Children's Home run by ROC Northwest Limited in Lancashire

Good

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

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The children’s home provision is good because:

 Children and young people grow and flourish in a comfortable, safe, homely environment. Children and young people confirm that they feel safe and well cared for by the staff team, who they like and know well.

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The children’s home provision is good because:

 Staff have a good understanding of children’s and young people’s needs and vulnerabilities and provide a high level of good quality support and supervision. This allows children and young people to enhance their experiences and skills in and around the home while promoting children’s and young people’s safety and welfare.

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The children’s home provision is good because:

 Family members and professionals have confidence in the staff team. They report that the staff are skilled at building positive, nurturing relationships with their children and young people. They confirm that the staff team know their children and young people well, and support and enable them to continue to make positive progress in all areas of their lives.

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The children’s home provision is good because:

 The management and leadership arrangements in the home are efficient and effective. The staff confirm that they receive a high level of support and supervision from the managers and that their training opportunities are good. This supports and enables the staff team to deliver a high standard of personalised care to each child and young person.

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The children’s home provision is good because:

 The processes and systems in place to monitor and evaluate the effectiveness of the home and the staff team are good. Internal and external monitoring of the home, which incorporates the views of all relevant parties, ensures that the home continues to develop and improve the experiences and progress for all the children and young people.

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The children’s home provision is good because:

 Two good practice recommendations have been raised. These relate to the monitoring and evaluation of physical interventions and recruitment practice.

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Recommendations

To improve the quality and standards of care further the service should take account of the following recommendations:

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Recommendations

 The registered person must ensure that the behaviour management policy is understood and applied at all times by staff. This is with specific reference to ensuring that another individual, appointed by the senior manager, monitors and evaluates any physical interventions that the registered manager has been actively involved in, as stated in the home’s policy on physical intervention. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 46, paragraph 9.34)

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Recommendations

 The registered person is responsible for maintaining good employment practice. This is with specific reference to ensuring that the recruitment policy identifies how background checks, such as disclosing and barring service checks, will be completed on prospective staff who have lived or been out of the country for six months or longer, to ensure that they are safe and suitable to work with vulnerable children and young people. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 61, paragraph 13.1)

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Information about this children’s home

This children’s home is owned and managed by a private company. It provides care and accommodation for no more than two children and young people who have emotional and/or behavioural difficulties, physical disabilities and learning disabilities.

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Recent inspection history

Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

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Recent inspection history

16 February 2016 Interim Sustained effectiveness

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Recent inspection history

24 February 2015 Interim Sustained effectiveness

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Good

Children and young people make good progress in all aspects of their development. They benefit from consistent, stable placements which enable them to develop and sustain positive and nurturing relationships. Children and young people have sustained, close and affectionate relationships with each other and the core staff team, alongside developing appropriate relationships with the newer members of the staff team, who know and can articulate the needs and vulnerabilities of the children and young people well.

p.6

Good

Staff have high aspirations for all the children and young people and advocate strongly for them. They actively pursue and challenge other agencies to ensure that young people receive the care and services that they need and require. For example, the manager has worked effectively with a social worker and education colleagues to ensure that one young person’s wish to attend a specific high school has been achieved. This proactive and dedicated response ensures that children’s and young people’s voices remain clear and focused on their care planning, and that they receive the correct level of support and services from placing authorities and from health and education providers.

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Good

Education for children and young people is valued and actively promoted by the staff. Children’s and young people’s attendance at school is excellent. They are supported to attend school regularly and on time and are provided with additional learning opportunities within the home to enhance their learning potential. Detailed and regular handovers from the home’s staff to the school staff ensure that children’s and young people’s present and emerging needs and behaviours are shared quickly. This means that appropriate plans are put into place promptly to ensure that children and young people receive a good level of quality care and support throughout the day. This careful and planned support ensures that children and young people are emotionally ready to learn within the school environment, and has assisted them in making some good academic progress. One professional said, ‘The home supports and encourages (name) to do well with his

p.6

Good

education. He is definitely making good educational progress in reading, writing, grammar, punctuation and spelling and is expected to reach his peer group expectations. (Name) is slightly behind with his maths but he is receiving additional support with this. We have definitely seen the progress that he has made.’

