Children's Home run by Brooks & Brooks Recruitment Ltd in Rochdale

Inspection report for children’s home: 2824118 1 Registered provider: Brooks and Brooks Recruitment Limited

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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 home is owned and managed by a private company. It provides care for one child who may experience social and emotional difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

At the time of this inspection, a child was living in the home.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager registered with Ofsted in February 2025.

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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

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: 2824118 2

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Since the home has opened, one child has moved in and then out of the home, and another child is now living at the home. Children move into the home in a planned way, which supports them to develop positive and trusting relationships with staff. The child currently living in the home has responded well to staff’s nurturing approach, and staff speak about the child with care and understanding.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff consistently support the child’s relationship with their family, where it is safe and appropriate to do so. Staff have taken the initiative to develop a positive working relationship with parents and maintained open and regular communication with families, ensuring that they are kept up to date and informed of any changes or progress. One parent said, ‘My experience of working with the staff was brilliant; I don’t think they could’ve done anything more to support my child.’

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The child currently living in the home has been supported to make decisions about their health care and has made progress with their basic health needs, such as visiting the dentist and maintaining their oral hygiene. Staff understand the child’s health needs well and involve them in conversations about their health to develop the child’s knowledge in line with their age and understanding.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff support the child to build and maintain friendships with their peers and encourages the child to take part in activities with other children in a safe environment. At the time of inspection, the child had recently celebrated a birthday and was able to have friends and family celebrate with them in the home.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The child lives in a homely environment, and their bedroom reflects their interests and hobbies. The child spends time in all areas of the home. However, some areas of the house appear worn and require some improvements to maintain the overall feel of the home.

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

Staff know and understand the risks to the child well and respond to incidents with a unified approach, which the child has responded well to. Risk assessments are up to date and relevant and provide clear strategies for staff to follow, which supports clear and consistent boundaries for the child.

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

Allegations are well managed, and staff know how to respond when a child has made a disclosure. The manager follows safeguarding procedure and shares appropriately with safeguarding professionals. When advised to, the manager investigates concerns and shares the outcome with placing social workers and safeguarding professionals. The child is supported throughout the process and is informed of any outcome and how decisions are reached. Inspection report for children’s home: 2824118 3 There are fun incentives in place to support positive behaviours, which are in line with the child’s interests to promote participation and appeal. Staff include the child’s family in celebrating their achievements, which the child enjoys and has responded well to.

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

Consequences are rarely used, but when they are, they are largely ineffective. Staff are not spoken to in the identified timeframe of a consequence being given, and the effectiveness of the consequence is not always recorded in the manager’s evaluation.

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

Incidents resulting in physical intervention are rare and are proportionate when used. However, the recording of the intervention used is not always detailed enough to support an effective evaluation, and this was not identified as an area for development in the manager’s review or oversight.

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

When a child has been reported as missing from the home, staff have followed the missing-from-home risk assessment and always look for the child to help them return safely. However, there was often a lack of professional curiosity and exploration around a child’s absence from the home, resulting in their placement ending. The manager did not identify or address any learning with staff, and this was a missed opportunity to help the child remain safely in the home and develop staff understanding.

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

The home is managed by a suitably qualified and experienced manager, who also manages another home in the organisation. She says this can be challenging to balance at times and tries to share her time equally between the two homes. Rosters reflect a consistent and stable staff team but do not reflect the actual hours worked in the home by the manager.

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

Staff say that they enjoy coming into work and feel supported by the manager and leadership team. Staff say that there is an open and honest culture in the home and that they support one another like a family.

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

Staff receive regular training, which they say they find helpful and interesting. However, there is a significant gap in specific training which is relevant to an identified need of the child. As a result, staff have not had the adequate training they require to ensure that the child’s individual needs are being met by the staff team.

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

Team meetings and individual supervisions take place regularly but are not always child focused, reflective or practice related.

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

The independent visitor provides a monthly evaluation of the quality of care given to children, and they set appropriate recommendations which support staff development. However, they do not regularly obtain feedback from children, staff or children’s families in order to provide additional scrutiny of the quality of care afforded to children. Inspection report for children’s home: 2824118 4

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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

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

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Requirement Due date

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

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

demonstrate that practice in the home is informed and improved by taking into account and acting on—

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Requirement Due date

research and developments in relation to the ways in which the needs of children are best met; and

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Requirement Due date

feedback on the experiences of children, including complaints received; 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) (2)(a)(c)(e)(f)(g)(i)(ii)(h)) 24 October 2025 Inspection report for children’s home: 2824118 5 In particular, leaders and managers must ensure that staff are equipped with the right training and skills to meet a child’s identified need.

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Requirement Due date

Managers must provide reflective evaluation following incidents and use this to develop staff practice.

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Requirement Due date

Unplanned endings should be reflected on by managers and the staff team to identify and action any learning and practice development.

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Requirement Due date

within 24 hours of the use of a measure of control, discipline or restraint in relation to a child in the home, a record is made which includes—

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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. (Regulation 35 (3)(a)(vii)(b)(i)) 24 October 2025

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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)) 24 October 2025

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Requirement Due date

When the independent person is carrying out a visit, the registered person must help the independent person—

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Requirement Due date

if they consent, to interview in private such of the children, their parents, relatives and persons working at the home as the independent person requires. (Regulation 44 (2)(a)) 24 October 2025

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Requirement Due date

maintain in the home the records in Schedule 4. (Regulation 37 (2)(a)) 24 October 2025 Inspection report for children’s home: 2824118 6 In particular, the manager’s actual hours worked in the home must be included on the roster.

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Recommendation

 The registered person should ensure that the home décor is well maintained to reflect that of a warm and nurturing family environment. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 15, paragraph 13.9)

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Information about this inspection

The inspector has 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: 2824118 7

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Brooks and Brooks Recruitment Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Hilton Jones Hollinwood Business Centre, Albert Street, Oldham OL8 3QL

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Children’s home details

Responsible individual: Junior Brandford

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Inspector

Justina Henry, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2824118 8 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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Inspector

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Inspector

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Inspector

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