Children's Home run by Zen Care and Education Limited in Oldham

Inspection report for children’s home: 2775561 1 Registered provider: Zen Care and Education 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 small private provider. The home provides care for up to four children who may experience 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 home and manager registered with Ofsted in May 2024. This was the first inspection since registration.

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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: 2775561 2

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff provide children with a good quality of care. Children enjoy positive relationships with staff in the home and can identify trusted adults who they can speak to. Staff spend time developing their relationships with children and have a good understanding of their needs.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

All three children are currently facing barriers to accessing education. Staff have advocated for children to ensure that provision meets their individual needs. When children have chosen not to attend school or college, staff are committed to identifying alternative strategies to enable them to engage effectively in their learning. One child is consistently engaging in bespoke home tuition, which is considerable progress from their starting point.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children’s health needs are well understood by staff. One child has a specific health need that is managed sensitively by staff to ensure that the child feels able to access effective support. Children are educated on the importance of healthy lifestyles and encouraged to attend regular health checks.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

An in-house clinician supports staff to identify therapeutic-informed approaches that provide additional strategies to meet children’s care needs.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff recognise the importance of children maintaining their relationships with those who are important to them and facilitate children’s time with their family and friends. When children have experienced challenges in their relationships, staff have provided nurture and support to ensure that children’s well-being and safety are promoted.

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

Children have individual assessments to help staff understand their known behaviours and the triggers that can escalate these behaviours. Significant incidents are well recorded, with clear oversight from the registered manager. This ensures that any new risks for children are identified in a timely manner and strategies are developed to manage these.

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

Staff have the skills and knowledge to support children and de-escalate situations as required. This means that physical intervention has not been required.

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

Rewards are used frequently in the home as a way of identifying when children have managed difficult situations well or to recognise positive behaviour. Staff promote natural consequences to support children’s development and understanding of the impact of negative behaviour choices. Consequences are used only when necessary and in line with each child’s behaviour management plan.

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

There have been a significant number of incidents when children have been reported missing from the home. The registered manager has developed clear protocols which Inspection report for children’s home: 2775561 3 staff consistently follow to locate children and ensure their safety. Staff have encouraged children to share their views and feelings to identify any reasons why they may choose to go missing from the home. As a result, staff have been able to advocate for effective changes to children’s care plans which have led to a reduction in the number of incidents of children going missing from the home.

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

Children’s risk assessments consider all known areas of risk and are regularly reviewed by the registered manager. The assessments include actions for staff to reduce these risks, however, the identified strategies are not always specific or individual to children in all records. This has led to some inconsistent responses from the staff team.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The home is managed by an experienced registered manager who is child-focused and leads by example. She is supported in her role by a committed deputy manager. The registered manager and deputy manager are present and visible in the home and have good relationships with children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff have regular supervision with the registered manager or a senior staff member. Staff are actively encouraged to reflect on and develop their practice, with clear action plans in place for areas of development.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager supports staff to consistently attend a range of training and has sought subject-specific training based on the individual needs of the children in the home. Consequently, staff have the necessary skills to meet children’s needs effectively.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Regular team meetings take place for all staff, which are well attended. These sessions offer clear reflection on practice and encourage feedback and engagement from the team. This provides staff with clear updates on children’s needs, to inform their approaches.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager encourages regular communication with all adults involved in the support of the children. Professionals say that they have positive working relationships with the registered manager and the staff team. Staff regularly attend and contribute to care planning meetings for children. However, when care planning documents have not been received, the registered manager has not escalated this effectively with the local authority. As result, children’s case files and records are not consistently up to date. Inspection report for children’s home: 2775561 4

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Recommendations

 The registered person should escalate concerns to the placing authority, specifically to ensure that statutory documents are received in a timely manner. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 11, paragraph 2.3)  The registered person should ensure that staff continually and actively assess the risks to each child and the arrangements in place to protect them. Specifically, the registered person should ensure that all risk assessments are clear, provide guidance and are up to date. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 42, paragraph 9.5)

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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: 2775561 5

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Zen Care and Education Ltd

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Trafford House, Chester Road, Old Trafford M32 0RS

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Inspectors

Carrie Mayes, Social Care Inspector Justina Henry, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2775561 6 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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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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