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Good

The health needs of children and young people are promoted well. Children and young people are encouraged to eat a well-balanced and healthy diet and take part in regular activities. Staff, who are suitably trained, implement clear medication regimes and healthcare plans to ensure that all the children’s and young people’s identified health needs are managed well. Routine health checks ensure that their emerging health needs are identified and met quickly. Good links with health professionals ensure that children and young people get the correct level of health input when they require it. A social worker said, ‘There has been a significant development in (name’s) health. He has made excellent progress. His epilepsy has been managed very well. He has been supported to all his health appointments regularly, and he’s been taking regular medication. Subsequently, (name) has not had any seizure activity since November 2015 and now he is much more able to

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Good

Family members are complimentary about the support that staff offer to them and to their children to maintain good quality family contact. Parents and family members confirm that they feel fully included in their children’s lives, as they are kept regularly updated with their child’s progress and achievements, alongside any significant events when these arise.

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Good

Children and young people are growing in confidence and gaining some useful independent living skills, which will equip them well in their preparation and transition into adulthood. Staff support each child and young person thoughtfully and sensitively, in line with their age and level of understanding, to increase their knowledge and skills. Staff do this well, by demonstration, promotion and education. Baseline assessments identify where children’s and young people’s knowledge and skills are, so that staff can concentrate on, and provide advice, guidance and support in, the areas which require further support and development. As a result, one young person spoken to confirmed that he now felt much more confident in helping to tidy around the home and in undertaking gardening tasks independently.

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Good

Children and young people live in a large, comfortable home, which is personalised to their individual needs. Children and young people benefit from the large bedrooms, which they enjoy. Their toys, belongings and photographs ensure that this space provides them with a warm, nurturing homely environment to enjoy and relax in. Staff ensure that children’s and young people’s positive experiences, such as trips out and activities which they have been involved in, are captured in a range of photographs. These photographs are collated in colourful and meaningful memory books, and photographs are proudly displayed around the home. Parents and professionals comment positively on the decor and ambience of the home, and attribute the progress that their children and young people continue to make to this, and to the care that staff provide. Judgement grade

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Good

Children and young people report that they feel safe and are kept safe by the staff. They confirm that there is no bullying, and that they enjoy positive and warm relationships with their peers and the staff team. Outside professionals validate this, and in addition have commented on how one young person has developed a good level of understanding and acceptance of children’s and young people’s differences. So much so the young person is now mentoring and supporting other children and young people within their school environment.

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Good

Detailed placement plans and risk assessments, which identify children’s and young people’s individual risks and vulnerabilities, are clearly understood by the staff team. Staff are fully aware of children’s and young people’s needs and the plans that are in place to support them. These plans are carefully monitored and reviewed in the light of any new information, and are shared with placing authorities, and with children and young people, so that they are aware of how the staff will support them during times of heightened anxiety.

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Good

Staff understand their safeguarding roles and responsibilities well. All staff have completed safeguarding training and receive regular refresher training as and when this is required. Staff are fully aware of the home’s whistle-blowing policy and speak confidently about this. Consequently, staff understand how to identify and respond to safeguarding concerns promptly, and they have a good level of knowledge and understanding of the procedures that they must follow should any safeguarding concerns arise. Staff provide children and young people with a high level of individual support and supervision to meet their diverse and complex needs. As a consequence, children and young people are not reported missing from home and are less likely to be exposed to any unnecessary risks or vulnerabilities.

