Children's home run by Salford City Council in Salford

Inspection report children‟s home: SC394283 1 SC394283 Registered provider: Salford City Council

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Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

The home is registered to accommodate five young people who may have emotional and/or behavioural difficulties. The home is operated by a local authority.

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Overall experiences and progress of

children and young people, taking into account

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good

How well children and young people are helped and protected good

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good

The effectiveness of leaders and managers good

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good

The children‟s home provides effective services that meet the requirements for good.

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good

Date of last inspection: 25 January 2017

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good

Overall judgement at last inspection: Sustained effectiveness

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Enforcement action since last inspection:

None Inspection report children‟s home: SC394283 2

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Key findings from this inspection

 Staff know the young people well and invest time in them to protect them and promote their welfare.  Young people are able to build trusting relationships with the staff.  Risks relating to the young people are very well understood, and risk assessments clearly identify young people‟s risks and vulnerabilities.  Young people who go missing experience a well-coordinated response that reduces the risk of actual harm.  Excellent working relationships with other agencies ensure that young people receive the help and services that they need.  Most young people‟s lives have improved since coming to live at the home.

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Key findings from this inspection

The children‟s home‟s areas for development:

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Key findings from this inspection

 HMCI has not always been notified of serious incidents relating to the young people.  The location risk assessment needs to be updated to reflect current risks in the local area.  There are some shortfalls in the records, particularly in relation to incidents of bullying.  Since the last inspection, there have been a total of five admissions to and discharges from the home. Some of these have been emergency admissions, which have had a negative impact on relationships between some young people.

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

25/01/2017 Interim Sustained effectiveness 20/06/2016 Full Good 16/03/2016 Interim Improved effectiveness 17/08/2015 Full Good Inspection report children‟s home: SC394283 3

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Statutory requirements

This section sets out the actions that the registered person(s) must take to meet 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 notify HMCI and each other relevant person without delay if there is an incident relating to a child which the registered person considers to be serious. (Regulation 40 (4)(e)) 30/11/2017

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Recommendations

 The location risk assessment needs to be updated to reflect current risks in the local area. Specifically in relation to child sexual exploitation and the impact of any other children‟s home nearby. („Guide to the children‟s homes regulations including the quality standards‟, page 64, paragraph 15.1)

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Recommendations

 The registered person should only accept placements for children where they are satisfied that the home can respond effectively to the child‟s assessed needs as recorded in the child‟s relevant plans and where they have fully considered the impact that the placement will have on the existing group of children. („Guide to the children‟s homes regulations including the quality standards‟, page 56, paragraph 11.4)

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Recommendations

 Staff should be familiar with the home‟s policies on record keeping and understand the importance of careful, objective, and clear recording. Staff should record information on individual children in a non-stigmatising way that distinguishes between fact, opinion and third-party information. Information about the child must be recorded in a way that will be helpful to the child. („Guide to the children‟s home regulations including the quality standards‟, page 62, paragraph 14.4)

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Currently, two young people are living at the home. They have both lived at the home for over a year and remain very settled. Since the last inspection in January 2017, there Inspection report children‟s home: SC394283 4 have been a total of five admissions to and discharges from the home. These have ranged from a one-night stay to a stay of several months. While some young people move to the home in a planned way, others have been placed in an emergency. Therefore, compatibility is not always assessed prior to a young person‟s admission. This can impact negatively on relationships within the home.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Young people enjoy positive and constructive relationships with the staff. Most have well-developed relationships with key members of staff whom they have learned to trust over time. This is important for those young people who have experienced inconsistencies in their lives. A young person said, „I do like it here. I used to live here before, and I asked to come back. I feel comfortable here; they don‟t make you feel like a “looked after kid”…I get on with all the staff; they respect us.‟

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Young people receive good-quality care from a committed staff team that provides appropriate boundaries and routines. This enables most young people to re-engage in their education, enjoy positive experiences and reduce their risk-taking behaviours, such as offending behaviours. As a result, most young people make steady progress from their initial starting points.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Regular attendance in education or training can fluctuate for some young people, although they receive good support and encouragement to engage. A young person spoken with did recognise the importance of good attendance in improving their future life chances. Staff work closely with education professionals to challenge any barriers to learning. This assists in helping young people reach their full potential.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Until recently, the home was providing care and support to an unaccompanied asylum- seeking young person. The manager and staff built up a good network of services to assist the young person, including the services of an interpreter. The staff also translated a number of documents, such as the young person‟s placement plan. This enabled him to contribute to his care planning and express his wishes and feelings.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The health needs of young people are well promoted. Young people are registered with a range of health care practitioners, and staff support them to attend their routine health appointments. Staff also ensure that the young people receive support from specialist services, dependent on their individual needs. This provides young people with the opportunity to improve their emotional and psychological well-being.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Young people make a positive contribution to the home and the wider community. They are encouraged to take part in regular activities that promote their social skills, interests and hobbies. For example, one young person undertook a 10-week course to learn how to swim. Another young person helped out at a local food bank.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Young people have appropriate, carefully assessed contact with their family and friends. Staff understand the importance of these relationships on a young person‟s well-being, and these are supported where appropriate. Staff work proactively with family members to promote meaningful and safe contact. This enables young people to maintain important attachments and a sense of identity. Inspection report children‟s home: SC394283 5

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How well children and young people are helped and protected: good

The safety and well-being of young people are at the centre of staff practice, irrespective of the challenges that this presents. Staff have a good understanding of the needs and vulnerabilities of young people and take appropriate action to address them. Risks associated with young people are well known and understood by staff. Young people spoken with said that they feel safe in the home.

