Children's Home run by ROC Northwest Limited in Wigan

Inspection report for children’s home: 1264537 1 Registered provider: ROC Northwest Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

A private provider owns the home. It provides care for up to six children who are unable to live at home due to emotional and social difficulties. Six children currently live in this home. Two children were not present at the time of the inspection. Four children talked to the inspectors throughout the inspection .

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Information about this children’s home

The manager registered with Ofsted in June 2018.

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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: 11 October 2022

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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: 1264537 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

11/10/2022 Full Good 02/11/2021 Full Good 15/08/2019 Full Good 27/02/2019 Interim Improved effectiveness Inspection report for children’s home: 1264537 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are extremely positive about the care that they receive from staff. One child said, ‘It is so different here. I love it. Staff are brilliant. They have listened to me, and now I have my head screwed on right and I want to do well.’ Another child said, ‘I would recommend this home to other children because it is great.’

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Before children come to live at the home, managers make sure that staff can respond effectively to the child’s assessed needs. Managers and staff support the children to move into the home smoothly. However, the manager has not considered the home’s location area report as part of this process. As a result, she has not considered any identified potential risks and whether these would have any bearing on the suitability of the placement. In addition, the manager has not received some essential information for children who are new to the home. This includes their education, health and care plan and personal education plan. This means that staff do not have all the information to support the children with their education.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Generally, the children’s information is in good order and is accessible to the children. However, there is little information about the steps staff have taken to secure good progress and outcomes for the children in health, education, relationships, behaviour and keeping themselves safe. For example, children who refused to attend school or did not have a school placement now have good attendance and an identified school. The manager and staff worked closely with a range of educational professionals to ensure that children went to school. However, this information is not recorded in the children’s documents. As a result, there is little information on how this progress was achieved. Therefore, this does not show the child’s journey throughout their stay at the home.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff are skilled in helping children to be healthy. All children are registered with a doctor, dentist and optician. Staff support children to attend health appointments and encourage them to make choices that promote a healthy lifestyle.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff support children to remain in contact with their family. This promotes relationships with people that are important to them and allows them to retain their identity. However, some parents said that they were not always consulted about their children’s care. This does not ensure that good relationships are maintained between the staff and the parents.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

There is some damage around the home, such as graffiti, a torn carpet and broken furniture. These issues have been reported by the manager to the maintenance team but there has not been a quick response. Similarly, the home requires a deep clean. This does not ensure that children live in a homely environment. Inspection report for children’s home: 1264537 4

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

Children feel safe and have trusted relationships with staff. One child said, ‘This is the safest I’ve felt in a long time.’ Another child said, ‘I can talk to the staff about anything. This makes me feel safe.’ When children have raised concerns, staff have responded quickly and appropriately. This makes children feel valued and confident that their concerns are taken seriously and resolved.

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

Children rarely go missing from home. When children do go missing from home, staff follow clear plans to find children, and they return home safely.

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

The manager and staff take decisive action when they have concerns about children. They share information with a wide range of professionals, including social workers, the police and safeguarding officers. They work together to understand the level of risk, reduce risk and put protective factors in place. Good records are kept. However, there has been a delay in notifying the regulator when incidents occur. This does not ensure that the regulator has good oversight of the actions the manager has taken to keep children safe.

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

Staff quickly intervene to prevent harm coming to children. They provide advice and guidance about bullying so that children understand the effect it has on others.

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

Staff do use physical restraint but only when it is necessary to keep children safe. Children and staff have an opportunity to talk and reflect on incidents. This encourages learning from these incidents and improves staff practice.

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

Staff carry out health and safety checks of the home. They ensure that fire equipment is maintained and fire drills are completed regularly. Consequently, children live in an environment that is physically safe.

