Children's home run by Pathfinders (childcare) Limited in Rochdale

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 live in a warm, family home where they are well supported by their staff to achieve positive outcomes.  Staff provide consistency, clear routines and expectations. Incentives and rewards are tailored to young people’s individual likes and interests.  Young people are supported to engage in independent living skills to ensure that they are well prepared for adulthood.  Staff encourage and assist young people to engage in education. They use their hobbies and interests to identify suitable college courses to maintain young people’s interest.  Staff afford young people security and stability. They ensure that young people are safe and know how to keep themselves safe.  Staff care about the young people and create a calm, homely atmosphere where they feel comfortable and safe.  Staff have a comprehensive knowledge and understanding of young people’s risks and vulnerabilities, and ensure that the right action is taken to keep

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The children’s home provision is good because:

young people safe from harm.  The manager regularly reviews the home’s area risk assessment and strategies for managing these. She collaborates with other agencies to ensure that any risks relating to sexual exploitation and radicalisation are identified.  The home is well managed by a dedicated and competent registered manager who is child-focused and provides strong leadership for her staff team.  Staff are well supported to provide care for young people and are provided with good opportunities to develop their knowledge and skills through supervision and training.  The home takes a collaborative approach to meeting young people’s needs. Strong links are sustained with other agencies, including community police and placing social workers. This ensures thatyoung people receive the right level of care and support to meet their wide-ranging needs.  The manager challenges placing authorities when young people are not

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The children’s home provision is good because:

provided with the services that they require. It was noted at this inspection that these shortfalls need to be escalated to a higher level, for one young person.

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Recommendations

To improve the quality and standards of care further, the service should take account of the following recommendation(s):  Where the placing authority or another relevant person does not provide the input and services needed to meet a child’s needs during their time in the home or in preparation for leaving the home, the home must challenge them to meet the child’s needs. Staff should act as champions for their children, expecting nothing less than a good parent would. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 12, paragraph 2.9)

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Information about this children’s home

The home is owned and operated by a private organisation. It is registered to provide care and accommodation for up to four young people with emotional and/or behavioural difficulties.

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Recent inspection history

Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement 10/02/2016 Interim Sustained effectiveness 27/10/2015 Full Good 29/01/2015 Interim Sustained effectiveness 23/05/2014 Full Good

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Good

Young people receive good-quality care that is making a difference to their lives. Staff provide young people with clear, consistent and age-appropriate boundaries which support them to develop positive relationships. Staff use these effectively in managing young people’s challenging and risk-taking behaviour, such as going missing from home, which has notably improved.

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Good

Staff support young people in all aspects of their development and help them to feel secure. They encourage young people to make positive decisions about their daily lives and futures, consistently providing structure and stability which drives them to achieve their individual goals.

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Good

A recommendation made at the last inspection has been met. The home now has a computer to assist young people with their schoolwork. Staff value and promote educational success by providing the right support to promote attendance and progress. They work with educational professionals and are well equipped to provide any required support. Consequently, some young people are undertaking car mechanics courses at college, learning skills to assist them in future careers.

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Good

Young people who have left the home have made positive transitions. Transitions into and out of the home are carefully considered and well thought out. The manager and staff work alongside and communicate well young people, and prepare them well for any significant changes to their lives. Staff have developed positive working relationships with after-care services to aid them in their work. This cohesive approach promotes continuity of care for young people while preparing them well for any significant transitions within their lives. This enables young people to join and leave the home successfully. A social worker commented, ‘the young person’s transition went really well and I am happy with what the home has provided.’

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Good

Young people have contact with their families, and other people who are important to them, that is carefully assessed and supported. Staff recognise the potential impact of contact on individual young people and group living. They identify when contact is unsafe, and work with placing authorities and families to ensure that there is an adequate level of supervision. This enables young people to be integrated into life outside of the home and affords consistent care experiences for them.

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Good

Staff encourage young people to develop positive relationships with their peers and to widen their friendship group outside of the home. They take a parent-like approach to ensure that these friendships are positive and safe. They work collaboratively with local police to educate and encourage young people to stay away from negative influences. This allows them to enjoy time away from the home and in a safe environment. A social worker commented, ‘the young person has been doing well and has stopped going out with the young people who had got him into trouble.’

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Good

Young people are well protected, because staff give their safety and well-being high priority. Staff are appropriately trained in safeguarding and understand their roles and responsibilities for keeping young people safe. Established systems are effectively followed in response to any allegations, unsafe practice or suspicion of abuse.

