Children's Home run by Trafford Borough Council in Trafford

Inspection report for children’s home: SC032475 1 SC032475 Registered provider: Trafford Borough Council Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

p.1

Information about this 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 and/or learning disabilities.

p.1

Information about this children’s home

The manager registered with Ofsted in 2007 but is currently absent. The home is currently being managed by an acting manager.

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: 12 October 2021

p.1

good

Overall judgement at last inspection: good

p.1

good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children’s home: SC032475 2

p.1

Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

12/10/2021 Full Good 21/01/2020 Full Good 21/11/2018 Full Outstanding 19/12/2017 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: SC032475 3

p.2

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children have strong and positive relationships with the staff who care for them. Children who have moved out routinely visit the home, and the staff speak fondly of their memories of them. Children value the relationships and the time that they live there.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are supported to attend education. Several of the children have now left school and they remain engaged in bespoke packages of education. Some children are also working; however, not all are receiving full-time hours. This results in children not always having structure and the opportunities to reach their full potential.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

When children move in, it is in a planned way that is well thought out and they are supported sensitively. If children move in on an emergency basis, the impact on the children living there is reduced through open communication and a thorough matching process.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff consult with children with regards to their day-to-day activities. However, there are missed opportunities to gather children’s views, wishes and feelings following incidents, the use of consequences or room searches. As a result, children are not always given the chance to reflect on and process situations.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children’s time with family is supported when this is part of their plan, and families are made to feel welcome at the home. Staff develop relationships with the carers of children’s friends so that they can enjoy positive time with them and are safe when doing so.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are encouraged to develop their independence skills. Children have been supported to attend interviews for jobs and college and to apply for bank accounts and driving licences. Some children have been successful in obtaining a place on a scheme to prepare and support them to achieve in adulthood.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The home is large and is well furnished and decorated. However, maintenance of the grounds and building is not always addressed, and children’s bedrooms are not as personalised and maintained as they should be.

p.3

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

Children’s individual risk management plans are clear and updated regularly. When there are additional safeguards in place, staff are guided by thorough safety plans that are reviewed in multi-agency meetings. When children are at an increased risk, the excellent relationships between the staff and children mean that they happily remain in contact and adhere to plans. Inspection report for children’s home: SC032475 4 Children have individual behaviour support plans and staff are skilled at de- escalation techniques. The use of restraint is rare. However, one incident was not correctly recorded or reviewed for the appropriateness of the measure.

p.3

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

Positive behaviour is supported and encouraged. Children have creative incentive plans which help them with their individual targets. Staff review these plans regularly for effectiveness and progress.

p.4

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

When children are missing from home, staff actively look for them and work with them and other professionals to reduce the risk of them going missing again. There has also been an improvement with how staff record these incidents and learn from them.

p.4

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

Children engage well with those from specialist services, including complex safeguarding and mental health services. The manager also ensures that children can speak with health and education professionals, which results in a holistic approach to their care.

p.4

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager is in the process of registering with Ofsted. The manager has developed systems that provide him with a thorough oversight of the progress of the children, staff and the home. However, the manager has not reviewed and evaluated records when consequences have been used or when children’s rooms have been searched. This means that he has not had oversight of their effectiveness.

p.4

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager has a good understanding of the strengths and areas of development of the care provided and these are reflected in thorough and reviewed development plans and quality of care reviews.

p.4

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager is a good advocate for the children and has high aspirations for them. He understands the importance of multi-agency working and ensures that he prioritises attending any relevant meetings and reviews.

p.4

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff say that they feel supported and listened to. However, supervision is not always used effectively by line managers. This means that not all staff are receiving support and guidance to review and reflect on their practice.

p.4

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff have attended training appropriate to children’s individual needs. This meets a requirement made at the last inspection. Inspection report for children’s home: SC032475 5

p.4

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.5

Requirement Due date

The children’s views, wishes and feelings standard is that children receive care from staff who—

p.5

Requirement Due date

take their views, wishes and feelings into account in relation to matters affecting the children’s care and welfare and their lives.

p.5

Requirement Due date

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

p.5

Requirement Due date

ascertain and consider each child’s views, wishes and feelings, and balance these against what they judge to be in the child’s best interests when making decisions about the child’s care and welfare;

p.5

Requirement Due date

help each child to express views, wishes and feelings;

p.5

Requirement Due date

help each child to understand how the child’s privacy will be respected and the circumstances when it may have to be limited. (Regulation 7 (1)(c) (2)(a)(i)(ii)(v))

p.5

Requirement Due date

In particular, this relates to children receiving debriefs following incidents and being consulted if the need for searches of their room arises. This also includes children being consulted on the effectiveness of any consequences used.

p.5

Requirement Due date

This further applies to consultation with children when they are away from the home and seeking their views, wishes and feelings on their plans. 19 January 2023

p.5

Requirement Due date

within 24 hours of the use of a measure of control, discipline or restraint in relation to a child in the home, a record is made which includes— 19 January 2023 Inspection report for children’s home: SC032475 6 a description of the measure and its duration and

p.5

Requirement Due date

within 48 hours of the use of the measure, the registered person, or a person who is authorised by the registered person to do so (“the authorised person”)—

p.6

Requirement Due date

has spoken to the user about the measure; and

p.6

Requirement Due date

has signed the record to confirm it is accurate. (Regulation 35 (3)(a)(iv)(b)(i)(ii))

p.6

Requirement Due date

This particularly relates to incidents of restraint being recorded with a clear description of the measure and its duration. This also applies to the ‘authorised person’ being different to the ‘user’.

p.6

Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that children have a safe environment to live in and that maintenance issues are escalated appropriately. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 33, paragraph 7.3)  The registered person should ensure that children are provided with appropriate furniture to store personal items, including any personal information. Children should be given a choice about how their personal space is decorated. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 16, paragraph 3.19)  The registered person should ensure that children are in full-time education, an apprenticeship or traineeship, or are combining full-time employment with part- time education or training. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 28, paragraph 5.16)  The registered person should ensure that they have systems in place so that all

p.6

Recommendations

staff, including the manager, receive supervision of their practice from an appropriately qualified and experienced professional, which allows them to reflect on their practice and the needs of the children assigned to their care. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 61, paragraph 13.2)  The registered person should ensure that all incidents of control, discipline and restraint are subject to systems of regular scrutiny to ensure that their use is fair. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 46, paragraph 9.36) Inspection report for children’s home: SC032475 7

p.6

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: SC032475 8

p.7

Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Trafford Council, Town Hall, Talbot Road, Manchester, Trafford M32 0TH

p.8

Inspector

Kerri Lynch-Mahoney, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: SC032475 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.

p.8

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.9

Inspector

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

p.9

Inspector

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

p.9