Children's home 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:

 Staff developed positive relationships with the young person most recently placed in this solo placement, who has now moved on. Staff really listened to him and understood what is important to him.  Staff supported the young person to make good progress across all areas of his development, including passing public examinations and securing a college place. The recent manager advocated effectively on behalf of the young person to secure progress against his plan. The young person really values her commitment and said: ‘The manager is amazing!’  Staff promote meaningful and safe family contact. They nurture relationships and work proactively with parents. As a result, young people develop a strong sense of identity.  Staff work effectively in partnership with the professional team around the young people and their families. As a result of this collaborative practice, the recent young person engaged well in therapeutic intervention, which

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The children's home provision is good because:

addressed his offending behaviour.  Staff celebrate the young people’s achievements and support them to develop emotional resilience.  There are shortfalls found at the inspection. There have been periods when the leadership and management were not adequate, and there was a lack of oversight of missing incidents, incidents requiring restraint and child protection concerns. The recent manager has not ensured that the young person received continuity of care or that documents pertaining to children looked after were in the home. There were gaps in the rota and lack of information held in the home about temporary staff who have worked in the home. Despite the core staff having detailed information about the young person, risk assessments do not reflect this, and this does not ensure that young people are always effectively safeguarded.

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Statutory requirements

This section sets out the actions which must be taken so that the registered person(s) meet(s) 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 within the given timescales.

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2 Due date

11: The positive relationships standard In order to meet the positive relationship standard, the registered provider must ensure that staff: (2)(a)(iv) help each child to develop and practise skills to resolve conflicts positively and without harm to anyone. 11/11/2016

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2 Due date

12: The protection of children standard In order to meet the protection of children standard, the registered provider must ensure that: (2)(a)(i) 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. In particular, they must ensure that risk assessments are accurate and up to date; (vi) staff take effective action whenever there is a serious concern about a child’s welfare; and 2(e) the effectiveness of the home’s child protection policies is monitored regularly. 11/11/2016

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2 Due date

13: The leadership and management standard (1) The leadership and management standard is that the registered person enables, inspires and leads a culture in relation to the children’s home that: (a) helps children aspire to fulfil their potential; and (b) promotes their welfare. In order to meet the leadership and management standard, the registered person must: (2)(e) ensure that the home's workforce provides continuity of care to each child. 11/11/2016 The registered person must ensure within 48 hours of the use of a measure of control, discipline or restraint, the registered person or a person authorised by the registered person to do so (the ‘authorised person’) has spoken to the user about the measure. (Regulation 35(3)(b)(i)) 11/11/2016

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2 Due date

The registered person must maintain records for each child which: (a) include the information and documents listed in Schedule 3 in relation to a child; (b) are kept up to date; and (c) are signed and dated by the author of each entry. Case records must be kept in a secure place after the child has ceased to be accommodated in the home. (Regulation 36(1)(2)(d)) 11/11/2016

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2 Due date

The registered person must maintain in the home the records in Schedule 4 and ensure that the records are kept up to date. (Regulation 37(2)(a)(b)) 11/11/2016

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2 Due date

The registered provider must complete a review of the quality of care provided for children at least once every six months. (Regulation 45(1)) 11/11/2016

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Recommendations

To improve the quality and standards of care further, the service should take account of the following recommendations:  When a child returns to the home after being missing from care or away from the home without permission, the responsible local authority must provide an opportunity for the child to have an independent return interview. Homes should take account of information provided by such interviews when assessing risks and putting arrangements in place to protect each child. (‘Guide to the children's homes regulations including the quality standards’, April 2015, page 45, para 9.30)

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Information about this children's home

The home is registered to provide care for one child who has emotional and/or behavioural difficulties and/or learning disabilities. The home forms part of a large social care company.

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Recent inspection history

Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

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Recent inspection history

01/02/2016 Interim Sustained effectiveness

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Recent inspection history

12/03/2015 Interim Improved effectiveness

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Good

Currently, there are no young people living in the home. The manager and staff team have been redeployed within the organisation. Since the last inspection, one young person has left the home, as staff were unable to meet his needs, and another young person has made good progress, following a planned moved into, and then out of, the home. The management of the home changed with the admission of the second young person, and this latter period has been more settled. Some young people receive highly individualised care. Some staff are skilled at understanding young people’s needs and spend time listening carefully to what young people say. They develop positive relationships, which allow young people to talk about what is difficult. As a result, a young person said: ‘I could tell the staff team cared about me. They listened to me.’ Staff are proactive in working in partnership with professional stakeholders and

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Good

families. A parent said: ‘He has gone from being a young boy to a mature young man. The staff have supported his emotional welfare and helped him address his issues.’ Staff supported the young person to attend college, despite safeguarding concerns. The young person values staff’s commitment to him: ‘The manager proper fought for me to get a place.’ Staff liaised effectively with college and continually evaluated the progress he made. Staff develop positive relationships with specialist health advisers who support them in delivering healthy eating messages. Staff engaged the young person in activities such as swimming, football and rock climbing, which promoted his health as well as developing his involvement in the local community and being fun. Staff treat young people with dignity and respect. Over recent months, staff took the young person on holiday and on many outings, including to Flamingo World,

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Good

Gay Pride and to see the sights in London. They celebrate and reward young people’s achievements. They help young people to develop a positive self-view and sense of identity. The recent young person developed self-care skills. Staff ensured that he was able to plan meals, budget and cook for himself, to use public transport and wash his clothes. Staff encouraged him to learn to spend time alone as his emotional resilience developed. Staff supported the young person to have contact with his family when that was safe and in his best interests. They provided regular updates to family members who were not engaging with opportunities to see the young person. They involved family members in important decisions, promoting positive and meaningful relationships. The young person made good progress across all areas of his development. Staff supported his transition to a new placement where he is able to make further

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Good

progress, while living in a group environment.

