Children's home run by New Moon Residential Limited

Inspection report for children’s home: 2710735 1 Registered provider: New Moon Residential 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

This home is owned and managed by a private organisation. The home provides care for up to four 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 two children.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager was registered with Ofsted in May 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: 2710735 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

18/07/2023 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: 2710735 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children say that they feel happy and settled living in this home. They receive consistent, nurturing support and care that is guided by external therapeutic services. This level of support enables children to understand their past and begin to make positive steps toward their future 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 PACE (Playfulness, Acceptance, Curiosity and Empathy) approach to care. Children feel loved and cared for. As a result, children form close, trusting bonds with staff. 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

Staff work collaboratively with educational providers to secure appropriate education for children. Personal education plans clearly detail the level of support that children require, and this is consistently implemented. Children’s attendance can be sporadic. As such, they receive consistent encouragement and support, which has enabled them to improve their attendance and commitment to education. However, daily routines for children who may refuse to attend school are not consistently in place.

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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 are supported to attend routine appointments.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Family time is recognised as important for children. Staff work hard to support children and their families to re-engage and have positive family experiences. Likewise, staff understand the importance of children maintaining positive friendships and support them to do this safely.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are helped to make decisions and choices. They help to prepare their weekly planners, choose the décor of their bedrooms, and assist in menu planning. Children are consistently consulted and they regularly give feedback to the manager or key worker about the staff working with them and the care they receive.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children enjoy activities. This is because the staff join in and make each activity fun and memorable. One child said, ‘The staff are funny, especially on the trampolines.’ Children are encouraged to try out new activities and maintain a level of fitness to support a healthy lifestyle.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are provided 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 written in child-friendly language and contains Inspection report for children’s home: 2710735 4 some information regarding smoking, which is incorrect. The document is lengthy and therefore some children may lose interest or be unable to retain the information.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The home provides ample space for children to be together or alone. The external grounds provide a suitable and safe play area, including swings and other outdoor equipment. The home is decorated to an exceptionally high standard. One child said, ‘The house is sick.’

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

Children live in a home where their safety is prioritised. From their initial starting points, children’s risks are reduced. This is because children are helped by staff to understand the impact of their behaviours and risks for themselves and those around them.

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

Assessments to manage risk are routinely updated to detail any new risks pertaining to incidents that may have occurred. The assessments detail the methods and strategies to be used by staff to support children in making safe and informed decisions. However, assessments are extremely lengthy and include historical risks. This makes it difficult to navigate the assessment.

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

On occasion, there have been incidents where children have used cannabis in the home’s grounds. These incidents were suitably challenged by staff and work was undertaken with them regarding the adverse effects of substances. However, on one occasion, action to ensure that no substances remained in a child’s bedroom, such as a room search, did not take place. Therefore, staff did not ensure that the potential for further illicit substances were found and removed.

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

Incidents of children being absent or missing from home have reduced. This is because staff work hard to understand the reasons why children go missing, and work with families and external agencies to address these concerns. When a child presents as missing, staff take swift and effective action to ensure that they are returned home quickly and safely.

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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, should there be a risk to the child or others around them. Staff focus on a de-escalation and redirection approach to incidents that occur. Consequently, there have been no incidents where a child has needed to be held since the last inspection in July 2023.

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

Behaviour management strategies focus on natural consequences. This enables children to understand the impact of their behaviours on themselves and others. However, action to address some behaviours, such as the misuse of pocket money, are not in place. This means that for one child, pocket money is regularly misused.

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

Children’s achievements and progress are regularly acknowledged and rewarded by staff. They receive consistent praise and recognition, and this has proven to enhance their self-esteem and confidence. Inspection report for children’s home: 2710735 5

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Since the last inspection, there have been significant changes in the management of the home and the staff team. A new manager and responsible individual were registered with Ofsted in May 2024. Several new and experienced staff have joined the team. The transition of outgoing staff was managed sensitively, ensuring that children were given the opportunity to say goodbye.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager’s monitoring of children’s progress is consistent. 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 routinely celebrated and rewarded. However, the manager’s monitoring does not routinely identify a lack of detail in some records. Therefore, these matters are not consistently addressed.

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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 they receive the help and support they require. Where concerns arise, the manager swiftly alerts agencies and is confident in escalating concerns to ensure positive outcomes for children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Over half the staff are qualified at level 4 of the children’s workforce and development taskforce. 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. However, records do not evidence that staff are given the opportunity for reflective practice to aid their development. Team meetings are regularly undertaken and suitably attended. Discussions and decisions regarding children’s plans and strategies to use with children are evident within these meetings.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The independent visitor undertakes regular visits to the home to review the home’s practice. Reports provide a good overview of the care that children receive and their progress, and addresses any areas for development. Inspection report for children’s home: 2710735 6

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that behaviour management strategies are in place and work in tandem with the ethos of the home. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 46, paragraph 9.34)  The registered person should ensure the consistent oversight of records to identify any shortfalls in practice. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 54, paragraph 10.23)  The registered person should ensure that risk management plans are amended to be concise and only include the relevant risk information. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 42, paragraph 9.5)  The registered person should ensure that an educational routine is in place for a child not attending school. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 28, paragraph 5.15)

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that a child’s room is searched if there is reason to believe the child’s safety may be at risk. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 16, paragraph 3.20)  The registered person should ensure that the children’s guide is amended to include child-friendly language and factual information in relation to smoking. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 24, paragraph 4.21)  The registered person should ensure that staff supervision provides an opportunity to reflect on their practice. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 61, paragraph 13.2)

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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: 2710735 7

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: New Moon Residential Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: 67 Chorley Old Road, Bolton BL1 3AJ

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Inspector

Maria McGranaghan, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2710735 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 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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