Salaam Care

Inspection report for supported accommodation provider: Salaam Care Limited 1 Salaam Care Limited Registered provider: Salaam Care Limited

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Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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provider

This supported accommodation is operated by a private provider in the northwest of England. They can accommodate up to 18 individuals in shared or group-living homes that are limited to accommodating looked after children or care leavers.

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provider

At the time of the inspection, 14 individuals were being accommodated. Six of these were looked after children or care leavers aged 16 or 17.

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provider

The service manager has been registered with Ofsted since the provider was registered in March 2024.

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provider

Inspection dates: The inspection was announced on 4 November 2024 and started that day. The inspector was on site from 6 to 8 November 2024.

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Outcome

Consistently strong service delivery leads to typically positive experiences and progress for children. Where improvements are needed, leaders and managers take timely and effective action. The next inspection will be in approximately three years.

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Summary of findings

Children enjoy living in their accommodation. They make progress and develop skills which will help them to live independently when they move into their first home.

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Summary of findings

Staff build trusted and secure relationships with children, who know them well. Staff help children to stay safe, and promote their welfare.

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Summary of findings

Staff respond to the changing needs of children. Plans for children are effective. They are supported to actively participate in decisions about their lives.

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Summary of findings

Staff are ambitious for children and support them to do well in their education, training and employment. Their health needs are identified and addressed. Inspection report for supported accommodation provider: Salaam Care Limited 2

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Overall experiences and progress of children

Children make progress and have a range of positive experiences. Staff build trusted and secure relationships with children which help to promote their welfare. Staff also help children to understand how to stay safe, including when they are online. As a result, children said that they felt safe and supported.

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Overall experiences and progress of children

Children, including those who speak English as an additional language, are supported to actively participate in decisions about their lives. The provider works effectively with a range of organisations to support children who are subject to immigration controls. Staff support children who are separated from their families and places of origin. They are sensitive to children’s cultural needs and have a good knowledge of the local area. As a result, children access local community groups and places of worship, which helps them to understand their cultural heritage and identity.

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Overall experiences and progress of children

Children are supported individually and in groups to develop life skills and independence, in line with their needs. Staff ensure that children have bank accounts and register them with local housing services. In addition, children attend a range of internal training courses and complete workbooks which they can keep when they move on. This helps children to sustain their independent living skills.

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Overall experiences and progress of children

Staff are ambitious for children and support them to do well in their education, training and employment. Staff work closely with education providers and this coordinated approach motivates children with their future aspirations.

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Overall experiences and progress of children

Children enjoy a range of social, educational and recreational opportunities. They take part in volunteering activities in the local community, which promotes their confidence and skills.

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Overall experiences and progress of children

Staff understand children’s health needs and support them to engage with primary healthcare services. Staff also help children with their emotional health and well- being, with access to counselling and therapy services. This helps children to address any previous experiences of neglect and trauma.

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Overall experiences and progress of children

Staff help children to move into their accommodation in a planned way. They promote positive endings with children and help them to understand their life story. When endings are unplanned, staff work closely with children and services to ensure that children’s welfare is safeguarded.

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Overall experiences and progress of children

Children know how to make a complaint and know how to access the provider’s complaints policy. There have not been any complaints submitted since the provider was registered. However, the provider’s process for considering complaints which are not fully resolved at the first stage is unclear.

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Overall experiences and progress of children

Staff do not keep records of children’s house meetings. This limits the effectiveness of the meetings, as it is not clear what actions have been completed. It is also a missed opportunity to record children’s wishes and feelings. Inspection report for supported accommodation provider: Salaam Care Limited 3

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How well children are helped and protected

Children said that they feel protected and settled where they live. The quality of accommodation promotes children’s sense of belonging and their self-esteem. Children talk to staff if they have concerns and meet regularly with their support worker to discuss their needs.

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How well children are helped and protected

Mentors with relevant lived experience provide support and encouragement for children. They support children to engage in activities in the community. This helps children to develop links with community organisations and engage in leisure, cultural and faith-based activities.

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How well children are helped and protected

Staff understand the triggers for children’s behaviour. They update risk assessment plans with known vulnerabilities for each child. They set out what action should be taken to address children’s vulnerabilities and support them to understand and reduce the risk of harm. Staff work closely with specialist organisations to support children who are affected by trauma.

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How well children are helped and protected

Staff training is comprehensive and has a strong focus on keeping children safe. All staff understand how to respond if safeguarding concerns are raised and they have good links with safeguarding agencies.

