Children's home run by ROC Family Time Ltd

Inspection report for children’s home: 2517184 1 Registered provider: Roc Family Support Limited

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Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This children’s home provides care for up to two children from the age of eight to 17 years, who have emotional and behavioural difficulties. The home provides medium- to long-term care for children.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager has been in post since 2 February 2021. She registered with Ofsted on 25 March 2021.

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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

Inspection dates: 12 and 13 January 2022

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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

Overall judgement at last inspection: good

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children’s home: 2517184 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

12/02/2020 Interim Improved effectiveness 23/07/2019 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: 2517184 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The children are making good progress and the staff celebrate the children’s achievements. There is an incentive system in place which has seen improvements in the children’s school attendance and in keeping their personal space clean and tidy. The home conditions are of a very high standard. The staff provide the children with individualised support and treat the children with dignity and respect. The children understand their plans, why the staff are supporting them and the areas which are being targeted in their lives. As such, the children can identify that they have made good progress while living in the home.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The staff are proactive in identifying sources of support to improve the children’s sense of self-esteem and to enable them to take part in community activities. The children recognise this and have commented that they believe they have made positive contributions to vulnerable members of their community.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The staff support the children to have positive relationships with the professionals that they work with. The staff maintain good links with some of the children’s family members while respecting the children’s rights to privacy. The staff provide good emotional support to the children when managing their family relationships. This has contributed towards building positive relationships.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are central to their care planning. The children feel able to talk to the staff about any worries that they have. The children know how to complain and how to access an advocate. The children’s views are regularly sought, and they contribute to the development of the organisation as they attend the children’s consultation panel.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The staff support the children well to access education, training and development opportunities so that they can obtain qualifications. Some of the children have good school attendance and exceed their individual targets. The staff have good relationships with education and training providers. However, some of the children have struggled to access formal statutory education. In these instances, the staff have been creative in completing direct educational work with the children both in and outside of the home. The staff are proactive in identifying post-16 courses for the children and support them to obtain additional qualifications.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The staff support the children to lead healthy lifestyles. The staff are sensitive and supportive to the specific health needs of the children. The staff consult medical professionals, which has resulted in clear progress in the children’s mental and physical health. The staff have supported the children to understand the risks Inspection report for children’s home: 2517184 4 associated with COVID-19, resulting in the children consenting to having their vaccines.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are supported well during key points in their lives. The children are well supported when moving into and out of the home. There is a clear introduction and transition process which is led by the child. This helps the children to manage these transitions well so that they feel ready and equipped for the next stage of their life.

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

Children have become increasingly safe as the risks to the children have reduced. Incidents, physical intervention and safeguarding concerns are rare. The children report feeling safe and are able to identify the staff members who they trust. On the rare occasions when the children do go missing from the home, the staff follow the necessary processes and take effective steps to find the children. The manager and the staff check the missing-from-home incidents to identify any trends and opportunities to avoid recurrence and put in place disruption plans. This has resulted in the numbers of missing-from-home incidents reducing.

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

The staff have a good understanding of the home’s newly introduced therapeutic model of care, and they use this in their daily practice. The staff consult with professionals regularly about the strategies that they use to manage the children’s behaviour. Professionals contribute to the children’s individualised risk and safety plans, which the staff then put into practice. The staff frequently review the children’s risk assessments, and they update these with appropriate strategies to manage the children’s behaviours well. This process has seen an improvement in the children’s ability to manage their feelings and behaviours. This has resulted in fewer incidents of self-harm and sanctions and there have been no incidents of bullying. As such, the children’s level of safety has increased.

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

The staff provide clear and consistent boundaries for the children. The staff support the children in managing their behaviour and feelings safely. A restorative approach is taken by the staff to any behaviours which the children find difficult. This has resulted in restraints not being necessary.

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

The staff ensure that the children’s environment is kept free from avoidable hazards. Room searches are only carried out to protect children. These searches have proven to be effective in reducing the risks to children who self-harm, as the staff take immediate action to reduce these risks when they are identified.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

There has been a change in the manager since the last inspection. The members of the newly created management team are supportive towards each other and have a strong Inspection report for children’s home: 2517184 5 shared vision of the home. The vision focuses on high standards of care for the children. It incorporates a newly developed therapeutic approach to underpin progress for the children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

The manager is dynamic, creative and reflective and has excellent insight into the children’s needs and their progress. The manager drives staff practice to ensure that the children receive the best care possible. This was confirmed by one staff member who said that the manager ‘inspires them’.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

The culture in the organisation looks to improve practice so that the children receive excellent care. This is with a view to positively influencing the child’s future. The manager has a good understanding of the required standards, and uses the feedback and analysis of the data to make continued improvements in this home.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

Children’s lives are captured well. The records in the home are of a very good quality and clearly explain the children’s experiences and day-to-day lives.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

The manager provides the staff with good-quality supervision. This is reflective and focused on the children’s needs. The manager sets targets for the staff’s development, so that gaps in their knowledge or practice are swiftly addressed. The manager carries out thematic reviews to highlight areas for development. This also provides evidence that the staff are meeting the children’s needs. The manager supports the staff to apply the home’s therapeutic model of care and arranges meetings with the therapeutic team to support this.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

The manager ensures that the staff have constructive relationships with professionals. The staff contribute to the children’s meetings and share information to ensure that the children’s plans are up to date and focused on meeting their needs. Social workers and the therapeutic team have said that the children have made excellent progress. They attribute the children’s progress to the care that the staff and manager provide.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

The children have been supported well by the staff through the COVID-19 pandemic. Staff have participated in activities with the children in the home during the national lockdown. During times of high staff absences as a result of COVID-19, staff from within the organisation have been used to ensure consistency and continuity of care for the children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

The manager has created positive links in the community with the police and local counsellors. These have helped build the children’s self-esteem and enabled the children to take part in the local community. It has also enabled the children to make positive contributions in their community.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

The manager is confident in challenging other professionals on the children’s behalf. This includes when the children are not receiving the service that they should from other Inspection report for children’s home: 2517184 6 agencies. This is because the manager understands the children’s needs and is ambitious for their future.

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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 for children’s home: 2517184 7

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Roc Family Support Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Hope House, Burnhope, Newton Aycliffe, Durham DL5 7ER

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Inspector

Julia Hagan, Social Care Inspector Cath Heron, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2517184 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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Inspector

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Inspector

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Inspector

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