Children's home run by Salford City Council in Salford

Inspection report children‟s home: SC064858 1 SC064858 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

This short-term reception home provides care and accommodation for up to four young people who may have emotional and/or behavioural difficulties and/or learning disabilities.

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Information about this children’s home

The home provides a Police and Criminal Evidence bed for young people irrespective of gender and aged from 10 to 17 years. Greater Manchester Police should provide staff with information regarding the nature of the offence committed, and any known risks, as outlined in the home‟s statement of purpose document.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager has been registered with Ofsted since 2007.

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Information about this children’s home

Inspection dates: 11 to 12 September 2018

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Overall experiences and progress of

children and young people, taking into account

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requires improvement to be good

How well children and young people are helped and protected requires improvement to be good

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requires improvement to be good

The effectiveness of leaders and managers requires improvement to be good

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requires improvement to be good

The children‟s home is not yet delivering good help and care for children and young people. However, there are no serious or widespread failures that result in their welfare not being safeguarded or promoted.

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requires improvement to be good

Overall judgement at last inspection: inadequate Inspection report children‟s home: SC064858 2

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Enforcement action since last inspection:

A compliance notice was issued on 18 May 2018, in relation to regulation 12, the protection of children and young people. An unannounced monitoring visit took place on 3 July 2018 and found that the provider had taken action to improve. The notice was met.

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

09/05/2018 Full Inadequate 14/02/2018 Interim Sustained effectiveness 15/06/2017 Full Requires improvement to be good 15/02/2017 Interim Sustained effectiveness Inspection report children‟s home: SC064858 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 health and well-being standard is that— the health and well-being needs of children are met; children receive advice, services and support in relation to their health and well-being; and that children are helped to lead healthy lifestyles. In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to ensure that staff ─ help each child to— achieve the health and well-being outcomes that are recorded in the child‟s relevant plans; understand the child‟s health and well-being needs and the options that are available in relation to the child‟s health and well-being, in a way that is appropriate to the child‟s age and understanding; take part in activities, and attend any appointments, for the purpose of meeting the child‟s health and well-being needs; and understand and develop skills to promote the child‟s well-being. (Regulation 10 (1)(a)(b)(c)(2)(a)(i)(ii)(iii)(iv)) 29/10/2018

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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; help each child to understand how to keep safe. (Regulation 12 (1)(2)(a)(i)(ii) 29/10/2018

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must— keep the statement of purpose under review and, where appropriate, revise it; and notify HMCI of any revisions and send HMCI a copy of the revised statement within 28 days of the revision. (Regulation 16 (3)(a)(b)) 29/10/2018

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Requirement Due date

Subject to paragraph (6), the registered person must establish a procedure for considering complaints made by or on behalf of children. The registered person must ensure that a record is made of any complaint, the action taken in response, and the 29/10/2018 Inspection report children‟s home: SC064858 4 outcome of any investigation. (Regulation 39 (1)(3)) The independent person must provide a copy of the independent person‟s report to ─ HMCI; upon request, the local authority for the area in which the home is located; the placing authorities of children; the registered provider and, if applicable, the registered manager; and the responsible individual (if one is nominated). (Regulation 44 (7)(a)(b)(c)(d)(e)) 29/10/2018

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must complete a review of the quality of care provided for children (“a quality of care review”) at least once every 6 months. In order to complete a quality of care review the registered person must establish and maintain a system for monitoring, reviewing and evaluating— the quality of care provided for children; the feedback and opinions of children about the children‟s home, its facilities and the quality of care they receive in it; and any actions that the registered person considers necessary in order to improve or maintain the quality of care provided for children. After completing a quality of care review, the registered person must produce a written report about the quality of care review and the actions which the registered person intends to take as a result of the quality of care review (“the quality of care review report”). The registered person must supply to HMCI a copy of the

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Requirement Due date

quality of care review report within 28 days of the date on which the quality of care review is completed; and make a copy of the quality of care review report available on request to a placing authority, if the placing authority is not the parent of a child accommodated in the home. The system referred to in paragraph (2) must provide for ascertaining and considering the opinions of children, their parents, placing authorities and staff. (Regulation 45 (1)(2)(a)(b)(c)(3)(4)(a)(b)(5)) 29/10/2018

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Recommendations

 Regulations 35−39 detail the records that must be kept in children‟s homes. All children‟s case records (regulation 36) must be kept up to date and stored securely whilst they remain in the home. Ensure accurate, succinct and evaluative record keeping. („Guide to the children‟s home regulations including the quality standards‟, page 62, paragraph 14.3) Inspection report children‟s home: SC064858 5

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improvement to be good

Currently, there are three young people living at the home. At the time of the last inspection, the behaviour of some young people meant that the home was not always a calm and stable environment. The group dynamics have changed since then, and the home is much more settled.

