Children's Home run by Tameside Metropolitan Borough Council in Tameside

Inspection report for children’s home: SC357979 1 SC357979 Registered provider: Tameside Metropolitan Borough Council Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

p.1

Information about this children’s home

This local authority home provides care for up to three children who may have social and emotional difficulties.

p.1

Information about this children’s home

The manager registered with Ofsted in May 2022.

p.1

Information about this children’s home

Three children were living in the home at the time of the inspection.

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

Overall judgement at last inspection: good

p.1

good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children’s home: SC357979 2

p.1

Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

08/06/2022 Full Good 08/02/2022 Full Requires improvement to be good 12/06/2019 Full Outstanding 07/11/2018 Full Outstanding Inspection report for children’s home: SC357979 3

p.2

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

There are currently three children living in this home. One child moved into the home in August 2023 and continues to settle. The placement was planned and the child had the opportunity to visit the home before moving in. The child told the inspector that when she moved into the home, she was given cards and welcome presents from the other children. The child said, ‘I thought this was really nice.’

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children living in this home have positive relationships with the staff team. Staff support them to see friends and enjoy time with their families.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children have made significant educational progress while living at the home. However, not all children are in full-time education. There are no plans in place to guide staff on supporting these children. This limits children’s learning and ability to achieve their full educational potential.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff support children’s health needs. Children are registered with relevant health professionals. Staff have worked well in educating children on the importance of their health. Children who have not accessed dental care for a few years have successfully attended appointments.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff support children to develop independence skills, such as budgeting, cooking and independent travel. The team has successfully supported one child to move into semi-independent living.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff encourage children to take part in activities and enjoy new experiences, such as attending concerts. Children are also encouraged to develop hobbies and join clubs. Children attend the local gym and one child has joined the Cadets.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The home is well maintained and has a homely feel. Photos and certificates are proudly displayed. Staff support children to personalise their bedrooms. This enables children to develop a sense of belonging in the home. There are plans to redecorate the home. The home could be further improved with the replacement of some furniture. For example, the TV cabinet looks institutional and detracts from the homely feel.

p.3

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

There have been several incidents of children going missing from the home. Staff have not always taken appropriate action to locate children. They have failed to report to the police, as detailed in the children’s risk plans. The manager has addressed these instances and ensured staff practice has improved. When children return, staff support them to speak with an independent person. This provides an opportunity to gather information to safeguard children. Inspection report for children’s home: SC357979 4 Staff support children with child-focused direct work. They educate children about risk and how to stay safe. Staff talk with children on a variety of topics, including emotional well-being, healthy relationships and substance misuse.

p.3

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

Staff understand children’s vulnerabilities and risks. However, not all plans for children reflect children’s individual risks. For example, there is no clear guidance on the action staff should take if children return home under the influence of substances. This lack of guidance has the potential to impact on children’s safety.

p.4

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

Behaviour management in the home has improved. This is because the manager provided extra training to support the staff team.

p.4

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

There has been one occasion when the manager had to hold a child to keep them safe. The responsible individual reviewed the incident report. The manager and child have had the opportunity to reflect on what happened. This supports improvements in the quality of care and protection that children receive.

p.4

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

Bedroom door alarms are in use for all children, despite there being no clear reason for this. The use of bedroom door alarms is not based on an assessment of children’s individual needs. The manager accepted that this restricts children’s movements in the home.

p.4

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

Consequences are rarely used in the home. When staff have used them, they have been repetitive. The manager has not revisited measures and reviewed their effectiveness. This is a missed opportunity to track the effectiveness of consequences.

p.4

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

Children know how to make a complaint. The manager supports children during the complaints process and ensures they are informed of the outcome. This means children know that the manager listens to them and acts on what they say.

p.4

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

The manager follows safer recruitment procedures. This means that staff are safe and suitable to work with children.

p.4

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

A consistent manager has led the home since the last inspection. The manager is enthusiastic about the delivery of care and has good management oversight of the home.

p.4

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Placement planning considers how well children will get along with each other. Records of this process show consideration of each child’s risks. However, this assessment does not show strategies to manage similar risks between children. The manager has not consulted with children already living in the home or with children’s social workers. The manager acknowledged the importance of this in improving the home’s admission process. Inspection report for children’s home: SC357979 5 Staff supervision provides valuable opportunities to develop staff skills and knowledge. Supervision sessions also consider the emotional impact of the work on the staff. Staff have consultations with the therapeutic practitioner. This enables them to reflect on children’s progress. This supports them to improve ways of working with children.

p.4

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Rotas do not detail the actual hours worked by the manager. This fails to show accurate staffing arrangements.

p.5

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

There has been a delay in Ofsted receiving notifications of significant events. This limits the regulator’s oversight of the home.

p.5

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

An independent person visits the home each month. These visits are to check the quality of care and the progress and experiences of children. Leaders and managers have challenged the quality of this service. The provider has commissioned a new external visitor. This change only came into effect at the time of the inspection and therefore the impact is not yet evident. Inspection report for children’s home: SC357979 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 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

help each child to understand how to keep safe. (Regulation 12 (1) (2)(a)(i)(ii))

p.6

Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered manager must ensure that the actions for staff to take are individual to the child. Specifically, they must ensure that all risk assessments contain clear steps for staff to follow should an incident arise. 3 November 2023

p.6

Requirement Due date

The registered person may only use devices for the monitoring or surveillance of children if—

p.6

Requirement Due date

the monitoring or surveillance is for the purpose of safeguarding and promoting the welfare of the child concerned, or other children;

p.6

Requirement Due date

the monitoring or surveillance is no more intrusive than necessary, having regard to the child’s need for privacy. (Regulation 24 (1)(a)(d) (2))

p.6

Requirement Due date

In particular, leaders and managers must ensure the use of surveillance is regularly reviewed in the home for all children. Specifically, they must ensure that systems in place are fit for purpose and that the home does not operate a blanket approach for all children. 3 November 2023 Inspection report for children’s home: SC357979 7 Schedule 4 sets out the other information that the registered person must keep in relation to a children’s home.

p.6

Requirement Due date

maintain in the home the records in Schedule 4. (Regulation 37 (1) (2)(a))

p.7

Requirement Due date

Leaders and managers must ensure that the hours worked by the manager are recorded on rotas. 3 November 2023

p.7

Requirement Due date

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

p.7

Requirement Due date

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

p.7

Requirement Due date

there is any other incident relating to a child which the registered person considers to be serious. (Regulation 40 (b)(e)) 3 November 2023

p.7

Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that there is a clear education plan for each child when they are not in full-time education, and children are supported to complete educational activities in line with their plan. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 28, paragraph 5.15)  The registered person should only accept placements for children where they are satisfied that the home can respond effectively to the child’s assessed needs as recorded in the child’s relevant plans and where they have fully considered the impact that the placement will have on the existing group of children. In particular, the registered person should demonstrate how risks will be managed and consult with social workers of existing children in the home and include the detail in the assessments. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 56, paragraph 11.4)

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: SC357979 8

p.7

Children’s home details

Registered provider: Tameside Metropolitan Borough Council

p.8

Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Town Hall, Market Street, Hyde, Tameside SK14 1AL

p.8

Children’s home details

Responsible individual: Tammy Sutherland

p.8

Inspector

Kelly McCurdy, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: SC357979 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