Children's home run by Salford City Council in Salford

Inspection report children’s home: SC065067 1 SC065067 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 provides care and accommodation for 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: 9 February 2017

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good

Overall judgement at last inspection: Sustained effectiveness

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: None Inspection report children’s home: SC065067 2

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Key findings from this inspection

 Young people are well supported to re-engage in their education and make good progress from their initial starting points.  Young people are treated with respect and experience care that is sensitive to their gender identity and sexual orientation.  Most young people said that they are happy and feel safe as a result of the care and support they receive.  Risks associated with the young people are understood by all staff. Risk assessments address known risks and vulnerabilities.  Restorative practice is used to try to improve relationships within the home.  Young people are encouraged to enjoy a range of positive experiences.  The home is properly staffed and resourced to meet the needs of the young people.  Effective working relationships with professionals and parents secure positive outcomes for most young people.

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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

 Additional measures of control are not recorded in line with regulations.  All staff receive an annual appraisal, but these are not individualised for each member of staff.  The manager does not always undertake an impact risk assessment to ensure that she has fully considered the impact of a new placement on the existing group of young people.  Not all of the young people’s plans are current and up to date. Furthermore, a young person has recently been admitted to the home without any local authority documents.

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

09/02/2017 Interim Sustained effectiveness 11/07/2016 Full Outstanding 21/03/2016 Interim Sustained effectiveness 13/07/2015 Full Outstanding Inspection report children’s home: SC065067 3

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that all incidents of control and discipline are fully recorded and subject to regular scrutiny to ensure that their use is fair. (‘Guide to the children’s home regulations including the quality standards’, page 46, paragraph 9.36)  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 home regulations including the quality standards’, page 56, paragraph 11.4)  All staff must have their performance and fitness to carry out their role formally appraised at least once annually. (‘Guide to the children’s home regulations including the quality standards’, page 61, 13.5)  Regulations 35-39 detail the records that must be kept in children’s homes. All

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Recommendations

children’s case records (regulation 36) must be kept up to date and stored securely while they remain in the home. Case records must be kept up to date and signed and dated by the author of each entry. (‘Guide to the children’s home regulations including the quality standards’, page 62, paragraph 14.3)

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Young people receive good-quality care from a stable and consistent staff team. Most young people enjoy positive relationships with the staff, who know them well, listen to them and invest time in them. Staff work tirelessly to improve the experiences and progress of all young people irrespective of the challenges they present. That said, one young person expressed some negative feelings towards living at the home. However, observations of interactions between the young people and staff confirmed that the young people have key members of staff whom they can relate to.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

All young people are healthy and access services appropriate to their needs. Positive working relationships with specialist services, including the child and adolescent mental health service (CAMHS) team and substance misuse worker/recovery coach, ensure that the emotional health needs of young people are well supported. There is a strong emphasis on respecting young people’s individual identity and protecting their dignity. Staff help young people to find information and support in relation to their lifestyle choices. Consequently, young people experience care that is sensitive to their gender identity and sexual orientation. Inspection report children’s home: SC065067 4 All young people are attending school or college or are in employment. During the summer, several young people successfully gained a number of national qualifications. This is excellent progress, given their past experiences. Staff support young people to

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

find suitable college placements, work or training on leaving school. This helps to improve their self-confidence and develop the qualities that will help them in the world of work.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Young people are encouraged to enjoy a range of positive experiences. They benefit from a range of community-based activities, including youth groups, going to the gym and cinema trips. The young people also enjoy shared experiences together, such as meals out and going on holiday. Some of the young people and staff went on holiday to Spain during the summer. This ensures that the young people experience the same opportunities as their peers.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Since the last inspection, there has been an increase in the number of admissions to the home. Some of these have been emergency placements, which means that planning and introductions to the home have not been possible. Furthermore, impact risk assessments have not been completed in relation to all new admissions to ensure that they are compatible with the young people living in the home. Consequently, this has proved unsettling for individual young people and impacted on their sense of safety and stability.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Young people’s placement plans are detailed and individualised. Staff have a good understanding of each young person’s needs and how they will be met. However, not all plans are current and up to date. Furthermore, a young person has very recently been admitted to the home without any local authority documents, and a care planning meeting has not taken place. This limits the staff’s ability to plan effectively for the young person’s care.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The views and opinions of all young people are valued. Key worker sessions and house meetings provide young people with opportunity to express their wishes and feelings. Records show that, when relationships have deteriorated between the young people, staff have taken appropriate action to try to resolve issues informally. Most young people are confident that the adults listen to them.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff encourage young people to do their own washing, keep their bedrooms tidy and help with the cooking. However, there are no clear plans in place to start any formal independence work with young people to support them as they move onto the next stage of their lives.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff promote contact between young people and those significant to them. Staff understand the importance of contact in helping young people to sustain their sense of identity and belonging.

