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

Inspection report for children’s home - monitoring visit: 2542024 1

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Proactive Care

Monitoring visit Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

The home provides care for up to two young people who may have emotional and/or behavioural difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

The home is managed by a private company and there is a qualified registered manager.

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This monitoring visit

Due to the current circumstances in regard to the COVID-19 (coronavirus) pandemic, some off-site inspection activities were completed prior to Ofsted going on site at the home. There is evidence of poor practice relating to care planning, safeguarding and risk assessment. This poor practice has a significant and negative effect on children’s safety and welfare. In addition, the leadership and management of the home are ineffective.

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This monitoring visit

The manager and staff have failed to recognise risks to children’s safety and well- being. For example, a child who is at high risk of child sexual exploitation was taken to an unknown address without staff conducting proper checks. The child was later picked up by the police after threatening to jump off a bridge in a local city centre. On another occasion, the child was seen by staff going into a local supermarket with an unknown male. Staff did not take action to ensure that the child was safe.

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This monitoring visit

Care planning arrangements are poor. Children do not benefit from a thorough appraisal of their needs, resulting in poor matching and compatibility of children, which places them at risk of harm. One child has experienced bullying from another child, and there is no clear strategy in place for staff to manage their relationship. Furthermore, inspectors found that not all incidents of bullying have been recorded, which limits the registered manager’s oversight. Inspection report for children’s home - monitoring visit: 2542024 2 Children’s safety is compromised due to poor risk assessment and risk management plans. For example, the risk assessment for a child who has a history of self-harm is generic and does not consider appropriate strategies to keep the child safe.

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This monitoring visit

The registered manager and staff do not fully understand their roles and responsibilities in safeguarding children. Consequently, children are not kept safe by the adults who are caring for them. For example, a child has access to the manager’s personal mobile phone number. This is one of the agreed strategies identified in the child’s risk assessment to use when he feels that he is in crisis. This undermines the staff team’s ability to manage the child’s behaviour in the home. Additionally, there are no safeguards in place to protect the child or registered manager from this being inappropriately used. The registered manager told inspectors that her son had come into the home to teach music to one child. The manager has not undertaken a Disclosing and Barring Service check or risk assessed this activity and further demonstrates the manager’s lack of understanding of safeguarding procedures. This does not ensure that the child or the registered

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This monitoring visit

Leaders and managers have failed to ensure that staff have the necessary skills and knowledge to meet the needs of children. For example, only four out of nine staff have completed training on county lines, bullying, managing challenging behaviour and sexually harmful behaviour. This means that staff are not provided with the competencies to effectively fulfil their roles.

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This monitoring visit

Monitoring systems are weak. Inspectors found that incidents of bullying are not clearly logged. For example, there are only two incidents recorded in the bullying log for April 2020. This is despite other records such as risk assessments making reference to further incidents. This lack of clarity in the records limits management oversight.

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This monitoring visit

The home is not managed in a way that is consistent with the aims and objectives that are outlined in the statement of purpose. As a result, children’s progress and experiences have been compromised.

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This monitoring visit

As a result of the monitoring visit, Ofsted has issued a notice restricting accommodation at the home, as well as two compliance notices. Ofsted will continue to monitor the provider closely and will consider taking further action if the provider does not make the improvements that are needed to protect children from harm. Inspection report for children’s home - monitoring visit: 2542024 3

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Recent inspection history

Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement 19/02/2020 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home - monitoring visit: 2542024 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 positive relationships standard is that children are helped to develop, and to benefit from, relationships based on—

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Requirement Due date

an understanding about acceptable behaviour; and

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Requirement Due date

positive responses to other children and adults.

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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

meet each child’s behavioural and emotional needs, as set out in the child’s relevant plans;

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Requirement Due date

help each child to develop socially aware behaviour;

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Requirement Due date

encourage each child to take responsibility for the child’s behaviour, in accordance with the child’s age and understanding;

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Requirement Due date

help each child to develop and practise skills to resolve conflicts positively and without harm to anyone;

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Requirement Due date

communicate to each child expectations about the child’s behaviour and ensure that the child understands those expectations in accordance with the child’s age and understanding;

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Requirement Due date

help each child to understand, in a way that is appropriate according to the child’s age and understanding, personal, sexual and social relationships, and how those relationships can be supportive or harmful; 10/08/2020 Inspection report for children’s home - monitoring visit: 2542024 5 help each child to develop the understanding and skills to recognise or withdraw from a damaging, exploitative or harmful relationship;

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Requirement Due date

strive to gain each child’s respect and trust;

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Requirement Due date

understand how children’s previous experiences and present emotions can be communicated through behaviour and have the competence and skills to interpret these and develop positive relationships with children;

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Requirement Due date

are provided with supervision and support to enable them to understand and manage their own feelings and responses to the behaviour and emotions of children, and to help children to do the same;

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Requirement Due date

de-escalate confrontations with or between children, or potentially violent behaviour by children;

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Requirement Due date

understand and communicate to children that bullying is unacceptable; and

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Requirement Due date

have the skills to recognise incidents or indications of bullying and how to deal with them. (Regulation 11(1)(a)(b)(c)(2)(a)(i)(ii)(iii)(iv)(v)(vi)(vii)(viii)(ix)(x)(xi)(xii) (xiii)) * 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;

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Requirement Due date

help each child to understand how to keep safe;

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Requirement Due date

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; 07/08/2020 Inspection report for children’s home - monitoring visit: 2542024 6 take effective action whenever there is a serious concern about a child’s welfare

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Requirement Due date

that the home’s day-to-day care is arranged and delivered so as to keep each child safe and to protect each child effectively from harm. (Regulation12(1)(2)(a)(i)(ii)(iii)(v)(vi) (b)) * 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 staff work as a team where appropriate;

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Requirement Due date

ensure that staff have the experience, qualifications and skills to meet the needs of 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 of the quality of care provided in the home.

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Requirement Due date

demonstrate that practice in the home is informed and improved by taking into account and acting on—

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Requirement Due date

feedback on the experiences of children, including complaints received;

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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. (Regulation 13(1)(a)(b)(2)(a)(b)(c)(f)(g)(ii)(h)) 09/08/2020

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Requirement Due date

The care planning standard is that children—

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Requirement Due date

receive effectively planned care in or through the children’s home. 10/08/2020 Inspection report for children’s home - monitoring visit: 2542024 7 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 is to provide care and accommodation, as set out in the home’s statement of purpose. (Regulation 14(1)(a)(2)(a))

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Requirement Due date

*These requirements are subject to a compliance notice.

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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 address: 2 The Chase, Bolton, Lancashire BL1 5HL

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Children’s home details

Responsible individual: Ashley O’Leary-Jones

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Inspectors

Michelle Bacon, social care inspector Sophie Thomson, social care inspector Inspection report for children’s home - monitoring visit: 2542024 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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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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