Children's Home run by Hexagon Care Services Limited in Rochdale

home are

The children's home provides effective services that meet the requirements for good.

p.2

The children's home provision is good because:

 Young people enjoy highly individualised care, support and therapy and make significant progress during their time living in the home. This consistent approach to care ensures young people understand what is expected of them and the responses they can expect when they are upset or in crisis.  Engagement in education increases during placement, particularly for those who have not been in formal education for significant periods of time. Young people enjoy a variety of positive and life enriching experiences. They make progress in all aspects of their development.  Joint working is a key strength. The home have positive relationships with education, therapists and external advocacy services among others, in order to provide a holistic approach to care. Additionally, joint strategies between the home and the local police can help build positive relationships.  Young people who are preparing to move to independence are supported

p.3

The children's home provision is good because:

through tailored packages to develop their skill base.  The registered manager has high aspirations for each young person. She is a strong manager and sets high standards for the care and welfare of young people.

p.3

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.

p.3

Requirement Due date

an individual may only carry on a children’s home if the individual satisfies the requirements that full and satisfactory information is 30/11/2015 available in relation to the individual in respect of each of the matters in Schedule 2 (Regulation 26 (1))

p.3

Requirement Due date

ensure the procedure to be followed in the event of an allegation of abuse or neglect must, in particular provide for liaison and co- operation with any local authority which are, or may be, making a child protection enquiry in relation to a child accommodated in the home (Regulation 34(a)) 30/11/2015

p.4

The leadership and management standard

ensure that staff have the experience, qualifications and skills to meet the needs of each child (Regulation 13(1)) 30/11/2015

p.4

The leadership and management standard

The registered person may only use devices for the monitoring or surveillance of children if the child’s placing authority consents in writing to the monitoring or surveillance (Regulation 24(1)(b)) 30/11/2015

p.4

Recommendations

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

p.4

Recommendations

keep under review the home's Statement of Purpose (Guide to the Children's Homes Regulations 3.5)

p.4

Recommendations

 a record of supervision should be kept for staff, including the manager. The record should provide evidence that supervision is being delivered in line with regulation 33(4)(b) (Guide to the children's homes Regulations 13.5)

p.4

Recommendations

ensure young people live in an environment which meets their basic day to day needs. In particular ensure all areas of the home are well decorated and the garden area is accessible to young people's needs. (The Guide to the Quality Standards page 15 paragraph 3.7).

p.4

Recommendations

The registered person should actively seek independent scrutiny and make best use of information from independent and internal monitoring (including under regulations 45 and 46) to ensure continuous improvement. They need to be skilled in anticipating difficulties, learning from disruptions and placement breakdowns. They are responsible for proactively implementing lessons learned. (The Guide to the Quality Standards page 46 paragraph 10.18).

p.4

Information about this children's home

This home is registered to provide care for up to six young males who experience emotional and behavioural difficulties. The home is part of a private company which has a number of children’s residential services throughout the UK.

p.6

Recent inspection history

Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

p.6

people living in the home are

Young people enjoy excellent relationships with staff, who have a clear understanding of each child’s individual’s needs. They are positive about the home and enjoy living here. One young person said, ‘I like going out to places and I like the food here’. Staff challenge young people appropriately, but also provide them with unconditional support to progress in their lives. Young people approach staff with queries, worries or concerns and benefit from frank and open discussions. Observed topics included friendships and relationships, family contact and conflict, alongside general interest and interaction at the dining table.

p.7

people living in the home are

Young people benefit from care that is designed to meet their individual needs. Staff liaise with education staff in the organisation’s on site school, and with therapists to develop comprehensive care plans which focus on the individual needs of young people and their identity. Staff ensure a consistent approach and purposeful target setting through liaison with the organisation’s therapist and regularly updated plans in line with reviews and changes in behaviour. Young people are encouraged to share their views at their reviews, and plans are fully young person centred. Young people who are preparing for independence are helped to budget and manage household chores, including cooking their own meals.

p.7

people living in the home are

Young people of compulsory education age attend the organisation’s school. Many have struggled to attend school prior to their placement, often not engaging for several months or years. One social worker commented, ‘(the home) is providing my young person with a good level of care and education which is the first time this young person has managed any education in the past three years.’ With perseverance and skill staff motivate young people to attend school as programmed. This has resulted in them progressing in line with their peers; young people have gained fundamental skills in core subjects like Maths and English.

p.7

people living in the home are

In addition to formal education, young people are engaged in a variety of socially and emotionally stimulating activities. While most have chosen not to attend organised clubs or events, they do go fishing with staff, complete Lego war games and go bowling together as a group. They are happy with the activities on offer and have tried various pastimes, such as cornet playing, but are not keen to pursue these. A parent commented that the young people were ‘not mixing with other kids’; this is an area the manager is looking to develop.

p.7

people living in the home are

Young people are helped to understand healthy lifestyles and what this means for them. Staff promote a balanced diet and healthy eating and encourage young people to exercise. Smoking is discouraged, and young people have been motivated to stop. Records of health appointments are clear and all routine checks have taken place, they also have the opportunity to attend individual therapy and staff have regular therapeutic consultations to provide a consistent approach to young people.

p.7

people living in the home are

Contact with friends and family is supported by staff who often accompany young people on contact, often travelling long distances to facilitate this. Unfortunately delays as a result of travel have at times reduced the time young people spend with their families. Staff have a good understanding of the impact visits may have on young people and do their best to promote positive contact.

p.8

requires improvement

Young people say they feel safe in the home and know that staff care about their welfare and well-being. They identify staff in the home that they would go to if they were worried or upset, although they do not always manage to do this and their frustration can be taken out on fixtures and fittings around the house. Staff understand young people’s vulnerabilities, and do all they can to keep them safe. They are confident in processes to follow should they be concerned for a young person’s safety or welfare.

