Children's home run by Proactive Care (Manchester) Limited

Inspection report children’s home: 1255800 1 Registered provider: Family Child Care Limited Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

The home provides care for up to two young people who may have emotional and/or behavioural difficulties. The home’s registered manager is well qualified and suitably experienced, and manages this home and a second home within the company.

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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: this is the first inspection since registration

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good

Overall judgement at last inspection: not applicable

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: not applicable

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

Not applicable Inspection report children’s home: 1255800 2

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Recommendations

 Ensure that all relevant plans are in place for the young person. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 14, paragraph 3.1)

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Recommendations

 Ensure that each child’s day-to-day health and well-being needs are met. Staff should work to make the children’s home an environment that supports children’s physical, mental and emotional health, in line with the approach set out in the home’s statement of purpose. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 33, paragraph 7.3) This relates specifically to registering the young person with an optician.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The young person who lives at the home was admitted on 6 June 2018. He has settled in quickly and has been made to feel safe and welcome by staff. The young person reports, ‘It’s good. It’s different not having other kids around. The staff are better here than in my old home. It doesn’t feel like a children’s home. I like the way they are with me. I’d give the home eight out of 10.’

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

There are effective arrangements being made to promote the young person’s good health. He is registered with a doctor and dentist but requires registration with a local optician to ensure that all of his specific health needs are met. Medical consent is in place and staff are clear about the types of health decisions and responsibilities that are delegated to them. The young person has not had the need for any health appointments to date.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The young person is beginning to benefit from individualised care and effective, high- quality support from staff. However, not all relevant plans are currently in place to ensure that the young person’s specific needs are understood and met. That said, the registered manager is in the process of addressing this issue.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff promote contact and help the young person to sustain his close relationships with the people who are most important to him. However, no family contact has taken place. The registered manager understands the importance of family contact and is keen to resume this at the earliest opportunity. The young person is having contact with his friends. Consequently, he can maintain some of his long-term relationships and friendships.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff consistently have high aspirations for young people. They are very supportive of the young person’s education. The young person attends school on a regular basis, with Inspection report children’s home: 1255800 3 good support and encouragement from staff.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The young person has recently attended his first activity with staff. He is actively encouraged to attend activities of his choosing. His participation is important for staff as they use activities to build and strengthen their positive relationships with young people.

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

Staff place the young person’s safety at the centre of their practice. They are developing a good understanding of his specific needs and emerging vulnerabilities and take appropriate action to address them. The use of clear risk assessment combined with effective behaviour management strategies promotes the young person’s safety and well-being.

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

The young person has not gone missing from the home since his admission. However, should he go missing, staff are familiar with the home’s procedures and arrangements for securing his safe return. Incidents of young people going missing remain low.

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

There have been no allegations of abuse or referrals to children and young people’s services. Staff are trained in child protection and know to protect young people from abuse and all other forms of significant harm. They have a good understanding of their safeguarding roles and responsibilities.

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

Significant incidents are reported to the appropriate authorities by staff. The home maintains highly effective partnerships with all safeguarding agencies to ensure that young people benefit from effective support, help and protection. Young people are kept safe and feel safe.

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

Positive behaviour is recognised, consistently praised and reinforced by staff. The use of sanctions is kept to an absolute minimum in contrast to the positive use of incentives and rewards. The use of restraint is rare, and if used, at all, it is as a last resort to protect young people from harm. When restraints have occurred, they have been low level and of the shortest duration. There have only been a small number of restraints in the home and none since the current young person’s admission. There have been no complaints and no concerns were raised by the young person.

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

The home provides the young person with a physically safe, appropriately secure, warm, comfortable and homely environment. Health and safety matters are addressed effectively to ensure that a safe environment is maintained for the young person, any visitors to the home and staff.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

This is the home’s first inspection since it was registered with Ofsted in November 2017. The home benefits from a passionate, well-qualified and experienced registered manager who exercises strong and effective leadership of the operation of the home. While the manager currently manages two homes within the organisation, this home is managed Inspection report children’s home: 1255800 4 efficiently and effectively.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff benefit from regular, high-quality professional supervision. They feel well managed, supported and led. Staff have access to good-quality training to develop their knowledge, skills and experience in caring for vulnerable young people.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Most staff employed at the home are appropriately qualified. Those who are not qualified are enrolled to complete relevant training to attain their diploma level 3 in caring for children and young people. Staff have sufficient skills, training and relevant experience to meet the young person’s specific needs. The training needs of staff are identified and met effectively.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The home meets the aims and objectives comprehensively as set out in its written statement of purpose. The home provides a good-quality service for young people that contributes to change and improvement in their lives. Feedback that the home has received about its services from different professional agencies is complimentary and consistently positive.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

There are effective systems made for the routine scrutiny of the quality of young people’s care. The home is visited once a month by an independent professional who checks the home’s records and scrutinises the home’s practices. This enables them to form an impartial and professional opinion as to the effectiveness of the home’s arrangements to safeguard young people and promote their well-being.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager makes good use of the home’s external and internal monitoring activities. He has a good understanding of the home’s strengths and tackles any shortfalls quickly to secure the home’s improvement. Consequently, there are effective systems for reviewing and improving the standard and quality of young people’s care.

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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: 1255800 5

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Family Child Care Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: 2 The Chase, Bolton BL1 5HL

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Inspector

Anthony Kyem: social care inspector Inspection report children’s home: 1255800 6 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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