Children's home run by Manchester City Council

Inspection report for children's home: 1251073 1 Registered provider: Manchester City Council

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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 local authority, providing care for children who may experience social and emotional difficulties. It provides short stays for up to four children and an emergency placement for one child at weekends and bank holidays. The home also provides an outreach service.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager registered with Ofsted in 2017.

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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: 1251073 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

20/06/2023 Full Good 14/03/2023 Full Requires improvement to be good 22/02/2022 Full Outstanding 06/02/2020 Full Outstanding Inspection report for children's home: 1251073 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff provide effective support to children and their families. This is done through a combination of outreach work, planned time in the home and overnight stays. Since the last inspection, 38 children have been supported in the home, accessing the crisis intervention bed, and 21 children have had planned overnight stays at the home. There were no children in the home at the time of the inspection.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are cared for by an experienced and consistent staff team. Many staff working at the home have been there for several years. Staff help children and families to develop and sustain the skills necessary to work through their problems and maintain their relationships. Staff understand and are sensitive to children’s complex family dynamics. Feedback recorded from one child said, ‘Staff do not judge my family.’

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff try to make time with children meaningful and fun. They plan activities for children both inside and away from the home. Staff encourage activities that are good for children’s physical and mental well-being, such as going for walks or to the gym. Staff try to do activities that can be replicated by children and families in their own homes.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff support children to learn life skills, to help them to increase their independence in line with their age and ability. This includes developing skills such as washing, travelling independently and cooking.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Since the last inspection, a speech and language coordinator, based at this home, has joined the staff team. They have supported staff to develop communication profiles that outline how to interact with children well. Staff say that the direct-work sessions they do with children are meaningful.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children know how to make a complaint. When complaints have been made, managers have taken appropriate action to resolve the issues and ensure that outcomes are swiftly shared with children. This means that children know their views are taken seriously.

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

The staff have a clear understanding of their roles and responsibilities to keep children safe. Staff know children’s and families’ individual circumstances well and are alert to any changes. Risk management plans are in place and are updated with new information to ensure they remain current.

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

Staff have the skills to manage and de-escalate challenging situations when needed. When they identify situations that may cause stress for children, they adapt their approach to help them. As a result, they have not needed to use physical intervention since the last inspection. When incidents do occur, staff receive a debrief with managers and are encouraged to reflect on their practice. Inspection report for children's home: 1251073 4 The home offers an emergency placement for one child at weekends and bank holidays. Managers maintain effective oversight of this process and all staff are clear on the admissions procedure before this placement is used. Managers consider if they can meet the needs of the child being referred alongside the needs of other children having planned stays, putting in place additional support if needed.

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

When children are missing, staff actively search for them and encourage them to return. Although managers have shared relevant information with other agencies, they have not always notified Ofsted of such concerns.

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

Incident records evidence managerial oversight, however, this oversight lacks scrutiny. For example, on one occasion, managers did not identify that they should contact the local authority designated officer when it would have been appropriate to do so.

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

Managers maintain communication with relevant professionals to ensure that the home is in a suitable location for the children who stay there. However, inconsistent recording does not reflect all that managers do to ensure they are aware of any risks associated with the location of the home.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The home is managed by a suitably qualified and experienced registered manager. She is supported by two capable and dedicated assistant managers.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff receive regular supervision. Staff say that they feel supported in their roles, and they see value in the work they do. As a result, the staff team is stable, which enables children and their families to build positive relationships with individual staff members.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Team meetings take place regularly and are well attended by staff. Meetings encourage staff to reflect on their practice and the work undertaken with children and families.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff have access to a range of training to support them in their roles. Detailed training in key areas has been delivered by partner agencies in the authority. This ensures that the agencies work together effectively to manage children’s risks and keep them safe.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Managers regularly audit work undertaken and seek feedback from staff to improve practice. Since the last inspection, a new independent visitor has also supported the development of the home.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Shortfalls were identified in the safe recruitment of staff. Discrepancies in employment dates for staff new to this home had not been identified before this inspection. While this has not impacted on children, these processes are not robust.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager has submitted a quality of care report. However, this report would benefit from being reviewed to ensure it supports managers to drive forward improvements in the home. Inspection report for children's home: 1251073 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 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

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

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that there is effective oversight and scrutiny of incident records, including any further actions that may be required. 13 March 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

full and satisfactory information is available in relation to the individual in respect of each of the matters in Schedule 2. (Regulation 32 (1) (3)(d)) 13 March 2025

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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

an incident requiring police involvement occurs in relation to a child which the registered person considers to be serious. (Regulation 40 (4)(b)) 13 March 2025

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Recommendation

 The registered person should undertake a review that focuses on the quality of the care provided by the home, the experiences of children staying there and the impact Inspection report for children's home: 1251073 6 the care is having on outcomes and improvements for these children. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 64, paragraph 15.2)

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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: 1251073 7

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Manchester City Council

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Town Hall Extension, Manchester M2 5DB

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Inspector

Genevieve O’Reilly, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children's home: 1251073 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 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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