Children's Home run by Salford City Council in Salford

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:

 Young people benefit from exceptionally well-planned, highly individualised care that promotes their needs effectively. They make good progress across all aspects of their welfare, physical, social, emotional and behavioural development, taking into account their individual starting points.  Staff maintain highly effective partnerships with the families of young people, social workers, schools and other professional agencies to ensure that young people benefit from the best possible help and all round support.  Young people are kept safe and have a strong sense of personal safety. They benefit from effective help, protection and support. Young people become increasing safer, as a result of the actions that staff take to support and protect them. Risks associated with each young person are well known and understood by staff.  Staff provide the young people with continuity of care so that they have

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The children's home provision is good because:

stability and consistency in their lives. Young people enjoy exceptionally good relationships with staff and they sustain their positive attachments.  Young people attend school or alternative educational provision with good support and encouragement from staff. Staff work effectively and proactively with the providers of young people’s education to promote their progress and educational achievement.  Young people benefit from a home that is managed efficiently and effectively, where staff deliver a high-quality service for young people and make a real difference and have a positive impact on their lives.

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Recommendations

To improve the quality and standards of care further, the service should take account of the following recommendation:  Ensure that 'relevant plans' are obtained from the placing authority. This relates specifically to updating the young people’s personal education plans, where required (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 14, paragraph 3.1).

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Information about this children's home

 The home is registered to provide care and accommodation for up to four young people who may have emotional and/or behavioural difficulties.  The home is owned and managed by the local authority.

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Recent inspection history

Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

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Recent inspection history

08 February 2016 Interim Improved effectiveness

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Recent inspection history

16 March 2015 Interim Improved effectiveness

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Recent inspection history

24 March 2014 Interim Satisfactory progress

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Good

Young people make good progress in relation to their individual starting points across all aspects of their welfare, physical, social, emotional and behavioural development. Care planning is extremely well planned, and practice is highly personalised to meet the specific needs of the young people at the home. Young people enjoy exceptionally good relationships with staff and they sustain their positive attachments. Staff provide young people with continuity of care so that they have stability and consistency in their lives. Young people benefit from effective support from staff and live in a stable, highly supportive and nurturing environment. Young people are kept safe and have a strong sense of personal safety. A young person reports, ‘Staff are alright. It’s good here. Vicky sorts everything out for you. I like Vicky and Joanne. I haven’t got any complaints… There are lots of activities and I like quad biking, but I like to visit my mum. I’d give it 10 out of 10

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Good

because that’s reasonable.’ Young people make good progress in education and staff consistently have high aspirations for them. Staff support and encourage young people’s regular school attendance and maintain strong partnerships with their schools. Staff attend parents’ evenings and know what progress each young person is making. Young people have personal education plans. However, some plans need updating to take account of their current progress and any changes made to their educational arrangements. Staff take appropriate action when school becomes difficult for young people. Staff work proactively and positively with young people’s schools to support young people’s learning and to address any issues experienced by them at school. Staff are ambitious for young people and work effectively with their schools to improve their educational achievement. A headteacher reports, ‘Both children's needs are very complex and staff do their

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Good

very best to work closely with schools to resolve any issues.’ Additional survey comments include that the home is good because of its ‘strong leadership’ and ‘staff who know the children well’ have ‘high aspirations for them’ and a ‘willingness to fight the individual children's corner’. Young people have access to the services that they need to promote their physical and emotional well-being. They are registered with doctors, dentists and opticians and have access to any specialist services, when they need them. Consequently, there are effective arrangements made to promote their good health. Staff offer good advice and support about key health issues and encourage the young people to lead a healthy lifestyle. Young people learn to make positive lifestyle decisions and they make informed choices and take responsibility for their own health. Medical consent is obtained and staff are clear about what health

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Good

decisions and responsibilities are delegated to them. The arrangements for the administration, storage and safekeeping of young people’s medication are managed effectively and safely by trained and competent staff. Young people benefit from a diverse range of positive and constructive activities, both at the home and in the wider community. As a result, they develop their specific interests and hobbies. For example, Thai boxing and quad biking. Staff promote the young people’s positive self-view and are sensitive towards their previous experiences. Staff help young people to make sense of their past experiences and this enables them to move forward and plan for the future. Staff are extremely proactive in promoting contact for the young people. As a result, young people sustain their close relationships with the people who are most important to them. Staff work in close partnership with young people’s families to

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Good

provide young people with consistency and continuity of care. The home has a good track record of enabling young people to return home to the care of their own families, with carefully tailored packages of planned support. A parent reports, ‘I couldn’t ask for a better care home for my son. They go out of their way for him and he’s come on leaps and bounds. They have managed him perfectly. We do it between us and we work together. He’s now back on track. I have nothing bad to say about them. They are the best care home.’

