Children's Home run by Time-Out Children’s Homes Limited in Rochdale

children and young people since the most recent full inspection

This home was judged good at the last full inspection. At this interim inspection Ofsted judges that it has improved effectiveness .

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

Young people benefit from living in a safe, caring and supportive environment that enables them to thrive. This is because they receive a consistently high standard of care and support from competent and experienced staff who give their individual needs and safety the highest priority. Feedback from professionals is extremely positive with one social worker saying, ‘Staff are doing a really good job. The work they do is faultless and they clearly have (name’s) best interest at heart. Overall I am impressed with the level of support (name) receives.’

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

Staff work hard to ensure young people’s individual needs are met through effective care planning and risk management. They have established strong links with a range of external professionals and use these contacts effectively in order to meet each young person’s unique needs. For example, contact has been made with specialist organisations in an effort to research past illnesses that may be linked to current behaviour. Staff have used this information to inform their practice. This means that young people receive the right levels of research-based support to help them manage their diverse and complex needs and behaviours.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

Relationships between staff and young people are a notable strength of the home. Staff use these relationships effectively in order to create a family-like atmosphere that promotes stability and a sense of belonging. Young people clearly like spending time with staff, who are positive role models for them. Both young people spoke positively about their experiences while living at the home; one young person said: ‘I absolutely love living here. The staff are great and they have really helped me get on. I think I am doing really well. If I could move this [home] to my home area, everything would be perfect.’

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

Young people’s views and opinions are integral to the day-to-day running of the home. They are actively involved in conversations about daily life and are encouraged and well supported to influence decisions that relate to their care. The manager and staff are strong advocates for young people and have high expectations of third-party stakeholders. The manager is not afraid to challenge the performance of these stakeholders to ensure that young people get the support and services that they are entitled to. For example, she has been proactive in ensuring that one placing authority starts the process of completing an education, health and care plan (EHC plan) to enable the young person to access an education provision that suits them better.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

Young people are mostly well behaved and refrain from risk-taking behaviour, such as going missing from home. Staff take a calm, therapeutic approach to helping young people to understand and manage their individual behaviours, risks and vulnerabilities more effectively. They talk to them about their individual behaviour as well as offering good guidance, support and information about relevant topics such as e-safety, personal relationships and child sexual exploitation. This educational approach, combined with proportionate levels of supervision, ensures that each young person is given the support that they require to manage their behaviour and keep safe. The effectiveness of this approach is evident in the choices young people are making in this respect. For example, one young person is now safely managing her free time, during which she spends time with her friends in the community.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

Young people enjoy a range of meaningful activities that are based on their individual interests and hobbies. Each young person is encouraged to keep a ‘journey book’, which they fill with photographic examples of the purposeful and fun things that they do. Examples of activities that young people engage in include pamper nights, trampolining, attending guides, walking in the park and special trips, such as going to the seaside. Furthermore, both young people have participated in a number of fundraising events and, as a result, have raised £70.00 for charity. Young people are understandably very proud of their achievements in this respect. They are also proud of their other accomplishments, such as becoming certified dog walkers.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

The registered manager, who was new to this role in April 2016, continues to have an extremely positive impact on the way this home is run. She is a passionate and hands-on manager who drives a very child-focused approach to caring for young people. She knows what the home does well and is constantly looking for ways to improve the already good standard of care delivered to young people. She makes effective use of a range of internal and external quality assurance processes to make sure that any identified shortfalls are addressed expediently. This includes the requirement and the two recommendations from the previous inspection, all of which have been met.

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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 up to two young people who have emotional and/or behavioural difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

The organisation also has a small therapy department as well as primary and secondary education provisions, which young people can access if appropriate.

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Recent inspection history

Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement 10/08/2016 Full Good 08/03/2016 Interim Declined in effectiveness 08/12/2015 Full Good 20/02/2015 Interim Sustained effectiveness

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What the inspection judgements mean

At the interim inspection we make a judgement on whether the home has improved in effectiveness, sustained effectiveness, or declined in effectiveness since the previous full inspection. This is in line with the ‘Inspection of children’s homes: framework for inspection’.

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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 focused on the effectiveness of the home and the progress and experiences of children and young people since the most recent full inspection.

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Information about this inspection

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 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 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

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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