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

Leaders and managers follow careful recruitment processes. They make sure that staff are the right people with the necessary skills and experience to care for vulnerable children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager is very child-focused and knows the children and staff well. She is working hard to achieve a calm and settled home that provides good care to children. A member of staff said, ‘Children have their ups and downs, but we support them through this, and they begin to understand that we want the best for them.’ This shared staff ethos provides an environment where children develop a feeling of safety and belonging.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff supervision is regular and of good quality. It provides an opportunity for staff to reflect on their work with the children. Staff are offered annual appraisals. This supports staff development to ensure positive care for the children. Inspection report for children’s home: 1264537 5 Staff receive mandatory training in their induction to the home. Additional training is given around the specific needs of the children. However, some of this training has not been refreshed within the company’s timescales. As a result, staff’s skills are not updated regularly.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff meetings are held monthly. Staff say they are given an opportunity to reflect on the previous month and look forward to planning the next month. However, the manager does not routinely use new legislation, research or articles to develop the staff team and its knowledge.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The staff and the manager have established excellent working relationships with a range of agencies, such as schools, social workers, health professionals and child protection agencies. Feedback from stakeholders is positive. Professionals praise staff’s commitment, children’s progress and the effective communication with the manager and her team. A social worker said, ‘I cannot fault them. They are very child-focused and resilient.’

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Monitoring is effective. Issues are identified through the manager’s internal audits and external monitoring. This gives the manager a good understanding of the strengths and areas for development. She addresses any issues that arise and demonstrates an eagerness and a capacity for continued development of the service. Inspection report for children’s home: 1264537 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

that the premises used for the purposes of the home are designed, furnished and maintained so as to protect each child from avoidable hazards to the child’s health. (Regulation 12 (1) (2)(d))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person must ensure that the home is kept clean and tidy. Also, they should ensure that any repairs, maintenance issues or redecoration are completed in a timely manner. 28 October 2023

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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—

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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

research and developments in relation to the ways in which the needs of children are best met. (Regulation 13 (1)(a)(b) (2)(g)(i)) 28 October 2023

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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— 28 October 2023 Inspection report for children’s home: 1264537 7 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—

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Requirement Due date

lead and manage the home in a way that is consistent with the approach and ethos, and delivers the outcomes, set out in the home’s statement of purpose;

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Requirement Due date

ensure that staff have the experience, qualifications and skills to meet the needs of each child. (Regulation 13 (1)(a)(b) (2)(a)(c))

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Requirement Due date

Specifically, the registered manager must ensure that staff training is updated within timescales.

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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

that each child’s relevant plans are followed. (Regulation 14 (1)(a) (2)(c))

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Requirement Due date

Specifically, the registered manager must ensure that all children have an updated local authority care plan, education, health and care plan and personal education plan. 28 October 2023

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must notify HMCI and each other relevant person without delay if—

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Requirement Due date

a child is involved in or subject to, or is suspected of being involved in or subject to, sexual exploitation;

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Requirement Due date

an incident requiring police involvement occurs in relation to a child which the registered person considers to be serious;

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Requirement Due date

there is an allegation of abuse against the home or a person working there;

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Requirement Due date

a child protection enquiry involving a child—

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Requirement Due date

is instigated; or 28 October 2023 Inspection report for children’s home: 1264537 8 concludes (in which case, the notification must include the outcome of the child protection enquiry); or

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Requirement Due date

there is any other incident relating to a child which the registered person considers to be serious. (Regulation 40 (4)(a)(b)(c)(d)(i)(ii)(e))

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Requirement Due date

Specifically, the registered person must ensure that safeguarding notifications are sent to the regulator without delay.

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that the safer area report is used when considering a new referral to the home. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 17, paragraph 3.23)  The registered person should ensure that parents or family members are given feedback on how their child is progressing. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 58, paragraph 11.4)  The registered person should ensure that the steps taken by staff to secure good progress and outcomes are clearly recorded in the children’s records. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 62, paragraph 14.5)

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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: 1264537 9

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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

Pam Nuckley, Social Care Regulatory Inspector Mark Woodbridge, Social Care Regulatory Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 1264537 10 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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