Children's Home run by Oasis Adolescent Services Ltd in Oldham

Inspection report children’s home: 1258975 1 Registered provider: Oasis Adolescent Services Limited Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

A limited company owns this home. It is registered to provide care and accommodation for up to three children who have experienced adverse childhood experiences which have led to associated trauma and complex behaviours.

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Information about this children’s home

The home has a suitably experienced and qualified manager who is registered with Ofsted.

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Overall experiences and progress of

children and young people, taking into account

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outstanding

How well children and young people are helped and protected outstanding

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outstanding

The effectiveness of leaders and managers outstanding

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outstanding

The children’s home provides highly effective services that consistently exceed the standards of good. The actions of the children’s home contribute to significantly improved outcomes and positive experiences for children and young people who need help, protection and care.

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outstanding

Date of last inspection: 14 February 2019

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outstanding

Overall judgement at last inspection: sustained effectiveness

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outstanding

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report children’s home: 1258975 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

14/02/2019 Interim Sustained effectiveness 18/07/2018 Full Outstanding Inspection report children’s home: 1258975 3

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outstanding

All children living in this home are extremely happy and have made exceptional progress in all aspects of their lives. Children are very proud of their progress. The feedback provided by their social workers and other professionals about the impact that living in the home has had on children is unanimously positive. One professional summed up the views of others by saying: ‘I have never seen the child so relaxed and happy. Their progress has been phenomenal.’

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outstanding

Without exception, every child has developed extremely positive and constructive relationships with every member of staff who works in the home. Children feel loved and very well cared for. One child explained: ’I get on with every member of staff. They are the best, because they respect and trust us, and we learn to trust and respect them.’ Such positive and trusting relationships provide the children with the stability and security that they need, and their placements persist.

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outstanding

Children receive an excellent standard of care because staff are skilled and have an exceptionally good understanding of their needs. Staff help children to understand why they are feeling how they are, and support them to find ways to overcome their difficulties and learn how to regulate their emotions.

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outstanding

All children re-enter into education, often after having had a significant period of not being educated. Beyond expectation, one child recently gained GCSE qualifications after a significant period out of school. Staff actively support children with their education and work very closely with education providers so that every child has the best opportunity to achieve their educational potential.

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outstanding

Staff meet children’s physical and emotional health needs very well. Healthy diets and attendance at routine health appointments promote good physical health. Because children engage in a wide range of leisure activities, they keep fit, have fun, socialise and make friends. Consequently, they develop more confidence and their self-esteem improves significantly.

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outstanding

Children are fully respected and valued. Staff continually seek children’s views in respect of the day-to day running of the home by spending individual time with each child every day and through regular group meetings. Children are also fully involved in the preparation and review of their placement plans and risk management plans. As a result, children feel motivated to work towards goals which they have identified and wish to achieve.

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outstanding

Staff work closely with family members to help children to maintain and enhance relationships with those important to them, when it is safe to do so. A family member described how their relationship with their child had ‘come on in leaps and bounds’ because of the support from staff. This also resulted in significant improvements in the child’s sense of identity. Inspection report children’s home: 1258975 4

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outstanding

Children report feeling very safe living in this home. One child explained: ‘It is hard to say why it is safe, it just is, as I never have to worry about anything as staff understand me and have my back.’

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outstanding

Staff support exceptionally well those children who arrive at this home with a history of risk-taking behaviours, including criminal activity, drug taking, violence and aggression. Children are kept safe through the consistent implementation of comprehensive and regularly updated risk management plans by highly skilled staff. Over time, because of the comprehensive programmes of work undertaken with children regarding their individual difficulties, risks reduce and children safely and sensibly enjoy increasing amounts of free time. Incidents of drug taking significantly reduce, and no child has been involved in criminal or violent activity for the duration of their placement.

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outstanding

Despite some children having a significant history of going missing prior to living in this home and having been assessed as being at risk of criminal exploitation, incidents of children going missing from this home are rare. The positive relationships that children have with staff, the high levels of supervision and the work undertaken with children by staff, who are trained and alert to the risks associated with contextual safeguarding issues, are effective in reducing risk in this area. This, and the close working relationships with the Phoenix team (specialist police criminal exploitation team) and other children’s homes managers in the local area, means that through sharing information the manager and staff understand local hotspots and risks. This information informs risk assessments and ultimately provides children with a higher level of protection.

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outstanding

Proactive behaviour management strategies are extremely effective and result in children’s behaviours significantly improving. A child said: ‘Before, I would smash things up and feel angry all the time. Here I don’t kick off, because I do not need to. Staff listen to me, they trust me and explain things well to me. I now feel happy all of the time and don’t want to smash things up.’ Staff are very calm. The restorative approach used in the home in response to challenging behaviours means that, rather than feeling punished, children are educated about how to respond differently when they feel challenged. There has been no recourse to physical intervention for over 12 months. This is testament to the skills of the staff team in de-escalating challenging behaviours and helping children to regulate their emotions.

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outstanding

Safe and robust recruitment practices help to ensure that only those adults who have been assessed as suitable to work with children are employed in the home.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

The manager and deputy manager are both suitably qualified and highly experienced. They are confident, inspirational and ambitious for children. The Inspection report children’s home: 1258975 5 children, their families, the staff team and other professionals hold them in high regard.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

The manager and his deputy, supported by their responsible individual, are a very effective leadership team. They are highly organised. Their knowledge and insight into the complex needs of the children living in the home are excellent. Their knowledge is further enhanced by keeping abreast of the latest research into matters which affect children living in care. The manager and his deputy lead by example. Their enthusiasm and commitment to making a difference to children’s lives cascade down to the staff team. A very stable and consistent team of staff feel highly valued. They love working in the home and morale is high. The atmosphere in the home is one of happiness and warmth.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

Before admitting any children into the home, the manager very carefully considers whether a new child would be a suitable match with the other children living in the home and a suitable match with the staff team’s skills. Transitions into the home are then very carefully planned. This has helped a new child to settle very quickly and successfully into the home.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

Staff are very well trained. In addition to mandatory training, they have regular refreshers in safeguarding and undertake additional training in respect of a full range of issues that do or could affect children living in the home. This, as well as regular meetings with the home’s commissioned psychologist and regular reflective supervision, provides staff with further insight and advice regarding children’s individual needs. As a result, staff are extremely well equipped to meet the needs of children living in the home.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

Monitoring systems in the home are comprehensive. They demonstrate, month by month, the significant progress that children are making. This, as well as robust quality assurance activities, including seeking high levels of feedback from children, their families, staff and other professionals, is used to learn from good practice and to identify ways to continually improve the quality of care and experiences of children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

Partnership working is a strength. The professionals and family members spoken to during the inspection reported unanimously the excellent levels of communication between them, the manager and staff. Such effective partnership working is helping to ensure that children’s plans progress and that children continue to make excellent progress. Inspection report children’s home: 1258975 6

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Information about this inspection

Inspectors have looked closely at the experiences and progress of children and young people, 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: 1258975 7

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Oasis Adolescent Services Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: 9 Beacon Grove, Oldham, Lancashire OL8 2XH

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Inspector

Rachel Griffiths, social care inspector Inspection report children’s home: 1258975 8 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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