Children's home run by Octagon Care Ltd

Inspection report for children’s home: 2548528 1 Registered provider: Octagon Care Limited Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This home is owned by a private company. It provides care for up to four children who may experience social and emotional difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager registered with Ofsted in August 2019.

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Information about this children’s home

At the time of this inspection, four children were living in the home.

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Overall experiences and progress of

children and young people, taking into account

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requires improvement to be good

How well children and young people are helped and protected requires improvement to be good

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requires improvement to be good

The effectiveness of leaders and managers requires improvement to be good

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requires improvement to be good

The children’s home is not yet delivering good help and care for children and young people. However, there are no serious or widespread failures that result in their welfare not being safeguarded or promoted.

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requires improvement to be good

Date of last inspection: 9 November 2022

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requires improvement to be good

Overall judgement at last inspection: good

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requires improvement to be good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children’s home: 2548528 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

09/11/2022 Full good 28/09/2021 Full good 05/02/2020 Full requires improvement to be good Inspection report for children’s home: 2548528 3

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improvement to be good

Since the last inspection, one child has moved out of the home. The planning for this was not well considered. The manager did not arrange for the child to say goodbye to the staff or the other children living in the home. This did not support the child to have a positive ending to their time at the home.

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improvement to be good

Children know how to make complaints. However, a child told the inspector that, on two occasions, they were not given access to the forms required to submit a complaint. This approach to managing children’s concerns does not enable children to feel listened to or understand how their views have been acted on.

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improvement to be good

One child raised concerns with the inspector about the home environment. This is because some aspects of the home have not been well maintained. For example, there is mould in the bathroom and some walls and door frames and marked and damaged.

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improvement to be good

Some areas of the home are routinely locked. This includes a downstairs toilet and the kitchen, which is locked at night. The decision to lock these areas of the home is not based on children’s individual needs. This is the third inspection that a requirement has been raised in respect of children being able to access all areas of their home.

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improvement to be good

Despite the identified shortfalls, children have made progress in some aspects of their lives. All the children attend education. Staff are ambitious for children and support them to do well in their education. For example, the inspector observed the deputy manager providing encouragement and praise to one child about a college interview. Children are in good health. Staff understand the individual health needs of the children well.

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improvement to be good

Staff nurture children’s relationships with their family and friends. This supports children to develop their identity and to maintain relationships that are important to them. Children access a variety of activities and days out. This supports them to develop their confidence and pursue their own interests. Children’s memories are captured in electronic memory books. This means that children have a record of their time living in the home.

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improvement to be good

The manager has not ensured that all aspects of fire safety have been fully considered. The frame of one fire door is damaged, which potentially reduces the effectiveness of this fire safety measure. The kitchen area is locked at night, which Inspection report for children’s home: 2548528 4 means that this exit route from the home is impeded. The manager has not assessed how this will be managed.

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improvement to be good

Children’s plans do not always give staff clear guidance on how to keep children safe. Furthermore, staff do not always have the skills to manage children’s behaviours effectively. On one occasion, a child’s behaviour was able to escalate, which resulted in the police being called. This potentially places children at risk of being criminalised for their actions.

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improvement to be good

Children rarely go missing from the home. Since the last inspection, there has been one such incident. Staff acted to locate the child and return him home safely. However, staff did not offer the child a return home interview. This means that the child did not have the opportunity to speak to an independent person about why he went missing.

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improvement to be good

Incentives and rewards are used to promote positive behaviour. Staff support children to take manageable risks in line with their development, such as using public transport and cooking. This supports children to develop their independence.

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good

Management oversight of the care provided to children is inconsistent. As a result, the manager does not have a full understanding of the home’s strengths or areas for improvement. For example, management oversight of incidents does not always provide a clear assessment of staff practice or identify any learning or improvements needed, including the quality of staff documentation or any follow-up action required.

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good

Staff access regular team meetings and supervision sessions. However, supervision records contain lots of duplicated information. Therefore, it is unclear as to whether they are an accurate representation of the quality of supervision provided. Supervision records do not evidence professional curiosity or reflection. This is a missed opportunity to develop and guide staff practice.

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good

The manager ensures that there are enough staff working in the home to meet children’s needs. Staff say they enjoy working in the home and feel supported by the manager. Staff access a wide range of training. Induction plans support new members of staff to learn about working in the home. One member of staff told the inspector that the induction helped to build his confidence.

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good

The manager maintains effective partnerships with relevant professionals to ensure that children’s needs are met. One independent reviewing officer said that the manager keeps her updated with any relevant information, and he supports the child to attend his own review meetings. This supports children to contribute to decisions made about their care. Inspection report for children’s home: 2548528 5

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

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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.

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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

help each child to understand how the child’s views, wishes and feelings have been taken into account and give the child reasons for decisions in relation to the child;

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Requirement Due date

keep the children’s guide and the home’s complaints procedure under review and seek children’s comments before revising either document. (Regulation 7 (1)(a)(b)(c) (2)(a)(iii)(c))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person must ensure that children are supported to understand how their views are responded to and that the complaints process is reviewed. 14 December

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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; 14 December Inspection report for children’s home: 2548528 6 take effective action whenever there is a serious concern about a child’s welfare. (Regulation 12 (1) (2)(a)(i)(vi))

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Requirement Due date

This specifically relates to the registered person ensuring that children’s plans provide staff with a clear guide of the steps to take to keep children safe and that staff act in accordance with these plans.

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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

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

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

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Requirement Due date

This specifically relates to the manager providing evaluation and actions for staff to take when there are safeguarding incidents involving children. This also relates to the manager demonstrating how supervision is used to improve staff practice. 14 December

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Requirement Due date

children can access all appropriate areas of the children’s home’s premises; and

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Requirement Due date

any limitation placed on a child’s privacy or access to any area of the home’s premises—

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Requirement Due date

is intended to safeguard each child accommodated in the home;

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Requirement Due date

is kept under review and, if necessary, revised; and 14 December Inspection report for children’s home: 2548528 7 allows children as much freedom as is possible when balanced against the need to protect them and keep them safe. (Regulation 21 (b)(c)(i)(ii)(iii)(iv))

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Requirement Due date

This specifically relates to the manager removing restrictions to children’s access to communal areas in the home unless there is a clear risk assessment in place which considers the child’s individual needs.

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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. (Regulation 25 (1)(a))

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Requirement Due date

This specifically relates to the registered person updating the fire risk assessment to include current information and taking action to reduce the risk to children in the event of a fire. 14 December

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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: 2548528 8

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Octagon Care Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: 4 Briony Close, Royton, Oldham, Lancashire OL2 5AL

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Inspector

Sally Griffiths, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2548528 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 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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