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Requires improvement

The experiences of the two young people who have lived in the home recently have been quite different. One young person did not become increasingly safe and the registered manager recognised that the home was not meeting his needs. He served notice on his placement and supported his transition to a new placement. During the last two months of the young person living in the home, staff contacted the police on five occasions in relation to their being unable to manage the young person’s behaviour. Staff restrained the young person, on occasion for lengthy periods of an hour and a half, without the manager ensuring that there were appropriate debriefs with staff or direct work completed with the young person about the incidents. This represents lost opportunities to evaluate the effectiveness of restraint and to understand how staff could improve their responses, to support young people at times of conflict.

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Requires improvement

During this period, the young person was frequently missing. Staff always tried to divert the young person and, when unsuccessful, would follow him and try to maintain contact with him. They liaised with the police and with staff from other homes in the organisation, because young people were missing together. This ensured that the young person was missing for minimal time. However, staff did not ensure that the independent person designated by the placing authority undertook return interviews with the young person. Managers in the organisation completed independent return interviews. They did not escalate appropriately serious child protection concerns, and the then registered manager of the home did not identify this shortfall that was a failure to follow child protection policies. However, the other young person has become increasingly safe. Staff worked effectively with the team around the young person to address his offending

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Requires improvement

behaviour. A social worker said: ‘He has completed the court-ordered specialist therapeutic intervention, which has been very difficult. Staff have supported him well.’ The young person made progress in managing his behaviour, and the frequency and duration of incidents reduced. The young person said: ‘Staff have helped me. I have learned to walk away - that really helps - and to take deep breathes. Sometimes I go to my room and hit my pillow instead of myself or my things.’ Staff consistently promoted positive behaviour for this young person, and his self-confidence and self-esteem grew as a result. Staff understand the risks that use of the internet may pose for young people. They respond swiftly to any misuse and concerns about bullying. They complete frequent direct work sessions and make use of internet security. Staff develop strong, positive links with local and specialist police officers, which ensure that

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Requires improvement

there is a multi-disciplinary response to concerns. Staff respond fairly and quickly to young people’s allegations against them. They have regular communication with the designated officer to ensure that allegation management is appropriate. Staff support young people, who develop an understanding of the impact of allegations. The core staff understand the risks associated with young people’s behaviour well. However, there are gaps in risk assessments, which do not sufficiently address how staff will manage these risks to safeguard young people. This lack of oversight results in staff allowing young people to be exposed to foreseeable risks. The manager ensures that permanent staff who join the team are carefully selected and vetted. However, inadequate information is available in the home regarding temporary staff, and rotas are not complete. The manager has not ensured that young people receive continuity of care as, since the last inspection,

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Requires improvement

49 different people, aside from the core staff team, have worked in the home. This does not promote young people’s welfare.

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Requires improvement

Currently, the home is empty and has no manager or staff team. In the period since the last inspection, the registered manager resigned. The newly appointed manager was re-located from within the organisation before her registration was complete. The leadership and management of the home have not been consistent, and there have been weaknesses, some of which have impacted on young people’s outcomes. The recommendation to improve practice made at the last inspection is met, as there has been a reduction in the number of occasions when the staff call the police to manage young people’s behaviour. Leaders and managers do not provide young people with continuity of care. The core staff team has worked effectively with young people. However, senior managers have relocated staff when there are organisational shortfalls in staffing. As a result, there have been many different people working in the home since the

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Requires improvement

last inspection. This does not provide a stable environment for young people in which to develop security. Leaders and managers did not have sufficient oversight of incidents in the home while the registered manager was managing the home. The registered manager has not completed a report of his monitoring the quality of care since September 2015 or submitted this to Ofsted. The recent manager has established and maintained a review of the quality of care regularly since May 2016. She monitored the young person’s progress against plans. She sought feedback from the young person, his parents and professional stakeholders to improve the quality of care provided. Leaders and managers do not maintain young people’s essential case records in the home. They do not ensure that these records are stored when young people leave, as regulation requires. This does not support staff or young people’s understanding of their lives and plans, now or in the future.

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Requires improvement

Leaders and managers work effectively with other agencies to promote young people’s welfare. They work proactively with the police, youth offending service, schools and therapists to ensure that the multi-disciplinary team works in partnership to secure agreed outcomes. One young person made good progress and was able to move on from this solo placement to group living. Staff ensured that his transition from the home was planned and positive, and several of his core staff team moved with him to the new placement. Staff were not able to keep safe another young person who moved on, following a period of increased risk-taking behaviour. Leaders and managers ensure that staff receive regular formal and informal supervision. This ensures that staff are able to manage the emotional impact of the work. Staff complete all mandatory training, and the manager uses team meetings to consolidate staff’s learning so that they are able to provide high-quality care.

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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 children looked after 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 that 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 whom 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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