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 are safe at the home. Their safety improves over time and as their placements progress. They report feeling safe and feel that they can speak to staff about any worries they have.  Young people are allowed increasing levels of freedom as their risks reduce and learn to regulate themselves in different settings.  Planning for independence is well considered, and young people are supported to develop age-appropriate independence skills to prepare them for their future.  The home has the genuine feel of a family home, and some young people report that the staff team is a family to them.  Young people who have not been able to access mainstream education are supported to return to mainstream education, and they experience high levels of success.  Young people’s wishes and feelings are captured in a variety of ways, which ensures that their voices are heard and that they feel able to express their

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The children's home provision is good because:

views.  The home adopts a proactive approach to meeting the young people’s emotional and mental health needs and employs independent therapeutic support services, which make a real difference to young people’s lives.  Young people’s health needs are well met, although their most recent health assessments are not always on file.  The home’s management is exceptionally strong, and the young people’s needs are very clearly prioritised. Managers advocate tirelessly for young people whose needs are not being met by external agencies.  Staff are supported extremely well to perform their roles, and additional support is available to those who need it. Staff have good opportunities and are supported to progress.

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Statutory requirements

This section sets out the actions which must be taken so that the registered person(s) meets 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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Requirement Due date

The registered person must maintain records ("case records") for each child which include the information and documents listed in Schedule 3 in relation to each child. (Regulation 36 (1)(a)) 18/12/2016

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Information about this children's home

The home is registered to accommodate up to five young people who may have emotional and/or behavioural difficulties, physical or learning disabilities, mental disorders and sensory impairment.

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Recent inspection history

Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement 21/03/2016 Interim Improved effectiveness 05/01/2016 Full Good 16/03/2015 Interim Sustained effectiveness 11/11/2014 Full Good

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Good

A key strength of this home is the staff’s understanding of each young person’s individual needs. The young people in placement are a group with diverse needs, and the individualised care they are provided with influences their progression and ensures that they have a positive experience within the placement.

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Good

Young people at this home are generally very settled. Progress across a range of areas for some is exceptional. For others, progress is good but can plateau. When this happens, staff try a range of ideas and techniques to re-engage the young person and help them to continue to make progress.

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Good

Three of the young people placed have commenced mainstream education following periods of being educated outside the mainstream system; this provides them with excellent educational opportunities and enhances their social development and independence skills. Young people have opportunities to make friendships. These are supported by the staff, and young people are encouraged to invite their friends home.

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Good

Relationships between young people and staff can be particularly strong. Young people feel supported and able to speak to staff about their day-to-day lives and about any more significant issues within their lives, which has a positive impact on their emotional health and well-being. The standard of keyworking is particularly high, with evidence of very good engagement in sessions about meaningful topics which affect young people’s lives.

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Good

Young people enjoy a range of activities both within and outside the home and are involved in deciding and planning the activities themselves. Some young people have participated in schemes over the summer for National Citizen Service and outdoor-pursuits-based residential courses, which evidences significant social, emotional and behavioural progression for them. Others engage in clubs and sports, such as Cadets and badminton. Additionally, the young people enjoyed a summer holiday to Center Parcs, where they had the opportunity to try different activities. When young people find socialising difficult, staff continually try different incentives and rewards to encourage small amounts of participation and engagement.

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Good

Young people are supported to develop the skills they need to manage their lives independently, such as budgeting, food shopping, preparing meals and using public transport. Some young people have found part-time employment, which further increases their independence skills. The manager and staff advocate on behalf of young people as well as working in partnership with their placing authorities to enable them to remain in placement until they are well prepared to move on.

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Good

Clinical psychotherapy services are provided to young people to help them understand and better regulate their behaviour and feelings. Advice and education are provided to staff to promote their understanding of how young people’s behavioural responses are related to their brain functioning. This helps them to support young people to develop new pathways to more positive responses. Young people are healthy and are supported to access health appointments. Young people have health assessments, although the outcome of these assessments is not always on file within the home to support staff to meet the young person’s assessed health needs. Young people are supported to maintain good levels of cleanliness and personal hygiene, although on one occasion hygiene issues in a young person’s bedroom were identified. This was appropriately addressed and new systems implemented to ensure that improved hygiene is maintained.

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Good

Contact with families is supported and, where necessary, supervised so that young people can continue to have a safe but meaningful relationship with their parents and extended family.

