Children's Home run by Rochdale Borough Council in Rochdale

Inspection report children’s home: SC034922 1 SC034922 Registered provider: Rochdale Metropolitan Borough 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 run by a local authority. Children and young people placed at the home may be traumatised, have been subjected to abuse or be misunderstood. They will be provided with a stable and caring environment to develop their potential. The home provides care for up to four children. The registered manager has been registered with Ofsted since 26 August 2016.

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Information about this children’s home

Inspection dates: 30 April to 1 May 2018

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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

Overall judgement at last inspection: requires improvement to be good

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report children’s home: SC034922 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

24/07/2017 Full Requires improvement to be good 30/03/2017 Interim Sustained effectiveness 20/09/2016 Full Good 31/03/2016 Interim Sustained effectiveness Inspection report children’s home: SC034922 3

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Statutory requirement

This section sets out the actions that the registered person 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 must comply within the given timescale.

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Requirement Due date

supply to HMCI a copy of the quality of care review report within 28 days of the date on which the quality of care review is completed. (Regulation 45 (4) (a)) 01/06/2018

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children and young people are making good progress as a result of consistent, individualised care and support. This progress is particularly evident in their social interactions, tolerance of boundaries and improved behaviour.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children and young people enjoy very positive relationships with staff and with each other. The management team and staff display a detailed and commendable understanding of the children and young people’s histories, needs and progress. This has helped the children and young people to settle in the home.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The management team and staff are child focused. Staff undertake child-friendly, direct work with the children and young people. The work is creative and has contributed to the children and young people having a clear understanding of the decisions made in respect of their current and future plans.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff use individual journals to capture the wishes, views and feelings of the children and young people. These inform the children and young people’s care plans and set objectives for them. It is evident in the records that the children and young people are continuing to make progress from the time they come to live in the home.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Since the last inspection, arrangements with the school’s virtual head and other professionals have been strengthened. All of the children and young people are in education and doing well at school or participating in voluntary work. Inspection report children’s home: SC034922 4 Children and young people receive good health care and support. Their physical health needs are met through appointments that they attend at the local medical centre. Medication is managed well, and individual health care plans show that the children and young people’s health care needs are being met.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Access to social and psychological services local to the home and available as and when needed. These arrangements provide emotional support and are supported by the staff to increase the children and young people’s well-being.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children and young people have the opportunities to meet their friends, invite them into the home and have fun. Staff demonstrate a very good understanding of each of the children and young people’s interests, and together they plan structured activities, weekend breaks and holidays.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

One young person is making very good progress in developing her independence skills and taking responsibility for the decisions she makes. The young person told the inspector that she was listened to when she felt unprepared for her move out of the home. As a result, the young person now has more time to prepare for her move into adulthood.

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

Children and young people are safe in the home and they told the inspector that they feel safe. The management team and staff have a good understanding of risk management. Risk assessments are comprehensive and clear, and provide staff with the necessary guidance and strategies to reduce risks.

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

Responses from safeguarding professionals, including written feedback and in direct discussion with the inspector, praise the work the staff carry out in order to protect the children and young people. It is clear from these responses and from the children and young people themselves that protection is at the forefront of staff practice.

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

Staff are trained and competent in all areas of child protection, including child sexual exploitation, grooming, responding to and reporting allegations, radicalisation and keeping children and young people safe online.

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

Since the last inspection, there has been a significant decrease in the number of incidents of the children and young people being reported missing from home. The staff have worked closely with the police and social workers to reduce the number of these incidents. Multi-agency working is effective in identifying risk and agreeing strategies to keep the children and young people safe.

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

Return home interviews are carried out by a charitable organisation that also runs a weekly drop-in session in the home. Information sharing between all professionals is good and now prevents drift. These arrangements provide the children and young people with clear guidance and plans and provides them with someone to speak to who is independent of the home. Inspection report children’s home: SC034922 5 The management team and staff’s reflective approach supports the ethos in the home. Children and young people’s behaviour is not a concern and the home is settled. Restraint is rare, and the children and young people respond well to the incentives in place.

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

Reparation is used as a consequence to the children and young people’s inappropriate behaviour. This is only imposed when the children and young people misappropriate their monies or if there is damage to the home.

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

The staff learn from the risks the children and young people make and proactively challenge them to change their ways. This allows staff to be honest, explore different approaches and question and challenge each other’s practice.

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

Safe recruitment practices are thorough. This ensures that anyone employed in the home is safe to work with the children and young people.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The home is managed very well by a registered manager and a deputy manager. Together they have immense experience in residential care and are suitably qualified. Their leadership is appreciated by the whole staff team who feels supported through effective supervision, appraisals and team meetings.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Since the last inspection, the commitment and drive of the management and staff team have led to significant improvements in the home. Children and young people benefit from this and they told the inspector:

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

 ‘This is the only home I have settled in. The staff are really caring and supportive.’  ‘They [staff] do not tell you and are not always in your face. They listen to me.’  ‘Everyone here is great, and I really like my key-worker.’

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The two requirements and two recommendations made at the last inspection have been met. The management team remains up to date with research and practice. This contributes to the positive outcomes achieved by the children and young people.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Independent reviewing officers, youth justice workers and social workers speak very highly of the management and staff team. They report young people making positive progress in all areas of their lives. They witness very empathetic care being provided by staff. Communication is seen as a key strength by professionals, parents, carers and the children and young people’s families.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager has good monitoring systems in place to capture the children and young people’s progress and ensure that documentation is up to date. This is supported each month by a report from an independent person. This allows the registered manager to understand the strengths within the home and the areas that require development. Inspection report children’s home: SC034922 6 However, her quality of care review report has not been sent to Ofsted in line with regulation. This prevents the regulator from having an oversight of current practice and outcomes achieved by the children and young people or any future development plans in the home.

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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: SC034922 7

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Rochdale Metropolitan Borough Council, Number One Riverside, Rochdale OL16 1XU

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Inspector

Mark Kersh, social care inspector Inspection report children’s home: SC034922 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 children looked after, safeguarding and child protection.

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Inspector

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Inspector

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Inspector

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