Children's Home run by Trafford Borough Council in Trafford

Inspection report children’s home: SC032475 1 SC032475 Registered provider: Trafford Borough Council Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

The provider states in its statement of purpose that this home provides care for up to five children with social and emotional difficulties and/or learning disabilities. The manager registered with Ofsted in December 2003.

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Information about this children’s home

Due to COVID-19 (coronavirus), at the request of the Secretary of State, Ofsted suspended all routine inspections of social care providers on 17 March 2020.

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Information about this children’s home

We last visited this setting on 3 March 2021 to carry out a monitoring visit. The report is published on the Ofsted website.

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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 to be good

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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: 21 January 2020

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good

Overall judgement at last inspection: good

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report children’s home: SC032475 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

21/01/2020 Full Good 21/11/2018 Full Outstanding 19/12/2017 Full Good 20/03/2017 Interim Sustained effectiveness Inspection report children’s home: SC032475 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children say they are happy and feel comfortable in their home. Children have been able to build relationships with staff who they trust. One child has recently begun completing some life story work. Staff are sensitive to the feelings that may come with this and are ready to support the child in a nurturing way. As a result, each child is making good progress.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children who have moved out of the home often keep in touch and return to spend time with the adults who previously cared for them. Children have also maintained friendships with the children who have moved out. This gives them each a sense of permanence and belonging, as well as the opportunity to build on networks of support in the area that they grew up in.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Parents are made welcome to visit the children at home. One child has been assisted to safely make links with a new family member. Staff were emotional when speaking about this. As the child is living far away from the country that he was born in, this relationship has the potential to make a huge positive difference to his lived experience.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are making progress in their education. One child has completed his GCSEs recently. Another has completed qualifications to help him speak, read and write English. This has opened up opportunities for his future and helped him build better relationships with staff and the other children. Staff also support children in applying for jobs and interviewing for positions. One child has been successful in gaining employment, opening pathways for his future and building on his self-esteem.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The home environment has improved since the last visit. Communal rooms have been decorated and soft furnishings have been added. Locks have been removed from the internal doors, meeting a previous requirement. However, bars on the windows and other institutional security measures mean that the house does not feel as homely as it could be.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children have been supported to make healthier choices. One child has stopped smoking. Children regularly go to the gym to exercise with staff. Children have enjoyed other activities with staff, including scenic walks and fishing. Photographs have been captured and displayed around the home.

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

Children are supported to be safe in line with reasonable, age-appropriate expectations. Risk management plans now include clear strategies for staff to take. When needed, these steps have been agreed using a multi-agency approach. This meets a previous requirement. Staff are aware of the content of the plans and work consistently together to keep children safe. Inspection report children’s home: SC032475 4 Staff are curious about the friendships that children have. On occasions, when children have not returned home at the agreed time, staff have made efforts to locate them. This meets a previous requirement. Staff have worked closely with family members to help prevent any delays in children returning home safely. Managers have reviewed the records to ensure that staff have followed the risk management plans, again meeting a previous recommendation.

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

Physical intervention is used as a last resort. On the occasions when this has been necessary to keep children safe, it has been clearly documented and reviewed by an appropriate independent person. This meets a previous recommendation. Any concerns or allegations are also reported in line with safeguarding policy, including informing the regulator. This also meets a previous requirement.

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

Children are supported with their mental health needs. Staff take steps to request specialist services to support children when this is necessary. Staff regularly visited one child who was required to stay in hospital for additional support. This meant he was able to receive the support he required without feeling alone.

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

Health and safety checks are taking place. When additional work has been advised, this has been escalated to prevent any unnecessary delay.

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good

The manager is experienced and suitably qualified. He has been registered since 2003. Due to a period of absence, the responsible individual has been assigned to oversee the running of the home. This has reduced the potential impact of the manager’s absence on the children and the staff.

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good

High levels of staff absence in the team have had an impact on the recording. Full names are not used on rotas. This is particularly important when bank and agency staff have been working in the home. Although the responsible individual has been able to ensure that children have received consistent care and remain safe, overall monitoring systems have not been used effectively.

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good

Not all staff have received training in areas required to meet the needs of the children. A combination of factors including COVID-19 and staff absence has meant that some training has not been possible. Reduced management oversight of these gaps has caused additional delays. Enough members of the team have received the training to reduce any direct impact on the children, but this training is essential for all staff in order to further improve the team’s understanding of each child’s individual needs.

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good

Children, parents and external professionals speak highly about the care provided. One independent reviewing officer wrote, ‘There is a long-standing and well- established staff team which is the backbone of good-quality support for young people.’ One parent said, ‘[Name of child] loves it there, he says it is family Inspection report children’s home: SC032475 5 orientated.’ Children are central to the home and feel involved in the decisions made. However, records do not always evidence this well.

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good

Staff have received reflective supervisions. After periods of absence, staff are welcomed back to the team and supported. Staff confirmed that they are given support after being involved in any difficult situation or physical intervention. However, records do not always reflect this.

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good

The manager has completed a review of the quality of care. However, the manager has not used the findings of the review in order to capture the areas for development moving forward. This reduces the opportunity for specific areas of focus, taking into account the views of the children and all involved in their lives. Inspection report children’s home: SC032475 6

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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 quality and purpose of care standard is that children receive care from staff who—

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Requirement Due date

understand the children’s home’s overall aims and the outcomes it seeks to achieve for children;

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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—

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Requirement Due date

enable each child to participate in the daily life of the home. (Regulation 6 (1)(a)(b) (2)(c)(i)(ii))

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Requirement Due date

This specifically relates to making the home environment less institutional. 15 December

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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—

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Requirement Due date

helps children aspire to fulfil their potential; and

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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 staff have the experience, qualifications and skills to meet the needs of each child; 15 December Inspection report children’s home: SC032475 7 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; and

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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)(c)(g)(ii)(h))

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Requirement Due date

The relates to all staff completing training to help them fully understand autism spectrum disorder, learning disabilities, self-harm and criminal exploitation.

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Requirement Due date

This also relates to the manager recording the debriefs held after significant incidents.

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Requirement Due date

This also relates to the manager using monitoring systems to help them identify weaknesses, and ensuring that action is then taken to resolve the weaknesses without delay.

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that children are consulted regularly on their views about the home’s care. Children should be able to see the results of their views being listened to and acted on. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 22, paragraph 4.11)  The registered person should ensure that the regulation 45 report clearly identifies any actions required for the next six months of delivery within the home and how those actions will be addressed. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 65, paragraph 15.4)

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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: SC032475 8

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Trafford Council, Town Hall, Talbot Road, Manchester, Trafford M32 0TH

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Inspector

Sylvia Eboigbe, Social Care Inspector Inspection report children’s home: SC032475 9 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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