Children's Home run by ROC Northwest Limited in Lancashire

Inspection report children’s home: SC066428 1 SC066428 Registered provider: ROC Northwest Ltd

p.1

Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

p.1

Information about this children’s home

This home is privately owned and run. It is registered to provide care and accommodation for up to five children who may have emotional and/or behavioural difficulties.

p.1

Information about this children’s home

The registered manager is suitably qualified and experienced and has managed the home since 2014.

p.1

Overall experiences and progress of

children and young people, taking into account

p.1

good

How well children and young people are helped and protected good

p.1

good

The effectiveness of leaders and managers requires improvement to be good

p.1

good

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

p.1

good

Date of last inspection: 19 September 2017

p.1

good

Overall judgement at last inspection: outstanding

p.1

good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report children’s home: SC066428 2

p.1

Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

19/09/2017 Full Outstanding 07/03/2017 Interim Improved effectiveness 18/10/2016 Full Good 21/03/2016 Interim Improved effectiveness Inspection report children’s home: SC066428 3

p.2

Statutory requirements

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 timescales.

p.3

Requirement Due date

The care planning standard is that children— (a) receive effectively planned care in or through the children’s home. In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to ensure— (b) that arrangements are in place to— (ii) manage and review the placement of each child in the home. (Regulation 14 (1)(a)(2)(b)(ii) In particular, that planning for children joining the home ensures that children’s access to services are not avoidably disrupted. 31/07/2018

p.3

Requirement Due date

The leadership and management standard is that the registered person enables, inspires and leads a culture in relation to the children’s home that— helps children aspire to fulfil their potential; and promotes their welfare. In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to— ensure that staff have the experience, qualifications and skills to meet the needs of each child; ensure that the home has sufficient staff to provide care for each child; and understand the impact that the quality of care provided in the home is having on the progress and experiences of each child and use this understanding to inform the development of the quality of care provided in the home. (Regulation 13 (1)(a)(b)(2)(c)(d) 31/07/2018

p.3

Requirement Due date

The protection of children standard is that children are protected from harm and enabled to keep themselves safe. In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to ensure— that staff— assess whether each child is at risk of harm, taking into account information in the child’s relevant plans, and, if necessary, make arrangements to reduce the risk of any harm to the child. (Regulation (1)(2)(a)(i) 31/07/2018 Inspection report children’s home: SC066428 4 In particular, that risk assessments are individualised and take into account previous behaviours and the placing authority’s assessments.

p.3

Recommendations

 For children’s homes to be nurturing and supportive environments that meet the needs of their children, they will, in most cases, be homely, domestic environments. (‘Guide to the children’s home regulations including the quality standards’, page 15, paragraph 3.9) In particular, that damage sustained to the home is repaired, such as architrave and plaster work, broken windows and young people’s blinds.

p.4

Recommendations

 Staff should be familiar with the home’s policies on record keeping and understand the importance of careful, objective, and clear recording. (‘Guide to the children’s home regulations including the quality standards, page 62, paragraph 14.4) In particular, that recording of physical interventions are clear and detailed in order to afford suitable evaluation of the build-up to events.

p.4

Recommendations

 Where children placed in a home are not participating in education because they have been excluded or are not on a school roll for some other reason, the registered person and staff must work closely with the placing authority so that the child is supported and enabled to resume full-time education as soon as possible. (‘Guide to the children’s home regulations including the quality standards, page 28, paragraph 5.14) In particular, that activities provided by the home in the interim relate to the child’s educational targets.

p.4

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Some young people new to the home have, within a short period of time, settled into healthy routines, attend full-time education and are safer as a result of the care and attention they receive. All young people who have left the home have experienced well- planned and thoughtful transitions.

p.4

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Although some young people have faltered in the progress they have made, staff and the managers liaise with other agencies in order to improve the care that is offered. Not all young people receive 25 hours education a week and staff provide a wide range of activities to young people to ensure daily structure and prevent boredom. However, opportunities to link these activities to educational outcomes are missed.

p.4

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

A particular strength of the home is the support and encouragement that young people receive to enhance their skills, interests and hobbies. These include piano lessons, trampolining, dance lessons and trips to theme parks. Through the time and attention that staff offer, young people over time develop trusting relationships with staff. Inspection report children’s home: SC066428 5 Young people are fully encouraged to learn age-appropriate self-care skills and develop positive social skills. Although some young people can at times present challenging behaviours, staff offer consistent and reliable relationships that enable young people to develop a sense of belonging.

p.4

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Young people benefit from a spacious and on the whole well-maintained home. However, some repairs are necessary in order to ensure that their environment remains comfortable and well-presented.

p.5

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

Most young people do not go missing from home. Some young people have made immediate progress with regards to this and are safer as a result. When young people have been missing, staff are active in following them and persuading them to return to the safety of the home. Reporting procedures are followed by staff and there is active liaison with other agencies. The frequency of young people who have been missing from home is reducing.

p.5

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

Young people at the home do not engage in harmful behaviours such as drug and alcohol use, nor are they subject to child sexual exploitation.

p.5

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

Staff offer young people good routines and clear boundaries. When incidents do occur in the home, young people are not criminalised and staff take a restorative and educative approach to changing behaviours. However, the build-up to the necessary use of physical intervention is not always clearly recorded by staff. This limits managerial oversight, evaluation of incidents and opportunities to change staff practice.

p.5

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

Risk assessments are adhered to by staff. However, some risk assessments are not individualised or take into account some of the placing authority’s assessments.

p.5

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

On the whole, incidents within the home are managed by staff and resolved effectively. However, on occasion there has been recourse to request police assistance to deal with young people’s behaviours. This has resulted from the convergence of competing needs of young people, multiple incidents and insufficient staff on duty.

p.5

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

The manager is suitably qualified and experienced. She has been registered to manage the home since 2014. She leads a dedicated staff team that is committed to providing good-quality care for young people. The manager understands the young people well and understands the progress that they are making.

p.5

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

There is a wide range of training available to staff. However, staff have not benefited from training with regards to the known, specific and additional needs of some young people, such as communication and learning difficulties. As a result, improvements and enhancements to the practice of staff has been reactive rather than planned or pre- emptive. Inspection report children’s home: SC066428 6 Most young people have access to additional services that support their emotional and mental health. However, some young people new to the home have experienced a disruption to these services that were not identified at an admission or planning stage.

p.5

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

The manager and staff develop and maintain good working relationships with other agencies and there is an open and learning culture within the staff team. When young people’s progress is not as it should be, managers quickly organise meetings, share information and seek guidance and support to promote individual progress.

p.6

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.

p.6

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: SC066428 7

p.6

Children’s home details

Registered provider address: ROC Northwest Ltd, Ward Green Lane, Ribchester, Preston, Lancashire PR3 3YB

p.7

Inspector

Pauline Yates, social care inspector Inspection report children’s home: SC066428 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.

p.7

Inspector

If you would like a copy of this document in a different format, such as large print or Braille, please telephone 0300 123 1231, 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, The National Archives, Kew, London TW9 4DU, or email: psi@nationalarchives.gsi.gov.uk .

p.8

Inspector

Interested in our work? You can subscribe to our monthly newsletter for more information and updates: http://eepurl.com/iTrDn .

p.8

Inspector

T: 0300 123 1231 Textphone: 0161 618 8524 E: enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk W: www.gov.uk/ofsted

p.8