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’s provision is good because:

 The young person is extremely settled and likes living in the home. She has made noticeable progress across all areas of her development.  The young person feels safe and benefits from a structured environment that gives her a sense of security. As a result, her anxiety-related behaviour has significantly reduced.  Staff are ambitious for the young person. They ensure that the young person’s talents, strengths and capabilities are nurtured and can develop over time.  The young person is helped to sustain positive relationships with people who play an important role in her life. Family contact is maintained through careful and sensitive planning and, when safe and appropriate, increases over time.  Since the last inspection the number of core staff has increased. Achieving consistency has been a high priority for the manager and the organisation as a whole. Consequently, the young person is cared for by staff she knows well and

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The children’s home’s provision is good because:

feels comfortable with.  The manager demonstrates skills and knowledge for her role. She provides good support for staff. This includes providing them with opportunities to develop their knowledge and skills through a good range of training opportunities. This ensures that staff are able to develop their knowledge base and are equipped to meet young people’s known and emerging needs.  Areas for improvement include: - ensuring that behaviour management records, such as the sanctions log, are kept up to date and are evaluated by the manager - the staff team to continue to develop its resilience, and recognise the feelings that arise from working with young people who display complex and challenging behaviours - the staff team to follow agreed behaviour management strategies consistently - the manager to address maintenance matters throughout the home. All of these matters are in the process of being addressed by the manager, and

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The children’s home’s provision is good because:

have not caused harm to the young person’s safety or welfare.

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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

In order to meet the protection of children standard, the registered provider must ensure that: (2)(a)(v) staff understand the roles and responsibilities in relation to protecting children that are assigned to them by the registered person. Specifically, that staff implement agreed risk management and behaviour management strategies consistently. 01/12/2016

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that within 24 hours of the use of a measure of control, discipline or restraint in relation to a child in the home a record is made which includes the name of the child, details of the behaviour leading up to the use of the measure, a description of the measure and the effectiveness and any consequence of the measure. With specific reference to ensuring that all sanctions are clearly recorded in line with regulation. (Regulation 35 (3)(a)(i)(ii)(iii)(iv)(vii)) 01/12/2016

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Recommendations

To improve the quality and standards of care further, the service should take account of the following recommendations:  For the children’s home to be a homely environment, the registered person should ensure that high standards are maintained throughout the home. With specific reference to replacing a broken fence panel, redecoration throughout and maintaining a standard of cleanliness. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 15, paragraph 3.9)

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Recommendations

 In order to build positive relationships, staff should be able to recognise and act upon how their own feelings and behaviour may be affected by the behaviour of the children they care for. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 39, paragraph 8.15)

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Information about this children’s home

This is one of a number of children’s homes operated by a private company. The home is registered to provide care and accommodation for one young person with emotional and/or behavioural difficulties. The organisation also has a therapy department as well as a school, which young people can access if appropriate.

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Recent inspection history

Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement 03/03/2016 Interim Improved effectiveness 04/11/2015 Full Good 19/02/2015 Interim Improved effectiveness 12/08/2014 Full Good

p.5

Good

The young person benefits from individualised care. This is because she lives in a solo placement with high levels of staff support that are meeting her specific needs. The young person is placed at the centre of the home, and staff speak proudly of the progress she has made. Staff involve the young person in all aspects of care planning. They ensure that her needs and wishes are well understood and that arrangements are in place to ensure that these are appropriately addressed. Planning is comprehensive and takes good account of the young person’s needs, ensuring that all staff share a common understanding. Staff spoken with during the inspection demonstrated a sound understanding of the young person’s personality, the issues that have affected her, and the progress she has made since coming to the home.

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Good

Educationally, the young person has made excellent progress from her starting point. Staff actively promote and value education and maintain good links with the school. They promote a collaborative approach to supporting the young person’s education. Formal education is further supplemented by informal learning opportunities in the home and the wider community. Trips to museums and targeted project work help to increase the young person’s understanding, self- esteem, confidence and belief in her abilities to achieve.

p.6

Good

Staff value the importance of contact for the young person to understand her heritage and identity, and facilitate and support this thoughtfully. Contact plans are in place to ensure that contact with family and friends is well planned, safe and as positive an experience as possible for all involved. Through staff working closely with social workers and family members, the young person has been able to enjoy increased contact with some family members. This demonstrates that this supportive and collaborative approach has helped to re-establish links with those significant to her.

p.6

Good

Staff demonstrate sensitivity and care in promoting the young person’s health and well-being. They are persistent in their efforts to ensure that appointments for routine health care are followed up and that there is good communication with healthcare specialists to ensure that health conditions are appropriately understood, monitored and supported. A key strength of the home is the team’s engagement with the organisation’s in-house therapists, who offer direct work with the young person and provide guidance to staff. The young person is engaging with therapeutic services, and consequently she is learning effective coping strategies to deal with past experiences that affect her emotions and behaviours. This, in turn, has increased her resilience, confidence and safety. Staff ensure that a range of activities are available for the young person to enjoy and achieve. Playing board games, arts and crafts, after-school clubs and days out

p.6

Good

to places of interest are very much part of the young person’s daily life. Moreover, the staff team is excellent at encouraging independence and the learning of life skills for adulthood. The focus is very much on small achievable targets. For example, going to the shops unaided and playing out with her friends. This represents significant progress for the young person.

p.7

Good

Staff and the young person work hard to ensure that the house feels like a home. Photographs of shared experiences are proudly displayed. The young person feels at home and is clearly comfortable and settled. That said, there are areas for improvement. For example, on the day of the inspection, the bathroom was unkempt, and there was a broken fence panel in the garden. Furthermore there is some redecoration and repair work required throughout the home. The manager has requested that this is addressed. This shortfall is not currently having an impact on the health and safety of the young person but is having an impact on the quality of the environment.