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Good

Staff are proactive in their efforts to locate young people when they go missing from the home. They immediately search for them, driving to their last known location and the places where they are likely to be. Such incidents are avoided, because staff encourage young people to keep themselves occupied and make positive choices about keeping themselves safe. They escalate their concerns with placing authorities and police, following clear strategies to reduce the risk of young people going missing. This has resulted in a significant reduction in young people going missing from the home. Arrangements are in place for young people to speak to the young people on their return home. This means that young people are able to share any anxieties or concerns with someone independent of the home.  The home has developed highly effective links with specialist agencies in respect of risk assessment and young people. The manager regularly reviews the home’s area

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Good

risk assessment and identifies risks within the community and strategies for managing these. The manager has considered the risks associated with sexual exploitation and radicalisation within the home’s locality. This will provide staff with a knowledge and understanding of the potential risks within the area and clear strategies to follow to ensure that young people are safeguarded.   Staff demonstrate a strong commitment to overcoming difficult and challenging behaviour. Clear, consistent age-appropriate boundaries afford young people a stability which contributes to their well-being and security. Staff have good insight into young people’s emotional needs and develop tailor-made behaviour management plans which are fully implemented in practice. This helps young people to learn what safe and acceptable behaviour is and they are making improved choices in this respect. Consequently, physical restraint has not been

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Good

necessary and there has been reduction in the use of sanctions. Staff employed at the home are subject to organisational vetting procedures and do not start work in the home until all the appropriate checks are complete. All fire, gas and electrical equipment is routinely serviced to ensure that it is in good working order. This ensures that young people are protected from persons who may present a risk to them and that the environment is safe.

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Good

The home’s manager was registered in March 2015. She is child-focused and prioritises young people’s needs effectively. She keeps up to date with their day-to- day care by regularly spending time with them. She has good relationships with them and demonstrates a strong commitment to their individual development, safety and care.

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Good

The manager understands how young people’s frustrations and anxiety can prevent them from investing fully in their placements. She is proactive in ensuring that staff are well equipped to deliver the right level of care for each young person who lives there, for example sourcing training which will enable staff to engage young people in life-story work. This additional skill will afford staff a sound knowledge and understanding to support and assist young people to learn about their past. This proactive approach also helps young people to gain a sense of identity.

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Good

The manager makes informed decisions about which young people should come to live at the home. She commits a great deal of effort to ensuring that the needs of the individual can be met without detriment to those already living at the home. She works with parents and professionals to ensure that young people are introduced to the home in the right way and at a pace which is suitable for the individual and the existing group. The effectiveness of this patient and measured approach is evident in how quickly young people settle and are welcomed into the home by other young people.

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Good

The registered manager has a clear understanding of the progress that young people make in respect of their individual plans. Taking steps to ensure that care plans are detailed and up to date addresses their individual needs and reflects their experiences. The manager and staff make every effort to promote permanence, drive achievement and prepare young people for their future. The manager monitors the progress that young people make to help her to identify any emerging patterns and trends. This means that she can take swift action to address any areas of concern that are identified. All significant events concerning the welfare of young people are reported to the appropriate authorities quickly to ensure that appropriate action is taken to protect them. New staff are well inducted and given good support by the manager and experienced staff. They are provided with good opportunities to develop their

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Good

understanding and knowledge, and apply this in their day-to-day care of young people. All staff receive regular supervision which focuses on the progress of young people. Staff report that this is helpful in assisting them to develop their knowledge, skills and practice. Mandatory training is up to date, as is additional training in relation to child sexual exploitation and radicalisation. This has helped them to identify and understand the associated risks and to take appropriate action to ensure that young people receive the necessary support.

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Good

The ethos and values of the home promote a child-centred approach and a commitment to promoting young people’s welfare. Care plans are tailored to the needs of each young person. The registered manager regularly monitors and reviews plans, and ensures that staff follow them. Good working relationships are established with families, social workers and education staff, who all contribute to planning young people’s care. This collaborative approach ensures that young people receive a good level of care and support which are individually tailored to meet their individual needs.

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Good

The manager challenges other agencies when young people are not provided with the right level of support or protection for them. She has repeatedly raised an issue with a young person’s placing authority, relating to significant delay in providing therapy required to meet his emotional needs. This shortfall and delay in care needs to be escalated to a higher level to make sure the young person gets the help they need.

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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’. 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

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What the inspection judgements mean

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 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 ‘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 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 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

T: 0300 123 1231 Textphone: 0161 618 8524 E: enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk W: www.gov.uk/government/organisations/ofsted

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