Children's Home run by Fairfields House Support Services Limited in Tameside

Inspection report for children’s home: 2689909 1 Registered provider: Fairfields House Support Services Limited Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This home is privately owned and is registered to provide care for two children who may experience social and emotional difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

The home and the manager were registered with Ofsted in July 2024.

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Information about this children’s home

One child was living in the home at the time of the inspection.

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Overall experiences and progress of

children and young people, taking into account

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inadequate

How well children and young people are helped and protected inadequate

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inadequate

The effectiveness of leaders and managers inadequate

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inadequate

There are serious and/or widespread failures that mean children and young people are not protected or their welfare is not promoted or safeguarded and the care and experiences of children and young people are poor and they are not making progress.

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inadequate

Date of last inspection: not previously inspected

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inadequate

Overall judgement at last inspection: not applicable

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inadequate

Enforcement action since last inspection: not applicable Inspection report for children’s home: 2689909 2

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: inadequate

Serious shortfalls in the safeguarding practice and leadership and management of the home mean that outcomes for the child are poor in some areas, and they have not been safeguarded.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: inadequate

The child is cared for by a stable but inexperienced staff team. Staff are not provided with the necessary skills, knowledge and guidance to meet all of the child’s needs. The manager has not taken action to ensure that all of the child’s local authority plans have been received. As a result, the relevant risks for the child are unknown.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: inadequate

The child says that they are happy living in the home. Staff support the child to engage in hobbies and local youth groups. Staff recognise the child’s sporting abilities and promote their attendance at a local football club. Staff support the child in their own time by attending their football matches and training sessions. This demonstrates the staff’s commitment to the child.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: inadequate

Staff support the child to attend an educational placement following long periods of time of not attending. As a result, the child now attends a formal education provision. Social work professionals say that engagement with education is progress for the child. However, action has not been taken by the manager to obtain local authority education plans. This means that staff do not have access to up-to-date information in respect of the child’s educational needs.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: inadequate

The child’s physical health needs are met. Staff support the child to attend routine health appointments and sessions with the in-house psychologist. Staff benefit from regular consultations with the in-house psychologist that provide them with guidance on how to support the child’s emotional health needs.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: inadequate

Delays in maintenance work being undertaken in the home mean that repairs and redecoration are required in a number of areas of the home. As a result, the child is not provided with a comfortable or nurturing home environment. Furthermore, arrangements for staff’s sleeping arrangements include the use of a child’s bedroom.

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

Poor safeguarding practices in the home mean that the risks for the child have increased.

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

Staff do not understand all of the child’s risks and vulnerabilities. As a result, action has not been taken to safeguard the child in the home and community. Reporting of incidents is poor. Records do not demonstrate that staff take action to locate the child when the child is missing from the home or at risk of harming themself. Inspection report for children’s home: 2689909 3 The child’s records do not include all known or emerging risks. Plans lack guidance and clear strategies for staff to follow in order to safeguard the child and others. Arrangements are not in place for the child to spend time in the community safely. Strategies are not identified for staff to support the child following incidents of bullying and intimidation when spending time in the community or in the home. Furthermore, action has not been taken to safeguard others following allegations being made against the child.

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

Staff and managers do not understand their roles and responsibilities in keeping the child safe. As a result, a number of incidents have occurred when the child has had access to the home’s electronic devices to access inappropriate adult content.

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

Incidents of challenging behaviour are not managed well. Staff do not identify patterns in the child’s behaviour. As a result, incidents are responded to in isolation, and support is not identified for all of the child’s needs, such as self-harm, fire setting and harmful sexualised behaviour.