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Requires improvement

The young person has shown considerable progress in her ability to manage her emotions, choosing to express her anxieties verbally more often. She appears to be taking more responsibility for her actions and is beginning to recognise the importance of being honest and accepting accountability for her actions. This is positive and further demonstrates the progress she has made. However, there are some shortfalls in safeguarding. These relate to less experienced staff not adhering to agreed risk and behaviour management strategies. This shortfall is partly mitigated by the fact that less experienced staff are supported effectively by more experienced colleagues, and to date there is no evidence to suggest that these shortfalls have caused harm to the young person’s safety or welfare. That said, it is not best practice and therefore requires improvement.

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Requires improvement

Clear risk assessments are regularly reviewed and monitored. These fully capture changing circumstances and provide very clear guidance for staff to follow. However, new staff and non-core staff have not consistently followed agreed strategies day to day. For example, not securing sharp knives after use, which resulted in escalated and challenging behaviour. This clearly demonstrates poor decision-making and a lack of adherence to risk management and does not promote the young person’s safety. More positively, this was immediately addressed by the manager, and appropriate strategies are in place to minimise the risk of this happening again.

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Requires improvement

Physical intervention is used infrequently, with only eight occurrences since the last inspection. The main focus of behaviour management is positive reinforcement of good behaviour and positive choices. All staff have received sufficient training in conflict management. However, on occasions, not all the staff have used their learning to good effect and have not responded quickly and sensitively to conflict. Although the frequency and severity of incidents have reduced, lack of consistency from staff does not assist the young person to make continued progress. This is something the manager has started to address. She recognises that well- established team members are effective role models and have the necessary skills to help less experienced staff team members to develop their emotional resilience and responses to challenging situations. Moreover, the manager has implemented training sessions with the organisation’s therapy team with the aim of developing

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Requires improvement

practice. That said, the effectiveness of this intervention is yet to be tested over time.

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Requires improvement

Sanctions are rarely used in this home and it is clear that staff prefer to use a restorative approach. However, not all sanctions are recorded in compliance with the children’s homes regulations. The current system does not provide a clear chronological audit trail, and when sanctions are not recorded the use of the sanction cannot be evaluated by the registered manager for effectiveness. Although this has not had a negative impact on the young person’s safety and welfare, it is a clear breach of regulation.

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Requires improvement

Allegations and complaints made against staff are swiftly actioned by the registered manager. Internal investigations are fair and objective. Established systems are followed effectively in response to any allegations arising, unsafe practice or suspicion of abuse. Records demonstrate that the manager is rigorous in the management of allegations or concerns about staff practice. She has ensured that action is taken quickly and in consultation with appropriate external agencies in order to support the young person living at the home. Staff spoken with during the inspection confidently outlined the procedure they would follow should any safeguarding matter come to light.

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Requires improvement

The home provides a safe environment for the young person. Staff regularly check the effectiveness and operation of safety equipment. They are vigilant in checking the identity of visitors, ensuring that they have a valid reason for their visits. Recruitment and selection of staff is robust. The manager ensures that safe recruitment practices are used, to ensure that staff are suitable and appropriately vetted to work with young people. All these measures promote the young person’s safety and minimise the likelihood of them being exposed to unsuitable individuals. Judgement grade

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Good

The home is led and managed effectively by a skilled, committed and qualified registered manager. The manager is knowledgeable, skilled and experienced enough to provide clear leadership. The new deputy manager has further strengthened the home’s management position. The deputy manager provides effective support and cover for the manager, which promotes the smooth and efficient operation of the home. There are clear lines of accountability and delegation and both have a shared ethos and foster a clear determination to develop and improve the service.

p.9

Good

Leaders and managers demonstrate strong and effective leadership. They ensure that the home is managed and staffed in a way that meets the needs of the young person. Considerable improvements have been made to staffing levels. Since the last inspection, the number of core staff has increased. There is considerable evidence that achieving consistency has been a high priority for the manager and for the organisation as a whole. The manager ensures that any gaps in the rota are covered by deploying existing staff who work in the manager’s other home. This helps to maintain consistency for the young person. The manager has a clear staffing contingency plan and continually reviews team dynamics. This ensures that relationships remain effective and that there is a good balance of skills and experience within the team.

p.9

Good

Staff express satisfaction in their roles and feel well supported by their manager. The staff team benefits from regular and effective supervision, which is underpinned by an annual appraisal and a detailed training programme. The manager has ensured that the members of the small staff team are either qualified or are working towards achieving qualification. Regular team meetings provide a forum for staff members to raise any issues relating to the home and an opportunity to discuss the young person’s progress. Productive team meetings and good quality supervision ensure that practice is monitored and this provides opportunities for further improvement in the delivery of care.

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Good

Quality assurance monitoring, both internally and externally, is effective in identifying strengths in the home as well as minor shortfalls. Both systems provide regular consultation with young people, families and professionals. This means that the quality of the service is continually assessed and analysed. Together with the home’s development plan, this demonstrates that this is a service that is committed to continual improvement.

p.9

Good

The statement of purpose reflects the aims and objectives of the service. This, along with the home’s location risk assessment, is reviewed regularly to ensure that information is current and reflective of the service.

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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 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, 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

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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