Children's Home run by Derbyshire County Council in Derbyshire

Inspection report for children’s home: SC035976 1 SC035976 Registered provider: Derbyshire County 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 owned and operated by a local authority. It is registered to provide care for up to 4 children who experience social and emotional difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

There were 3 children living in the home at the time of this inspection. All children spoke with the inspector.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager registered with Ofsted in October 2025.

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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 highly effective services that consistently exceed the standards of good. The actions of the children’s home contribute to significantly improved outcomes and positive experiences for children and young people who need help, protection and care.

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outstanding

Date of last inspection: 10 September 2024

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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: SC035976 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

10/09/2024 Full Outstanding 05/12/2023 Full Outstanding 17/10/2022 Full Good 10/08/2021 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: SC035976 3

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Outstanding

Children live in a home full of fun, laughter and love. When children come home from school, they eagerly talk with staff about their school day and the plans for the evening activities. A dedicated housekeeper ensures that children enjoy nourishing home-made meals. An independent reviewing officer said, ‘The team are excellent and are focused on the staff group being a family.’

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Outstanding

Children thrive and make remarkable progress in all areas of their lives. From their starting points, all children have made tremendous progress in their physical health, education, social skills, emotional wellbeing and behavioural stability. Regardless of children’s complex and diverse needs, they make sustained improvements.

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Outstanding

Staff nurture and genuinely care for the children. They ensure consistent care throughout a child’s development, from being a child to young adult. This stability and security enable children to feel valued and loved. One child said: ‘I am really glad I live here; people have changed my life.’ Another said: ‘Staff have really helped me over the years, when other people couldn’t.’

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Outstanding

Education is paramount in this home. All children benefit from significantly improved outcomes due to engaging in education and training. One child has successfully moved on to university, and another is developing vocational skills with the aim of having his own business. The younger children are progressing well in their education and have excellent attendance. One teacher said, ‘I have never experienced such commitment from a manager and staff team.’

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Outstanding

Therapeutic support enables children to overcome trauma and build emotional resilience. The staff team participates in reflective consultations with an independent therapeutic practitioner. A team member referred to this model’s impact as ‘extremely important and beneficial’.

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Outstanding

One child has lived in the home for a significant period of time and is preparing to leave the home. He has made tremendous progress from starting points. He has great relationships with staff. He has a ‘normal’ life, with lots of positive friendships, activities and a girlfriend. He feels listened to. He has made decisions about his life and is prepared for independence.

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Outstanding

When a child needed to move from the home quickly, extremely detailed transition plans helped the child to understand their journey to move on from the home. Transition planning enabled the child to have continued staff support for a significant time. This ensured that education, health and social plans continued with minimal change. Inspection report for children’s home: SC035976 4 The home is a well-kept and attractive family home. Children take pride in their home and help maintain their garden and go litter picking in the community.

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Outstanding

Exceptional safeguarding practice is embedded throughout the home. Staff provide effective care for children who have complex and diverse needs.

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Outstanding

Safeguarding incidents are rare; however, when an incident occurs, the manager ensures a prompt and rigorous response that ensures children’s safety. Effective partnership working between staff and other agencies keeps children safe.

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Outstanding

Partnership working is a strength of this home. The registered manager sources specialist support to address children’s needs. This has enabled staff to benefit from learning about and using research-informed practice. This has had an exceptional impact on the lives and experiences of children.

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Outstanding

Behaviour management is a strength of this home. Physical interventions have not been used since the last inspection. Consequences are rarely used in this home. There has been one incident where a child was briefly missing from the home. However, staff ensured that the missing protocol was followed to ensure the child’s safe return.

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Outstanding

Staff have warm and trusted relationships with children, which helps children to make excellent progress. Staff know the children well and know how to support each child in a way that works for them. This means that children’s risks and vulnerabilities have reduced significantly.

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Outstanding

Safe recruitment of new staff is rigorous. This assures managers of adults’ integrity and character to safely work with children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: Outstanding

The registered manager is tenacious in ensuring that children develop, progress and grow. The manager is approachable, visible and active in the home and leads by example. An experienced responsible individual is in post and is awaiting a suitability decision from Ofsted.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: Outstanding

Staff are exceptionally positive about the support provided by the registered manager. They say that they have seen progress since she came into post. One staff member said, ‘The manager is inspirational.’ Another said, ‘She has been a great tower of strength for the team and is very supportive.’

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: Outstanding

The manager has identified high-quality, research-based practice to improve outcomes for children. Regular valuable input from a clinical team provides staff with the psychological guidance they need to provide daily therapeutic parenting. This has enabled staff to confidently use therapeutic, research-based models of care. Inspection report for children’s home: SC035976 5 The staff team is committed to the children. Staff are cohesive and have a shared vision about caring for children. The team is stable, with minimal change since the last inspection. This has provided stability for children, which enables them to feel safe, secure and valued.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: Outstanding

Staff benefit from a stimulating programme of ongoing training and development to enhance their skills. This is underpinned by rigorous supervision, appraisal and performance management arrangements.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: Outstanding

The registered manager promotes a culture of continuous improvement and a commitment to high standards. She has an exceptional knowledge of the home’s strengths and areas for development. She has made improvements to the systems for the recording and auditing of children’s information. This provides transparency in showing children’s progress. She strives to continually improve practice.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: Outstanding

Feedback from professionals is consistently glowing. One healthcare professional said, ‘I can only give you very positive comments on this home.’ A social worker said, ‘I wish we had more homes like this.’ Children make exceptional progress in all aspects of their life because of the care they receive.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: Outstanding

There have been no requirements set in this inspection. Inspection report for children’s home: SC035976 6

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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: SC035976 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: County Offices, Matlock DE4 3AG

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Inspector

Amanda Ellis, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: SC035976 8 and inspects 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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Inspector

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