Children's home in Rochdale

children and young people since the most recent full inspection

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

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

There has been a change of manager since the last inspection. At the time of this inspection, the current manager had been in post for just over one week and is in the process of applying for registration with Ofsted. He is already registered for another home within the organisation and plans to divide his time between the two locations. The change of managers has been well planned. A good period of handover, that included the new manager spending time with the previous manager, young people and staff, has taken place prior to him coming into role. This has enabled him to start to get to know the young people and staff, as well as developing a basic understanding of the home’s strengths and areas for improvement. Throughout the inspection, the manager demonstrated a commitment to developing the service and showed a good level of knowledge and understanding about each young person’s needs, risks and vulnerabilities.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

Suitable action has been taken to address the requirement from the previous inspection. Health and safety risk assessments have been updated, the garden pond has been covered over and fire extinguishers are now readily accessible in the kitchen. Collectively, these actions mean that young people live in a safer home. One recommendation was also made. Staff are now better at supporting young people to keep the home clean and tidy with a notable improvement seen in all areas, in particular young people’s bedrooms. More pertinently, young people are becoming more self-motivated and are taking an increased pride in their home. Young people continue to receive a good-quality care from an increasingly consistent and stable staff team, which is becoming more confident in the management of young people’s day-to-day behaviour, although it is acknowledged by the manager that further improvement is required in this respect. Staff know

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

young people well, with most having strong reciprocal relationships with the young people. Both young people confirmed that they like living at the home and felt that staff offer them good levels of support. The young people’s views and opinions continue to be an integral aspect of their care, and they have a number of opportunities to influence decisions affecting their lives as well as the day-to-day running of the home. There have been two complaints since the last inspection, both relating to intimidating behaviour that caused one young person to claim that he felt unsafe. The young person confirmed that the manager has taken his complaint seriously and considered options such as him moving to another home. However, there is no evidence that the inherent issue of intimidation has been addressed with the other young person. This means that, in this instance, the young person was not held to account or helped to understand the way he made the other young person feel as

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

a result of his challenging behaviour. Young people’s risks and vulnerabilities are recorded in their individual plans that are regularly updated. These are well understood and routinely followed by staff who safely manage risky behaviour, including sexually harmful behaviour, substance misuse and threats of self-harm. A number of staff have had some training in relation to some of these complex issues, although a large majority have not. The manager recognises the importance of equipping his staff with the skills to meet each young person’s needs and has started to identify opportunities for staff to undertake needs-led training. Good procedures are in place for the management of young people who go missing from home. Staff make every effort to follow young people when they choose to leave the home, which is a regular pattern of behaviour for one young person, usually during the school day. When staff lose sight of him, they consistently notify

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

the police in accordance with agreed reporting protocols. Multi-agency meetings involving a range of agencies and professionals, including the police specialist child sexual exploitation unit, have been held to ensure that there is a collaborative response to the management of the risks associated with young people going missing. Furthermore, staff make every effort to understand and break this pattern of behaviour, although their efforts have had little impact so far. Individualised arrangements are in place for each young person’s education. Staff have been successful in identifying and supporting a post-16 placement for one young person, who has good rates of attendance and is making good progress in their chosen course of study. Alternatively, staff have found it difficult to engage the other young person, who continues to be home-schooled on an alternative curriculum. This is a combination of activity-based learning and academic subjects

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

with 17 of the 25 sessions delivered by care staff. Attendance and engagement is exceptionally low. According to the home’s records, which were not fully complete, this has been between 10% and 40% in the autumn half term, predominantly toward the lower percentile for most weeks. The manager recognises that this is not an acceptable level of engagement, because the young person is missing out on valuable learning that will compromise his future life opportunities. To their credit, the organisation’s headteacher and the home’s manager are working hard to identify a more suitable education placement for this young person, working closely with the young person’s placing authority and providers of alternative education placements.

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Information about this children’s home

This is a one of a number of privately run children’s homes. It is registered to provide care and accommodation for up to two children who may be experiencing emotional and/or behavioural difficulties.

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Recent inspection history

Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

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Recent inspection history

16/03/2016 Interim Improved effectiveness

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Recent inspection history

11/03/2015 Interim Improved effectiveness

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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

(1) The education standard is that children make measurable progress towards achieving their educational potential and are helped to do so. 09/03/2017

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Recommendations

To improve the quality and standards of care further, the service should take account of the following recommendation(s):

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Recommendations

 Staff should understand what they must do to prevent bullying of children by other children or adults. Staff should ensure that bullying behaviours are effectively addressed, including helping the bully to understand the impact of their behaviour on others. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 39, paragraph 8.16)  The registered person should ensure that staff can access appropriate facilities and resources to support their training needs. This is with particular reference to providing all staff with needs-led training in the management of self-harm, sexually harmful behaviour and substance misuse. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 53, paragraph 10.11)

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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 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 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 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 at: 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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