Children's home run by Oldham Children’s Social Care in Oldham

Inspection report for children’s home: SC035492 1 SC035492 Registered provider: Oldham Metropolitan Borough Council

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Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This local authority short break children’s home offers care for up to four children who may have social and emotional difficulties. The statement of purpose states that the home provides short breaks and outreach services as a positive and flexible service for children.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager registered with Ofsted in April 2023.

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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: 14 February 2024

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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: SC035492 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

14/02/2024 Full Good 15/11/2022 Full Good 05/01/2022 Full Good 27/08/2019 Full Inadequate Inspection report for children’s home: SC035492 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

This short break service offers outreach support and short break stays for children. Staff support children and their families by providing targeted interventions aimed at keeping families together.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Skilled and experienced staff meet the children’s needs effectively. They ensure that children’s short break stays are a positive and supportive experience for children. A child said, ‘If you’re having a bad time, staff will come and speak to you. Staff are good listeners one hundred percent. They are human and down to earth. They are like friends and nice neighbours.’

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff get to know the children well by providing introductory visits and a proper induction before any planned overnight stays are arranged. This helps children to feel relaxed and comfortable during their visits or stays. Plans are child-centred documents that include the views and input of children. However, they are not always reviewed on a regular basis in order to reflect the changing needs of children.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff support the families of children with their parenting and promote safe and fair boundaries for children. They support children with identified areas of need and work intensively with children and their families to achieve set goals that contribute to improvement in the children’s lives.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The short break service offers children the opportunity to spend planned time away from their families, providing them with a homely and comfortable stay, in a friendly, relaxed and supportive environment. Children benefit from enjoyable activities during their stays, and staff promote their interests and hobbies. The children’s experiences include trips to various museums, going bowling, trampolining, rock climbing and visiting country parks. They develop relationships and friendships, social skills and self-confidence. A child said, ‘It [the short break service] does help me to make memories.’

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff support children with their attendance at school and work closely with their schools, social workers and families to help children overcome any barriers to learning. Staff collaborate with key professionals to ensure that children benefit from effective help and support. A social worker said, ‘They work well together as a team and provide good outcomes. They really do go above and beyond and complete really intense family work.’

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

Staff consistently prioritise the well-being and safety of children. They have a clear understanding of the children’s specific needs and vulnerabilities. Staff work closely with social workers to ensure that children benefit from effective help, support and protection. Children become increasingly safer because of the actions staff take to support and Inspection report for children’s home: SC035492 4 protect them. A child said, ‘[Name of staff] gives me techniques to change my perspective. That helps me and its working.’

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

Staff use risk management plans to know how to keep children safe and minimise the risk of harm. A social worker said that the service has led to ‘better family relationships’ and ‘reduces the risk of harm to children’.

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

Staff manage the children’s behaviours safely and effectively. There has been no use of physical intervention since the last inspection. Additionally, there have been no allegations or negative consequences. Complaints are promptly addressed and resolved by the registered manager, and written complaints records are kept of the actions taken.

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

Significant incidents are reported to the appropriate authorities to ensure that the right action is taken by the right professional agencies to protect children from harm. There has been one significant incident since the last inspection. Staff appropriately completed a room search but failed to record this. The provider completed an internal investigation into the incident, and subsequent disciplinary action was taken. Lessons learned have also been shared with the staff team to prevent future incidents occurring.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The short break service benefits from a well-qualified and experienced registered manager who demonstrates strong leadership of the day-to-day running of the service. The manager is also supported by an experienced and qualified deputy manager.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Since the last inspection, a number of experienced staff have left the short break service. This has resulted in the use of temporary agency staff to cover staff shortages. However, children are looked after by the same key members of staff, who know the children well and provide them with consistency, structure and routines that are familiar to children. The manager has recently recruited one new member of staff and ensured that vacant posts have been advertised.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff benefit from regular team meetings and peer-to-peer supervision. This ensures that they are able to share ideas, discuss children’s plans and review the work completed with children and their families.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff benefit from frequent training opportunities to ensure that they have the skills and knowledge to meet the specific needs of children. Staff deliver parenting courses for families on handling and managing children’s behaviour.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager makes effective use of the independent monitoring activities to understand the strengths and weaknesses of the care provided. They act on feedback and tackle shortfalls in order to secure improvement.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager has returned to work after a temporary period of absence. Their absence has led to some gaps in the frequency of staff’s supervision, which was not delivered in accordance with the supervision policy. When staff supervision takes place, it Inspection report for children’s home: SC035492 5 is of good quality and is supportive, developmental and reflective. A staff member said, ‘Casework supervision is very reflective.’

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The requirement from the last inspection has been met. Reports following independent monitoring activities are now sent to Ofsted in a timely manner and in keeping with regulation. Inspection report for children’s home: SC035492 6

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that plans for children are reviewed within the timescales specified in plans. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 55, paragraph 11.4)  The registered person should ensure that when a child’s bedroom is searched for their safety a written record is kept of the reasons for the search and the child informed. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 16, paragraph 3.20)  The registered person should ensure that the frequency of staff supervision is delivered in accordance with the home’s supervision policy. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 53, paragraph 10.8)  The registered person should ensure that there are sufficient numbers of permanent staff employed to negate the need for the use of agency staff on a regular basis. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 51,

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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: SC035492 7

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Oldham Metropolitan Borough Council

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Oldham Council, Civic Centre, Oldham OL1 1UT

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Children’s home details

Responsible individual: Nicholas Whitbread

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Inspectors

Anthony Kyem, Social Care Inspector Kitty Wiper, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: SC035492 8 regulates and inspects 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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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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