Children's home run by Rochdale Borough Council in Rochdale

Inspection report for children’s home - monitoring visit: 1237582 1

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Rochdale 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 operated by a local authority. The home may provide care and accommodation for up to six children or young people who may have emotional and/or behavioural difficulties. The home uses the ‘No Wrong Door’ model and also offers outreach support. At the time of the visit, three children were living at the home, one of whom was staying with family as part of his transition to return home.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager has recently submitted an application to register with Ofsted.

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This monitoring visit

This home was last inspected by Ofsted in March 2020 before the No Wrong Door model was introduced. Since this time, there have been a number of notifications received regarding children going missing from home and police involvement. The inspector visited the home and was able to speak to a child and professionals.

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This monitoring visit

The home has been issued with a restriction notice following this visit. This means that no other children can move in to the home until steps are taken to keep the children living there safe. Staff do not currently have the skills and knowledge needed to ensure that children are safe and engage in their plans. One child described the home as a ‘doss house’.

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This monitoring visit

Staff have been supporting one child in their transition back to their mother’s care. Staff deliver medication to the child and complete welfare checks daily. The manager accepted that outreach work with other children has been limited due to the number of available staff and the need to prioritise the children already placed in the home.

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This monitoring visit

The manager has recently submitted an application to register with Ofsted. He has experience of the implementation of the No Wrong Door model and has clear plans for the home. However, progress has been limited. Difficulties staffing the model and Inspection report for children’s home - monitoring visit: 1237582 2 delayed building works due to the COVID-19 (coronavirus) pandemic have increased the problems.

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This monitoring visit

Children have moved in to the home without clear plans being in place. One young person moved from her previous home by secure escort without being given any notice that she was being moved. She told the inspector that she did not understand why she had been moved from her previous home and wanted to return there as ‘it was more like a family’.

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This monitoring visit

Children at risk of exploitation are regularly missing from home for lengthy periods of time. One child has only spent two nights in the home during January 2021. Although steps have been taken to work with other agencies and share information, staff have not been proactive in engaging children or taking appropriate steps to prevent them from going missing from home.

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This monitoring visit

Risk management plans do not include clear strategies for staff to follow in order to prevent children from going missing from home. The risk levels highlighted are also misleading. For example, in one risk assessment, both zero and nine have been highlighted as the level of risk. The staff’s response to missing-from-home incidents has been inconsistent and often insufficient. As a result, children’s whereabouts have regularly been unknown.

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This monitoring visit

There is little challenge when the children leave the home without authorisation. The inspector saw one child leave the home at 11.00am on the day of the visit. She had refused to engage in education and was going to see her family. Staff gave conflicting information about the contact plan in place and whether this was to be supervised or not. She had been missing for six days and only returned the day before the visit. No staff member was seen following her to encourage her to return to the home and engage in education or an activity. Managers did not notify Ofsted of the missing-from-home incident, which was serious due to its length and additional risk factors.

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This monitoring visit

One young person who is at risk of child sexual exploitation has shown staff significant amounts of money that she has gained when away from the home, further increasing the concerns about her safety. The local exploitation and sexual health teams are involved and regular strategy meetings take place. However, the risks remain the same.

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This monitoring visit

Allegations have not routinely been followed up or reported in line with procedure. One child stated that she did not want to return to the home due to being physically assaulted. Staff recorded that the police had advised the home to look into the allegations in order to safeguard the children. This allegation was not effectively managed.

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This monitoring visit

Staff do not implement clear routines and boundaries. As a result, one child who does not engage in education spends most of her time out in the community with friends and is at risk of exploitation. Staff do not understand their role in Inspection report for children’s home - monitoring visit: 1237582 3 implementing boundaries and reviewing plans that are ineffective to keep children more safe.

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This monitoring visit

Children’s bedrooms are not routinely cleaned and tidied. Staff had not tidied the children’s bedrooms even though children were missing for lengthy periods of time prior to the visit. As a result, the children returned to a chaotic environment. This lack of basic care is likely to be a contributing factor to the lack of investment from children in the plans for their care.

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This monitoring visit

Additional concerns identified in the bedrooms included a broken bed, exposed wires from a hanging socket and the fact that children regularly smoke in their bedrooms. These concerns, together with incidents when children have set fire to items in the home, increase the risk of further fires in the home. Staff have encouraged children to engage in support with substance misuse groups. However, they have declined.

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This monitoring visit

When children are missing from home, risk management plans state that staff need to search for children in local and known areas that they frequent. However, reports did not evidence that this is done routinely. Comments from staff, a social worker and a parent evidenced that the care of the children is affected by the number of drivers available at the home. On one occasion, two children requested to be collected after being missing for five days. A member of staff recorded that this was not possible due to there being no transport available. The children remained missing and at risk of harm until the following day. This fails to safeguard them or help build positive relationships so that children feel they can trust staff to keep them safe.

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This monitoring visit

Managers have failed to assess the effect of children moving in to the home. Staff have not received adequate training to meet the complex needs of the children placed. As a result, children have colluded in a number of incidents and been unsafe together while in and out of the home.

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This monitoring visit

Progress has been made with the recruitment of the specialists supporting the team. Health plans are detailed and include information about attachment and speech and language needs. However, further work is needed to embed this informed practice into the day-to-day care. One social worker said, ‘It is a lot more stable than it has been since October. Nothing is being done in terms of mental health, not yet anyway.’

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This monitoring visit

Independent visits take place monthly but reports did not always meet regulation. However, the manager had already identified this and the most recent report included feedback and the opinion of the visitor as to whether the home kept children safe and promoted their well-being.