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improvement to be good

Staff have worked well with education professionals to try to improve young people‟s educational attendance. Following the summer holiday, the staff have had some success in motivating young people to attend. However, despite their best efforts, two young people are struggling to maintain consistent attendance in education.

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improvement to be good

The home is providing care and support to an unaccompanied asylum-seeking young person. The staff have built up a good network of services to assist the young person, including the services of an interpreter. With the help of the staff, the young person was able to tell the inspector that they are happy and settled. The staff have confirmation that a school placement has been identified for the young person, which they are very pleased about.

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improvement to be good

Staff have a good understanding of young people‟s specific emotional needs. A professional from the child and adolescent mental health service meets regularly with the staff, to provide guidance on supporting young people‟s emotional needs. Staff successfully helped a young person to overcome their resistance to engage in their annual health assessment. However, young people continue to refuse to engage with specialist services in relation to their cannabis misuse. Young people‟s healthcare plans fail to show how their specific health needs are being addressed.

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improvement to be good

The number of young people admitted to the home in an emergency has significantly reduced since the last inspection. The management team is now completing compatibility risk assessments to assess young people‟s needs. This enabled a young person who has very complex needs to be moved quickly to a more suitable placement.

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improvement to be good

Individual risk assessments and safety plans identify known risks to young people‟s safety and welfare. Despite this, the strategies put in place to manage risks are not consistently followed by all the staff. For example, they do not always report a young person missing if they do not answer their mobile phone. This does not ensure that the young person is protected as well as they could be.

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improvement to be good

Managers have not ensured that all staff have signed young people‟s risk assessments to demonstrate that they have read and understand them. Inspection report children‟s home: SC064858 6 Records show that action has been taken to improve relationships in the home. Work has been done with the young people to help them understand the impact of bullying behaviour.

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improvement to be good

Staff are more consistent in their application of the rules and boundaries. Positive behaviour management strategies have effectively reduced the levels of challenging behaviour.

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improvement to be good

Strong partnership working ensures a multi-agency approach to protecting young people, particularly those who are known to be at risk of exploitation. They receive support from specialist safeguarding professionals to help them recognise healthy relationships and keep themselves safe.

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improvement to be good

A requirement made in relation to complaints has not been met. A complaint made by a young person had been filed in the young person‟s file. It is unclear from the records what action managers have taken in response to the young person‟s complaint or whether this was withdrawn by the young person. This does not demonstrate that staff have listened and responded to the young person‟s concerns appropriately.

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

The home is managed by an experienced and suitably qualified manager. She was not available for this inspection. The deputy manager and service manager supported the inspection. Since the last inspection, the manager has met all but one of the previous requirements.

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

Staff spoken to during this inspection said that staff morale has improved. The increase in waking night staff means that the day staff are not having to stay awake throughout the night to deal with challenging incidents. Young people are also in better routines of settling at bedtime.

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

Professionals reported effective working relationships with the manager and staff. One professional said, „They [staff] ring me if they need advice.‟ Another commented, „They [staff] are very good and speak to us about any concerns they have … They work very well with us.‟

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

The home is meeting the aims and objectives set out in the statement of purpose. Although the statement of purpose was updated in August 2018, Ofsted has not been notified. This means that the regulator has not been kept updated of any new elements in the document, including changes to staffing.

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

The independent visitor‟s reports have not been forwarded to Ofsted since January 2018. Furthermore, the manager‟s most recent report about the quality of care has not been sent to Ofsted. This prevents the regulator from having good oversight of the home in between inspections. The standard of record-keeping in the home requires some improvement. For example, correction fluid has been used in young people‟s records to Inspection report children‟s home: SC064858 7 correct errors. In other examples, records such as impact risk assessments and a child sexual exploitation risk assessment have not been signed by the manager or the author. This does not ensure robust managerial oversight of all the records.

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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: SC064858 8

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Children’s home details

Registered provider : Salford City Council

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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: SC064858 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 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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