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

Inspection report children's home: 2591400 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

The home is operated by a private company and provides care for up to three boys who may have emotional and/or behavioural needs.

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Information about this children’s home

The home is managed by an experienced registered manager who has been in post since the home was registered in May 2020.

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Information about this children’s home

Due to COVID-19, at the request of the Secretary of State, we suspended all routine inspections of social care providers carried out under the social care common inspection framework (SCCIF) on 17 March 2020. We returned to routine SCCIF inspections on 12 April 2021.

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Information about this children’s home

We last visited the home on 23 March 2021 to carry out a monitoring visit. The report is published on our 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 outstanding

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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: not previously inspected

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good

Overall judgement at last inspection: not applicable

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: not applicable Inspection report children's home: 2591400 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

Not previously inspected. Inspection report children's home: 2591400 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children benefit from well-planned care from staff who are committed to giving them the best possible chances of success. Staff take a supportive and empowering approach to helping children overcome the challenges they face in their lives. This has been effective in helping one child return home and two others to successfully transition into semi-independent living.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Despite the best efforts of staff, one child found it difficult to commit to his placement, limiting the progress that he made. Although some progress is noted, the manager took the decision to end the placement following a serious incident that placed others at risk. However, the manager failed to inform Ofsted of this incident.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Three children are currently living at the home. They are at different stages of their journey, with two being relatively new to the home. They are, without doubt, safer than they were before coming to this home and are making good progress, relative to the time that they have lived at the home.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff recognise and promote the importance of education. From the point of arrival, the manager ensures that finding the right education placement remains high on the agenda of each child’s placing authority. In the interim, tutors are provided to ensure that children without a school can access some learning.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff support children to maintain, rebuild and improve relationships with the important people in their lives. They work closely with parents, keeping them up to date and fully involved in care planning.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The views of children are valued and respected by staff. Children are routinely encouraged to contribute to the running of the home and are involved in planning their care. The manager and staff are strong advocates for the children and will ensure that they receive the services and support that they need to succeed. Feedback from professionals confirms this, with one describing the manager as being ‘dogged in his efforts to get what the child needs.’

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

Care practice is underpinned by a range of policies and procedures that are designed to protect children from harm. Staff are suitably trained and understand their safeguarding roles and responsibilities. They know what action to take in the event of an allegation or safeguarding concern, of which there have been none.

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

Staff understand the need for children to take age-appropriate risks. They provide good information and support that enables children to reflect on past behaviours and make better choices going forward. Children are fully involved in developing Inspection report children's home: 2591400 4 their safety plans, which are individually tailored to their needs. Overall, children are taking responsibility for their own safety, with incidents of risk-taking behaviour being rare.

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

Staff maintain regular contact with the children when they are out in the community and actively try to locate them if they do not return on time. If this is not possible, staff will inform the police, ‘work family’ members and the placing authority to secure a safe return as quickly as possible.

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

Children’s behaviour is well managed by staff. Staff act as positive role models and provide children with fair and clear boundaries and expectations. Positive behaviour is encouraged and incentivised using financial rewards. The manager is in the process of making this system more individualised and less financially driven.

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

Negative and challenging behaviour is infrequent. When it does occur, it is managed in a respectful way that encourages children to reflect and moderate their behaviour. Consequently, sanctions are rare, and the use of physical restraint has only been necessary on one occasion since the last visit.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

The manager runs the home with an infectious enthusiasm for achieving the best possible outcomes for the children. He has high expectations of his staff team who also demonstrate a passion for their work. Together, they have been influential in helping children make good progress overall.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

The children benefit from the care of an experienced and settled staff team. Most of the team members have been at the home since it first registered. The manager recognises the qualities of his staff, who are competent in their role. However, at present, the team is wholly male and would benefit from the addition of female role models caring for the children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

Staff are highly complementary about how they are supported by the manager. They describe him as being focused on getting the best out of them to provide the best for the children. Induction, supervision and appraisal are used effectively to maximise staff development and potential. One staff member said, ‘I have been helped to develop the skills to be a team leader. This has been the best year ever because I have moved up and achieved my level 3 qualification. The support I have been given has been excellent.’

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

The manager takes a proactive approach to ensuring that staff complete mandatory and needs-led training. Team meetings are used to promote research-based practice effectively. This contributes to staff having a good understanding of topics such as mental health awareness and child criminal exploitation.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

All staff are either qualified or in the process of completing a relevant qualification. However, two staff are currently out of statutory timescales. Although there is a Inspection report children's home: 2591400 5 reasonable explanation for this, the manager needs to make every effort to support the completion of these qualifications in a timely manner.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

The manager has a good understanding of what the home does well, but he is always striving to make things better. He implements a range of effective internal quality assurance processes that are used to promote an improvement agenda. These are further strengthened by the monthly scrutiny of the independent visitor’s reports. When shortfalls are identified, the manager is quick to address these.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

The quality of children’s records is extremely good. They provide a comprehensive picture of each child’s needs, experiences and progress. Several records are reproduced in a child-friendly format that children access and contribute to each month. However, despite all the children being subject to care orders, these are not included in their records. Inspection report children's home: 2591400 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 registered person must maintain records (“case records”) for each child which—

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Requirement Due date

include the information and documents listed in Schedule 3 in relation to each child. (Regulation 36 (1)(a))

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Requirement Due date

Specifically, ensure that children’s records include a copy of the statutory provision (if any) under which the child is provided with accommodation. 24 November 2021

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must notify HMCI and each other relevant person without delay if—

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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)(e)) 24 November 2021

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Recommendations

 The registered person should if possible, ensure that children are cared for by both male and female staff. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 54, paragraph 10.22)  The registered person should ensure that staff, for whom the date of completing a relevant qualification has passed, are supported to complete the qualification in a timely manner. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 68, paragraph 1.4)

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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: 2591400 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 OL8 2XH

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Inspectors

Paul Scott, Social Care Inspector Anne Law, Early Years Senior Officer (Shadow) Inspection report children's home: 2591400 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

T: 0300 123 1231 Textphone: 0161 618 8524 E: enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk W: www.gov.uk/ofsted

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