Children's Home run by ROC Northwest Limited in Lancashire

Inspection report for children’s home: 2737745 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 company operates this children’s home. The home can provide care for up to five children with social and emotional difficulties. There are two children currently living in the home.

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Information about this children’s home

There is a registered manager in post who is suitably experienced and qualified.

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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: not previously inspected

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good

Overall judgement at last inspection: not applicable

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: not applicable Inspection report for children’s home: 2737745 2

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The home environment is warm and welcoming. There are two children living in the home, and each child has their own bedroom with an en-suite bathroom. Children have the freedom to personalise their bedrooms and they have recently chosen how they would like their bedrooms to be redecorated. This helps children to develop a sense of belonging.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

When children move into the home, they are sensitively welcomed. The manager is proactive and works collaboratively with other professionals to ensure that the most appropriate planning takes place. Staff carry out regular direct work with children and do all that they can to ease any anxieties children may have when they move into the home.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The manager ensures that internal care plans identify children’s individual needs. Where possible, they include actions and targets from education and local authority care plans. As a result of this, care planning is effective and children’s views, wishes and feelings are fully embedded in the care that they receive.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff have high aspirations for children and encourage them to do well in education. All children fully engage with their education, in line with their plans, and are making progress from their starting points. One social worker said, ‘This is the most [name of child] has been to school since living in the home. They are making huge progress.’

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

There is a strong and positive nurturing culture in the staff team. Staff are warm and caring towards children. They spend time with children and know them well. Children say that they are happy living in the home, have good relationships with staff and feel listened to.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

There are clear health plans in place and children are registered with local health services. Staff have supported one child to overcome their anxieties around attending the dentist and getting their immunisations up to date. This means that children’s health needs are being met.

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

The manager and staff team know and understand the children’s risks. Together, they identify and assess new risks. The manager and staff ensure that there are risk management plans in place for each child. However, not all plans provide clear guidance for staff when managing specific risks.

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

Some children have gone missing from the home. Staff do all that they can to locate children who are missing. When children return home safely, staff are welcoming Inspection report for children’s home: 2737745 3 and sensitive. They take the time to listen to children and strongly advocate on their behalf. As a result, creative strategies are identified and risks are reducing.

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

There have been occasions when children have displayed behaviours of concern. Records are detailed and it is clear what action staff have taken to manage the behaviour and minimise risk. The manager reviews all records, however, not all are subject to scrutiny. As a result, opportunities to recognise the need for additional direct work with children are missed. The manager did recognise this during the inspection and quickly resolved this.

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

There is a consequence and reward system in place. This is used to discourage any unwanted behaviour and to help children recognise the impact of the behaviour on themselves and others. However, not all consequences used are recorded. As a result, they are not reviewed for their effectiveness or proportionality.

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

Room searches are undertaken, often linked to incidents when a concern has been identified. Room searches are suitably documented and detail what action has been taken, for example, if items of concern have been found and direct work carried out with children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Leaders and managers lead by example. They are inspirational, ambitious for children and have high expectations for the staff team and their development. Staff feel valued and supported by their managers. As a result, staff work together to provide a consistent and stable home for children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Leaders and managers are reflective in their approach and are aware of the team’s strengths and areas for development. The manager ensures that all staff are provided with opportunities to undertake training. Staff complete a combination of mandatory and additional bespoke training in line with children’s individual needs. Staff training is up to date.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager understands the importance of effective partnership working. They nurture positive working relationships with external professionals and family members. This contributes towards children’s positive experiences in the home. One social worker said, ‘Communication is excellent. We share and discuss risks together before any decisions are made.’

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff receive supervisions regularly, in line with the home’s statement of purpose. The supervisions are well planned and structured, and purposeful and reflective. The manager has also made good use of team meetings to deliver bespoke face-to-face training and workshops to support practice development. As a result, staff meet the specific needs of the children. Inspection report for children’s home: 2737745 4

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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

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—

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Requirement Due date

details of the child’s behaviour leading to the use of the measure;

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Requirement Due date

the date, time and location of the use of the measure;

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Requirement Due date

a description of the measure and its duration;

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Requirement Due date

details of any methods used or steps taken to avoid the need to use the measure;

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Requirement Due date

the name of the person who used the measure (“the user”), and of any other person present when the measure was used;

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Requirement Due date

the effectiveness and any consequences of the use of the measure;

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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”)—

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Requirement Due date

has spoken to the user about the measure; and

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Requirement Due date

has signed the record to confirm it is accurate; and

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Requirement Due date

within 5 days of the use of the measure, the registered person or the authorised person adds to the record confirmation that they have spoken to the child about the measure. (Regulation 35 (3)(a)(i)(ii)(iii)(iv)(v)(vi)(vii)(b)(i)(ii)(c)) 15 March 2024 Inspection report for children’s home: 2737745 5 In particular, the registered person must ensure that when negative consequences are used, these are recorded and reviewed with scrutiny by an approved person.

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that when implementing or reviewing assessments, the strategies included are clear and directive. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 42, paragraph 9.5)  The registered person should ensure that direct work is carried out with children following all incidents where children have displayed risk-taking behaviours. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, Page 43, paragraph 9.9)  The registered person should ensure that when children have displayed behaviours of concern, the records are reflectively reviewed to ensure that any learning outcomes are identified. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 54, paragraph 10.23)

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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: 2737745 6

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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

Kimmy Feeley, Social Care Inspector Sally Mitchell, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2737745 7 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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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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