Children's Home run by ROC Northwest Limited in Lancashire

Inspection report for children’s home: SC464809 1 SC464809 Registered provider: ROC Northwest Limited Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

p.1

Information about this children’s home

This is a local authority 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, learning disabilities and/or physical disabilities.

p.1

Information about this children’s home

The manager registered with Ofsted in 2020.

p.1

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.

p.1

Information about this children’s home

We last visited this setting on 13 February 2021 to carry out a monitoring visit. The report is published on the Ofsted website.

p.1

Overall experiences and progress of

children and young people, taking into account

p.1

good

How well children and young people are helped and protected good

p.1

good

The effectiveness of leaders and managers good

p.1

good

The children’s home provides effective services that meet the requirements for good.

p.1

good

Date of last inspection: 4 February 2020

p.1

good

Overall judgement at last inspection: good

p.1

good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children’s home: SC464809 2

p.1

Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

04/02/2020 Full Good 11/12/2018 Full Good 07/02/2018 Interim Sustained effectiveness 29/06/2017 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: SC464809 3

p.2

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are making progress in a number of areas in their lives. Staff take steps to regularly discuss ways that they can change their approach to meet the children’s individual needs and stage in life. A focus on embedding more nurturing practice into the care provided is leading to improved relationships between staff and children.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are proud of their bedrooms and enjoy spending time in them. One child now has a hamster in his bedroom. Another child told the inspector when showing his bedroom, ‘Be ready to be blown away!’. However, some of the furniture in one bedroom is broken. Mould on one child’s ceiling was addressed during the inspection. Some delays in addressing health and safety needs in the home have the potential to have an impact on children.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff have supported children’s relationships with their family. One parent said, ‘They give [name of child] a stable home.’ Another parent said, ‘Staff are brilliant with [name of child]. We have been in touch more as we are looking into him moving back home.’ Staff are considerate and sensitive to each child’s wishes and feelings about time with their family.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Friends are also allowed to visit children. Staff have considered the views of all children in the home and made arrangements to ensure that all are comfortable when friends are visiting. One social worker said, ‘There is a lot of work done individually and as a group. Staff are quick to address any issues using reparative work between children.’ As a result, children feel safer and are building stronger friendships and empathy.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are supported to attend education. If for any reason children do not attend, staff make efforts to seek to understand the reasons why and put appropriate support in place to help them re-engage. However, the manager and staff are not aware of the local offer, which sets out the support available for children with special educational needs and/or disabilities. This is a missed opportunity to access additional resources for children.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff support children to build on life skills for their future. Staff are aspirational about the tasks that children can complete independently, but staff are also available to support when needed. Staff have designed personalised recipe books and budgeting resources for children along with clear incentive plans to keep children engaged. Consequently, children are more equipped for adulthood.

p.3

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

Children are safer since moving into the home. Staff communicate with children to involve them in their routines and boundaries. An independent reviewing officer Inspection report for children’s home: SC464809 4 said, ‘Staff believe in [name of child] and have given her that bit of confidence that she needed.’ As a result, children return home at agreed times after spending time with friends. There has been a reduction in children being reported missing from home.

p.3

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

Steps are taken to locate children on the occasions that they do not return home on time. When necessary, staff report children as missing to the police. Staff welcome children back home and seek to explore with children the reasons why they did not return and where they have been. However, this information is not always considered as part of the manager’s evaluation. In addition, children do not always speak to someone independent on their return.

p.4

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

Physical intervention is used as a last resort. There has been a reduction in the number of restraints. Both children and staff are given the opportunity to reflect and debrief after an incident requiring physical intervention. Managers have recognised when improvements have been necessary and given staff further training and support.

p.4

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

Allegations and complaints are treated seriously. Steps are taken to ensure that all involved are supported through the process. One complaint from a neighbour was quickly resolved to their satisfaction. Allegations are reported to the local authority designated officer. Reparation work completed between children and staff has helped to repair relationships quickly.

p.4

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

Risk management plans have been improved but have not always been updated promptly to include relevant information. As a result, not all staff are aware of more recent events. This delay has the potential to lead to inconsistent risk management from staff. Although information is shared with placing authorities, further steps are needed to prevent a delay in the multi-agency response.

p.4

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager has been registered with Ofsted since May 2020. She is currently completing the relevant leadership and management qualification. Staff spoke positively about the changes the manager has implemented since being in post. Positive reinforcement rather than the use of sanctions has helped children to make more positive choices and meets a previous requirement.

p.4

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager has worked hard to improve the monitoring systems in place. As a result, she has clearer oversight of the events in the home. However, when reviewing some of the records, the manager has not reviewed the staff’s actions. This is a missed opportunity for reflection and learning.

