Children's home run by Dynamic Childcare Limited

Inspection report for children’s home - monitoring visit: 1264696 1

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Dynamic Childcare Limited

Monitoring visit Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This children’s home is operated by a private company. It offers care and accommodation for up to two children who may experience emotional and/or behavioural difficulties. The children’s home is managed by a registered manager.

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This monitoring visit

Ofsted received a complaint raising concerns about the care practice of this home. As a result, a monitoring visit was conducted on 7 May 2020. The monitoring visit found significant shortfalls, resulting in a number of requirements and two compliance notices in respect of the leadership and management standard and the protection of children standard. This monitoring visit will review what the home has done to address the compliance notices.

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This monitoring visit

The registered manager has taken steps to address the shortfalls in safeguarding practice. All staff are now provided with practice-based supervision. This ensures that care practice is regularly reviewed and assessed against the agreed strategies for the safe management of children. Likewise, team meetings now provide a forum for all staff to discuss care practice issues. This enables staff to work together to identify common themes in the home and develop consistent strategies to manage them. Team meetings are now also used as training and development days. These steps help to ensure that the staff team has a better understanding of their roles and responsibilities in respect of the safety and well-being of the children in their care.

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This monitoring visit

Risk assessment and risk management are improved. The registered manager has worked with the staff and children to identify individual risk-taking behaviours and develop improved strategies for managing them. Risk assessments are now regularly reviewed with children and with individual staff members in staff supervisions and Inspection report for children’s home - monitoring visit: 1264696 2 team meetings. This means that risk and the measures in place to minimise risk are known and understood by all staff working in the home.

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This monitoring visit

Behaviour management strategies are improved. For example, children with a history of substance misuse are no longer provided with regular financial rewards, as it is clear that this exacerbates their substance misuse. Children can earn additional clothing money or work toward an appropriate reward of their choice.

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This monitoring visit

Specific and individual measures for the management of unacceptable behaviour are revised. The new measures work alongside a programme of enhanced engagement. Taking government guidelines into account, children are beginning to take part in more activities with the staff, for example bike riding, fishing, country walks and horse-riding. A child said, ‘I like it here. It is better than where I lived before. I like the staff. They are funny, and I feel more settled here than I have before.’

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This monitoring visit

The registered manager accepts that previous poor practice had not been managed appropriately or in accordance with the home’s policies and procedures. The registered manager has taken steps to address this. Roles and responsibilities are more clearly defined and include the expectations for staff. Where practice is deemed to be in breach of the home’s policies and procedures, staff are now fully aware of the disciplinary measures in place to address this. The registered manager said, ‘Any further concerns regarding the staff practice will be managed according to our procedures and not informally.’

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This monitoring visit

The outcome of this monitoring visit is that the compliance notices under the leadership and management standard and the protection of children standard are deemed to be met.

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Recent inspection history

Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement 30/01/2020 Full Good 14/03/2019 Interim Sustained effectiveness 29/05/2018 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home - monitoring visit: 1264696 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

ensure that each employee completes an appropriate induction;

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Requirement Due date

ensure that each permanent appointment of an employee is subject to the satisfactory completion of a period of probation;

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must operate a disciplinary procedure which, in particular—

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Requirement Due date

provides for the suspension from work of an employee if necessary in the interests of the safety or welfare of children; and

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Requirement Due date

provides that the failure on the part of an employee to report an incident of abuse, or suspected abuse, whether past or present, in relation to a child to the appropriate person is a ground on which disciplinary proceedings may be instituted.

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Requirement Due date

For the purposes of this regulation, ‘the appropriate person’ is the registered person, an officer of HMCI, an officer of the local authority in whose area the home is located or a police officer.

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Requirement Due date

(Regulation 33 (1)(a)(b)(2)(a)(b)(3)) 08/06/2020

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must recruit staff using recruitment procedures that are designed to ensure children’s safety.

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Requirement Due date

employ an individual to work at the children’s home; or if an individual is employed by a person other than the registered person to work at the home in a position in which the individual may have regular contact with children, allow 08/06/2020 Inspection report for children’s home - monitoring visit: 1264696 4 that individual to work at the home, if the individual satisfies the requirements in paragraph (3).

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Requirement Due date

The requirements are that— the individual is of integrity and good character;

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Requirement Due date

the individual has the appropriate experience, qualification and skills for the work that the individual is to perform;

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Requirement Due date

full and satisfactory information is available in relation to the individual in respect of each of the matters in Schedule 2.

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Requirement Due date

(Regulation 32 (1)(2)(a)(b)(3)(a)(b)(d))

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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.

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Dynamic Childcare Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: 11 Retiro Street, Oldham OL1 1SA

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Inspector

Maria McGranaghan, social care inspector Inspection report for children’s home - monitoring visit: 1264696 5 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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