Children's home run by Oldham Children’s Social Care in Oldham

Inspection report for children‟s home - monitoring visit: SC387671 1 SC387671

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Oldham Metropolitan Borough Council

Monitoring visit Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

The home is a six-bedded short-break service for disabled children. The home is within the Oldham Metropolitan Borough Council boundary and is for children from the Oldham and Rochdale area.

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Information about this children’s home

In addition to the six beds available for planned admissions, another bed is retained for emergency accommodation for children who have additional and complex need, to help families through real crisis periods or for safeguarding reasons.

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Information about this children’s home

The duration of short breaks can vary from day care-type provision up to a maximum of 17 days.

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Information about this children’s home

Referrals must be assessed as requiring such a service by the respective children with disabilities social work teams and ratified through the referral and admissions processes of Oldham and Rochdale.

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Information about this children’s home

The registered manager has been registered since March 2018.

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Information about this children’s home

Inspection date: 23 October 2018 Inspection report for children‟s home - monitoring visit: SC387671 2

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This monitoring visit

This monitoring visit was undertaken to monitor the safeguarding arrangements for the children staying in this short-break setting. This visit was necessary because Ofsted had received a number of concerns in regard to insufficient staffing in the home and the abilities of the provider to meet the needs of all children accessing the service. Inspectors found shortfalls, which impact on the care and support children receive.

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This monitoring visit

The statement of purpose of the home states that the home has a dual purpose: to provide a short break with an overnight stay to families of children who have additional and complex needs and to provide emergency accommodation for a child who has additional and complex needs. However, the home is providing placements to children outside of the statement of purpose. This includes long-term placements.

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This monitoring visit

Initial impact assessments have not consistently been completed. This has impacted on planned short-break allocations for some children. In addition, key information in relation to children placed in an emergency is not known to the staff. Care plans are not in place for one of the children placed in an emergency, and the risk assessment for this child contains limited information. This means that the staff are unclear about the care and support needs of the child or about how to meet them.

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This monitoring visit

Staff reported that they are unclear about the process they need to follow if children make an allegation. One child has made an allegation against a member of staff. This was not appropriately reported to all people as required. The registered manager had also not taken appropriate action to follow the allegations procedure in place or send a notification to HMCI as required by regulations. This means that safeguarding processes that are in place to safeguard and protect children are not always adhered to.

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This monitoring visit

Records are not robust, and the management oversight of this does not demonstrate effective monitoring. This includes oversight of impact assessments, care plans and risk assessments. Children‟s files sampled are not consistent in the level of recording. Some documents have been left blank and other required documentation has limited information to demonstrate the needs of the children accessing the service. This fails to ensure that all staff have access to the correct information about children or an awareness of all known risks.

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This monitoring visit

Additional procedures implemented to safeguard children are not consistently monitored by the registered manager. For example, staff on shift have a responsibility to check, three times a day, that the door alarm safety system is in operation. However, inspectors found that on three occasions the records did not indicate that staff had completed the safety check. There is no evidence of management oversight to address the shortfall.

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This monitoring visit

Arrangements for receiving and recording of medication have been reviewed. Inspection report for children‟s home - monitoring visit: SC387671 3 However, at the time of this monitoring visit, the medication cabinet which contained controlled drugs was left wide open with the keys in the door. This fails to demonstrate that all staff adhere to the safe storage of medication or follow the procedure in place. This potentially could pose a risk of harm to children.

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This monitoring visit

Staff rotas are unclear and on occasions do not demonstrate that there are sufficient staff working in the home to meet the needs of the individual children. Staff confirmed that they can request more staff if they feel this may be required, but reported that the home has recently experienced a period of chaos due to two children staying in the home full time. Staff reported that morning shifts are often under resourced, although night staff currently remain on shift to cover these shortfalls. In addition, there was no evidence provided to demonstrate the hours when the registered manager is in day-to-day charge of the home. He is currently not included in the rota system.

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This monitoring visit

Some staff reported that they have not received regular supervision in accordance with the organisation‟s supervision policy. This does not enable them to reflect on their professional practice and identify any learning or development needs.

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This monitoring visit

The shortfalls identified during this monitoring visit impact on the overall care and support provided to children. Ten requirements have been issued to address the breaches in the Children‟s Home Regulation, 2015.

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Recent inspection history

Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement 04/04/2018 Full Good 16/08/2017 Full Good 01/02/2017 Full Good 25/10/2016 Full Inadequate Inspection report for children‟s home - monitoring visit: SC387671 4

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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 quality and purpose of care standard is that children receive care from staff who ─

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Requirement Due date

understand the children‟s home‟s overall aims and outcomes it seeks to achieve for children;

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Requirement Due date

use this understanding to deliver care that meets the children‟s needs and supports them to fulfil their potential.

