Children's home run by ROC Northwest Limited

Inspection report for children’s home: 1256134 1 Registered provider: ROC Northwest Limited Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This privately run children’s home is registered to provide care for up to four children. The provider states in its statement of purpose that it provides care for children with emotional and/or social difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager was registered with Ofsted in April 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: 22 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 for children’s home: 1256134 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

22/01/2020 Full Good 12/02/2019 Interim Sustained effectiveness 19/06/2018 Full Good 29/01/2018 Interim Improved effectiveness Inspection report for children’s home: 1256134 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

There are currently four children living in this home. Since the last inspection, three children have moved on from the home. One child returned to live with their family and one child moved into semi-independent accommodation. One child left the home in an unplanned way. The registered manager has become an independent visitor for one child who has now moved on from the home. This demonstrates the significance of the relationships formed while living in the home.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are cared for by a consistent staff team, whose members know them well. The inspectors observed positive and familiar relationships between staff and the children, with children relaxed and at ease in the company of staff. Children feel listened to by staff, which helps them to feel safe and secure here.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children live in a homely environment, and photos of the children are on display throughout the home. During the inspection, the home’s kitchen was being refurbished. The home’s internal doors have locks on them. Although the registered manager states that these doors are not routinely locked, they detract from the otherwise homely feel of the property.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children enjoy a range of activities, both individually and together. The staff create photo albums of activities and children’s day-to-day experiences so that children have a record of their lives while living at the home.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The registered manager and staff promote the health and well-being of children, and they support them to attend routine appointments. During a period of lockdown as a result of COVID-19, one room in the house was converted into a gym area in order to promote children’s physical health.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff celebrate children’s educational achievements. Two children are in full-time education. One child is currently seeking employment. One child is currently receiving tuition at home, the registered manager and staff are working with education professionals to identify a suitable provision for them.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff support children to spend time with the people who are important to them. When appropriate, the registered manager shares any concerns with the placing authority to ensure that these arrangements are beneficial to children. The home has good working relationships with other professionals involved in children’s care. However, some relevant plans were missing from children’s records. This hinders the registered manager’s ability to demonstrate how the home’s care planning supports children to make progress against the placing authorities’ expectations. Inspection report for children’s home: 1256134 4

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

Children said that they feel safe living in the home. They can speak to the staff about any worries or concerns they have and feel confident they will be listened to. One child told the inspector, ‘This is the best home I have lived in.’

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

Individual risk management plans assess a range of risks associated with each child’s behaviour. However, the strategies staff are to follow in order to manage and minimise associated risks are not clear. Furthermore, staff spoken to were not aware of the strategies in place in relation to one specific risk for all children.

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

There have been incidents where children have gone missing from the home. Risk management plans are in place which outline the procedure staff are to follow should a child go missing from home. However, the plans do not state how often staff should contact children when they are in the community or when staff should begin the procedure for notifying other agencies, such as the police, of a child’s unknown whereabouts. The registered manager did take action to rectify this during the inspection.

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

When children come to live at the home, consideration is given to the needs of children already living in the home. One child’s progress was negatively impacted by another child who came to live at the home. The child’s social worker said that the registered manager and staff managed this well.

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

Sanctions are used sparingly in this home. The registered manager and staff focus on talking to children to help them to reflect on their behaviour and how it affects others. Similarly, the number of incidents of physical intervention has also reduced. However, on one occasion, a debrief with the child was not swiftly undertaken. Although the registered manager reviewed this incident, the learning from debriefs with the child and staff was not captured. There have been incidents when police have been called to the home to manage challenging behaviour. Following these incidents, staff and children have reflected on the impact of these incidents and on their behaviour.

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

Since the last inspection, the registered manager has regularly reviewed and updated the home’s review of premises. It outlines the risks in relation to the home’s proximity to a busy road and the measures that are in place to manage this risk. The registered manager has created a child friendly version of this document to ensure that children are aware of the concerns and the measures in place to support children to live safely in the locality.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The home is managed by a suitably qualified registered manager. She knows the children living in the home well and has high aspirations for each child. Inspection report for children’s home: 1256134 5 Staff spoken with talked positively about the home. They said that they feel supported by the registered manager. Staff attend regular team meetings. Discussions take place in these meetings in relation to research and practice.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff supervision sessions take place regularly. However, records are brief and do not demonstrate how staff are helped to improve their practice. Appraisals have been undertaken, and although they do not include feedback from other professionals, this is a missed opportunity for the registered manager to include the positive feedback that has been given to the home by other agencies.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff undertake training relevant to their role and the specific needs of children who live in the home, including attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. Furthermore, the registered manager supports staff learning and development through the completion of quizzes on topics relevant to the children living in the home. As a result of this, staff have the skills and knowledge to provide a good quality of care to children living in the home.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager undertakes regular reviews of the service. She understands what is working well and is able to identify areas for development. These reports contribute to the quality of care review, which includes actions that need to be completed for the home to improve over the next six months.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Monthly visits from an independent person support the registered manager’s improvement of the home. She takes effective action to address any shortfalls identified during these visits.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The home has good relationships with professionals in order to support children’s progress. Professionals spoken to were complimentary about the way that staff communicate with them about the children living in the home. Inspection report for children’s home: 1256134 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 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

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; and

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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. (Regulation 12 (1) (2)(a)(i)(v))

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that children’s risk management plans contain strategies for staff to follow in order to minimise identified risks, and that staff understand children’s plans. Also, the registered person must ensure that the steps that staff must take in the event of a child going missing from care. 15 April 2022

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that all employees—

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Requirement Due date

receive practice-related supervision by a person with appropriate experience.(Regulation 33 (4)(b))

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Requirement Due date

This specifically relates to ensuring that records are sufficiently detailed to support staff to improve their practice. 15 April 2022

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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; 15 April 2022 Inspection report for children’s home: 1256134 7 are kept up to date. (Regulation 36 (1)(a)(b))

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that children’s case records contain up-to-date plans and reports relating to each child, including a copy of any plan for the care of the child prepared by the child’s placing authority.

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that staff appraisals take into account, where reasonable and practical, the views of other professionals who have worked with the staff member over the year and children in the home’s care. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 61, paragraph 13.5)  The registered person should ensure that internal door locks are removed to ensure that the home maintains a domestic rather than an institutional impression. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 15, paragraph 3.9)  The registered person should ensure that following any physical interventions debriefs are undertaken promptly, and that records of these debriefs are sufficiently detailed. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 49, paragraph 9.59)

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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: 1256134 8

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: ROC Northwest Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: 5th Floor, Metropolitan House, 3 Darkes Lane, Potters Bar EN6 1AG

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Inspectors

Genevieve O’Reilly, Social Care Inspector Claire Hobbs, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 1256134 9 regulates and inspects 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

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