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How well children are helped and protected

Children can access support outside usual office hours, including in an emergency. However, staff responses to children who go missing from home are inconsistent at weekends. As a result, there is a risk that appropriate action may not be taken early enough to safeguard children at weekends.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers

The service is managed effectively and efficiently by a permanent and suitably experienced registered service manager (RSM). The culture of the service is characterised by high expectations and aspiration for all children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers

The RSM ensures that plans for children comprehensively address their needs. The RSM has developed an effective independence programme, which includes a broad range of training resources for children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers

The RSM is ambitious for children and drives the achievement of important milestones, goals and permanence for their futures. The RSM has implemented effective processes for monitoring children’s progress and can demonstrate the positive impact that the placement has had on children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers

Staff receive regular and effective supervision that is focused on children’s experiences, needs, plans and feedback. Staff feel well supported and motivated. However, the RSM does not have any arrangements in place for their own supervision and support. Inspection report for supported accommodation provider: Salaam Care Limited 4 Staff and leaders receive effective support and challenge, including through team and management meetings. Team meetings are used creatively and include a short training and development session for staff.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers

Training, development and induction activities are effective and are focused on ensuring that the service can meet the specific needs of children. There are considerable opportunities for new staff to shadow more experienced colleagues during the induction period.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers

Leaders and managers make child-centred decisions, including considering the needs of other people already living at the accommodation. This helps children to settle in quickly and build relationships with other people living in their accommodation.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers

Leaders and managers operate the service in line with the statement of purpose which, along with the young person’s guide, is kept under review and clearly sets out the ethos and objectives of the service.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers

Feedback from agencies, such as health and social care, is positive. They said that the quality of the accommodation and support, and communication from staff was good. They also said that children were happy and settled in their homes.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers

The RSM does not consistently report all significant events that relate to the welfare and protection of children placed with the provider. They do not share the information with the regulator, which limits the oversight of safeguarding practice.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers

Leaders and managers recruit staff with relevant experience, skills and knowledge, who can meet the diverse needs of children. They follow safer recruitment processes to ensure that all reasonable checks are completed before staff support vulnerable children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers

The RSM is the only member of staff who has access to staff files. This limits leaders’ and managers’ effectiveness and practice when the RSM is not at work. Inspection report for supported accommodation provider: Salaam Care Limited 5

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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 Supported Accommodation (England) Regulations 2023 and the ‘Guide to the Supported Accommodation Regulations, including Quality Standards’. The registered person(s) must comply within the given timescales.

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Requirement Due date

The protection standard is that children are enabled to feel safe and that their needs are met.

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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

are protected from harm. (Regulation 5 (2)(a)(i))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the provider must take steps to ensure that there is a consistent approach to identifying when children are missing from home and taking steps to safeguard them. 3 January 2025

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must notify the CIECSS and any relevant person without delay if—

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Requirement Due date

a child is involved in or subject to, or is suspected of being involved in or subject to, sexual exploitation or child criminal exploitation;

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Requirement Due date

an incident requiring police involvement occurs in relation to a child and the registered person considers that incident to be serious;

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Requirement Due date

there is an allegation of abuse against the supported accommodation undertaking or a person working for it;

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Requirement Due date

concludes (in which case, the notification must include the outcome of the child protection enquiry); 3 January 2025 Inspection report for supported accommodation provider: Salaam Care Limited 6 there is an incident involving the use of a measure of restraint of a child;

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Requirement Due date

there is any other incident relating to a child which the registered person considers to be serious. (Regulation 27 (3)(a)(b)(c)(d)(e)(f))

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that suitable arrangements are in place for leaders to have access to staff files when the registered service manager is not present to minimise potential risks to children. (‘Guide to the Supported Accommodation Regulations, including Quality Standards’, page 51)  The registered person should ensure that they establish a procedure for effectively considering complaints made by children and keep records of actions taken to resolve such complaints. (‘Guide to the Supported Accommodation Regulations, including Quality Standards’, page 61)

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Information about this inspection

Inspectors have looked closely at the experiences and progress of children 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 Supported Accommodation (England) Regulations 2023. Inspection report for supported accommodation provider: Salaam Care Limited 7

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Supported accommodation provider details

Registered provider: Salaam Care Limited

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Supported accommodation provider details

Registered provider address: 45 South Mossley Hill Road, Liverpool L19 3PY

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Supported accommodation provider details

Registered service manager: Zahida Kayum

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Inspector

Steve James, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for supported accommodation provider: Salaam Care Limited 8 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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