Children's Home run by Oasis Adolescent Services Ltd in Oldham

Inspection report for children's home: 1278753 1 Registered provider: Oasis Adolescent Services Limited Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

The home is run by a private organisation to provide care for three children with social and emotional difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

The registered manager has been in post since 6 September 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: 10 January 2023

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good

Overall judgement at last inspection: outstanding

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children's home: 1278753 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

10/01/2023 Full Outstanding 30/11/2021 Full Outstanding 12/02/2020 Full Outstanding 20/03/2019 Full Good Inspection report for children's home: 1278753 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

There were three children living at the home at the time of the inspection. One child has left the home since the last inspection.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff demonstrate they care about children. They embrace children’s individuality and learn about what makes them happy. As a result, children develop trust in the staff team, which gives them a sense of security.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff are committed to supporting children to spend time with people who they are close to. They take them to visit family and friends, irrespective of the distance. Because of this, children are supported to maintain and strengthen relationships that are important to them.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff establish positive relationships with children’s family members and regularly communicate with them about children’s care and support needs. The family of one child commended staff for the good care they provide.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

When children move into the home, there is often a long delay in them accessing a school place. During this time, staff work closely with external professionals to secure an education placement and encourage children to engage in home learning with a tutor. Due to this effective partnership working, children are supported and prepared to attend school when a place is available.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

In consultation with medical professionals, staff support children to manage lifelong health conditions and make decisions about their well-being. For example, one child was supported to reduce, then eventually stop taking, medication that was affecting their sleep pattern and appetite, which have now improved significantly.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are frequently consulted about their care. Staff listen to children and act on their requests. Children take part in their chosen activities and have a say in the food provided in the home. This reinforces to children that what matters to them is important.

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

Children have good relationships with the staff who care for them and say they can speak to them about any worries and concerns. Children feel safe living at the home. External professionals and family members agree that the home is a safe place for children.

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

Staff teach children about society’s behavioural expectations. Children are supported to understand that there are repercussions to their actions. This provides a foundation of right and wrong for children to build on as they progress through to adulthood. Inspection report for children's home: 1278753 4 Staff routinely complete key-work sessions with children on issues relating to their current vulnerabilities. However, for one child, there have been missed opportunities to carry out work with them to reduce their exposure to further harmful behaviours.

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

Plans to protect children are detailed and provide guidance to staff on how to minimise the risk of children being harmed. However, not all risk management plans reflect the severity of concerns that leaders, managers and staff have about children’s welfare.

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

Since the last inspection, there has been only one incident of a child going missing from home. This was managed well by leaders, managers and staff, who actively looked for the child and adopted a multi-agency approach to finding them. Safeguarding professionals working with staff at the home complimented them for the proactive action they took.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager is suitably qualified and has vast experience. He is supported in his role by the deputy manager, who is qualified and knows the home well. The manager has managed the team since the home opened and has provided consistent leadership. Staff say they feel supported. There are imminent changes to the management team The registered manager has notified Ofsted of his plans to resign from his position. He will replace the current responsible individual when they move on from the organisation.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff are supported to develop their skills and knowledge around caring for children. Leaders and managers ensure that staff have access to relevant training to assist them in their roles. Team meetings take place regularly. These meetings are used by the manager as a forum to share practice and to discuss any training undertaken by staff. This ensures that staff have an opportunity to share their learning with the whole staff team and identify the most effective approaches to supporting children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff retention is good. The team is well established and has cared for the children since they moved into the home. Staff are all aware of the children’s individual starting points and understand their care journey so far. They have been able to provide children with consistent care and help them feel settled in the home.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Leaders and managers demonstrate that they understand their roles and responsibility to support staff. Child-focused supervision takes place regularly and is used by leaders and managers as an opportunity to look at good practice and areas for staff learning. Supervision helps leaders and managers to monitor the effectiveness of the staff team, to ensure that children’s care needs are met.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Care planning for one child, who has recently moved on from the home was been poor. Leaders and managers have not been able to demonstrate that they have done all they could to make the child’s ending at the home positive. Inspection report for children's home: 1278753 5 Leaders, managers and staff have formed effective working relationships with external professionals. They value partnership working and make valuable contributions to achieving positive outcomes for children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The effectiveness of the service provided to children is examined using monitoring systems put in place by the manager. This ensures that the standard of care provided to children continues to be good. Inspection report for children's home: 1278753 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 care planning standard is that children—

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Requirement Due date

have a positive experience of arriving at or moving on from the 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

plan for, and help, each child to prepare to leave the home or to move into adult care in a way that is consistent with arrangements agreed with the child’s placing authority. (Regulation 14 (1)(b) (2)(b)(iii))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, leaders and managers must ensure that children are supported to leave the home in a planned and positive way. 11 April 2024

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Recommendation

 The registered person should ensure that when concerns about the safety and well-being of children arise, children are supported through key-work sessions to understand the risks associated with their behaviour and the measures they can take to keep themselves safe. (‘Guide to the Children’s Home Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 42, paragraph 9.7)

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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: 1278753 7

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Oasis Adolescent Services Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: 9 Beacon Grove, Oldham OL8 2XH

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Inspector

Chibuzo Otache, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children's home: 1278753 8 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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