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

The recruitment of new staff is not safe. The provider has not explored the employment histories or references for all staff new to the home.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

The home is managed by a qualified and experienced manager. She is supported in her role by a deputy manager. However, changes to the senior leadership of the home mean that the manager has not been provided with consistent or sufficient support.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

Management oversight of the home and the care being provided to the child is poor. Shortfalls in staff practice are not consistently identified following incidents. When shortfalls are identified, the manager does not take appropriate action to rectify them with the staff team. As a result, the child has not been adequately safeguarded.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

The child’s records are not consistently reviewed or updated. They do not include all the relevant information for staff to follow. Action has not been taken to address staff shortfalls in reporting and recording. This means that there have been no improvements in accurately recording information.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

Staff say they feel supported in their roles, and they benefit from regular supervision. However, the manager has not taken action to ensure that the staff team has the knowledge and skills to meet the child’s needs. Training has not been completed by the staff in respect of a number of the child’s identified risks. This means that they do not have the level of understanding needed to meet all of the child’s needs.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

Information has not been consistently shared with the regulator, local authority social workers or other relevant professionals following serious safeguarding incidents or concerns. This means that action has not been taken to safeguard the child or others appropriately. Inspection report for children’s home: 2689909 4 The independent visitor visits the home on a monthly basis. However, recommendations and actions identified in reports are not addressed promptly by leaders and managers. Furthermore, the manager has not ensured that the home’s statement of purpose includes all the relevant information. Inspection report for children’s home: 2689909 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 Children’s Homes (England) Regulations 2015 and the ‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’. The registered person(s) must comply within the given timescales.

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Requirement Due date

*The protection of children standard is that children are protected from harm and enabled to keep themselves safe.

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to ensure—

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Requirement Due date

assess whether each child is at risk of harm, taking into account information in the child’s relevant plans, and, if necessary, make arrangements to reduce the risk of any harm to the child;

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Requirement Due date

help each child to understand how to keep safe;

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Requirement Due date

have the skills to identify and act upon signs that a child is at risk of harm;

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Requirement Due date

understand the roles and responsibilities in relation to protecting children that are assigned to them by the registered person;

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Requirement Due date

take effective action whenever there is a serious concern about a child’s welfare; and

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Requirement Due date

that the home’s day-to-day care is arranged and delivered so as to keep each child safe and to protect each child effectively from harm;

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Requirement Due date

that the premises used for the purposes of the home are located so that children are effectively safeguarded. (Regulation 12 (1) (2)(a)(i)(ii)(iii)(v)(vi)(b)(c))

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Requirement Due date

Specifically, the registered person must ensure that the child’s records include information in respect of all of the child’s risks and vulnerabilities; that plans include clear guidance for staff to follow to safeguard the child; that measures are in place to prevent the child from accessing the internet on an 13 January 2025 Inspection report for children’s home: 2689909 6 unsupervised basis and that the staff are provided with training that is relevant to the child’s risks and needs.

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Requirement Due date

*The leadership and management standard is that the registered person enables, inspires and leads a culture in relation to the children’s home that—

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Requirement Due date

helps children aspire to fulfil their potential; and

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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

ensure that staff have the experience, qualifications and skills to meet the needs of each child;

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Requirement Due date

ensure that the home’s workforce provides continuity of care to each child;

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Requirement Due date

understand the impact that the quality of care provided in the home is having on the progress and experiences of each child and use this understanding to inform the development of the quality of care provided in the home;

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Requirement Due date

use monitoring and review systems to make continuous improvements in the quality of care provided in the home. (Regulation 13 (1)(a)(b) (2)(c)(e)(f)(h))

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Requirement Due date

Specifically, the registered person must ensure that there is consistent oversight of the care being provided in the home and that any shortfalls in staff practice are identified and addressed. Furthermore, the registered person must ensure that the child’s records are reviewed and updated and that the staff team undergoes training relevant to the child’s needs. 13 January 2025

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must maintain records ("case records") for each child which—

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Requirement Due date

include the information and documents listed in Schedule 3 in relation to each child;

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Requirement Due date

are signed and dated by the author of each entry. (Regulation 36 (1)(a)(b)(c)) 27 January 2025 Inspection report for children’s home: 2689909 7 Specifically, the registered person must ensure that the child’s records are up to date and include all the relevant information following incidents.

