Children's Home run by Rochdale Borough Council in Rochdale

Unique reference number SC034851 Inspector Ceri Evans Type of inspection Interim Provision subtype Children's home

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Registered person Rochdale Metropolitan Borough Council Registered person address Rochdale Metropolitan Borough Council PO Box 39 ROCHDALE Lancashire OL16 1LQ Responsible individual Paul Marshall Registered manager POST VACANT / David Matthew Woodruff Date of last inspection 17/06/2014 2 of 7 Inspection date 04/02/2015

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Previous inspection adequate Enforcement action since last inspection none

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This inspection

This home was judged adequate at the last full inspection. At this interim inspection Ofsted judge that it has sustained effectiveness .

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This inspection

At the last full inspection in June 2014 the home was judged as adequate and five requirements and six recommendations were made. The home has addressed all the requirements. However, not all of the recommendations have been met. Therefore, these will be carried to the next inspection.

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This inspection

A new manager has been in post since July 2014. He is suitably experienced; having worked in social care for over 16 years. However, he does not currently hold a relevant leadership and management qualification. Action has been taken to address this as part of the registration process. The manager is supported by a deputy manager and senior managers, and together they ensure the effective operation of the home. The application for registration with Ofsted was sent within the required timescales and is in progress. The current manager understands the strengths and weaknesses of the home. He is determined to improve outcomes for young people and has taken on board most of the issues raised at the last inspection.

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This inspection

The quality of care has been maintained in the home. Young people benefit from being looked after by a consistent team. Staff are qualified and have continuing training opportunities which enable them to maintain their knowledge and skills. Staff feel that they are very well supported by their manager and deputy manager. Since the last inspection, improvements have been made to the quality of supervision sessions. An additional reflective supervision meeting now takes place monthly. This enables staff to evaluate their practice and improves and promotes individual competencies of the workforce.

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This inspection

Staff value education and they actively promote young people’s attendance. Most young people have improved attendance and attainment from their starting points and are making steady progress. However, despite encouragement from staff and effective links with schools not all young people express an interest in attending. 3 of 7 This means that some young people’s potential is not maximised and they miss out on the opportunity to improve their life chances through formal education.

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This inspection

Young people benefit from regular family contact which is consistent with their care plans. The home also has good communication with families, thus ensuring that young people develop and sustain relationships with those whom are important to them. Well organised and purposeful contact has strengthened the relationship young people have with their families. This helps preserve young people’s heritage and identity. Improvements have been made to the quality of risk assessments. They are now more robust and clear in relation to triggers for specific behaviours. Furthermore, risk assessments are now subject to regular review and monitoring. This ensures that information is relevant and up to date. Individual behaviour management plans support young people’s behavioural needs. Good behaviour is praised and rewarded, which encourages more socially acceptable behaviours. However, the effectiveness of some behaviour management strategies has been tested in recent months. At

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This inspection

times there has been a lack of, or unclear consequences in place for young people. For example, strategies to prevent young people from smoking in their bedrooms are not robust. This means that young people have not been consistently challenged which potentially gives them unclear messages about expectations.

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This inspection

Whilst there is evidence in certain areas of good recording practices, some records do not provide a thorough overview of the care practices within the home. For example, sanction records do not inform on their effectiveness, nor do they make it clear if young people understand the measures taken. This is not good practice as it does fully not evaluate the impact of the measure.

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This inspection

The incidents of young people going missing from home have reduced, following the departure of young people who were involved in this behaviour. Staff follow the agreed missing from care protocols when young people have been missing. This includes them going out into the community and searching for young people. The use of physical restraint is extremely rare and only used when absolutely necessary. Records of restraint do not provide a detailed overview of an incident. For example, the steps taken to deescalate the situation, and the use and length and time of the intervention is not consistently captured. This impedes the manager ability to monitor restraints to ensure they have been conducted safely and appropriately. In addition, records made in this way do not stand up to scrutiny in the event of a complaint.

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This inspection

The Statement of Purpose has been reviewed since the last inspection; this now sets out the home’s approach to surveillance ad monitoring. The document is now up to date with respect to staffing and a copy has been received by Ofsted. The manager has made some improvement to the monitoring of the home. Monthly monitoring provides a good overview of the home which includes consultation with young people, their families and placing authorities. However, regulation 34 reports are not consistently sent to HMCI in good time. Furthermore, as highlighted, matters in 4 of 7 relation to behaviour management and sanctions are not effectively recorded. This means that regulation 33 reports do not offer an accurate picture of the practices within the home. Therefore, current systems impede the regulator from being able to effectively monitor the impact the service is having on the outcomes for young people.

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This inspection

The home is pleasantly furnished and decorated. It provides a homely environment for young people to live. The home continues to have effective partnerships with social care, health and education professionals, which are collaborative working practices to ensure that the holistic needs of young people are met. Social workers and parents continue to express satisfaction with how the home cares for young people. 5 of 7

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Information about this children’s home

The home provides care and support for five young people who have emotional and behavioural difficulties. The home is managed by the local authority.

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

17/06/2014 Full adequate 31/01/2014 Interim inadequate progress 11/07/2013 Full good 27/02/2013 Interim good progress

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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) The registered person shall promote and make proper provision for the safeguarding and welfare of children accommodated there; specifically implement robust behaviour management strategies and clearer sanctions. (Regulation 11(1)(a)) 19/03/2015

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Reg. Requirement Due date

17B (2001) Where a measure of restraint is used on a child, the record under paragraph (3) must include the duration of the restraint, and details of any methods used to avoid the need to use the measure. (Regulation 17B (4)(a)(b)) 19/03/2015

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Reg. Requirement Due date

(2001) The registered person shall supply to HMCI a report in respect of any review conducted by him under the purposes of paragraph (1) (Regulation 34(2)) 19/03/2015

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Recommendations

6 of 7 To improve the quality and standards of care further the service should take account of the following recommendation(s):

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Recommendations

 ensure that all sanctions and rewards are clear, reasonable and fair and are understood by all staff and children (NMS 3.8)  ensure that where sanctions are used, children are encouraged to have their views recorded in the records kept by the home (NMS 3.18)  ensure visits of the home carried out under Regulation 33 include relevant checks set out in regulations and guidance. Specifically ensure that the reports demonstrate that the visitor is satisfied that the home has an effective approach to behaviour management (NMS 21.7)  The registered manager (or registered person, where the registered person is an individual and there is no registered manager) has: a the relevant leadership and management qualification. (NMS 14.2b) Website: www.ofsted.gov.uk

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Recommendations

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What inspection judgements mean

At the interim inspections we make a judgement on whether the home has improved in effectiveness, sustained effectiveness, or declined in effectiveness since the previous full inspection. This is in line with the Inspection of children’s homes: framework for inspection.

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Information 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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Information 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 framework of inspection for children's homes.

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