Children's home run by Salford City Council in Salford

Inspection report for children’s home: SC064858 1 SC064858 Registered provider: Salford City Council

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Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This is a local authority children’s home. The home is registered to provide care for up to three children with social and emotional difficulties and/or learning disabilities.

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Information about this children’s home

There were three children living in the home at the time of the inspection.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager registered with Ofsted in July 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

Overall judgement at last inspection: good

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children’s home: SC064858 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

11/07/2023 Full Good 25/04/2022 Full Good 27/07/2021 Full Requires improvement to be good 28/04/2021 Full Inadequate Inspection report for children’s home: SC064858 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children have positive and trusting relationships with staff, who treat them with dignity and respect. If children have any worries or concerns, they can talk to staff and staff will listen and support them. Children understand how to make a complaint and have followed this process when they have needed to.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are given the opportunity to take part in a variety of different activities to meet their social, physical and educational needs, such as trips to Blackpool and going to the gym, concerts and shopping. However, staff also respect that children often prefer to spend time with friends or family or to have time in their bedrooms.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Some children experience difficulties with their attendance in education. Staff and the manager are working with schools, social workers and Connexions advisers to support children to have access to suitable education provision.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children’s health needs are met. They are supported to attend routine health appointments. Staff arrange specialist support when needed, such as from the sexual health nurse or mental health services for children. When children refuse to attend appointments, staff work with them to educate them on the importance of their health and well-being.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff support family time, in line with children’s agreed plans. When there are challenges or difficulties with these arrangements, staff work with children, their families and the placing authority to identify solutions that meet the needs of children. Staff are sensitive to the different family dynamics for each child and make sure that there is a child- centred approach to decisions around family time. One family member said, ‘The staff are brilliant with [name of child] and they really look after them.’

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children who are new to the home are always welcomed sensitively and with the best possible planning. There is a robust referral process which is used to assess the needs of children who already live in the home and the needs of children who may move into the home. This ensures that there is a child-centred approach when making decisions about whether staff can support children to live together.

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

Staff and managers act swiftly when children have raised complaints against staff. Managers take suitable action to address these concerns and all relevant professionals are notified. Following the outcome, children and staff are supported to rebuild their relationships. Staff and managers ensure that children’s welfare remains a priority throughout. Inspection report for children’s home: SC064858 4 Children’s plans and risk assessments are detailed and comprehensive. They contain clear strategies to reduce risks to children. Staff review and update strategies in children’s support plans and risk assessments to reflect current risks or a reduction in risk. Staff understand these plans and use them in their daily practice.

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

Staff have taken suitable action when children have been missing from the home, searching for them and locating them as quickly as possible. This includes working with external professionals such as the missing-from-home team and the police. Records of incidents of going missing are detailed and the manager has oversight of these reports. Plans are reviewed and updated following each episode of going missing to review the strategies in place to reduce the likelihood of reoccurrences.

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

Staff take suitable action when children are at risk of harm through exploitation. Staff are suitably trained in exploitation and county lines. They work with other agencies to ensure that children are supported by professionals who specialise in exploitation. Staff carry out direct work with children to help them understand the risks.

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

Staff take opportunities to carry out direct-work sessions with children that are relevant to what is going on in their lives. There is a focus on the importance of staff talking to children and giving them a space to express their views and wishes and to share information with them.

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

When staff have imposed consequences, these have been reasonable, proportionate and necessary. Managers and staff discuss consequences with the child. Children are given incentives when this might be effective to help them achieve a goal, such as school attendance or going to health appointments. Staff also celebrate and reward children’s achievements with verbal praise or treats, such as going for ice-cream or to a beauty salon for treatments.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The experienced manager and deputy manager work well together to provide support and guidance to the staff team. They are new to the home and have worked to build positive relationships with the children and the staff team. The manager has an ambitious vision for what she wants to achieve for the children and for the development of the staff team.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff are positive about the manager and describe a supportive environment. They describe the manager as readily available to provide advice and guidance.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager has a good overview of the home and can identify the home’s strengths and areas for improvement. Since coming into the role, the manager has implemented new systems to monitor and inform the quality of care provided. However, the home development plan is a generic document which does not identify the home’s specific development needs . Inspection report for children’s home: SC064858 5 There is a stable and consistent staff team who know the children well. Staff are suitably trained and qualified. Training is provided to ensure that staff are skilled to support children’s specific needs. Team meetings are held regularly and are used to share information with the staff team. They are also used as a development opportunity for staff.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff have regular practice-related supervision sessions. These sessions are used to discuss children’s information and reflect on staff practice and are a supportive learning opportunity for staff. In addition to this, staff also have their fitness to perform their role appraised each year. This is a reflective process which supports career progression alongside performance.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Managers and staff work positively with external professionals. One child’s social worker said, ‘Staff show they care, and this makes [name of child] feel valued.’ Inspection report for children’s home: SC064858 6

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Recommendation

 The registered person should use continuous monitoring and effective development plans to ensure that there are continuous improvements to the quality of care provided. Development plans should be specific to the needs of the children, home and staff team. (‘Guide to the Children’s Home Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 55, paragraph 10.24)

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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: SC064858 7

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Salford City Council

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Civic Centre, Chorley Road, Swinton, Manchester M27 5DA

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Inspector

Katie Tomlinson, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: SC064858 8 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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