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

Inspection report children’s home: 1255800 1 Registered provider: Proactive Care (Manchester) Limited

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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 independent home provides care for up to two young people who may have emotional and/or behavioural difficulties. The previous registered manager left in January 2019.

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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 requires improvement

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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: 12 February 2019

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good

Overall judgement at last inspection: declined in effectiveness

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report children’s home: 1255800 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

12/02/2019 Interim Declined in effectiveness 12/06/2018 Full Good Inspection report children’s home: 1255800 3

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Recommendations

 Ensure that children are in full-time education whilst they are of compulsory school age, unless their personal education plan contained within the care plan or other relevant plan states otherwise. The home must aim to support full-time attendance at school unless the child’s relevant plan indicates this is not in their best interests. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 28, paragraph 5.14)  The registered person should oversee the welfare of the children in their care through observation and engagement with: each child; the home’s staff; each child’s family/carers where appropriate; and professionals involved in the care or protection of each child including their social worker, Independent Reviewing Officer (IRO), teachers, clinicians and other health professionals etc. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 54,

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Recommendations

paragraph 10.23). This relates specifically to ascertaining the views of young people, their social workers and other relevant stakeholders as part of the home’s quality of care review.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Young people make sustainable progress in relation to their individual starting points. They benefit from effective, good-quality support from staff that promotes their needs effectively and contributes to change and improvement in their lives. Young people enjoy good relationships with staff, with whom they sustain their positive attachments. Staff promote contact for young people and their families. As a result, young people sustain their close relationships with the people who are most important to them. Young people benefit from positive activities both in the home and in the community. Staff help young people to develop their practical skills in shopping, cooking and budgeting to promote their independence and readiness for adulthood. Both young people currently living at the home are home-tutored. However, this is for less than 25 hours a week. Young people make continuing progress with their education;

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

they are learning and making progress in relation to their starting points. Staff encourage young people to attend their education regularly. Young people are registered with the health services they need to sustain their good health. Medical consent is in place and staff are familiar with the types of health decisions and responsibilities that are charged and delegated to them. Staff support young people with key health issues and encourage them to lead and maintain a healthy and active lifestyle. Inspection report children’s home: 1255800 4

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

Young people confirm they are kept safe and feel safe. Staff have developed a good understanding of young people’s specific needs and emerging vulnerabilities and take appropriate action to address them. Risks associated with both young people are managed safely by staff. One young person reported: Yeah, it’s alright. It’s different. It’s more like a normal house. I get on with everyone pretty much. They have helped me getting through stuff like following the rules. I would rate it ten out of ten because they can’t do any more. I feel safe because of the carers. Young people rarely go missing, and if they do, staff follow the home’s procedures and work closely with the police to locate young people quickly and promote their safe return. Significant incidents are reported to the appropriate agencies to safeguard and protect young people. Staff maintain effective partnerships with the police, social workers and all other safeguarding agencies to promote the safety and well-being of

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

young people. Young people are protected from abuse and all other forms of significant harm. Young people know how to make a complaint, and their rights are promoted effectively. Young people raised no issues, complaints or concerns during this inspection. The behaviours of young people are managed safely by staff. The use of restraint is rare and there have been no incidents of restraint since the last inspection. The use of sanctions is kept to a minimum and behaviour management practices are routinely monitored by the acting manager to ensure that staff’s practice is appropriate, fair and proportionate. Health and safety matters are addressed effectively by staff. The home provides young people with a physically safe and appropriately secure, warm, comfortable and homely living environment.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement

The home has been without a registered manager since January 2019. A new acting manager was employed in February 2019 and their application to register with Ofsted was received in April 2019. The provision of a dedicated manager for this home is a positive development as previously the home’s manager supervised the operation of two homes. The acting manager is suitably experienced and qualified. She demonstrates improved management oversight of the day-to-day performance of the home and has contributed towards the home’s improving stability. She is developing good partnerships with the staff and positive relationships with the young people. The home has met the requirements and all but one of the recommendations from the last inspection. Agency staff are no longer used and young people benefit from continuity of care to help them sustain their attachments with staff. The unmet recommendation is in relation to young people’s education and is repeated.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement

Staff benefit from regular, practice-related supervision and have their performance Inspection report children’s home: 1255800 5 supported, appraised and monitored by the manager of the home. Improved risk-impact assessments are now in place to ensure that young people living at the home are suitably matched. Significant incidents are reported to the appropriate authorities to ensure that young people are safeguarded, and the right action is taken by the statutory agencies. The home meets the aims and objectives as set out in the statement of purpose. Staff maintain effective partnerships with all external agencies to ensure that young people benefit from the best possible help and all-round support. Staff benefit from good-quality training that enables them to have the skills and knowledge to meet the young people’s specific needs. The manager of the home makes good use of the home’s internal and external

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement

monitoring activities to understand the strengths and any weaknesses of the home. She tackles the home’s identified weaknesses to secure its improvement. However, she has not yet consulted with the home’s stakeholders as part of the home’s most recent quality of care review. This is a missed opportunity for considering feedback and acting upon the views and feelings of those who use the service.

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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 6

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Proactive Care (Manchester) 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 7 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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