

Staff attend regular team meetings, which provide opportunity to identify areas of practice that could be strengthened. These meetings focus on upskilling staff to support care for children. Children’s needs are discussed and staff collaboratively explore how best to improve practice to ensure positive outcomes for children.

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Findings from the inspection

The interim manager and deputy provide sufficient oversight of the home and review incidents of concern. However, this oversight often takes the form of a chronology of actions taken, rather than a critical review of how incidents were managed by staff. This does not highlight whether any learning has been identified and applied.

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Findings from the inspection

Management has taken steps to meet the requirements and recommendations made at the last inspection. Three requirements made at the last inspection have been met. Two requirements and one recommendation have been restated from the last inspection. Assurance inspection report for children’s home: 2508344 4

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

01/04/2025 Full Requires improvement to be good 10/07/2024 Full Good 21/11/2023 Full Good 10/01/2023 Full Outstanding Assurance inspection report for children’s home: 2508344 5

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Statutory requirements

This section sets out the actions that the registered person(s) 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(s) 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— that staff—

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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;

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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

are familiar with, and act in accordance with, the home’s child protection policies. (Regulation 12 (1) (2)(a)(i)(ii)(iii)(iv)(v)(vi)(vii))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered provider should ensure that when there are delays in staff reporting safeguarding concerns, these are addressed quickly. When children raise concerns about staff, investigations should be completed in line with allegations, including informing the LADO. 16 January 2026 Assurance inspection report for children’s home: 2508344 6 The registered provider must appoint a person to manage the children’s home if—

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Requirement Due date

there is no registered manager in respect of the home; and

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Requirement Due date

is not, or does not intend to be, in day-to-day charge of the home.

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Requirement Due date

If the registered provider appoints a person to manage the home, the registered provider must, without delay, give HMCI notice of—

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Requirement Due date

the name of the person so appointed; and

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Requirement Due date

the date on which the appointment takes effect. (Regulation 27 (1)(a)(b)(i)(ii)(iii) (2)(a)(b)) 16 January 2026

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Recommendations

 The registered person should actively seek independent scrutiny of the home. They should be skilled in anticipating difficulties and reviewing incidents, such as learning from disruptions and placement breakdowns. They are responsible for proactively implementing lessons learned and sustaining good practice. Management oversight should be consistent throughout and provide evaluation of incidents. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 55, paragraph 10.24)

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Recommendations

 The registered person must have systems in place so that all staff, including the manager, receive supervision of their practice from an appropriately qualified and experienced professional, which allows them to reflect on their practice and the needs of the children assigned to their care. (Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 61, paragraph 13.2) Assurance inspection report for children’s home: 2508344 7

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Derbyshire County Council

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Derbyshire County Council, County Offices, Matlock DE4 3AG

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Inspector

Jess Baines, Social Care Inspector Assurance inspection report for children’s home: 2508344 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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Inspector

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