Children's Home run by Tameside Metropolitan Borough Council in Tameside

Inspection report for children’s home - monitoring visit: 1263766 1 Registered provider: Tameside Metropolitan Borough Council

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Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This local authority home provides care for up to four children who may have learning difficulties and experience social and/or emotional difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

Four children were living at the home at the time of this visit. Two children spoke with the inspector about their experiences of living in the home.

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Information about this children’s home

An interim manager has been in post since May 2024 but has not yet applied to register with Ofsted.

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This monitoring visit

This home was judged inadequate at the full inspection in April 2024. Compliance notices were issued under section 22A of the Care Standards Act 2000. These were in relation to Regulation 12 (the protection of children standard) and Regulation 13 (the leadership and management standard). The purpose of this visit was to monitor the actions taken by the provider to meet the steps in the compliance notices.

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This monitoring visit

Since the full inspection, action has been taken to stabilise the staff team and ensure that staff are able to meet the needs of the children living in the home. This has included carrying out a skills audit of all staff and implementing a series of relevant training courses to develop practice in the home. Consequently, staff feel more confident in their roles.

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This monitoring visit

The head of service and interim manager have created a detailed action plan to address the shortfalls identified at the last inspection. Although the action plan is in the early stages of implementation, it has enabled leaders and managers to make Inspection report for children’s home - monitoring visit: 1263766 2 some positive changes and improve their oversight of the home. A permanent service manager has also been appointed but has not yet started in post.

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This monitoring visit

Staff are supported with regular supervision sessions and team meetings that have input from external therapeutic professionals. The input from therapeutic professionals has enabled staff to further develop their understanding of children’s needs. They have also supported the team to identify children’s health needs and make referrals to appropriate therapeutic services. When health appointments are made, children are supported to attend.

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This monitoring visit

No children have moved into or out of the home since the last inspection. An increase in staffing has enabled staff to spend more quality time with children and take them on activities. This helps children to develop positive relationships with the team. Consequently, children say that they feel happier and more relaxed in the home.

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This monitoring visit

New risk management plans are being implemented to ensure that staff understand how to keep children safe. All staff are being trained in updating and using these plans to ensure that they can help children in a meaningful way. However, the plans are not yet embedded into practice and their impact cannot be measured.

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This monitoring visit

Following this visit, a case review took place where it was agreed that the provider has taken sufficient action to meet the compliance notices issued under regulations 12 and 13.

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This monitoring visit

The requirements made at the last inspection will be reviewed at the next inspection. Inspection report for children’s home - monitoring visit: 1263766 3

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

30/04/2024 Full Inadequate 22/08/2023 Full Requires improvement to be good 30/05/2023 Full Inadequate 02/08/2022 Full Requires improvement to be good Inspection report for children’s home - monitoring visit: 1263766 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 with the given timescales.

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Requirement Due date

The care planning standard is that children—

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Requirement Due date

receive effectively planned care in or through the children’s home; and

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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

that, subject to regulation 22 (contact and access to communications), contact between each child and the child’s parents, relatives and friends, is promoted in accordance with the child’s relevant plans. (Regulation 14 (1)(a)(b) (2)(d))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person must ensure that children only move into the home when their needs can be met safely alongside the needs of other children living in the home and that all children are supported to have positive experiences of moving into and on from the home. 28 June 2024

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Requirement Due date

The education standard is that children make measurable progress towards achieving their educational potential and are helped to do so.

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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

help each child to achieve the child’s education and training targets, as recorded in the child’s relevant plans;

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Requirement Due date

support each child’s learning and development, including helping the child to develop independent study skills and, 28 June 2024 Inspection report for children’s home - monitoring visit: 1263766 5 where appropriate, helping the child to complete independent study;

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Requirement Due date

understand the barriers to learning that each child may face and take appropriate action to help the child to overcome any such barriers;

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Requirement Due date

help each child to understand the importance and value of education, learning, training and employment;

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Requirement Due date

promote opportunities for each child to learn informally;

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Requirement Due date

maintain regular contact with each child’s education and training provider, including engaging with the provider and the placing authority to support the child’s education and training and to maximise the child’s achievement;

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Requirement Due date

raise any need for further assessment or specialist provision in relation to a child with the child’s education or training provider and the child’s placing authority;

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Requirement Due date

help a child who is excluded from school, or who is of compulsory school age but not attending school, to access educational and training support throughout the period of exclusion or non-attendance and to return to school as soon as possible;

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Requirement Due date

help each child who is above compulsory school age to participate in further education, training or employment and to prepare for future care, education or employment;

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Requirement Due date

help each child to attend education or training in accordance with the expectations in the child’s relevant plans; and

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Requirement Due date

that each child has access to appropriate equipment, facilities and resources to support the child’s learning. (Regulation 8 (1) (2)(a)(i)(ii)(iii)(iv)(v)(vi)(vii)(viii)(ix)(x)(b))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person must ensure that children’s daily routines encourage and promote their engagement in education.

