Children's Home run by Time-Out Children’s Homes Limited in Rochdale

Unique reference number SC065072 Inspection date 16/11/2011 Inspector Elaine Clare Type of inspection Full Provision subtype Children's home

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Date of last inspection 01/03/2011 Website: www.ofsted.gov.uk

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This document may be reproduced in whole or in part for non-commercial educational purposes, provided that the information quoted is reproduced without adaptation and the source and date of publication are stated.

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About this inspection

The purpose of this inspection is to assure children and young people, parents, the public, local authorities and government of the quality and standard of the service provided. The inspection was carried out under the Care Standards Act 2000 to assess the effectiveness of the service and to consider how well it complies with the relevant regulations and meets the national minimum standards.

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About this inspection

The report details the main strengths, any areas for improvement, including any breaches of regulation, and any failure to meet national minimum standards. The judgements included in the report are made against the Inspections of children’s homes – framework for inspection (March 2011) and the evaluation schedule for children's homes.

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The inspection judgements and what they mean

Outstanding : a service that significantly exceeds minimum requirements Good : a service that exceeds minimum requirements Satisfactory : a service that only meets minimum requirements Inadequate : a service that does not meet minimum requirements

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Brief description of the service

The children's home provides accommodation for two young people of either sex aged from 10 years to 17 years of age. Two young people are accommodated at the home and one was present at the time of the inspection.

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Overall effectiveness

The overall effectiveness is judged to be good .

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Overall effectiveness

This is a home where young people receive consistent and well planned care that meets their individual needs. Outcomes for young people are satisfactory as they feel safe and benefit from quality relationships. As they have only been at the home a short time, they have not yet fully benefitted from all that the home and staff can provide. The home routinely collects feedback from young people about daily living and the quality of care provided and acts on the feedback. Young people have individual plans and a particular strength of the home is that the staff fully understand and implement these. This consistent approach to young people's care helps to ensure that young people can make progress in all areas of their lives. Young people speak positively about the staff who care for them. Staff understand and follow safe working practices. There is effective leadership which helps to ensure the positive development of the home, although some aspects of the fabric and

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Overall effectiveness

décor of the home are not always well maintained.

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Statutory Requirements

This section sets out the actions which must be taken so that the registered person/s meets the Care Standards Act 2000, Children's Homes Regulations 2001 and the National Minimum Standards. The registered person(s) must comply with the given timescales.

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Reg. Requirement Due date

(2001) ensure all parts of the home are reasonably decorated and maintained. (Regulation 31 (2) (e)) 28/02/2012

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Recommendations

To improve the quality and standards of care further the service should take account of the following recommendation(s):

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Outcomes for children and young people

Outcomes for children and young people are satisfactory .

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Outcomes for children and young people

Young people are supported to understand their backgrounds and to develop a positive view of themselves. The close individualised support that they receive helps them to develop confidence and self-esteem. This is work in progress as the young people have only been at the home for a short while. Young people enjoy positive relationships with staff and attend regular key work sessions. This helps to ensure that personal goals are worked towards and emotional needs and specific issues are addressed.

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Outcomes for children and young people

Young people are supported to lead healthy lifestyles and to look after their own health, although this is not always accepted by the young people. Young people's psychological and emotional health needs are addressed. An example of this is that staff obtain advice from the child and adolescent mental health service in relation to young people's needs. The home also employs a clinical psychologist one day a week. Young people's sexual health is taken seriously and addressed through discussions and support for young people to attend health appointments. This helps to ensure that they are supported in their transition to adulthood and equipped with the information they need to keep healthy.

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Outcomes for children and young people

Contact arrangements are clearly understood by staff as they liaise positively with social workers about this. Staff understand the importance for young people of maintaining positive contact with their family members and this helps to ensure that young people sustain links to their heritage and a positive sense of identity.

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Outcomes for children and young people

There is a positive approach to education in the home and young people are supported to reach their full potential. Staff fully support young people to attend education that is appropriate to their needs. Staff recognise and reward success which ensures that young people have good school attendance and make progress in their learning and development.

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Quality of care

Young people benefit from positive relationships with staff and understand that staff are there to promote their best interests. The promotion of equality is a strength of the home. Staff consistently treat young people as individuals and respect and value their heritage. Care plans are in place and updated to reflect individual needs and strengths and this helps to ensure that these needs are met and progress is monitored. Young people's wishes are valued and actively sought.

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Quality of care

The close one-to-one support that young people currently receive helps to ensure that young people are able to make their views known. Young people know that their views are valued and say that staff listen to them and implement their views in day- to-day living. This has included young people choosing the daily menus, the activities and being involved in the redecoration of the home. Young people are able to contribute positively to statutory reviews. They do this by talking to staff about their feelings and completing pre-review questionnaires. This helps to ensure that they feel valued and their wishes are taken seriously.

