Children's Home run by Oldham Council in Oldham

Requires improvement

The children's home is not yet delivering good help and care for children and young people. However, there are no serious or widespread failures that result in their welfare not being safeguarded or promoted.

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The children's home provision requires improvement because:

 The home does not undertake strong and effective impact assessments prior to young people moving into the home. This has resulted in some placement instability, with some young people feeling vulnerable to the behaviour of others or becoming involved in behaviour that increase their own individual risks.  Some young people have been subject to bullying and verbal aggression. Staff discuss this with all those involved but there are still some elements of bullying. This means some young people continue to be vulnerable, potentially leading to raised anxiety, and an increase in negative behaviour.  Not all staff demonstrate a good understanding of e-safety. This makes it difficult to provide effective guidance to young people or robust monitoring to alert them to potential dangers.

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The children's home strengths

Staff effectively communicate with placing social workers and others involved in the care and support of young people. Clear expectations about behaviour are in place. Young people are fully involved in discussing boundaries and possible sanctions for not adhering to the home’s rules. Education attendance is good and has enabled young people to take exams, grow in confidence, and plan to attend college courses to assist them in their future careers. Young people learn skills to prepare them for their future when they move into adulthood and independence.

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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 (England) Regulations 2015 and the Guide to the children's homes regulations including the quality standards. The registered person(s) must comply with the given timescales.

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Requirement Due date

6: The quality and purpose of care standard In order to meet the quality of care standard with particular reference to care provided for all children within the home the registered person must ensure that staff: (2)(b)(ii) protect and promote each child's welfare. 30/07/2015

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Requirement Due date

In order to meet the positive relationships standard with particular reference to relationships between children living within the home the registered person must ensure that: Each child is encouraged to build and maintain positive relationships with others. 30/07/2015

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Requirement Due date

In order to meet the protection of children standard with particular reference to staff knowledge and support in the protection of children and young people who access the internet the registered person must ensure that staff: (2)(a)(i) 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. 30/07/2015

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Requirement Due date

13: The leadership and management standard

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Requirement Due date

In order to meet the leadership and management standard with particular reference to impact assessments, the registered person must: (2)(f) understand the impact that the quality of care provided in the home is having on the progress and experiences of each child and use this understanding to inform the development of the quality of care provided in the home. 17/07/2015 16: Statement of purpose

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must provide a copy of the statement of purpose to HMCI, keep the statement of purpose under review and, where appropriate, revise it (Regulation 16 (2)(3)(a). 30/07/2015

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Recommendations

To improve the quality and standards of care further the service should take account of the following recommendation(s):  When a child returns home after being missing from care and has an independent return home interview, information should be provided to the home about the reasons given. The home should take account of information provided when assessing risks and putting arrangements in place to protect each child. (The Guide to the Quality Standards, page 45, paragraph 9.30).

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Information about this children's home

 This local authority children’s home provides care and accommodation for five young people with emotional and/or behavioural difficulties.

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Recent inspection history

Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

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Recent inspection history

17/03/2015 CH - Interim Sustained effectiveness

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requires improvement

Recent admissions have been on a short term or emergency basis and although staff endeavour to support positive attachments to develop, changes within the home impacts on this consistently happening. Placements are made by the residential resource panel chaired by senior managers within the local authority. Consideration is given to the potential impact when agreeing admissions, however, robust impact assessments are not undertaking by the home. This has resulted in some young people’s needs not being consistently met and an increase in competing demands for staff attention. As a result, some negative behaviour has increased with staff responding on a reactionary basis, rather than through planned and effective strategies. For example; one young person becomes distressed due to the behaviour of others. The young person either removes himself from the main areas of the home or, if possible, staff take him out of the

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requires improvement

home on an unplanned activity. This has happened on a number of occasions. Although this young person has made overall progress in all areas of development during the time living at the home, this is at risk of declining due to the behaviour of others.

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requires improvement

The vast majority of young people placed are of an age when they can manage their own health care needs. However, if they request additional support, this is provided. The home has developed positive links with additional health services; for example, drug and substance misuse agencies, the sexual health team and the nurse for looked after children. This has resulted in overall improvement of young people’s health. However, where a young person has additional health care needs relating to a specific disability, staff are not fully aware of the implications. An example of this relates to a young person who has had specialist assessments undertaken by an occupational therapist to improve fine motor skills. Staff have not had specific training in relation to supporting young people with disabilities. In addition, this information is not incorporated into the young person’s placement plan so staff do not understand the importance of this identified need.

