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

Inspection report for children’s home: 1258975 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 operated by a private company and provides care for up to three children who experience social and emotional difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

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

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Information about this children’s home

The manager was registered with Ofsted in October 2017.

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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

Overall judgement at last inspection: good

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children’s home: 1258975 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

08/03/2023 Full Good 18/01/2022 Full Outstanding 24/02/2020 Full Outstanding 14/02/2019 Interim Sustained effectiveness Inspection report for children’s home: 1258975 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children have trusting and secure relationships with staff, who know them well and regard their well-being as a priority. Staff treat children with dignity and respect. Staff speak fondly and positively about the children. One social worker said, ‘This is the first time [name of child] has been able to build and sustain meaningful relationships with adults.’ The children said they are happy at the home. One child said, ‘The staff are better than great.’

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Positive behaviour is promoted, and achievements are celebrated with the children. Staff make sure that children have access to a wide range of activities, such as trampolining, watching sport, going to the cinema, playing pool, and being involved in charity events. Children are also supported to complete independence work in line with their age and moving-on plans.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Family time is supported in line with agreed plans. Staff have developed positive relationships with family members. They work together to make sure that time with family is supported and encouraged, despite this sometimes taking place a long distance away from the home. This makes sure that children can maintain relationships that are important to them.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children have the opportunity to express their views and contribute to their day-to- day decisions. They have a choice in their meals and activities, and are supported to understand key information and current affairs.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

When children have struggled with attending full-time education, the manager and staff have worked with the placing authority and virtual school heads to identify alternative schools and provisions. This is to ensure that the provisions can better meet the children’s needs. However, there are clear plans in place to support the children to return to full-time education.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

When children are new to the home, they are made to feel welcome. This is done with the best-possible planning, considering the children’s individual circumstances and the staff skills and training. This means that there is a child-centred approach to deciding if the home and staff team are suitable to meet the child’s needs before they move in to the home.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

When children have left the home, where it has been possible, they have left in a positive and planned way in line with their individual plans. Staff have supported the children with the moves to make the change as comfortable as possible for them.

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

When there have been concerns raised by a child, leaders and managers have taken appropriate action in response to these allegations or concerns, and the child and staff are supported throughout. Inspection report for children’s home: 1258975 4 There are a low number of incidents and no occasions where these have escalated to a situation where restraint was needed. Incidents and significant events are recorded appropriately and include all necessary detail and information. Staff respond to children’s needs, ensuring that they get the right support.

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

Staff have responded appropriately when children have been missing from the home. They work in partnership with the police to support a quick and safe return to the home. The manager has oversight of these reports.

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

Each child’s individual risks are detailed in their placement plans and risk management plans. These are detailed documents, which are frequently updated. However, these are also used as a chronology of events and, due to the large amount of information included in these plans, information is not easily accessible for staff.

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

Staff set clear boundaries about what is acceptable behaviour. They seek to understand the children’s individual needs and support the children to manage their own behaviours and emotions appropriately. Staff support children to understand risks and dangers through regular placement plan sessions and key-worker sessions. These are completed proactively and reactively when required.

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

Health and safety checks of the home take place weekly. However, during the inspection, fire extinguishers were not stored safely in line with the home’s fire risk assessment.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

There is an experienced manager, who is supported by a deputy manager. They have an ambitious vision for what the children can achieve and are positive role models. Staff spoken to describe the management team as available and approachable and always willing to offer support and guidance.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

There are systems in place for effective monitoring and review of the home. These ensure that leaders and managers have oversight and are able to identify strengths and areas for development.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

There is an experienced and consistent staff team, who have worked at the home for some time. This means that they know the children well. Team meetings take place regularly and are well attended by the team. These are an opportunity for the team to get together and share information.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff are suitably trained in mandatory subjects and topics that meet the children’s individual needs. When it has been identified through children’s impact assessments, extra training has been sourced, such as training about asylum-seeking children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Supervisions are completed monthly. They are practice related and used as a development opportunity. Staff have their performance and fitness to perform their Inspection report for children’s home: 1258975 5 roles appraised at least once every year. These are used alongside staff development plans, which are used to drive improvement in the staff team. Inspection report for children’s home: 1258975 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, 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

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

Specifically, the registered person must ensure that fire extinguishers are suitably stored in line with the fire risk assessment. 15 February 2024

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that staff continually and actively assess the risks to each child and the arrangements in place to protect them. Specifically, the registered person should ensure that children’s plans are clear, directive, and do not become a chronology of events. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 42, paragraph 9.5)

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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: 1258975 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

Katie Tomlinson, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 1258975 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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