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Good

Young people are regularly consulted about whether they feel safe and consistently report that they do.

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Good

Some young people who were initially at very high risk of child sexual exploitation have reduced their risks considerably through a combination of education, emotional progression and physical means, such as not having unstructured free time. As their risks reduce, young people start to experience increasing freedom to take calculated risks in line with their age and peer-group norms.

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Good

The highly positive relationships that young people have with the staff at the home allow them to speak about any worries they have or any issues that impact on their safety. They feel confident that adults listen to them and respond positively to any concerns they raise.

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Good

Some young people are affected by issues of self-harm. These issues are well understood by staff at the home, and there are effective plans in place to reduce the risk and to provide an appropriate response should any incidents occur.

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Good

Missing-from-home episodes are not an issue affecting any young person in placement currently. Where previously placed young people have had repeated and escalating missing-from-home incidents, management at the home has taken effective action to review their placement with the placing authority.

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Good

Staff at the home consistently promote positive behaviour. There are relatively few incidents of difficult and challenging behaviour. However, staff are well trained and skilled to deal with any escalation of behaviour, and in the majority of instances intervene and de-escalate without young people losing self-control. Physical intervention is a rare occurrence and when this does occur is usually of a low level and short lived. Young people are helped to understand and reflect following incidents, to help prevent the likelihood of recurrence and to enable them to better understand their behaviour and triggers and to make more positive responses.

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Good

On rare occasions when young people engage in anti-social or criminal behaviour, the home works with local police and the young person to help them take responsibility for their behaviour and to engage in restorative work.

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Good

Staff have a thorough understanding of the risks posed to young people through the use of the internet and have implemented strategies to reduce risk through misuse of social media and to educate young people about keeping safe. Young people who are deemed high risk do not have unsupervised access to the internet.

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Good

When allegations or complaints about staff are made, the registered manager works closely with the Local Area Designated Officer and the placing authority to investigate the incident and come to an informed outcome.

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Good

There are robust safer recruitment practices in place, which ensure that any person employed by the home is carefully vetted for their suitability to work with young people.

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Outstanding

The home is managed by an experienced and suitably qualified registered manager who has been in post for more than two years. She demonstrates an exceptionally high level of commitment to protecting the young people, promoting their welfare and ensuring that they have a positive experience during their time at the home. Young people’s needs are very clearly prioritised and are at the centre of all practice and decision-making in the home.

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Outstanding

The manager makes every effort to constantly drive improvement of the services offered and makes positive changes that improve young people’s lives. There is a culture of high expectation of staff performance and commitment, and high aspirations for young people’s progression.

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Outstanding

The registered manager has a very good understanding of the home’s strengths and weaknesses and makes every effort to address areas of weakness in a sustained and continuous way. The staff team are regularly consulted about their views on how to improve the service and feel that they are listened to and that their ideas are valued.

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Outstanding

Monitoring activity is completed regularly and is thorough and detailed. This helps to ensure that any deficits are identified at an early stage and that plans are then implemented to address these areas. Feedback from various sources, including young people, their families and external agencies, is used to inform development plans and to improve young people’s experience of care.

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Outstanding

When young people are not making good progress (for example, when their missing-from-home incidents significantly escalate) the registered manager works with the placing authority to ensure that the young person’s placement plan is reviewed. Where placing authorities are not making plans to move young people into adult services, the registered manager advocates relentlessly on their behalf to get an appropriate placement identified and to effect a timely transition.

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Outstanding

Professional relationships are of an extremely high standard, with external agencies consistently reporting high levels of satisfaction with the services offered. Good communication with agencies ensures that young people’s needs are met in all areas, and that agencies work together to deliver high-quality care.

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Outstanding

Managers at the home make well-informed decisions about admissions to the home, ensuring that the safety and stability of the current resident group is not compromised by any new admission. Likewise, transitions out of the home are carefully managed, with effective and well-considered plans put in place to ensure that young people have a smooth, well-planned transition and a positive placement ending.

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Outstanding

Staff are very well supported through supervision and have yearly appraisals. They consistently report supervision to be productive and to positively contribute to their professional development. Opportunities for further development through training and promotion exist, and staff make use of this.

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Outstanding

The home’s statement of purpose clearly sets out the home’s ethos and objectives and is regularly reviewed and updated.

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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 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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