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requires improvement

All young people are engaged in education which has enabled them to make educational progress. Before living at the home some young people had poor school attendance and little aspiration for their future. With encouragement and support from staff, working in partnership with education, two young people have recently undertaken CGSE exams and have secured college placements. One young person said ‘I am now really looking forward to learning and planning my future. I realise the importance of it now.’ Preparing for independence is a strength of the home. Young people have opportunities and support to develop practical skills that will give them a good foundation for independent living. This includes budgeting, meal preparation and contributing to household tasks. One young person said ‘since I started independence work I am gaining lots of confidence. I can prepare meals and can budget my money well. I think this, along with getting ready to go to college has

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requires improvement

been really good for me. Staff have listened to me and taken my views about getting ready to leave really seriously. With their support I am really positive about my future.’

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requires improvement

Staying in touch with family and friends is supported well and in accordance with individual plans. This enables positive attachments to be maintained. Where there are restrictions in place in connection to some contacts, staff explain to young people the reason why and help them to understand their safety and well-being is important. For further support, they have access to independent children’s rights workers to discuss and raise concerns with.

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requires improvement

Young people attend regular meetings to empower them to contribute their views to how the home functions. One young person said ‘ I like it that staff listen to our views and when we ask for something that isn’t possible, they explain why it isn’t. They also listen to things we would like. I am having my bedroom redecorated and I am choosing the colours. We have all been asked what we would like in our rooms.’

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requires improvement

Young people have individual risk assessments outlining potential risks and the management of these. Some risk assessments contain greater detail than others with some requiring updating to reflect additional information. The manager has a strong understanding of safeguarding issues and is developing more robust risk management strategies. This is to make sure staff have a clear and consistent response to known risks.

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requires improvement

Management monitoring of recent episodes of young people missing from the home identify a young person moving to the home with a significant history of going missing impacting on other young people, who were encouraged to do the same. This increased overall risks. Staff continue to work with young people to enable them to understand the risks involved. When someone is missing, staff search the local area and attempt to make contact by telephone to establish that young people are safe. Staff follow agreed protocols and have positive relationships with police and other safeguarding agencies. All young people have the opportunity to speak with an independent person in relation to the reasons for going missing. However, the agency does not provide any details to the staff or manager. This does not enable effective evaluation for the reason for the young person going missing or to take steps to address any concerns raised.

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requires improvement

Staff have a strong understanding of the risks of child sexual exploitation. They work in partnership with a designated team to support young people at risk. Positive intervention has enabled one young person to work with services to speak to other young people about the risks of sexual exploitation within schools and colleges.

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requires improvement

All staff complete safeguarding training as part of their mandatory training. However, not all staff has completed e-safety training and some lack a robust knowledge of potential risks associated with on-line safety. Therefore they are unable to fully explain the risks to young people or effectively safeguard against them.

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requires improvement

Staff engage with young people to support them to make choices and take risks. Young people say they benefit from clear guidelines regarding behaviour and consequences for negative behaviour. Behaviour management plans are in place. However, due to the recent turbulent behaviour of some young people, staff are not consistently implementing effective strategies. Despite additional staffing, some periods of challenging behaviour have escalated which impacts on the other young people living within the home.

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requires improvement

There have been some incidents of bullying. Most young people have been confident to discuss their concerns with staff. However, despite staff intervention on individual levels and discussion about bullying being a general topic within young people’s meetings, some young people have become anxious and withdrawn because of this. This impacts on their overall well-being and feeling of safety and security. At the time of inspection, one young person had moved on from the home who had instigated some bullying. Another young person is moving to a more appropriate placement to meet their specific needs. This will bring greater stability and enable staff to provide positive reinforcement of the need for mutual respect and understanding through constructive communication. One social worker commented ‘despite the difficulties with other residents (name) has made significant progress in terms of her behaviour, education and the relationships with

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requires improvement

others. This has been underpinned by staff support and encouragement.’ Judgement grade

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requires improvement

There has been a recent change of manager at the home. The new manager is in the process of completing her application to Ofsted to be the registered manager within agreed timeframes. She has experience of working with children and young people as a deputy manager and is enthusiastic about being an effective manager. She is aware of the need to improve services within the home and has commenced a programme of change to support this. One young person said ‘the manager is good and discussed boundaries with us. This is good because it means that we all understand the rules and what will happen if we break them. I think this is fair.’

