Children's home in Rochdale

This monitoring visit

At the last inspection on 4 and 5 May 2016, the home was judged as inadequate. Regulatory shortfalls were identified, regarding the protection of children standard, the leadership and management standard, the care planning standard and the positive relationship standard. The issues of concern specifically related to poor leadership and management, inadequate and inconsistent staffing, poor care planning for children joining the home, poor matching of children living together in the home and the inability of staff to meet children’s behavioural and emotional needs. In total, 22 regulatory breaches were identified. This monitoring inspection took place on 8 June 2016, to check that the manager and responsible individual had taken sufficient steps to safeguard and protect the welfare of children living in the home. The newly appointed manager has made significant progress in addressing the shortfalls identified. Although new to this

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This monitoring visit

post, he has previous experience as a registered manager. Since the inspection, one child has moved on to a new placement. The manager ensures that staff develop their understanding of the management of allegations. This results in prompt referral to the placing authority and local authority designated officer. The manager has discussion with the local authority designated officer to ensure that allegations are responded to effectively and proportionately. This ensures that children and staff are safeguarded. The manager endeavours to ensure that children receive continuity of care. There is now a permanent staff team of six: two members are qualified, two are undertaking their level three diploma and two are currently within their probationary period. The manager recognises that the team would benefit from two further members of staff, to ensure that there is sufficient cover for contingencies such as illness, training and leave, and a further member of staff is

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This monitoring visit

due to begin their induction next week. The manager ensures that all staff receive basic training and he sources additional training to upskill the team, for example, in report writing. He supports staff to understand children’s emotional and behavioural needs by inviting the head of the child and adolescent mental health service (CAMHS) to the team meeting. He ensures that they understand the statement of purpose and its central role in informing staff how to care for the children in the home. There is a reduction in the use of agency and temporary staff working in the home. The manager has tried to provide consistency in this area too, although this has been extremely challenging for him given the difficulties faced by staff when they are new to the home. As a result, 22 different staff worked in the home within a 23-day period. Once the requirement for staffing each shift reduced from four to two members of staff, the permanent staff team was able to cover all shifts. This

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This monitoring visit

occurred when one child moved on to a new placement. The child who remains in the home is becoming much more settled, with a reduction in incidents and in the need for physical intervention. The manager ensures that staff support children to understand the impact of their behaviour, including bullying, on others. Staff encourage children to develop positive relationships with each other and with staff. This leads to improvements in children’s interactions with each other. The manager has worked in partnership with the placing authority. He ensures that there is a review of each child’s placement when it is evident that the home is not meeting their needs or cannot safeguard them. Staff support the child who moved on, preparing her effectively to optimise the success of the move. The manager ensures that each child receives well-planned care. He is robust in his challenge to the placing authority, to ensure that all children looked after documentation is in

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This monitoring visit

place in the home, so that he and staff can understand and implement children’s plans. He ensures that all other required documentation is also present, for example, a child’s statement of educational need. This provides crucial information, which supports the care that staff provide for children. There remain some shortfalls. The manager has not ensured that staff are debriefed following each incident of physical intervention, although staff do now evidence their discussions about the intervention with children. The manager has not ensured that staff assess risks or make arrangements to reduce the risk of harm. For example, staff do not risk assess the impact of taking a child on public transport when the child has a history of going missing while on public transport. Staff do not ensure that the public transport is running before using it, placing the child in a risky environment in which she can easily go missing.

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This monitoring visit

Staff engage children in discussions about how to keep safe. However, this is ineffective, and a child went missing from home and alleged that she travelled in a stranger’s car to reach her family. Staff responded appropriately when the child was missing and followed her and maintained contact with her family once they lost sight of her. This ensured that she was missing for the minimum time. Staff do not understand the importance of return interviews for missing children. Some staff record that a return interview is not necessary even when other staff contact the missing from home team to organise an independent return interview. There is no evidence that a return interview takes place. This represents lost opportunities to understand what happened while the child was missing, having alleged that she travelled in a stranger’s car. Despite these shortfalls, there has been significant progress in a short space of

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This monitoring visit

time and the home has improved in effectiveness.

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Information about this children's home

The home is registered to provide care for two children with emotional and/or behavioural difficulties. The home forms part of a large social care company. It is contracted to one local authority to provide assessment and care placements for up to six months.

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Statutory requirements

This section sets out the actions that must be taken so that the registered persons meet 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 persons must comply within the given timescales.

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Requirement Due date

In order to meet the protection of children standard, the registered person must ensure (2) (a)(i) that staff 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. 15 July 2016

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Requirement Due date

In order to meet the protection of children standard, the registered provider must ensure (2) (a)(ii) that staff help each child to understand how to keep safe. 15 July 2016

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that, within 48 hours of the use of a measure of control, discipline or restraint in relation to a child in the home, the registered person, or a person who is authorised by the registered person to do so, has spoken to the user about the measure (Regulation 35(3)(b)(i)). 15 July 2016

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Requirement Due date

The registered provider must prepare and implement a policy setting out the procedures to be followed, and the roles and responsibilities of persons working at the home, in relation to a child who is, or has been, absent (Regulation 34(4)(b)). 15 July 2016

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Information about this inspection

The purpose of this visit was to monitor the action taken and the progress made by the children's home since its last Ofsted inspection. This inspection was carried out under the Care Standards Act 2000. in 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 this guidance, please telephone 0300 123 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, work- based learning and skills training, adult and community learning, and education and training in prisons and other secure establishments. It inspects services for children looked after 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

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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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