Children's Home run by Sankofa Specialist Care Ltd in Oldham

Inspection report for children's home: 2764124 1 Registered provider: Sankofa Specialist Care Limited

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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. It is registered to provide care for one child who may have a range of social and emotional difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

This is the home’s first inspection since its registration in November 2023. The manager holds a leadership and management qualification at level 5.

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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: not applicable

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children's home: 2764124 2

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Since registration, one child has left the home and moved to a different placement with the same organisation. One child has recently moved into the home and is making good progress relative to their individual circumstances.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The child receives good levels of support from a committed staff team. Staff have a positive view of the child and work hard to engage with them. This helps the child to feel confident about their relationships with staff and supports progress.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The child enjoys good health and has access to specialist services to promote physical and emotional well-being. The child is supported to attend routine health appointments. Appropriate arrangements are in place for the safe administration and management of medicines.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The manager ensures that the child attends an educational setting according to their needs and abilities. Staff work effectively with education departments, and other relevant professionals, to ensure that the child has every opportunity to increase their academic ability and reach their full potential.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff ensure that the child is able to spend time with family and friends. This helps the child to have a sense of belonging and enables the child to have positive experiences and maintain links to significant people.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The child contributes their views through regular meetings and regular communication with staff about daily decisions, such as menu planning and the activities they choose.

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

Staff have a clear understanding of procedures for reporting and managing safeguarding concerns. However, staff do not always ensure that up-to-date risk management plans are in place. This limits the ability of the staff to review the strategies that help to keep the child safe.

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

Staff manage challenging behaviour effectively and encourage the child to reflect on incidents in a constructive and supportive way. Inappropriate behaviour is challenged or de-escalated appropriately. Staff reinforce clear boundaries and provide daily routines and stability for the child. This is supported by praise and recognition of achievements.

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

Incidents when the child is physically held are used as a last resort and only when needed to keep the child safe. Children and staff involved in such incidents are supported to reflect on the incident and develop strategies to avoid the situation reoccurring. Inspection report for children's home: 2764124 3 Staff ensure that the home environment is safe for the child to live in. A range of health and safety checks are completed to assess whether there are any hazards which could pose risks. The child takes part in regular fire drills to ensure that they can safely evacuate the home in case of an emergency.

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

The child is kept safer by the organisation’s effective recruitment practices. Staff are vetted and assessed as suitable before any appointment is made. These procedures promote the safety of the child by preventing unsuitable adults from working with them.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The home is managed effectively by a suitably qualified and experienced manager. She is well supported by a staff team whose members report feeling supported in their roles and share her commitment to improving the lives of children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager uses staff meetings and supervision well to communicate the positive ethos of the home. Staff receive regular supervision. This helps them to reflect on their practice and to develop their skills and knowledge to provide a good quality service to children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

All staff have either completed or are enrolled to complete a diploma in residential childcare at level 4. Staff receive training that helps to keep their knowledge updated and current and allows them to develop and maintain skills that are effective in meeting children’s diverse and complex needs.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager has reviewed the home’s location risk assessment. The mitigation of risk is not sufficiently detailed and local risks posed by roads and travel routes have not been included. As a result, the assessment of local risks to the child is ineffective.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Partnership working with educational settings, parents and placing social workers is effective. This ensures that appropriate support is in place to assist the child’s progress and to maximise their potential. Inspection report for children's home: 2764124 4

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Statutory requirement

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 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;

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Requirement Due date

have the skills to identify and act upon signs that a child is at risk of harm;

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Requirement Due date

take effective action whenever there is a serious concern about a child’s welfare. (Regulation 12 (1) (2)(a)(i)(iii)(vii))

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Requirement Due date

This relates to ensuring that risk management plans are regularly reviewed and updated. 26 May 2024

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Recommendation

 When establishing the home, the registered person must ensure that it is suitably located so that children are effectively safeguarded and can access services to meet needs identified in their relevant plans (see regulations 12(2)(c)). Under regulation 46, the registered person should review the appropriateness and suitability of the location and premises of the home at least once a year. The review should include the identification of any risks and opportunities presented by the home’s location and strategies for managing these. (Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations including the quality standards’, page 64, paragraph 15.1) Inspection report for children's home: 2764124 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: 2764124 6

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Sankofa Specialist Care Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: 449 Brook Lane, Birmingham B13 0BT

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Inspector

Dave Carrigan, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children's home: 2764124 7 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 children looked after, safeguarding and child protection.

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Inspector

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Inspector

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Inspector

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