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Quality of care

Some external complaints have recently been made to the home from the neighbours. These are around noise levels from the young people and disturbances in the night from emergency services. These have been adequately addressed. Young people are confident that their concerns will be taken seriously and are clear about what to do should they need to make a complaint. The management have a positive approach to concerns and this helps to ensure that learning and improvement is part of the ethos of the service.

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Quality of care

Young people's care plans form the basis of their care. This helps to ensure that young people's placements are structured to meet their individual needs. It also helps to ensure that social workers and other relevant professionals are involved in ensuring the quality of young people's placements. Staff implement positive behaviour strategies which help young people to develop positive and constructive behaviour. Behaviour management strategies are individualised and age appropriate and this helps to ensure that they are successful in promoting positive outcomes for young people. Staff say that physical restraint is not used regularly in this home, however, staff have been trained to use restraint safety should it be required. De- escalation strategies are used to good effect and this has resulted in a significant improvement in the behaviour of young people.

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Quality of care

The property is situated in a residential area and is domestic in character. Young people live in comfortable and homely surroundings. Some areas of the home are not in a good condition, for example, the general décor, the flooring in the lounge and on the stairs, and the sofa is damaged. Young people are able to personalise their bedrooms and are expected to contribute to the day-to-day cleaning of the home. This helps young people feel a sense of belonging and to take pride in their environment.

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Safeguarding children and young people

The service is good at keeping children and young people safe and feeling safe.

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Safeguarding children and young people

This is a home where young people feel safe and know that there is an adult that they can talk to if they feel unsafe. There are consistent boundaries which help young people to feel secure. Robust child protection procedures are in place and are followed appropriately. Staff are aware of the risks to young people and how these should be minimised as there are clear written risk assessments in place. Staff closely monitor young people's behaviour which allows any new risks to be appropriately managed. There is close staff support for young people and this helps to ensure that quick action is taken in relation to the particular vulnerabilities of young people. The positive use of de-escalation techniques helps to ensure that physical restraint is not commonly used in this home and this helps to promote young people's safety. This is a home where bullying is not tolerated and young people are clear that staff

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Safeguarding children and young people

will deal with bullying appropriately. One young person said that they would tell their key worker if they were bullied.

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Safeguarding children and young people

Young people do not go missing from this home regularly as staff work hard to understand young people's needs and this helps to prevent the occurrence of young people going missing. When young people do go missing, there is a robust response from staff which helps to ensure young people's safe return. The staff team works in partnerships with the local police and social workers when young people do go missing.

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Safeguarding children and young people

Young people benefit from living in an environment that keeps them safe and secure. They understand how to keep themselves safe in the event of a fire as staff talk to them about fire safety and carry out fire drills. Good safety measures are in place such as health and safety risk assessments and safety checks made at monthly visits by the registered provider. Young people benefit from a stable staff team. There has been one new appointment since the last inspection. The home has a robust recruitment policy and there is monitoring of all visitors which helps to keep young people safe.

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Leadership and management

The leadership and management of the children's home are good .

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Leadership and management

One requirement and one recommendation were set at the last inspection, both of which have been suitably addressed by the registered provider. The company has addressed the issues in safer recruiting by exploring gaps in employment stated on the application forms and verifying references. The paperwork for young people who have been missing from home prompts the key worker to arrange the social worker to visit the young person when they have returned home.

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Leadership and management

The home is functioning within the aims and objectives detailed in its Statement of Purpose. This document is made available to all relevant stakeholders, which helps to ensure that young people are placed in the home appropriately. Young people benefit from consistent care in a structured and stable environment.

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Leadership and management

There is regular monitoring of the quality of this service, including monthly Regulation 33 visits. This helps to ensure that young people enjoy a positive experience of living in the home and that any problems are put right quickly. There is adequate resourcing of the home and young people are able to give many examples of new purchases being made to improve daily living. Young people also report that they are provided with adequate allowances to enjoy their leisure time as well as purchase essentials such as clothing and toiletries.

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Leadership and management

There are high staffing levels and a stable and permanent staff team which helps to ensure that young people enjoy consistency in their care. This also helps them to develop positive and trusting relationships with staff. Staff are supported to improve their skills and development through training, regular supervision and attendance at staff meetings. This helps to ensure that they have the skills and confidence to support young people appropriately. Good arrangements are in place for developing positive relationships and joint working with other agencies such as the police, schools, health services and placing authorities. This helps to ensure that young people benefit from a professional and consistent approach to their care. Staff have taken a sensitive and constructive approach to ensuring that young people benefit from enjoying a good relationship with the local community and neighbours.

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Leadership and management

Equality and diversity practice is good .

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