Children's Home run by Rochdale Borough Council in Rochdale

Inspection report for children’s home: SC034851 1 SC034851 Registered provider: Rochdale Borough Council

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Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

A local authority operates this home. The home is registered to provide care for up to five children who may have social and emotional difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

Two children were living in this home at the time of the inspection.

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Information about this children’s home

An interim manager is in place who is not yet registered with Ofsted.

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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 requires improvement to be 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: SC034851 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

07/05/2024 Full Good 05/07/2023 Full Good 07/06/2022 Full Inadequate 21/02/2022 Full Requires improvement to be good Inspection report for children’s home: SC034851 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children experience warm and nurturing care from staff who are committed to supporting them through complex and often challenging circumstances. Staff help children maintain positive relationships with their families. This helps maintain their sense of belonging and identity.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Advocacy for individual children is clear. Staff invited an independent reviewing officer to visit a child and accessed independent advocacy for them when they wanted support to influence their care plan.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Transitions are managed positively. Two children have moved out of the home, back to family or to semi-independence after long-term placements. The moves were planned and well supported. Staff have maintained contact with the children to support continuity in relationships.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff show strong commitment, resilience and dedication in caring for children with complex needs and behaviours. This has helped to ensure that children have been able to experience stability and consistency in care.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children have fun with staff. They go to the gym and take part in other community activities. They have had holidays away with staff and more are planned for the summer.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

One child’s school attendance has declined significantly, which will affect their academic achievement and the opportunity to socialise with their peers. Staff are collaborating with the child’s school to develop supportive measures to help improve attendance. This has not yet been effective.

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

Children are protected from harm because staff identify and manage known risks to children. Social workers and an independent reviewing officer say that staff work well with external professionals and children.

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

Risks are well understood and clearly documented. Staff receive training that is specific to the needs of the children, including managing self-harm and other complex behaviours. Staff also benefit from regular input and support from child and adolescent mental health services, who offer consultation and give staff the opportunity to reflect.

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

The designated safeguarding officer confirmed that allegations have been managed appropriately. Staff are clear about their roles and responsibilities relating to the whistle- blowing policy. This ensures that children and staff are protected from potential harm. Inspection report for children’s home: SC034851 4 Staff ensure high levels of supervision to keep children safe and protected from harm. When children pose a risk to themselves, staff work with healthcare professionals to keep children safe. Since the last inspection there have been more use of physical interventions, some of which have been sustained. These holds have been to keep children safe. Children are offered the opportunity to talk to the manager following incidents so that they can reflect on what has happened. However, inconsistency in the recording and follow-up after the use of restraint reduces the opportunity to learn from incidents and improve practice.

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

Children have been exposed to situations when other children have been upset. This has been distressing to children. Staff have sometimes not been able to give the attention they would wish to children as they have had to focus on safeguarding incidents.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

The home does not have a registered manager in post. An interim manager is in place. It is anticipated that a new permanent manager will start working at the home soon. The changes have had an impact on the staff team, some of whom have said the changes in the management team have left them feeling ‘rudderless’ and with a lack of clear direction. Staff have expressed concerns about not feeling fully equipped to manage the complex behaviours some children present with.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

Leaders and managers show a clear commitment to improving outcomes for children. There has been sustained effort to secure appropriate next steps for children where it has been identified that this home cannot fully meet their needs. This has included regular engagement with commissioners to identify suitable placements. This shows determination to ensure children’s long-term needs are prioritised.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

Families and professionals say they have strong and effective communication with both the staff team and the manager. Staff also say they feel supported by the manager, particularly in relation to managing incidents and responding to challenging behaviour.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

The manager has provided regular supervision to staff and has started to put in place new systems to support with organisation and consistency. It will take time for these ideas to embed and influence staff practice and morale. Inspection report for children’s home: SC034851 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 education standard is that children make measurable progress towards achieving their educational potential and are helped to do so.

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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

help each child to achieve the child’s education and training targets, as recorded in the child’s relevant plans; support each child’s learning and development, including helping the child to develop independent study skills and, where appropriate, helping the child to complete independent study;

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Requirement Due date

understand the barriers to learning that each child may face and take appropriate action to help the child to overcome any such barriers;

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Requirement Due date

help each child to understand the importance and value of education, learning, training and employment. (Regulation 8 (1) (2)(a)(i)(ii)(iii)(iv))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, that staff understand any barriers to education and support children to attend regularly. 27 May 2025

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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— 27 May 2025 Inspection report for children’s home: SC034851 6 lead and manage the home in a way that is consistent with the approach and ethos, and delivers the outcomes, set out in the home’s statement of purpose;

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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

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

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Requirement Due date

In particular, that incidents are evaluated with scrutiny, taking into consideration any learning outcomes that can be implemented in children’s risk management plans or to support the development of staff.

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Requirement Due date

The manager must ensure that staff offer consistency of care to children and receive appropriate training to support them to meet children’s needs.

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Requirement Due date

the effectiveness and any consequences of the use of the measure;

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Requirement Due date

within 48 hours of the use of the measure, the registered person, or a person who is authorised by the registered person to do so ("the authorised person")—

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Requirement Due date

has spoken to the user about the measure; and

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Requirement Due date

has signed the record to confirm it is accurate; and

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Requirement Due date

within 5 days of the use of the measure, the registered person or the authorised person adds to the record confirmation that they have spoken to the child about the measure. (Regulation 35 (3)(a)(vi)(b)(i)(ii)(c))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, ensure that incidents of restraint are evaluated with scrutiny, that staff involved in the restraint have the opportunity for a debrief, and consider any learning outcomes that can be implemented in children’s risk management plans or to support the development of staff. 27 May 2025 Inspection report for children’s home: SC034851 7

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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: SC034851 8

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Rochdale Borough Council

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Rochdale Metropolitan Borough Council, Number One Riverside, Smith Street, Rochdale OL16 1XL

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Inspector

Cathy Wilkins, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: SC034851 9 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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