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Good

Staff have a very good understanding of the needs and specific vulnerabilities of the young people and take appropriate action to address them. Risks associated with young people are well known and understood by staff. Staff implement clear rules and consistent boundaries to promote the safety and well-being of young people. Staff ensure that young people are kept safe, irrespective of the challenges and behaviours that they present. A headteacher reports, ‘Staff are doing everything to keep the young people safe.’ Young people become increasing safer as a result of the actions that staff take to support and protect them. Risk-taking behaviours, such as going missing from care for long periods, substance abuse, self-harm, offending and other forms of risk- taking behaviour, have reduced considerably and young people are far less likely to suffer actual harm. A social worker reports, ‘I have a child living at this placement and I have found

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Good

that staff have worked very hard to attempt to engage this young man. Staff are experienced and always available for me to speak to. From discussions, it is clear that all staff members know the children who are in the home and the dynamics between them all and try their very best in supporting and mentoring them, no matter how difficult their behaviour may be. They implement clear strategies and work really well with the parents of my child.’ Staff maintain highly effective partnerships with schools, social workers and the wider professional community to promote the safety of young people. Significant incidents are reported to the appropriate authorities, so that appropriate action is taken by those charged with a duty to protect them. This includes making referrals to children’s and young people’s services, where appropriate to do so. Staff are trained in child protection and know how to deal with allegations and

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Good

report suspected abuse. Young people are proactively protected from abuse and bullying, as well as all other forms of significant harm. Staff employed are vetted and selected carefully to ensure that young people are protected from unsuitable people. When young people go missing, or are absent from the home without authority, staff actively look for them and on occasions have persuaded them to return. The frequency of missing episodes has reduced significantly, and one-to-one working has helped young people to keep themselves safe and understand the risks involved. When young people have gone missing, staff follow the home’s procedures and joint protocols to promote their safe return. They work in partnership with the police and multi-agency workers from the missing from care team to locate young people and protect them. This response is effective and reduces the risk of young people suffering actual harm.

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Good

A project worker from the missing from care team reports, ‘We search the area and visit the young people’s friends and families to encourage them to return. We also undertake a return home interview to understand the reasons why they go missing. The home is really good. They always ring us prior to reporting young people missing. Staff will often accompany us, or meet us, if they need to. They’re very proactive.’ Staff encourage and support young people’s positive behaviour and routinely praise, acknowledge and reward this. They ensure that the home’s rules and boundaries are applied consistently, so that young people feel safe and are supported in safely managing their own feelings and behaviours. Conflicts in the home are managed effectively by staff who demonstrate a good awareness of bullying, group dynamics and safe working practice that protects the young people. A specialist worker runs helpful workshops to educate young people about the risks

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Good

of grooming, child sexual exploitation, internet safety, social media and bullying. These sessions are an effective way of educating the young people so that they know how to stay safe, disclose and report. A young person says, ‘There are other boys here now and sometimes bullying. I can tell staff and they help me by telling me what I should do and not do. They take us out to the cinema and to lots of other nice places. Terry came and talked to us about bullying and he tells us what we shouldn’t put on social media. I really enjoyed working with him.’ The use of restraint is rare and it is only ever used as a last resort to protect young people from harm. Consequences for unacceptable behaviour are fair and the use of sanctions are kept to an absolute minimum. Health and safety arrangements are managed effectively and this promotes a safe environment for the young people. Young people benefit from a physically safe, warm, comfortable and homely

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Outstanding

The home benefits from a well-qualified and suitably experienced registered manager who exercises strong and effective leadership of the home’s operation. The registered manager is inspirational and creates a culture of positive energy where staff feel valued, share and have the same high aspirations for the young people. The manager leads the staff team by example and is energetic, innovative and influential in her approach. Staff efforts, dedication and enthusiasm are channelled effectively. There were no requirements or recommendations from the last inspection. The home meets the aims and objectives as set out in its statement of purpose in delivering a high-quality service for young people and their families. The home can demonstrate the positive impact and difference it has made to the lives of young people, taking into account their individual starting points. The home maintains strong and highly effective partnerships with schools, social

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Outstanding

workers and young people’s families to improve their outcomes. This ensures that young people and their families benefit from the best possible help and all round support. Staff effectively prioritise the needs of young people and make child- centred decisions in consultation with them. Staff have established strong and trusted relationships with the young people and will advocate for them and make representations on their behalf. The manager escalates concerns and proactively challenges other professional agencies who fail to deliver the services and support that the young people need. Staff are not afraid to fight on the young people’s behalf, where they believe that decisions are not in the best interests of young people. As a result, they champion the needs of the young people effectively. There are experienced staff, employed at the home to support the registered manager, who have sufficient skills and experience to deputise in the registered

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Outstanding

manager’s absence. Leaders and managers ensure that the home is appropriately staffed, managed and resourced. They ensure that staff receive effective support and regular, professional and high-quality supervision. Staff benefit from appraisal of their practice and their individual training needs are effectively identified and met. Staff have access to high-quality training to promote their skills, knowledge and professional development. Consequently, young people benefit from a stable, skilled, well-qualified, trained and experienced staff group that promotes young people’s needs effectively. Those employed at the home are all long serving staff. The progress that young people make in respect of their care plans is monitored effectively by the registered manager. As a result, the registered manager knows what progress each young person is making and where change and improvement can be made, to enable the young people to achieve their goals, permanence and

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Outstanding

expected milestones. There are highly effective arrangements for scrutinising the activities of the home. The manager monitors the performance of the home to identify any issues, patterns or trends, and uses that data well to improve care practice. The manager makes good use of the home’s external monitoring activities to understand the strengths and weaknesses of the service and to identify areas for improvement. The manager quickly rectifies any identified shortfalls to raise standards and improve outcomes for the young people. The manager is consistently ambitious and energetic about sustaining the home’s 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 that 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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