Children's Home run by ROC Northwest Limited in Lancashire

Inspection report for children’s home: SC442402 1 SC442402 Registered provider: ROC Northwest Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

The home is one of several homes operated by a private provider. It provides care for up to two children who may have emotional and social difficulties and/or special educational needs.

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Information about this children’s home

A suitably qualified and experienced registered manager has been in post since May 2020.

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Information about this children’s home

At the time of the inspection, there were two children living in the home.

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Overall experiences and progress of

children and young people, taking into account

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outstanding

How well children and young people are helped and protected outstanding

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outstanding

The effectiveness of leaders and managers outstanding

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outstanding

The children’s home provides highly effective services that consistently exceed the standards of good. The actions of the children’s home contribute to significantly improved outcomes and positive experiences for children and young people who need help, protection and care.

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outstanding

Date of last inspection: 15 February 2023

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outstanding

Overall judgement at last inspection: good

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outstanding

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children’s home: SC442402 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

15/02/2023 Full Good 16/03/2022 Full Good 14/01/2020 Full Good 07/11/2018 Full Outstanding Inspection report for children’s home: SC442402 3

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outstanding

The committed staff team genuinely care about the children. They strive to help children to achieve their full potential. As a result of this, children are flourishing and are making remarkable progress from their starting points.

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outstanding

The quality of relationships between staff and children is exceptional. Staff develop warm, nurturing and secure relationships with children. They spend considerable amounts of time with the children and know them well. This helps children to form strong attachments. As a result of this, children feel cared for and are happy living in the home.

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outstanding

Staff consult with children on all aspects of their care. Their views, wishes and feelings are fully embedded in the care that they receive. Staff consistently place the children’s well-being at the centre of their practice. One professional said, ‘They make [name of child] feel like a priority; they always prioritise children.’

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outstanding

Staff make excellent use of research to guide them in carrying out direct work with children. This has been instrumental in supporting children to explore their emotional well-being. Staff support children to access external services to seek support. As a result of this, children are receiving specialist help tailored to their needs.

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outstanding

Staff support children to do well in education and training or to seek employment. The manager and staff are ambitious and have high aspirations for children. One child has moved from a specialist educational provision to a mainstream school. This means the child is now able to complete their GCSEs. They are on target to achieve remarkably high grades.

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outstanding

Staff promote family time in line with children’s individual plans; they go over and above. Staff help children to work through any difficult feelings they may have. They identify any anxieties and provide appropriate levels of reassurance to children. One social worker said, ‘When a family member was unwell, staff did all they could to support [name of child] to see their relative; this was important to them.’

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outstanding

Staff support children to take part in a wide variety of experiences. Staff promote individuality in the home and encourage children to explore their interests. Children have been on holiday to Majorca and attended camping trips and music festivals. They are having fun. One child’s key worker has continued to enable a child to develop his guitar playing skills. This child has made exceptional progress and he now writes his own music. The child has clear aspirations for their future. They said, ‘I now want to start my own band or study musical engineering at college.’ Inspection report for children’s home: SC442402 4

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outstanding

Positive behaviour is consistently promoted in the home. Staff make use of reward charts to help them promote and reward positive behaviour in the home. The use of this is effective and helps to develop children’s self-esteem.

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outstanding

Staff support children to safely manage conflict and difficult feelings. Staff involve children in finding creative alternative strategies to manage feelings in a positive way. Staff are trained in behaviour management. They have a focus on de-escalation strategies. This means staff support children’s behaviour safely and effectively. Staff confidently put their training into practice. As a result of this, staff have not had to hold children to keep them safe.

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outstanding

The staff team provides clear boundaries and consistency for children. Children respond positively to the rules and boundaries that are in place. This provides children with a safe and predictable environment and helps them to feel safe.

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outstanding

When children display risk-taking behaviours, records of these incidents are clear. They evidence the steps that staff have taken to keep children safe. The manager and staff work with external agencies to ensure that the most appropriate safety plans are in place. This means that children are helped to stay safe, and their risks are understood and managed well.

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outstanding

Staff training is comprehensive. It follows the provider’s specific model of care and practice. The manager ensures that staff have had the training to understand and carry out their role. The staff work well together; they have a team approach to problem-solving. As a result of this, staff learn from one another and share best practice. This means that children receive excellent care.

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outstanding

Safeguarding practice is creative and proactive. This means that all children have a strong sense of safety and wellbeing and they are unlikely to go missing from home. The manager and staff know the child’s risks and understand them. Together, they take a shared approach to risk with professionals and appropriately assess new risks for children. The manager ensures that risk management plans are individualised and up to date.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

There is a strong, consistent leadership team within the home. The manager leads by example; he is enthusiastic, inspirational and ambitious for children. As a result of this, he is influential in changing the lives of the children who live in the home. One professional said, ‘The manager has created a strong sense of security, trust and belief.’ Inspection report for children’s home: SC442402 5 The manager is child centred. He ensures that all children receive a model of care that meets their individual needs. The manager is aware of the home’s strengths and weaknesses.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

Staff feel valued and supported by the manager, and they value his knowledge and experience. The manager has been influential in supporting the development of the staff team and has high aspirations for them. One staff member commented, ‘I don’t see him as a manager; I see him as a leader.’

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

The manager ensures that staff receive regular supervision. Supervision sessions are well planned, and staff have opportunities to reflect on their practice. Staff receive annual appraisals that are equally reflective and focus on practice development. However, they do not always contain feedback from children or other professionals.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

The manager has developed effective working relationships with other professionals. The manager actively involves other professionals when creating plans for individual children. This enables consideration of social workers views, knowledge and expertise. One social worker said, ‘Communication is excellent; they keep me updated and provide me with examples of work they have completed. They really involve me.’

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

The manager is confident and proactive in his approach to challenging other professionals. He professionally escalates concerns to social care worker’s involved in the care of children. Notably, this has been most effective when seeking copies of relevant documents relating to children and their care. Inspection report for children’s home: SC442402 6

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Recommendation

 The registered person should include the views of the children and other professionals when completing appraisals with staff. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards,’ page 61, paragraph 13.5)

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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: SC442402 7

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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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Inspector

Kimmy Feeley, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: SC442402 8 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 looked after children, safeguarding and child protection.

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Inspector

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Inspector

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Inspector

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