Children's Home run by Salford City Council in Salford

Inspection report for children’s home: SC040733 1 SC040733 Registered provider: Salford City Council Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This children’s home is run by the local authority. The provider states in its statement of purpose that the home provides care for up to four children with social and emotional difficulties and/or learning disabilities.

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Information about this children’s home

There is currently no registered manager in post.

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Overall experiences and progress of

children and young people, taking into account

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inadequate

How well children and young people are helped and protected inadequate

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inadequate

The effectiveness of leaders and managers inadequate

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inadequate

There are widespread failures that mean children and young people are not safeguarded and the care and experiences of children and young people are poor and they are not making progress.

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inadequate

Date of last inspection: 1 February 2022

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inadequate

Overall judgement at last inspection: sustained effectiveness

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inadequate

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children’s home: SC040733 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

01/02/2022 Interim Sustained effectiveness 14/06/2021 Full Requires improvement to be good 14/08/2019 Full Good 14/01/2019 Full Requires improvement to be good Inspection report for children’s home: SC040733 3

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inadequate

The inspection identified significant shortfalls in safeguarding practices and poor leadership and management. These poor practices have affected the welfare and safety of children living in the home.

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inadequate

Children are not currently receiving care that improves their outcomes. Staff are not consistent in implementing routines and boundaries. Staff lack aspiration for children to achieve. As a result, children are smoking in the home and rarely engaging with their education.

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inadequate

Local authority plans for children are not on file or being used to inform the plans in the home. Although the initial assessment of risk captures historical information, managers have not assessed the skills of the team to be able to meet children’s needs. There is also a lack of planning around independence. This is particularly important to prepare children for adulthood, due to the age of the children living in the home.

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inadequate

Children’s educational needs have not been assessed appropriately. Staff are working closely with one child’s designated teacher; however, managers have not escalated their requests for an assessment of her learning needs. On one occasion, the child was also unable to attend school as her uniform had not been washed. Staff then said the child was unable to go out with her family for her birthday as she had not attended school. This evidences that staff do not take responsibility and do not have a clear understanding of their role in caring for children.

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inadequate

The home is looking tired and institutional. Although there are plans in place across the local authority to modernise all its children’s homes, in the meantime, staff are not maintaining the home to required standards. For example, bedrooms were untidy and unclean, cracked glass panels have not been replaced and rubbish had been left in the garden.

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

Staff respond inconsistently when children leave the home without agreement. Staff do sometimes follow children to encourage them to come home but this is not always the case. Records do not show that staff actively and consistently try to find children. As a result, children have been missing overnight on a number of occasions, which places them at risk of harm.

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

Staff do not seek medical advice for children who return home under the influence of substances. This means that staff are assessing each child based on information Inspection report for children’s home: SC040733 4 that the child has given them. Monitoring arrangements through the night are also inconsistent. As a result, children are at increased risk of harm. One child regularly smokes cannabis in his bedroom. Although staff report that they monitor this and encourage the child to seek support, it was evident during the inspection that staff have been unsuccessful in taking effective action. Furthermore, the risks to the child’s health and well-being had not been fully explored.

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

A fire exit was found to be inaccessible. This is a safety concern for everyone in the home. During the inspection, this concern was discussed with leaders and managers. Immediate action was taken to resolve this issue.

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

Risk management in the home is inconsistent. Safety plans in place do not provide staff with strategies and expectations of how to manage risk. Risk levels are reviewed without clear rationale or process. This fails to ensure that risks are consistently managed by staff.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

There has not been a registered manager at the home for a significant period. An acting manager was appointed following the previous inspection. Over time, staff roles have become less defined. As a result, the acting manager and staff have not taken ownership of specific tasks to ensure that children receive a good quality of care. Senior managers are currently in the process of recruiting a permanent manager.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

Staff morale is low. Staff have struggled with the changes in management. They report that communication between the acting manager and the team is not always clear. In addition, children expressed frustration about the inconsistencies in responses to their views and requests from managers and staff. This means that it has been difficult for children to build trusting relationships with staff.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

Staff do not have the skills and knowledge to meet the needs of the children currently living in the home. Training records evidence a number of gaps in staff knowledge and the acting manager has not taken steps to ensure that staff complete the training required. In addition to this, training courses that staff have attended since the last inspection have not been effective in improving their actions in keeping children safe.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

A number of managerial duties have not been completed. Previous requirements have not been met. The statement of purpose and reports from the independent person have not been sent to Ofsted since the last inspection. This reduces the regulator’s oversight of events in the home. Managers have also failed to recognise the shortfalls in the staff’s practice in their internal monitoring. This reduces the opportunities for reflection and learning.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

Complaints and allegations are not treated seriously. One child complained to the police that staff were bullying her. This was not recorded in the complaints log or investigated. Although advice was initially sought by the service manager, there is no Inspection report for children’s home: SC040733 5 evidence to show that it was followed through. The child remained unhappy about specific staff at the time of the inspection. This leaves the child feeling unheard and unsafe. Inspection report for children’s home: SC040733 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;

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Requirement Due date

have the skills to identify and act upon signs that a child is at risk of harm;

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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;

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Requirement Due date

are familiar with, and act in accordance with, the home’s child protection policies;