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This monitoring visit

Following this visit, a compliance notice has been issued. Inspectors will return to monitor the home to ensure that the restriction notice has been adhered to and to review the progress against the compliance notice. Inspection report for children’s home - monitoring visit: 1237582 4

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Recent inspection history

Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement 11/03/2020 Full Good 20/08/2018 Full Good 18/09/2017 Full Good 01/11/2016 Full Good

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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, the 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 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—

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Requirement Due date

that staff 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

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

are familiar with, and act in accordance with, the home’s child protection policies;

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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. (Regulation 12 (1) (2)(a)(i)(iii)(v)(vii)(b)) 19 February 2021 Inspection report for children’s home - monitoring visit: 1237582 5 This particularly relates to staff being proactive in keeping young people safe. Staff need to follow risk management plans when young people leave the home without authorisation and when allegations are made.

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Requirement Due date

The education standard is that children make measurable progress towards achieving their educational potential and are helped to do so.

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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 staff help each child to achieve the child’s education and training targets, as recorded in the child’s relevant plans;

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Requirement Due date

support each child’s learning and development, including helping the child to develop independent study skills and, where appropriate, helping the child to complete independent study;

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Requirement Due date

understand the barriers to learning that each child may face and take appropriate action to help the child to overcome any such barriers;

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Requirement Due date

help each child to understand the importance and value of education, learning, training and employment;

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Requirement Due date

promote opportunities for each child to learn informally;

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Requirement Due date

help a child who is excluded from school, or who is of compulsory school age but not attending school, to access educational and training support throughout the period of exclusion or non-attendance and to return to school as soon as possible. (Regulation 8 (1) (2)(a)(i)(ii)(iii)(iv)(v)(viii))

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Requirement Due date

This particularly relates to implementing clear expectations and routines, and supporting children’s education when they refuse to go to school. 13 March 2021

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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— 13 March 2021 Inspection report for children’s home - monitoring visit: 1237582 6 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

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

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Requirement Due date

ensure that the home’s workforce provides continuity of care to 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. (Regulation 13 (1)(a)(b) (2)(a)(b)(c)(d)(e)(f))

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Requirement Due date

This specifically relates to managers leading a proactive, responsive and nurturing culture in the home.

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Requirement Due date

This also relates to managers ensuring that staff have the skills and knowledge to work with the children placed to meet their needs.

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Requirement Due date

Managers must ensure that the welfare of children is not affected by the lack of drivers working in the home.

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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; and

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Requirement Due date

have a positive experience of arriving at or moving on from the home. 13 March 2021 Inspection report for children’s home - monitoring visit: 1237582 7 In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to ensure—

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Requirement Due date

ensure the effective induction of each child into the home;

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Requirement Due date

that each child’s relevant plans are followed;

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Requirement Due date

that, subject to regulation 22 (contact and access to communications), contact between each child and the child’s parents, relatives and friends, is promoted in accordance with the child’s relevant plans. (Regulation 14 (1)(a)(b) (2)(b)(i))

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Requirement Due date

This particularly relates to managers carefully reviewing staff’s skills and the potential impact when children move in to the home prior to making a decision of suitability. Managers should carefully plan to ensure that young people are prepared for moves in to and from the home.

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Requirement Due date

This also relates to staff having a clear understanding of the current supervision arrangements for children meeting with family.

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Requirement Due date

If the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005(1) applies to the home—

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Requirement Due date

the registered person must ensure that the requirements of that Order and any regulations made under it, except for article 23 (duties of employees), are complied with in respect of the home. (Regulation 25 (2))

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Requirement Due date

The relates specifically to preventing children from smoking in their bedrooms, completing maintenance work urgently when it increases the risk of fire and ensuring that children’s bedrooms are free from fire hazards. 19 February 2021

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must notify HMCI and each other relevant person without delay if— 19 February 2021 Inspection report for children’s home - monitoring visit: 1237582 8 a child is involved in or subject to, or is suspected of being involved in or subject to, sexual exploitation;

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Requirement Due date

an incident requiring police involvement occurs in relation to a child which the registered person considers to be serious;

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Requirement Due date

there is any other incident relating to a child which the registered person considers to be serious. (Regulation 40 (4)(a)(b)(e))

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Requirement Due date

The relates specifically to informing Ofsted when children at risk of exploitation are missing for lengthy periods of time.

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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

use this understanding to deliver care that meets 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

ensure that the premises used for the purposes of the home are designed and furnished so as to meet the needs of each child. (Regulation 6 (1)(b) (2)(c))

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Requirement Due date

This specifically relates to staff ensuring that children have a bedroom that is kept clean and tidy. When children are unable to achieve this themselves, staff need to do this for them. 13 March 2021

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Requirement Due date

*This requirement is subject to a compliance notice.

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that the home is proactive in clarifying if return home interviews have taken place and that any responses, views and feelings from young people involved in the interview are recorded clearly on records in the home. This is to ensure that risk assessments and strategies can be updated in the home, to enable staff to help safeguard young people and prevent them from going missing from home in the future. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 45, paragraph 9.30) This is a repeat recommendation. Inspection report for children’s home - monitoring visit: 1237582 9 Inspection report for children’s home - monitoring visit: 1237582 10

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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: Rochdale Metropolitan Borough Council

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Number One Riverside, Smith Street, Rochdale OL16 1XU

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Inspector

Sylvia Eboigbe, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home - monitoring visit: 1237582 11 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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