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Good

Children and young people are encouraged, supported and educated to make good and safe choices by the staff. Children and young people are given good opportunities in their key working sessions to think about the possible hazards and dangers that they might encounter while out in the community or in the home. From these sessions, staff assess children’s and young people’s levels of understanding around these topic areas well. They provide children and young people with the relevant information where gaps in their knowledge are identified. For example, children and young people have learned how to contact the home in an emergency, and have enhanced their knowledge and understanding of stranger danger. As a consequence, children’s and young people’s safety and welfare is promoted, as their knowledge and skills about keeping themselves safe are developed and enriched. Physical interventions are used rarely by the staff, and only as a last resort, to

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Good

safeguard children and young people when diversionary techniques have been unsuccessful. All the staff are fully trained to implement this care practice safely. Staff support children and young people sensitively after an incident, to ensure that they are given the time, space and support to consider and reflect on their behaviours and subsequent actions, in order to minimise any further incidents. There are systems in place to ensure that all physical interventions are reviewed and evaluated by the manager in good time. However, the manager has not conformed to the home’s behaviour management policy and ensured that an independent person, has provided additional scrutiny, monitoring and evaluation to any physical interventions that the registered manager has been involved in, to ensure that children’s and young people’s safety and welfare are promoted.

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Good

Safe recruitment practice is followed, and checks and references are sought and verified fully for all new members of staff joining the home. However, the company’s present policy lacks detail and clarity on what background checks and criminal history checks will be completed on potential staff who have lived or been out of the country for six months or longer, to ensure that children and young people are kept safe.

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Good

Children and young people and staff are kept safe because staff carry out a range of suitable health and safety checks. The manager ensures that all the periodic assessments of the gas, electrical and fire safety appliances are undertaken regularly, and that any repairs and damage are addressed quickly. Alongside children’s and young people’s individual personal emergency evacuation plans, and their involvement in the regular fire evacuation procedures, these promote children’s, young people’s and the staff’s safety and well-being.

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Good

The registered manager resigned and left her post in March 2016. An experienced and skilled deputy manager has maintained good management oversight since then. Staff confirm that he is visible around the home and provides a good level of support and guidance to them and to the children and young people. A suitably qualified and experienced manager has been appointed and is due to take up her position on 6 June 2016.

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Good

A previous requirement, relating to notifying all agencies of any significant incidents or events, and one previous recommendation, in regard to improving positive relationships with the wider community, have been suitably addressed. Alongside the effective internal and external monitoring processes, which the manager uses well, these ensure that the home’s processes and systems continue to develop, and the well-being and safety of all children and young people are enhanced and promoted.

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Good

The home’s statement of purpose is regularly shared with parents, and clearly sets out the aims and objectives of the home, while identifying plainly the management and staffing arrangements. This information provides clarity to families and providers about who is caring for their children and young people and what levels of support and the services that they can expect to receive from the management and staff at the home.

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Good

The staff team has a sense of shared ownership about their practice, and is committed to delivering a good standard of care. The staff confirm that they are well supported and managed, and there is evidence to confirm that this is the case. Staff are experienced, knowledgeable and receive suitable training and appraisals to ensure that they continue to have the knowledge and skills to deliver a good standard of care to all the children and young people. While the majority of members of the staff team do not have the required qualifications, suitable arrangements are in place for these to be gained. The manager monitors this through regular supervision sessions.

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Good

The manager has forged close and effective working relationships with parents, family members and professionals. Family members and professionals are confident that the manager and staff support and encourage their children and young people well to achieve their dreams and goals. All parents, carers and professionals spoken with confirmed that the manager and staff maintain good communication links with themselves. They reported that regular updates, via emails, telephone conversations and detailed monthly reports, ensure that they are kept informed, involved and updated of the progress that their children and young people make. Parents and professionals confirm that this is a real strength of the home.

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Good

Children’s and young people’s records are clear and up to date. Their records reflect their everyday lives, achievements and the good work that is undertaken with them by the staff team. The manager and staff regularly review children’s and young people’s records. This ensures that they are fully up to date with the progress and achievements that children and young people have made, as well as ensuring that they are aware of children’s and young people’s present and emerging needs. Consequently, staff consistently provide a high level of good quality and individual care to each child and young person.

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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

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

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Information about this inspection

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

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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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