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to ─

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Requirement Due date

understand and apply the home‟s statement of purpose;

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Requirement Due date

understand and apply the home‟s statement of purpose;

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Requirement Due date

protect and promote each child‟s welfare; and

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Requirement Due date

provide personalised care that meets each child‟s needs, as recorded in the child‟s relevant plans, taking into account the child‟s background

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Requirement Due date

(Regulation 6 (1)(a)(b)(2)(a)(b)(i)(ii)(iv)) 23/11/2018

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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.

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to ensure that staff—

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Requirement Due date

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; 23/11/2018 Inspection report for children‟s home - monitoring visit: SC387671 5 have the skills to identify and act upon signs that a child is at risk of harm;

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Requirement Due date

understand the roles and responsibilities in relation to protecting children that are assigned to them by the registered person;

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Requirement Due date

take effective action whenever there is a serious concern about a child‟s welfare; and

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Requirement Due date

are familiar with, and act in accordance with, the home‟s child protection policies.

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Requirement Due date

(Regulation 12 (1)(2)(a)(i)(iii)(v)(vi)(vii))

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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—

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Requirement Due date

helps children aspire to fulfil their potential; and promotes their welfare.

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to—

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Requirement Due date

lead and manage the home in a way that is consistent with the approach and ethos, and delivers the outcomes, set out in the home‟s statement of purpose;

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Requirement Due date

ensure that the home has sufficient staff to provide care for each child;

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Requirement Due date

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 and quality of care provided in the home;

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Requirement Due date

demonstrate that practice is informed and improved by taking into account and acting on research and developments in relation to the ways the needs of children are best met; and

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Requirement Due date

use monitoring and review systems to make continuous improvements in the quality of care provided in the home.

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Requirement Due date

(Regulation 13 (1)(a)(b)(2)(a)(d)(f)(g)(i)(h)) 23/11/2018 Inspection report for children‟s home - monitoring visit: SC387671 6 The care planning standard is that children receive well- planned care from the home and have a positive experience of admission and transition processes.

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to ensure ─

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Requirement Due date

that children are admitted to the home only if their needs are within the range of needs of children for whom it is intended that the home provide care, as set out in the home‟s statement of purpose;

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Requirement Due date

ensure the effective induction of children into the home; and

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Requirement Due date

manage and reviews the placement of children in the home.

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Requirement Due date

(Regulation 14 (1)(2)(a)(b)(i)(ii)(iii) 14/12/2018

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must compile in relation to the children‟s home a statement (“the statement of purpose”) which covers the matters listed in Schedule 1. The registered person must keep the statement of purpose under review and, where appropriate, revise it; and

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Requirement Due date

notify HMCI of any revisions and send HMCI a copy of the revised statement within 28 days of the revision.

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Requirement Due date

Subject to paragraph (6), the registered person must ensure that the home is at all times conducted in a manner which is consistent with its statement of purpose.

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Requirement Due date

(Regulation 16 (1)(3)(a)(b)(5)) 23/11/2018

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must make arrangements for the handling, recording, safekeeping, safe administration and disposal of medicines received into the children‟s home.

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Requirement Due date

In particular the registered person must ensure that ─

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Requirement Due date

medicines kept in the home are stored in a secure place so as to prevent any child from having unsupervised access to them.

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Requirement Due date

(Regulation 23 (1)(2)(a)) 23/11/2018 Inspection report for children‟s home - monitoring visit: SC387671 7 The registered person must ensure that all employees undertake appropriate continuing professional development;

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Requirement Due date

receive practice-related supervision by a person with appropriate experience; and

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Requirement Due date

have their performance and fitness appraised at least once every year.

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must maintain records (“case records”) for each child which include the information and documentation listed in Schedule 3 in relation to each child;

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Requirement Due date

are signed and dated by the author of each entry.

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Requirement Due date

maintain in the home the records set out in Schedule 4; and

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Requirement Due date

ensure that the records are kept up to date; in particular, a copy of the staff duty roster or persons working at the home, and a record of the rosters worked.

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Requirement Due date

(Regulation 37, Schedule 4 (3)) 16/11/2018

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must notify HMCI and each relevant person without delay if there is an allegation of abuse against the home or a person working there; or

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Requirement Due date

there is any other incident relating to a child which the registered person considers to be serious.

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Information about this inspection

The purpose of this visit was to monitor the action taken and the progress made by the children‟s home since its last Ofsted inspection.

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Information about this inspection

This inspection was carried out under the Care Standards Act 2000. Inspection report for children‟s home - monitoring visit: SC387671 8

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Oldham Metropolitan Borough Council

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Oldham Metropolitan Borough Council, Civic Centre, West Street, Oldham OL1 1UT

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Inspector

Sarah Oldham, social care inspector Inspection report for children‟s home - monitoring visit: SC387671 9 to 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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