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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

provide to children living in the home the physical necessities they need in order to live there comfortably;

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Requirement Due date

ensure that the premises used for the purposes of the home are designed and furnished so as to—

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Requirement Due date

enable each child to participate in the daily life of the home. (Regulation 6 (2)(b)(vii)(c)(i)(ii))

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Requirement Due date

Specifically, that the registered person ensures that the physical home environment is furnished and maintained to a good standard. 27 January 2025

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must recruit staff using recruitment procedures that are designed to ensure children’s safety.

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Requirement Due date

employ an individual to work at the children’s home

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Requirement Due date

if the individual satisfies the requirements in paragraph (3).

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Requirement Due date

the individual is of integrity and good character;

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Requirement Due date

the individual has the appropriate experience, qualification and skills for the work that the individual is to perform;

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Requirement Due date

the individual is mentally and physically fit for the purposes of the work that the individual is to perform; and

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Requirement Due date

full and satisfactory information is available in relation to the individual in respect of each of the matters in Schedule 2. 27 January 2025 Inspection report for children’s home: 2689909 8 The registered person may permit an individual to start work at the home despite the fact that the requirement in paragraph (3)(d) has not been met if—

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Requirement Due date

the registered person has taken all reasonable steps to obtain full information about each of the matters in Schedule 2 in respect of the individual, but the enquiries in relation to any of the matters in paragraphs 3 to 6 of Schedule 2 are incomplete;

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Requirement Due date

full and satisfactory information in respect of the individual has been obtained in relation to the matters in paragraphs 1 and 2 of Schedule 2;

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Requirement Due date

the registered person considers that the circumstances are exceptional; and

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Requirement Due date

the registered person ensures that the individual is appropriately supervised while carrying out the individual’s duties, pending receipt of any outstanding information on the matters in paragraphs 3 to 6 of Schedule 2, which is then considered satisfactory by the registered person.

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must take reasonable steps to ensure that any individual who is working at the home and who does not fall within paragraph (2)(a) and (b) is appropriately supervised while carrying out the individual’s duties. (Regulation 32 (1) (2)(a) (3)(a)(b)(c)(d) (7)(a)(b)(c)(d) (8))

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Requirement Due date

Specifically, the registered person must ensure that they obtain employment histories and references for all new staff working in the home.

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must notify HMCI and each other 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;

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Requirement Due date

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

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Requirement Due date

there is an allegation of abuse against the home or a person working there;

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Requirement Due date

a child protection enquiry involving a child — 27 January 2025 Inspection report for children’s home: 2689909 9 is instigated; or

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Requirement Due date

concludes (in which case, the notification must include the outcome of the child protection enquiry); or

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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 40 (4)(a)(b)(c)(d)(i)(ii)(e))

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Requirement Due date

Specifically, the registered person must ensure that all serious incidents in respect of the child are notified to the regulator.

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Requirement Due date

the privacy of children is appropriately protected;

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Requirement Due date

children can access all appropriate areas of the children’s home’s premises. (Regulation 21 (a)(b))

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Requirement Due date

Specifically, the registered person must ensure that children’s bedrooms are not used as staff sleep rooms. 27 January 2025

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Requirement Due date

In meeting the quality standards, the registered person must, and must ensure that staff—

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Requirement Due date

if the registered person considers, or staff consider, a placing authority’s or a relevant person’s performance or response to be inadequate in relation to their role, challenge the placing authority or the relevant person to seek to ensure that each child’s needs are met in accordance with the child’s relevant plans. (Regulation 5 (c))

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Requirement Due date

Specifically, the registered person must ensure that all local authority plans are obtained for the child and that concerns are escalated if these are not received in a timely manner. 27 January 2025

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must compile in relation to the children’s home a statement ("the statement of purpose") which covers the matters listed in Schedule 1.

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Requirement Due date

keep the statement of purpose under review and, where appropriate, revise it; and 27 January 2025 Inspection report for children’s home: 2689909 10 notify HMCI of any revisions and send HMCI a copy of the revised statement within 28 days of the revision. (Regulation 16 (1) (3)(a)(b))

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Requirement Due date

* These requirements are subject to a compliance notice.

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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: 2689909 11

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Fairfields House Support Services Limited

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Inspectors

Sally Croft, Social Care Inspector Claire Hobbs, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2689909 12 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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