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requires improvement

The manager is committed to ensuring the needs of the young people are central to the ethos of the home and wants it to feel as much of a nurturing family home as possible. However, the needs of some young people recently admitted have not been fully assessed regarding the impact this would have on the young people currently living there. For example; their complex and challenging behaviour have unsettled relationships within the home and had a bearing on the other young people already living there. This has resulted in a decline in behaviour, both within the home and school, as well as negating previous progress. This does not demonstrate full consideration is given to all young people’s needs prior to placements being made. The independent visitor has also conveyed this to senior managers of the local authority within her monthly report.

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requires improvement

Monitoring of the progress young people are making is in place through monthly placement plan reviews. However, the recording within these plans varies and does not provide consistent and sufficient detail to demonstrate all areas of progress. The instability of recent placements has also had an effect on this.

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requires improvement

The home works in partnership with placing social workers and other professionals. All social workers spoken to were positive about the levels of communication with the staff and manager. However, some raised concerns regarding the match of young people within the home and how this was affecting outcomes for some individuals. They say that the manager is beginning to address this, and they in turn have sourced alternative specialised placements for two young people to meet specific individual needs.

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requires improvement

The home’s Statement of Purpose provides information about the aims and objectives of the service. Copies are available to social workers, parents and other interested parties. However, a copy has not been sent to Ofsted as required by regulation. This does not enable the regulator to have an understanding of the homes functions or changes made within it. Young people receive a guide to the home which tells them about the home and what it is like living there. One young person said ‘it was helpful to know a bit about the home when I moved in.’ The staff team benefit from regular supervision and support from the manager and deputy manager of the home. This helps them to reflect on their practice and enables the manager to identify any areas for practice development or training shortfalls. Some staff have not undertaken all required training and development and this has been highlighted with particular regards to e-safety. The manager is

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requires improvement

reviewing training for all staff to address shortfalls in practice to enable them to support young people effectively.

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requires improvement

Quality assurance processes are in place to review and evaluate the quality of the service provided and to reflect progress young people make during their placement. Following the reorganisation of the residential services, the manager has commenced a review of the home and the systems in place. In the two months she has been in post she is developing an understanding of the strengths and weaknesses of the service and is keen to address shortfalls identified to promote continual improvement.

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What the inspection judgements mean

The experiences and progress of children and young people are at the centre of the inspection. Inspectors will use their professional judgement to determine the weight and significance of their findings in this respect. The judgements included in the report are made against Inspection of children's homes: framework for inspection.

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What the inspection judgements mean

An outstanding children's home provides highly effective services that contribute to significantly improved outcomes for children and young people who need help and protection and care. Their progress exceeds expectations and is sustained over time. A good children's home provides effective services that help, protect and care for children and young people and have their welfare safeguarded and promoted. In a children's home that requires improvement , there are no widespread or serious failures that create or leave children being harmed or at risk of harm. The welfare of looked after children is safeguarded and promoted. Minimum requirements are in place, however, the children's home is not yet delivering good protection, help and care for children and young people. A children's home that is inadequate is providing services where there are widespread or serious failures that create or leave children and young people being

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What the inspection judgements mean

harmed or at risk of harm or result in children looked after not having their welfare safeguarded and promoted.

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Information about this inspection

Inspectors have looked closely at the experiences and progress of children and young people living in the children's home. Inspectors considered the quality of work and the difference adults make to the lives of children and young people. They read case files, watched how professional staff work with children, young people and each other and discussed the effectiveness of help and care given to children and young people. Wherever possible, they talked to children, young people and their families. In addition the inspectors have tried to understand what the children's home knows about how well it is performing, how well it is doing and what difference it is making for the children and young people who it is trying to help, protect and look after. This 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 Children's

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Information about this inspection

Homes (England) Regulations 2015 and the Guide to the children's homes regulations including the quality standards. the guidance raising concerns and making complaints about Ofsted, which is available from Ofsted's website: www.gov.uk/government/organisations/ofsted . If you would like Ofsted to send you a copy of the guidance, please telephone 0300123 4234, or email enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk .

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Information about this inspection

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, workbased learning and skills training, adult and community learning, and education and training in prisons and other secure establishments. It inspects services for looked after children and child protection. If you would like a copy of this document in a different format, such as large print or Braille, please telephone 0300 123 4234, or email enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk . You may reuse this information (not including logos) free of charge in any format or medium, under the terms of the Open Government Licence. To view this licence, visit www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence , write to the Information Policy Team,

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Information about this inspection

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Information about this inspection

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Information about this inspection

Store Street Manchester M1 2WD T: 0300 123 1231 Textphone: 0161 618 8524 E: enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk W: www.gov.uk/government/organisations/ofsted

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