Children's Home run by Holistic Approach Limited in Salford

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 . The young people who live at this home continue to make positive progress in many areas of their lives. They receive a good standard of individualised care and share positive relationships with staff and each other. Some of the young people have lived at the home for many years and have evidently benefited from this stability and consistency. Since the last inspection of the home, one young person has moved on to a new placement. This was a planned move and in line with the needs and wishes of the young person concerned. There have been no new admissions to the home. The organisation’s quality manager commented that great care was taken to ensure that any new young person accepted to the home would match well with the young people who already live there, as they are a very settled group. This demonstrates that the running of

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

the home is centred on the well-being of young people. All young people have progressed well with their education. One young person has recently gained a number of GCSEs and has embarked on further education. She has ambition to go to university, and staff are supporting her towards this goal. Another young person started at a local college and decided it was not right for him. Staff are currently supporting him to look for alternative further education opportunities and have encouraged him to engage in home-based learning until he finds something that he feels suits him better. Supporting young people’s learning in a positive way helps them to achieve their full potential and increases their future life chances. Staff support young people’s interests and hobbies and encourage them to try new pursuits. One young person who lives at the home is a keen singer and enjoys musical theatre lessons outside of school. Staff regularly enable this young person

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

to visit the theatre and watch shows. Staff support young people to maintain contact with their loved ones and important friendships. Staff have supported one young person to express their views to their placing authority about their desire for more contact with family members. This has been successful, and the young person reports feeling happier that she is now able to see her family on a more frequent basis. Supporting young people to maintain important relationships promotes their emotional well-being. The registered manager and staff have a good understanding of the risks to individual young people’s safety and well-being and take appropriate action to protect them from harm. When appropriate, work is carried out in partnership with outside agencies to help to ensure that young people receive safe and effective support. There is a demonstrable reduction in young people’s high-risk behaviours, such as being missing from home. This shows that the support that they receive at

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

the home helps to keep them safe. One young person who lives at the home requires support in some specific health- related issues. The young person’s care records do not provide a clear picture of all the support that he requires or that has been provided. Support from an external professional is in place, but some of the details of this input are not clearly described. It was ascertained that these shortfalls in recording have not negatively impacted on the young person concerned. However, gaps in recording increase the risk of a young person not receiving the required support and, therefore, a recommendation is raised relating to this matter. Some young people are preparing to move towards semi-independent living. They have specific plans in place that outline the support that they require from staff to prepare them for this step. Staff support the young people to develop skills in areas such as budgeting, meal preparation and healthcare. Preparing young people for

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

independence increases their confidence and gives them the skills to be successful in a less supported environment. At the time of this inspection, the registered manager was on annual leave. Staff members who were on duty were able to competently assist with the inspection and were later joined by senior managers from the organisation. Staff spoken with expressed satisfaction with all aspects of the home and were positive about the care and support provided to young people. Staff reported a good level of support and training and said that they feel confident in the registered manager. One staff member described a good level of support he received from the registered manager in relation to his part-time university studies. Since the last inspection of the home, there has been a move towards a new model of behaviour management based on therapeutic intervention. All staff have received several days’ training in this area, and young people’s behaviour support

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

plans have been reviewed and updated in line with the new model. The quality manager commented that she feels that this is a very positive development and that staff and young people have responded well.

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Information about this children’s home

The home provides care and accommodation for up to five young people who have emotional and/or behavioural difficulties and learning disabilities. The home is privately owned.

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Recent inspection history

Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

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Recommendations

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

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Recommendations

 Children’s homes staff should encourage children to take a proactive role in looking after their day-to-day health and well-being. Where children have specific health needs or conditions, they should be supported to manage these, subject to their age and understanding. When a child needs additional health or well- being support, staff should work with the child’s placing authority to enable proper and immediate access to any specialist medical, psychological or psychiatric support required, and challenge them through regulation 5 − Engaging with the wider system to ensure children's needs are met, if this does not happen. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 34, paragraph 7.10)

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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 whom 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

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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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