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Requirement Due date

that the effectiveness of the home’s child protection policies is monitored regularly. (Regulation 12 (1) (2)(a)(i)(iii)(v)(vii)(e)) 19 June 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— 19 June 2022 Inspection report for children’s home: SC040733 7 ensure that staff have the experience, qualifications and skills to meet the needs of each child;

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Requirement Due date

understand the impact that the quality of care provided in the home is having on the progress and experiences of each child and use this understanding to inform the development of the quality of care provided in the home;

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Requirement Due date

demonstrate that practice in the home is informed and improved by taking into account and acting on—

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Requirement Due date

feedback on the experiences of children, including complaints received; and

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Requirement Due date

use monitoring and review systems to make continuous improvements in the quality of care provided in the home. (Regulation 13 (1)(a)(b) (2)(c)(f)(g)(ii)(h))

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Requirement Due date

The education standard is that children make measurable progress towards achieving their educational potential and are helped to do so.

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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

help each child to achieve the child’s education and training targets, as recorded in the child’s relevant plans;

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Requirement Due date

support each child’s learning and development, including helping the child to develop independent study skills and, where appropriate, helping the child to complete independent study;

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Requirement Due date

understand the barriers to learning that each child may face and take appropriate action to help the child to overcome any such barriers;

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Requirement Due date

help each child to understand the importance and value of education, learning, training and employment;

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Requirement Due date

promote opportunities for each child to learn informally;

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Requirement Due date

raise any need for further assessment or specialist provision in relation to a child with the child’s education or training provider and the child’s placing authority; 31 July 2022 Inspection report for children’s home: SC040733 8 help a child who is excluded from school, or who is of compulsory school age but not attending school, to access educational and training support throughout the period of exclusion or non-attendance and to return to school as soon as possible;

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Requirement Due date

help each child who is above compulsory school age to participate in further education, training or employment and to prepare for future care, education or employment;

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Requirement Due date

help each child to attend education or training in accordance with the expectations in the child’s relevant plans; and

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Requirement Due date

that each child has access to appropriate equipment, facilities and resources to support the child’s learning. (Regulation 8 (1) (2)(a)(i)(ii)(iii)(iv)(v)(vii)(viii)(ix)(x)(b))

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Requirement Due date

This relates to managers ensuring that education is central to the culture and planning in the home, including structured plans for children who are not in education.

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Requirement Due date

This also relates to managers using an escalation process when there are concerns that a child’s educational needs have not been assessed appropriately.

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Requirement Due date

The positive relationships standard is that children are helped to develop, and to benefit from, relationships based on—

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Requirement Due date

an understanding about acceptable behaviour.

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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

communicate to each child expectations about the child’s behaviour and ensure that the child understands those expectations in accordance with the child’s age and understanding;

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Requirement Due date

understand how children’s previous experiences and present emotions can be communicated through behaviour and have the competence and skills to interpret these and develop positive relationships with children. (Regulation 11 (1)(a)(b) (2)(a)(v)(ix)) 31 July 2022 Inspection report for children’s home: SC040733 9 This relates specifically to staff understanding their role in implementing routines and boundaries effectively.

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Requirement Due date

The care planning standard is that children—

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Requirement Due date

receive effectively planned care in or through the children’s home.

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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

manage and review the placement of each child in the home. (Regulation 14 (1)(a) (2)(b)(ii))

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Requirement Due date

This relates specifically to managers ensuring that the local authority plans are reflective of the child’s current plans that are used to form the basis of the care provided. 31 July 2022

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Requirement Due date

The quality and purpose of care standard is that children receive care from staff who understand the children’s home’s overall aims and the outcomes it seeks to achieve for children and use this understanding to deliver care that meets children’s needs and supports them to fulfil their potential.

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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

provide to children living in the home the physical necessities they need in order to live there comfortably. (Regulation 6 (1)(a)(b) (2)(b)(vii))

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Requirement Due date

This relates to ensuring that the environment is more homely and that damage is repaired quickly.

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Requirement Due date

This also relates specifically to removing internal locks from the doors of communal areas. 31 July 2022

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Requirement Due date

The independent person must provide a copy of the independent person’s report to—

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Requirement Due date

HMCI. (Regulation 44 (7)(a)) 31 July 2022

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Requirement Due date

Subject to paragraph (6), the registered person must establish a procedure for considering complaints made by or on behalf of children. 31 July 2022 Inspection report for children’s home: SC040733 10 The registered person must ensure that a record is made of any complaint, the action taken in response, and the outcome of any investigation.

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must supply to HMCI, at HMCI’s request, a statement containing a summary of any complaints made during the preceding twelve months and the action that was taken in response to each complaint. (Regulation 39 (1) (2) (5))

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Requirement Due date

After consultation with the fire and rescue authority, the registered person must—

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Requirement Due date

take adequate precautions against the risk of fire, including the provision of suitable fire equipment in the children’s home;

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Requirement Due date

provide adequate means of escape from the home in the event of fire. (Regulation 25 (1)(a)(b))

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Requirement Due date

This relates to ensuring that fire exits are accessible.

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Requirement Due date

This also relates to implementing effective boundaries to ensure that children do not smoke in the home. 31 July 2022

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Requirement Due date

*These requirements are subject to a compliance notice.

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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: SC040733 11

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Salford City Council

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Civic Centre, Chorley Road, Swinton, Manchester M27 5DA

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Inspector

Sylvia Eboigbe, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: SC040733 12 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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