Children's Home run by Durham County Council in Durham

Inspection report for children’s home: SC035220 1 SC035220 Registered provider: Durham 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 operated by a local authority. It provides care for up to 3 children who may experience social and emotional difficulties and have learning disabilities.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager registered with Ofsted in May 2026.

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Information about this children’s home

Three children live at the home. One child was seen and spoken with during the inspection. The other children were away with staff on a planned holiday.

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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: SC035220 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

22/07/2025 Full Good 26/02/2025 Full Good 13/02/2024 Full Good 25/07/2022 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: SC035220 3

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Summary of findings

Children are being well cared for. The staff work positively with health professionals to ensure that children can access the support they need for their physical and emotional health needs. The children and staff are well supported by the therapeutic team. Staff use theory-based practice to enhance their skills to meet the children’s needs well. Safeguarding arrangements are effective. Children’s behavioural needs are well managed, and staff have lots of conversations with children to help them to be safer. However, improvement is needed with some conversations with children to help them have a broader vocabulary to use if something feels unsafe.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children have a variety of enjoyable experiences that help them feel valued and part of a family. Staff use shared activities and experiences to build relationships with children, develop children’s self-esteem and build positive memories. Additionally, staff maintain memory books that capture the children’s experiences and contribute to their life-story work.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children’s education is well supported. The manager ensures that children get the right support in school and that routines in the home promote children’s engagement. Staff encourage informal learning, and children’s achievements are celebrated. One child has engaged well with a personalised education package following a period of absence and is returning to school full time in the new term.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The manager has worked closely with medical professionals to support staff with the children’s health needs. Staff support children to attend appointments with a variety of health services, using social stories to help children understand what to expect and reduce their anxieties. As a result, children have the knowledge and skills they need to manage their own health. Furthermore, staff ensure that children understand adolescent development and have good health routines. They encourage children to eat healthily and be active.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Significant importance is given to ensuring that children have meaningful time with their families. Parents appreciate the work that the staff do to support their family time and as mediators when parents struggle to communicate with other professionals. Staff contact older siblings who are important to the children and encourage them to stay in touch to maintain these relationships.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff support children with important transitions in their lives. Children’s move on from the home is supported by good planning and full consideration of the effect such change can have for children. This helps children to move on to the next chapter of their lives well prepared. Inspection report for children’s home: SC035220 4

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

When children display unsafe behaviour, staff use restraint holds appropriately to keep children safe. Records of holds are clearly documented to support management oversight of staff practice. After any incident, staff help children to reflect on their behaviour to learn better ways to cope and apologise for their actions where appropriate.

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

Staff complete lots of interventions with children regarding concerns about unsafe behaviours. Staff work with therapeutic services to ensure that children’s risk assessments and support plans align with their needs, and these inform staff how to keep children safe. For example, staff help children to understand personal space and consent in relationships. However, staff are not always confident in how they write up these sessions, and they do not encourage children to develop their vocabulary and use the correct terms for parts of their body. This is not helpful to children should they want to share a concern.

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

Allegations are well managed. Leaders and managers ensure that the process of investigation has a limiting effect on the children and the staff. When children raise concerns regularly, plans are developed to guide staff on how to respond to concerns to ensure that children feel listened to and concerns are highlighted and responded to. Staff use social stories to show children the effect their words can have on others. Furthermore, staff encourage children to speak with their advocates, and children can identify trusted adults who they would talk to if they are worried about anything.

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

Leaders and managers have responded quickly when children have shared that they feel sad or unsafe due to the behaviour of their peers. Staff have provided all the children with reassurance and support, including time away from the home engaging in positive activities or summer holidays. When children’s needs cannot be met in the home, the manager works collaboratively with others to support children to move on appropriately.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager is available and present in the home. He has a full suite of monitoring tools that support him to have oversight of staff practice and the functioning of the home. The manager is confident in delegating tasks to those with management responsibilities and has upskilled staff to complete their tasks well, creating a culture of shared accountability.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager ensures that all staff have regular, reflective practice-related supervision sessions. Staff are supported to identify what they are proud of and what they have learned. Staff wellbeing is discussed and any concerns revisited by the supervisor at subsequent supervision sessions. As a result, staff feel well supported and valued and use the sessions to good effect to help them meet the children’s needs. Inspection report for children’s home: SC035220 5 The manager is committed to developing all aspects of practice in the home. He is aspirational to ensure that there is an established culture where children feel loved and listened to. He shows a real commitment to learning and development for the team. Since becoming the registered manager, he has introduced several different theoretical frameworks to support the staff in their practice. Training in team meetings is a regular occurrence, and staff benefit from reflection sessions led by therapeutic practitioners.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Inspection report for children’s home: SC035220 6

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Recommendation

 The registered person should ensure that staff understand the importance of careful, objective and clear recording. Information about children must always be recorded in a way that will be helpful to the child. Children should be encouraged to use the proper terms for parts of the body to avoid any confusion if a child needs to report any concerns. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards,’ page 62, paragraph 14.4)

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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: SC035220 7

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Durham County Council

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Fostering & Adoption Team, Spectrum 8, Spectrum Business Park, Seaham SR7 7TT

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Inspector

Kirstie Sutherland, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: SC035220 8 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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