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

Inspection report children’s home: SC065067 5 Most young people said that they feel safe in the home. Staff work hard to promote young people’s welfare and safety, and they regularly discuss ways for the young people to keep themselves safe when out in the community. Staff are well trained in safeguarding and child protection, which ensures that they are aware of, and follow, procedures for responding to concerns about the safety of young people.

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

Young people’s safety is further promoted by the use of detailed risk assessments. Risks associated with the young people are well known and understood by the staff. Staff balance the need for protection with supporting individual young people to take age- appropriate risks as part of their development. For one young person, this means travelling independently on public transport, which is significant progress for them from their starting point.

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

Since the last inspection, there has been an increase in the incidents of going missing for individual young people. When a young person goes missing, staff are proactive in their attempts to contact and search for them. Relationships with the local police and missing- from-home team are well developed. Young people are offered the opportunity for a return interview, and any concerns are shared in order to inform a young person’s risk management plans. This consistent approach promotes the welfare and safety of all young people.

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

Behaviour is well managed and rules and boundaries are consistently implemented by the staff team. Young people’s behaviour is managed by the use of praise and recognition of their achievements. This approach means that the use of sanctions and physical interventions are only used as a last resort. Until recently, the last physical intervention used in the home was in 2014. Staff act as positive role models for young people and provide them with positive guidance and direction. However, it was identified that there are occasions when young people have had some of their pocket money deducted for the purposes of reparation. This is not recorded as a sanction, and the practice is not recorded clearly.

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

Staff employed at the home are subject to organisational vetting procedures and do not start work in the home until all appropriate checks are complete. No new staff have been recruited since the last inspection. All fire, gas and electrical equipment is routinely serviced to ensure that it is in good working order. This ensures that the environment is safe and that young people are protected from persons who may present a risk to them.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager has been in post since 2012. She has a wealth of experience in residential childcare and is suitably qualified. She was absent from work for a period of time, which Ofsted was notified of. The deputy manager provided clear leadership and direction to the staff team during the registered manager’s absence. The home benefits from a well-established management team that shares a strong commitment to improving the progress and experiences of the young people in its care.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The home operates in line with its statement of purpose. The home is well staffed and Inspection report children’s home: SC065067 6 resourced to meet the needs of the young people. Young people benefit from the care and support provided by a very stable and long-standing staff team. All staff hold a suitable childcare qualification. Staff are given devolved responsibilities in the home, which enables them to feel empowered and valued. Discussions with staff confirmed that they clearly enjoy their work. A key worker said, ‘We work well together as a team because we have worked together for so long. We just want the best for the young people. The whole team [is] there for that.’

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff confirmed they are well supported and benefit from regular supervisions. Regular team meetings focus on the needs of the young people. Annual appraisals take place. However, the format for these is very ‘corporate’ and does not reflect how individual performance is challenged to ensure continued improvements in practice. That said, 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.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

There were no requirements or recommendations raised during the last inspection. The management team continues to use the external monitoring of the home to ensure that the quality of care is maintained. The home has strong working relationships with other agencies, including health professionals, police and placing social workers. A professional commented, ‘Liaison with me is good. There is clear and timely communication.’ This ensures that the progress of young people can be sustained or improved on.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager has a good understanding of the strengths and weaknesses of home, and areas for improvement are clearly identified in the home’s development plan. However, the manager’s monitoring has failed to identify the shortfalls found during this inspection.

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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 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: SC065067 7

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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: SC065067 8 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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