Children's Home run by Culina Roc Ltd in Salford

Inspection report for children's home: 2769508 1 Registered provider: Culina Roc Ltd

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Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This home is owned and managed by a private company. It provides care for up to three children who may have social and emotional difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

At the time of the inspection, the home was providing care for three children.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager registered with Ofsted on 9 January 2024.

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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: 2769508 2

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children thrive in this home and make progress across all areas of their lives. The nurturing support and care provided to children is guided by external therapeutic services. This level of support enables children to understand their lives and their future care plans.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children’s care is planned in partnership with external professionals. The detailed plans provide an analysis of children’s emotional development and the steps in place to help children overcome traumatic childhood experiences.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The home operates using a playfulness, acceptance, curiosity and empathy (PACE) approach to care. Because of this, children form close trusting bonds with staff. They are cared for, loved and nurtured. Staff understand children’s needs and work effectively to address them.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children enjoy school. Attendance is excellent and attainment levels have significantly improved from each child’s starting point. Staff spend time supporting children to practise reading and writing and provide children with specialised books to enhance their learning. Parents are supported to attend parents evening and school plays, alongside helping children with their continued learning. Furthermore, children make friends at school and enjoy after-school clubs. One child said, ‘I love archery and I am really good at it.’

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are in good health. They are provided with a healthy diet, plenty of exercise and a consistent approach to their emotional health needs. Children are appropriately registered with medical practitioners and staff support them to attend routine health appointments.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children who come to live in this home have a plan of moving on to a foster placement or returning to live with their family. Two children have successfully returned to live with their parents. One parent said, ‘I can’t thank the staff enough. They helped my family so much and have brought us all back together.’

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Family time is recognised as an important time for children. Staff work hard to support the child and their family to build positive relationships and spend quality time together.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are helped to make decisions and choices in line with their age and understanding. They help to prepare their weekly planners, choose the decor of their bedrooms and assist in menu planning. Children regularly feed back to the manager or their key worker about the care that they receive.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children engage in a host of activities. Some children attend clubs such as Cubs and football, other children enjoy playing in the local park and going on bike rides. Staff liaise with local groups to ensure that children can access sports groups they are interested in Inspection report for children's home: 2769508 3 and at a level appropriate for their needs and development. One child said, ‘The manager is ok at managing but they are a great midfielder.’

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff provide children with a children’s guide when they move into the home. This sets out what they can expect in the home, introduces the staff and sets out the rules and boundaries. However, the guide is not age appropriate for all children. The document is lengthy and therefore younger children may not be able to understand the information.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The external space for children is safe. However, there is no outside seating for children to use and outdoor activities for older children are limited.

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

Children are helped to understand the world around them, including potential dangers and risks. Staff respond quickly to areas of concern and take suitable action to ensure that children remain safe.

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

Staff understand the children’s needs and know the children very well. Therefore, behaviour management methods are developed that are unique to each child. Children respond exceptionally well to their plans and understand the supportive and caring strategies in place to help them.

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

Children are helped to understand their emotions and how these can be reflected in their behaviours. They are provided with age-appropriate strategies, including calming routines, to enable them to take some control of their feelings and emotions. All incidents of children becoming overwhelmed end with staff giving them a hug and gentle reassurance.

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

Staff are trained in the use of holding a child to keep them safe. There has been one incident since the home was registered in January 2024. A detailed report describes the steps staff took to de-escalate the incident and the debrief completed with the child and staff.

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

Children do not go missing from the home. However, plans are in place to respond to such events. Nevertheless, discussions with several staff identified inconsistencies in their understanding of the procedures in place. Therefore, it is not clear if the procedures to safeguard a child in these instances are effective in practice.

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

Plans in place for younger children who may go missing from home do not consider the immediacy of the concern, for example, waiting 30 minutes before reporting the child as missing. This period is excessive when considering the vulnerability of a small child.

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

All staff working in the home are appropriately vetted. Records of staff recruitment verify that safer recruitment policies are adhered to.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Inspection report for children's home: 2769508 4 Since the home opened, there have been no changes to the management team and the staff team has remained consistent.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager’s monitoring of children’s progress is meticulous. Careful attention is paid to children’s plans and the methods used to engage children in the home. Children’s progress is consistently tracked and is routinely celebrated and rewarded.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager works effectively with external agencies to ensure that children’s needs are prioritised and that children receive the help and support that they require. When concerns arise, the manager is confident in escalating these concerns to ensure that children continue to achieve positive outcomes.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Most staff are qualified. Staff receive consistent good-quality training and additional therapeutic guidance and support from external agencies.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff receive consistent supervision. Records provide evidence of scenario discussions, a review of the regulations and quality standards and recording best evidence. Likewise, team meetings are regularly held and well attended. Detailed discussions and decisions made regarding children’s plans and strategies to use with children are evident in records of these meetings.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The external visitor carries out regular visits to the home to review care practice. Reports provide a good overview of the care that children receive and their progress and identify any areas for development. Inspection report for children's home: 2769508 5

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that the children’s guide is suitable for children of all ages. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 14, paragraph 3.3)  The registered person should ensure that the external space is developed to accommodate the needs of all children in the home. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 17, paragraph 3.23)  The registered person should ensure that all staff receive refresher training on the steps to take should a child be at risk of harm. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 42, paragraph 9.5)  The registered person should ensure that the individual guidance for reporting children as missing is suitable for each child. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 45, paragraph 9.24)

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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: 2769508 6

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Fulmer Grange Cottage, Framewood Road, Wexham, Slough, Buckinghamshire SL2 4QS

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Inspector

Maria McGranaghan, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children's home: 2769508 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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