p.8

requires improvement

Young people rarely go missing from the home; there has only been one episode. The responses to this incident was robust, with staff following young people, looking for them in known locations or attempting to contact them by mobile phone. Staff have very strong links with the local police and other organisations. The police officer said about the home, ‘very good, staff are fair and firm with the boundaries, they are professional and committed to the care of the young people.’ When young people have been missing they are welcomed back to the home by staff, meetings then take place with their placing authority to explore the safety of young people.

p.8

requires improvement

When deemed appropriate, young people are taken on day trips with staff to simply enjoy being out of doors and develop important social skills. Photographs of activities are dotted around the home to remind young people of positive times. On occasion incidents have happened when the young people have been away from the home and the Registered Manager has failed to adequately reflect on the learning of near misses. As a result the manager is not proactively implementing lessons learned. Inappropriate behaviour has reduced dramatically for young people while living at this home. Young people who may put themselves or others at risk benefit from consistent support from staff. Joint working with therapists and mental health professionals has ensured young people gain other coping strategies and staff respond in a manner that best helps them.

p.8

requires improvement

Behaviour management is well planned and consistent. Restraint is used on occasion and usually to guide young people away from situations. Sanctions fit with the homes ethos; measures imposed are relevant and individualised. One young person said, ‘when we do things wrong, we have a consequence; they are fair.’

p.9

requires improvement

Bullying is not outwardly raised as an issue, although staff tackle dominant personalities and relationships within the home on a regular basis in house meetings. Weekly ‘boy’s meetings’ are also used to discuss e-safety and consult young people on daily activities and food plans.

p.9

requires improvement

Recruitment and selection of staff alongside the consideration of safeguarding investigations on the suitability of staff is not sufficiently robust. A member of staff was allowed to work in the home, via an agency, without the Registered Manager having site of any recruitment checks. When checks were obtained the member of staff had been dismissed from his last place of work working with children. This had not been previously declared by the applicant. The Registered Manager did not follow their organisation’s policy and as a result potentially placed young people in their care at risk of harm.

p.9

requires improvement

A complaint was made by a young person that he had been threatened by a staff member during an altercation in the home. The young person took the time to write his complaint and the Registered Manager started the investigation. Following advice from the service manager of the organisation, the information was not passed onto the Local Area Designated Officer (LADO), stating that, in his opinion, it did not meet the threshold. The investigation was proven against the staff member, as he admitted his shortfalls and received a written warning. The social worker for the young person was only informed when the investigation had concluded. The Registered manager failed to notify the local authority of the allegation and as a result did not follow the authority’s protocols following safeguarding concerns.

p.9

requires improvement

The home is physically safe and appropriately secure. Staff ensure that all visitors to the home sign in and are supervised during visits. Young people know and understand the security arrangements in relation to the home and follow these. Some areas of the home are in need of repair, there is a leak in the conservatory and the dishwasher is broken. There are issues generally around cleanliness around the house and debris is across the garden making it look unsightly on approach. Carpets and walls are in need of repair or are in need of refreshing. The result is a home that shows the signs of becoming tired and unhomely. Judgement grade

p.9

requires improvement

The home currently has a Registered Manager who has relevant experience and is appropriately qualified for the role. The home was registered initially in 2013 but then closed, it recently re-opened and this is the homes first inspection following registration.

p.10

requires improvement

The homes statement of purpose has some discrepancies. For example it states that the home will accommodate four young people but it is registered for six. It also states that the electronic surveillance is in the home but it does not detail that the surveillance is on all day and night. Social workers have not consented to the use of the surveillance for their young people.

p.10

requires improvement

Most aspects of the home are well run. Young people are always at the centre of all plans and staff are confident in their roles. They say they support each other well and work together as a team. Staff do not receive regular supervision, this fails to provide staff an opportunity to be sufficiently challenged in order to improve practice. Ten staff have joined the team and a significant proportion of those are new to child care. Therefore failure to provide supervision is not supporting new staff members.

p.10

requires improvement

The staff team is well balanced in terms of gender and life experience and this provides young people with opportunities to have positive relationships with a variety of adults. The home rarely uses agency staff. This means that young people develop relationships with adults they see regularly and who provide consistency of care. All staff complete the home’s induction and core training. However additional training is not currently provided for staff where young people have specific needs. For example, training on sexual harmful behaviours. This fails to ensure that staff have the necessary understanding and skills to meet young people’s needs.

p.10

requires improvement

Reports from independent monitoring visits in relation to Regulation 44 are strong and provide a good overview of the current service and young people’s progress, while providing critical oversight. Mangers monitoring is not currently providing the scrutiny required as many records including chronologies of safeguarding events are not clearly evaluated.

p.10

requires improvement

Young peoples’ comprehensive care plans are combined with risk assessments providing a combined document which is easy to understand and implement. They demonstrate sound joint working with partner agencies to ensure consistency in the approach to care. Plans are focused from the point of view of the young person. Progress is always clear within these plans. All files contain pre-placement risk assessments and are comprehensive and provide a sound evaluation of the needs of the individual.

p.10

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.

p.12

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

p.12

What the inspection judgements mean

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

p.12

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

p.13

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 .

p.13

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,

p.14

Information about this inspection

The National Archives, Kew, London TW9 4DU, or email: psi@nationalarchives.gsi.gov.uk .

p.14

Information about this inspection

Interested in our work? You can subscribe to our monthly newsletter for more information and updates: http://eepurl.com/iTrDn .

p.14

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

p.14