p.4

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff have received supervision and appraisal. This meets a previous requirement. Staff feel supported and have supported each other. The manager and staff have reflected on the impact of COVID-19. Staff have shown huge levels of commitment to get through the period but have struggled to recruit new staff. Managers have Inspection report for children’s home: SC464809 5 made efforts to ensure that consistent agency staff are working with the children when required.

p.4

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff have received further training since the last inspection. Some of this training has been delayed due to COVID-19; however, staff are now very pleased to return to face-to-face training. Staff have attended training to help them understand the needs of the children living in the home, including PACE model of care and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder training.

p.5

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff also meet regularly as a team to discuss the progress and plans for each child. Staff review each child’s targets as a team. As a result, children are clear about which areas they are working on, and staff provide support around this. Actions are set and reviewed at each team meeting, evidencing a culture of clear leadership and ongoing child-focused improvements.

p.5

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

A visit is completed on a monthly basis from an independent person. However, the independent person does not regularly seek feedback from children, their parents or professionals involved in the children’s lives. This means they are less likely to get a true picture of what it is like for children living in the home. The report provided also lacks evaluation, resulting in less opportunity for scrutiny that can be used to drive development. Inspection report for children’s home: SC464809 6

p.5

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.

p.6

Requirement Due date

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

p.6

Requirement Due date

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

p.6

Requirement Due date

use this understanding to deliver care that meets children’s needs and supports them to fulfil their potential.

p.6

Requirement Due date

In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to—

p.6

Requirement Due date

ensure that the premises used for the purposes of the home are designed and furnished so as to—

p.6

Requirement Due date

meet the needs of each child. (Regulation 6 (1)(a)(b) (2)(c)(i))

p.6

Requirement Due date

This relates specifically to staff and managers replacing broken furniture without delay and escalating concerns when there are delays in completing maintenance. 31 March 2022

p.6

Requirement Due date

The protection of children standard is that children are protected from harm and enabled to keep themselves safe.

p.6

Requirement Due date

In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to ensure—

p.6

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;

p.6

Requirement Due date

have the skills to identify and act upon signs that a child is at risk of harm; 17 April 2022 Inspection report for children’s home: SC464809 7 take effective action whenever there is a serious concern about a child’s welfare. (Regulation 12 (1) (2)(a)(i)(iii)(vi))

p.6

Requirement Due date

This relates specifically to managers ensuring that risk assessments are updated promptly so that all staff are aware of relevant information.

p.7

Requirement Due date

This also relates to the manager escalating her concerns when there is not a timely or appropriate response from other agencies.

p.7

Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that an independent person visits the children’s home at least once each month.

p.7

Requirement Due date

When the independent person is carrying out a visit, the registered person must help the independent person—

p.7

Requirement Due date

if they consent, to interview in private such of the children, their parents, relatives and persons working at the home as the independent person requires. (Regulation 44 (1) (2)(a))

p.7

Requirement Due date

This relates specifically to the independent person seeking feedback regularly to inform an evaluative and holistic report. 17 April 2022

p.7

Recommendations

 The registered person should be aware of the local offer for children with special educational needs (SEN). Staff need to understand the specialist support children may need to be able to engage positively and achieve in education. Staff must be aware of whether a child has an EHC plan and the information in it. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’ page 26, paragraph 5.4)  The registered manager should ensure that when a child returns to the home after being missing from care or away from the home without permission, the responsible local authority provides an opportunity for the child to have an independent return home interview. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 45, paragraph 9.30)  The registered person should ensure that evaluation is undertaken for all incidents to identify any gaps in training, skills or knowledge for staff or to record

p.7

Recommendations

and retain evidence of what worked well. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 46, paragraph 9.31) Inspection report for children’s home: SC464809 8

p.7

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: SC464809 9

p.8

Children’s home details

Registered provider: ROC Northwest Limited

p.9

Children’s home details

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

p.9

Inspector

Sylvia Eboigbe, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: SC464809 10 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.

p.9

Inspector

If you would like a copy of this document in a different format, such as large print or Braille, please telephone 0300 123 1231, or email enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk . You may reuse this information (not including logos) free of charge in any format or medium, under the terms of the Open Government Licence. To view this licence, visit www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence , write to the Information Policy Team, The National Archives, Kew, London TW9 4DU, or email: psi@nationalarchives.gsi.gov.uk .

p.10

Inspector

Interested in our work? You can subscribe to our monthly newsletter for more information and updates: http://eepurl.com/iTrDn .

p.10

Inspector

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

p.10