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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 28 June 2024 Inspection report for children’s home - monitoring visit: 1263766 6 promotes their welfare.

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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

lead and manage the home in a way that is consistent with the approach and ethos, and delivers the outcomes, set out in the home’s statement of purpose;

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Requirement Due date

ensure that staff have the experience, qualifications and skills to meet the needs of each child;

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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

demonstrate that practice in the home is informed and improved by taking into account and acting on—

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Requirement Due date

feedback on the experiences of children, including complaints received and

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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)(a)(c)(f)(g)(ii)(h))

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Requirement Due date

The registered person may only use devices for the monitoring or surveillance of children if—

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Requirement Due date

the monitoring or surveillance is for the purpose of safeguarding and promoting the welfare of the child concerned, or other children;

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Requirement Due date

the monitoring or surveillance is no more intrusive than necessary, having regard to the child’s need for privacy. (Regulation 24 (1)(a)(d))

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Requirement Due date

Leaders and managers must ensure that the use of surveillance is regularly reviewed in the home for all children. Specifically, leaders and managers must ensure that systems in place are fit for purpose and that the home does not operate a blanket approach for all children.

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Requirement Due date

This requirement was raised at the last inspection and has been restated. 28 June 2024 Inspection report for children’s home - monitoring visit: 1263766 7 The registered person must maintain records (“case records”) for each child which—

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Requirement Due date

include the information and documents listed in Schedule 3 in relation to each child;

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Requirement Due date

are kept up to date. (Regulation 36 (1)(a)(b))

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Requirement Due date

Specifically, leaders and managers should ensure that all children have up-to-date plans and that each child’s records are completed and maintained to a good standard.

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Requirement Due date

This requirement was raised at the last inspection and has been restated. 28 June 2024

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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; and

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Requirement Due date

a description of any injury to the child or any other person, and any medical treatment administered, as a result 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 28 June 2024 Inspection report for children’s home - monitoring visit: 1263766 8 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)(viii)(b)(i)(ii)(c))

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must complete a review of the quality of care provided for children (“a quality of care review”) at least once every 6 months.

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Requirement Due date

In order to complete a quality of care review the registered person must establish and maintain a system for monitoring, reviewing and evaluating—

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Requirement Due date

the quality of care provided for children;

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Requirement Due date

the feedback and opinions of children about the children’s home, its facilities and the quality of care they receive in it; and

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Requirement Due date

any actions that the registered person considers necessary in order to improve or maintain the quality of care provided for children.

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Requirement Due date

After completing a quality of care review, the registered person must produce a written report about the quality of care review and the actions which the registered person intends to take as a result of the quality of care review (“the quality of care review report”).

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Requirement Due date

supply to HMCI a copy of the quality of care review report within 28 days of the date on which the quality of care review is completed; and

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Requirement Due date

make a copy of the quality of care review report available on request to a placing authority, if the placing authority is not the parent of a child accommodated in the home. 28 June 2024 Inspection report for children’s home - monitoring visit: 1263766 9 The system referred to in paragraph (2) must provide for ascertaining and considering the opinions of children, their parents, placing authorities and staff. (Regulation 45 (1) (2)(a)(b)(c) (3) (4)(a)(b) (5))

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Requirement Due date

The positive relationships standard is that children are helped to develop, and to benefit from, relationships based on— mutual respect and trust;

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Requirement Due date

an understanding about acceptable behaviour; and positive responses to other children and adults.

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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

that each child is encouraged to build and maintain positive relationships with others. (Regulation 11 (1)(a)(b)(c) (2)(b))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person must ensure that children are supported to develop and maintain positive relationships with each other and with all staff working in the home. 28 June 2024

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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

develop positive relationships with them;

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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. (Regulation 7 (1)(a)(b)(c))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person must ensure that children’s views are listened to, especially about moving into or out of the home. 28 June 2024

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that all employees—

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Requirement Due date

undertake appropriate continuing professional development;

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Requirement Due date

receive practice-related supervision by a person with appropriate experience; and

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Requirement Due date

have their performance and fitness to perform their roles appraised at least once every year. (Regulation 33 (4)(a)(b)(c)) 28 June 2024 Inspection report for children’s home - monitoring visit: 1263766 10 In particular, the registered person must ensure that staff receive supervision in line with the organisation’s supervision policy.

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Information about this inspection

The purpose of this visit was to monitor the action taken and the progress made by the children’s home since its last Ofsted inspection.

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Information about this inspection

This inspection was carried out under the Care Standards Act 2000. Inspection report for children’s home - monitoring visit: 1263766 11

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Tameside Metropolitan Borough Council

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Tameside One, Market Place, Ashton-under-Lyne OL6 6BH

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Inspector

Colin Jones, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home - monitoring visit: 1263766 12 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 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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