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How well children and young people are helped and protected: good

Young people who come to live at the home often have very high risk-taking behaviours, including going missing and sexual exploitation. Staff are alert to the signs of child sexual exploitation. They appropriately share any concerns with the appropriate safeguarding agencies, and fully cooperate with strategy meetings to ensure a multi- agency approach. Despite the best efforts of the staff, some young people continue to go missing. One young person was very recently moved to a safer placement because the staff could no longer keep her safe in the local community. A social worker said, „The staff did everything they could to keep [name] safe. She wasn‟t always safe there, but that was no fault of the staff. They persevered with her, always communicated with me and they were very instrumental in putting together the safety plan.‟ Staff completed some excellent direct work with the young person that focused on her safety and the

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How well children and young people are helped and protected: good

Staff clearly understand the missing from care protocols. They maintain regular phone contact with young people who are spending time with their friends, to ensure that they are safe and well. Young people have a code word that is personal to them, and they can use this to signal to staff that they feel unsafe and need picking up. Staff are proactive and follow young people, and they visit addresses where they suspect the young people are. They work in partnership with the police to protect young people as far as possible. Young people are given the opportunity to talk to someone independent of the home about why they went missing.

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How well children and young people are helped and protected: good

On occasions, young people have been subjected to bullying. Staff respond to incidents promptly. However, records of these incidents are not clear and do not provide an accurate picture of the frequency or actions taken by the staff to address these.

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How well children and young people are helped and protected: good

Young people‟s risk assessments clearly identify their specific risks and how these will be met. These are regularly reviewed and updated by staff to ensure that they continue to keep young people safe. However, the home‟s safe area risk assessment needs updating to reflect current risks, specifically in relation to any risks of child sexual exploitation or the potential impact of other children‟s homes nearby.

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How well children and young people are helped and protected: good

Physical interventions and negative consequences are not overly used. Staff use positive behaviour management strategies to de-escalate situations in the home. There have been occasions when the police have been called to support staff in managing young people‟s negative behaviours. However, every effort is made not to criminalise the young people. Inspection report children‟s home: SC394283 6

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager has been registered since 2012 and has extensive experience of working with young people. The manager has a good understanding of the strengths and weaknesses of the home. She acknowledges that, at times, it has been difficult to manage the challenging needs of young people. The manager and staff have pulled together to overcome these challenges and ensure a consistent and shared approach.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The home operates in line with its statement of purpose. The home is adequately staffed and resourced to meet the needs of the young people. On occasions, the home has been short staffed due to sickness. The shortfalls were covered by the manager and staff to ensure consistency for the young people. All staff are experienced and hold, or are working towards, a suitable childcare qualification.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Some parts of the home are looking worn, and there has been some damage caused by the young people. The manager has approval to make the required improvements to the home. This will ensure a more homely environment where the young people can feel relaxed and comfortable.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff access a range of mandatory and specialist training to ensure that they are equipped with the skills and knowledge to meet the needs of young people. This includes radicalisation. Staff spoken with said that they feel well supported and benefit from regular supervision, appraisal and team meetings. This ensures that they are motivated to deliver good-quality care.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager recognises the value of both internal and external monitoring in helping to drive up standards for the young people. A development plan clearly identifies what areas need to improve. However, there are some shortfalls in the manager‟s monitoring of the records. For example, there was one restraint record dating back to May 2017 that had not been completed fully and the manager had not evaluated the record. The manager has taken action to address the one requirement made at the last inspection in relation to young people‟s education.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

A key strength of the home is its partnership working with other professionals. The manager is aware of the procedure for notifying HMCI of incidents relating to a young person which they consider to be serious. However, reporting of all serious incidents is not consistent. This prevents the inspector from having the necessary oversight to ensure that young people are safe and protected.

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Information about this inspection

Inspectors have looked closely at the experiences and progress of children and young people. Inspectors considered the quality of work and the differences made to the lives of children and young people. They watched how professional staff work with children and young people and each other and discussed the effectiveness of help and care Inspection report children‟s home: SC394283 7 provided. Wherever possible, they talked to children and 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.

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Information about this inspection

Using the „Social care common inspection framework‟, this inspection was carried out under the Care Standards Act 2000 to assess the effectiveness of the service, how it meets the core functions of the service as set out in legislation, 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‟. Inspection report children‟s home: SC394283 8

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Civic Centre, Chorley Road, Swinton, Manchester M27 5DA

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Inspector

Michelle Bacon, social care inspector Inspection report children‟s home: SC394283 9 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, further education and skills, adult and community learning, and education and training in prisons and other secure establishments. It assesses council children‟s services, and inspects services for looked after children, safeguarding and child protection.

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Inspector

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Inspector

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Inspector

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