Children's home run by Tameside Metropolitan Borough Council

Inspection report children’s home: SC034108 1 SC034108 Registered provider: Tameside Metropolitan Borough Council Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This local authority children’s home provides long-term and short-break care for up to six children who may have physical disabilities and/or learning disabilities.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager was registered with Ofsted in July 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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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 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: 14 November 2019

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good

Overall judgement at last inspection: good

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: not applicable Inspection report children’s home: SC034108 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

14/11/2019 Full Good 09/05/2018 Full Outstanding 06/09/2017 Full Good 20/03/2017 Interim Sustained effectiveness Inspection report children’s home: SC034108 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children benefit from well-tailored plans and highly personalised care that promotes their needs effectively. They enjoy positive relationships with staff, who provide consistency and stability in their lives. One parent said, ‘My son’s very happy there and he has positive interactions. Staff attend all the education and health care planning meetings and child in need meetings.’

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff work closely with parents, schools, social workers and health professionals to ensure that children benefit from the best possible help and all-round support.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children enjoy stimulating activities at home and in the community. They enjoy sensory play, baking, bowling, and going for walks with staff. Children’s daily experiences at the home are enjoyable and positive. A social worker said, ‘It is lovely to see how the children have blossomed and overcome their early childhood experiences.’

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff have high aspirations for children and maintain effective partnerships with the providers of their education. The children’s school attendance is excellent. The home actively supports the children’s learning, progress and educational achievements.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff support children to enjoy family time so they sustain their familiar relationships with the people that are most important to them. A social worker commented, ‘Direct contact with families is supported by care staff and families are very much included in the children’s lives.’ A parent said, ‘Staff are professional, friendly and good at communicating.’

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children’s medication is stored and administered safely by well-trained and experienced staff. Staff are trained in clinical skills to meet the specific health needs of the children. Medical consent is in place and staff are clear about the health decisions and responsibilities that are delegated to them. A social worker said, ‘Staff are extremely skilled in providing care for children whose needs require intensive round-the-clock care.’

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

Children’s safety is at the forefront of staff’s practice. Risks associated with the children are well known and understood by staff. The use of clear risk assessment and effective safe working practices promotes the safety and well-being of the children. Children are kept safe and feel safe.

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

High staffing ratios are in place. Children do not go missing from the home. This is because staff supervise and monitor the children closely. Inspection report children’s home: SC034108 4 Staff support children to manage their behaviours safely. Staff know children well and are able to recognise the triggers for behaviour and take prompt action to prevent children’s behaviours from escalating. The use of restraint is a last resort, and it is only ever used to protect children from harm.

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

Routine and structure are an important part of the daily operation of the home. The consistency from staff helps children to settle and understand what their experiences will be during their time at the home. Professionals commented that the use of routine and structure has resulted in the significant improvement of children’s behaviour.

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

There have been no safeguarding concerns, allegations or complaints. Staff are trained in safeguarding, so they understand their role in protecting children from abuse and have an understanding of all other forms of significant harm.

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

The manager notifies the appropriate authorities of all significant events concerning the safety or well-being of the children. This ensures that children are kept safe and are protected from harm.

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

A social worker reported, ‘Staff are always available to attend meetings and will implement plans and professional advice to ensure that children can overcome barriers and thrive.’

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The home is managed efficiently and effectively. The manager of the home was registered in July 2020. The manager is both skilled and appropriately qualified.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The home has met and addressed the requirements and recommendations from the last inspection. The home meets the aims and objectives as set out in its statement of purpose.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager is supportive of staff’s practice. She ensures that staff are well managed, supervised and led. The manager leads staff by example and exercises strong and effective leadership over the operation of the home.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager is in the process of reviewing and improving the home’s recording systems to make these systems more streamlined and robust. The home is slowly moving towards electronic recording.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The home employs a stable staff team and some staff have worked at the home for many years. Staff are skilled, qualified and well trained. The home has a small number of staff vacancies. The manager has employed agency staff on a regular basis to ensure that the home is sufficiently staffed. The same agency workers are used, wherever possible, to provide consistency for the children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager makes good use of the home’s internal and external monitoring activities. They have a clear understanding of the strengths and weaknesses of the Inspection report children’s home: SC034108 5 home. The manager has completed a detailed quality-of-care review and implemented a development plan to secure the home’s continuing improvement.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The home provides children with a comfortable and appropriately secure environment. However, not all children have deprivation of liberty safeguards in place. These have been requested by the manager to promote the well-being and safety of the children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The physical layout of the building has caused issues for the emergency services when accessing the home with medical equipment, such as a stretcher. Their accessibility is hampered due to the home’s narrow hallways and corridors. The registered manager has purchased a wheelchair for one specific child who is prone to seizures. This ensures that this child can exit the building safely in the event of a medical emergency. As part of the service’s redesign, there are plans for the relocation of the home to an alternative and more-suitable premises. Inspection report children’s home: SC034108 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

In meeting the quality standards, the registered person must, and must ensure that staff—

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Requirement Due date

if the registered person considers, or staff consider, a placing authority’s or a relevant person’s performance or response to be inadequate in relation to their role, challenge the placing authority or the relevant person to seek to ensure that each child’s needs are met in accordance with the child’s relevant plans. (Regulation 5 (c))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person must ensure that deprivation of liberty safeguards are in place for each child at the home. 28 February 2022

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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 the home has sufficient staff to provide care for each child. (Regulation 13 (1)(a)(b) (2)(d)) 21 March 2022

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Recommendation

 The registered person should ensure that the environment meets the needs of the children living at the home or accessing short breaks in the home. This is with reference to the provider implementing the proposed plans for the redesign and reallocation of the service to a more suitable premises. (‘Guide to the children s home regulations including the quality standards’, page 15, paragraph 3.9) Inspection report children’s home: SC034108 7

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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: SC034108 8

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Town Hall, Market Street, Hyde, Tameside SK14 1AL

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Inspector

Anthony Kyem, Social Care Inspector Inspection report children’s home: SC034108 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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