Children's home run by Wigan Council in Wigan

Inspection report for children's home: SC040266 1 SC040266 Registered provider: Wigan Council

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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 children’s home is operated by a local authority and is registered to provide care for up to three children who may have social and/or emotional difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

At the time of the inspection, three children were living at the home.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager registered with Ofsted in August 2023.

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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: 21 November 2023

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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: SC040266 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

21/11/2023 Full Good 08/06/2021 Full Inadequate 12/03/2020 Interim Sustained effectiveness 11/06/2019 Full Requires improvement to be good Inspection report for children's home: SC040266 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Three children live at the home. Since the last inspection, one child has moved out of the home and two children have moved into the home. Two children spoke to the inspector during the inspection. All the children are making good progress from their individual starting points.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The manager and staff have created a nurturing and homely environment. The home is decorated in a welcoming colour scheme. Staff support children to personalise their bedrooms and encourage them to decorate if they wish. However, the upstairs doors do not fit with the welcoming environment. A recommendation is made to address this.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

All children are making progress in education or employment. Staff support children to receive education. If there are any barriers to learning, staff advocate for children to ensure children’s plans reflect their current needs. Some children who did not previously attend an educational setting now attend regularly, and one child is being enrolled on an apprenticeship.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff support children using a therapeutic approach. This helps staff to understand the children’s previous experiences and to provide care and support in line with their individual needs. For one child who rarely left their bedroom, they now go out into the community with staff regularly. However, one child spends a considerable amount of time outside of the home or in their bedroom. A recommendation is made to improve this situation.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

There are clear health plans in place for the children. All children are registered with universal health services. Staff meet children’s health needs. Staff ensure that if any health needs arise, they support children to attend appointments and complete referrals to external services if necessary. Children also have access to mental health clinical support. When children do not want to engage, staff use the support of the clinician to help them improve the quality of care they provide for children.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff support children to prepare them for independent living. One child has an area of the home, which contains a bedroom, en-suite bathroom, kitchenette, and a small seating area. This helps children prepare for adult life.

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

Risk assessments and behaviour support plans include clear strategies to manage children’s risks and vulnerabilities. Staff know what to do to reduce the risk of harm to children. Incidents in the home have been reduced significantly as a result.

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

The use of physical restraint has not been used since the last inspection. This demonstrates positive relationships between the children and staff. Inspection report for children's home: SC040266 4 Children’s plans include clear strategies for staff to follow in practice to deescalate any incidents. All staff are trained in the use of restraint if required.

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

Staff help children to understand situations when they may be at risk. When incidents occur, staff talk to children and educate them in areas such as online safety and healthy relationships. Strategies are included in children’s plans to reduce risk.

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

The use of positive praise and encouragement supports children to understand their behaviour. Staff reinforce a consistent message to children and instil boundaries. This supports children’s understanding of positive behaviour and expectations.

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

Children rarely go missing from home. When children do go missing, staff follow children’s individual plans, including actively searching for them and contacting relevant professionals. Records are detailed and include all steps staff take to support children to return home safely. This helps the manager monitor staff practice so staff can keep children safe.

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

The manager ensures that all people who work with children are checked before they work in the home. Safer recruitment processes are followed, which means that only suitable adults care for children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

An experienced registered manager leads the home. A deputy manager supports him. The registered manager knows the children well, and he is passionate about providing a good level of care for them.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

There have been changes to the staff team since the last inspection. Leaders and managers have plans in place to recruit more staff. Staff from other homes in the authority work at this home. The manager ensures that the same staff work with children, so children receive consistent care.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

All staff complete an induction that includes training specific to the individual needs of the children. All staff members are currently receiving training in the therapeutic PACE model of care. Staff are in the process of embedding this into their practice. This has contributed to the reduction of incidents in the home and the progress children are making.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Feedback from other professionals is positive about the quality-of-care staff provide for children. There is strong partnership working with external professionals involved in the children’s care.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Supervision records for some staff were not available at the time of the inspection. Therefore, the registered manager could not demonstrate that staff receive supervision in line with regulation. This could impact on the manager’s oversight of staff development and practice. A requirement is made to reflect this shortfall. Inspection report for children's home: SC040266 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 registered person must ensure that all employees—

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Requirement Due date

receive practice-related supervision by a person with appropriate experience. (Regulation 33 (4)(b)) 4 March 2025

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Recommendations

 The responsible person should ensure that the development of safe, stable, and secure relationships with staff in the home is central to the ethos of the home and support the development of secure attachments that, where appropriate, persist over time. In particular, staff should ensure that the child is supported to develop positive relationships with the staff team and is supported to take part in day-to-day living in the home. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards,’ page 39, paragraph 8.11)  The responsible person should ensure that a record of supervision is kept for staff, including the manager. The record should provide evidence that supervision is being delivered in line with regulation 33(4)(b). (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards,’ page 61, paragraph 13.3)  The responsible person should ensure that the home is a nurturing and supportive

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Recommendations

environment that meets the needs of the children and is a homely, domestic environment. The children’s home must comply with relevant health and safety legislations; however, in doing so, the home should seek, as far as possible, to maintain a domestic rather than ‘institutional’ impression. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards,’ page 15, paragraph 3.9)

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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: SC040266 6

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Wigan Metropolitan Borough Council

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Town Hall, Library Street, Wigan WN1 1YN

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Inspector

Nicola Rutherford, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children's home: SC040266 7 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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