Children's home run by Oldham Children’s Social Care in Oldham

Inspection report children's home: SC035339 1 SC035339 Registered provider: Oldham Children’s Social Care

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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 local authority. It provides care for up to four children who may have social or emotional difficulties. At the time of this inspection, three children were living in the home.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager registered with Ofsted in April 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 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: requires improvement to be good

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report children's home: SC035339 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

21/05/2024 Full Requires improvement to be good 03/05/2023 Full Requires improvement to be good 28/06/2022 Full Good 07/01/2020 Full Inadequate Inspection report children's home: SC035339 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

All three children spoke with the inspector.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Since the last inspection, two children have moved out in line with their plans and two children have moved into the home. The children who have moved out were supported by staff to live independently. These children still visit the home and keep in regular contact with staff. They are always made to feel welcome when they visit.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children benefit from positive relationships with the staff who support them. Staff provide children with continuity of care and provide them with consistency and stability in their lives. A child said, ‘I feel comfortable talking to the staff. They are kind and caring.’

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff promote the children’s positive experiences and progress. They provide children with well-planned, personalised care, that promotes their needs effectively. Staff support children to see their families and friends. As a result, they sustain their close relationships with the people who matter most to them.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

One child is attending school regularly. However, other children struggle with their educational attendance. Staff are not proactive enough in occupying children’s time by engaging them in alternative learning activities when they are not in education. This means that children lack positive routines to stimulate their opportunities for learning.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children’s interests are promoted. Staff provide enjoyable activities for children. Children have enjoyed a recent sightseeing trip to London and enjoyed a summer holiday abroad in Spain with the staff.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff promote the good health and emotional well-being of children. They ensure that the health needs of children are reliably met. They support children to attend their health appointments and encourage them to lead a healthy lifestyle.

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

Staff have a good understanding of the children’s needs and vulnerabilities. Staff prioritise the safety of children and remain alert to the risk of harm. They implement individualised risk management plans to reduce known risks to children to keep them safe from harm.

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

Children know how to make a complaint, and their rights are promoted effectively. There have been no complaints, allegations or restraints since the last inspection. A child said, ‘Staff help me to be more independent, and they show me that they care.’ Inspection report children's home: SC035339 4 Staff look for children if they are absent or go missing from the home. There is an effective response from staff to ensure that children are located quickly to secure their safe return. However, the children’s missing from home risk management plans do not highlight their assessed vulnerabilities or record the reporting procedures clearly, for staff to follow.

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

Staff maintain strong partnerships with safeguarding professionals. They ensure that significant incidents are reported to the appropriate authorities to protect children from harm. Staff employed are vetted and selected carefully to protect children from unsuitable individuals.

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

Health and safety matters are addressed effectively by staff to promote a safe environment for children. Overall, the home environment is of a good standard and quality. However, a child’s bedroom was found to be untidy and the room was full of clutter.

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

The annex building attached to the main home is not furnished or decorated to a good standard and needs new furniture and complete redecoration. In addition, the washing facilities and the kitchen in the annex are dated.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

An experienced registered manager is now employed at the home. This has resulted in the improved management oversight of the care provided for children. The manager is supported by an experienced deputy manager who deputises in the managers absence. This ensures that the home is managed efficiently and effectively.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

A stable and consistent staff team is now employed. This provides children with improved consistency and familiarity. Staff benefit from regular practice-related supervision sessions. This encourages reflective discussions to support staff’s practice and improved performance.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Team meetings take place on a regular basis. These are used by staff, leaders and managers to review the children’s progress and experiences. These meetings are also attended by a clinical psychologist who provides consultations with the team that supports their trauma informed practice.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff benefit from good quality training that helps them meet the specific needs of children. For example, staff are trained in Playfulness, Acceptance, Curiosity and Empathy (PACE) and have access to other forms of relevant training.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager makes effective use of the home’s independent monitoring activities to assess the strengths and weaknesses of the care provided. This allows leaders and managers to address any shortcomings ensuring continuous improvement.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager has conducted a thorough quality of care review which considers the children’s experiences and takes account of the views of professionals and stakeholders. Inspection report children's home: SC035339 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;

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Requirement Due date

help a child who is excluded from school, or who is of compulsory school age but not attending school, to access educational and training support throughout the period of exclusion or non-attendance and to return to school as soon as possible; and

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Requirement Due date

help each child to attend education or training in accordance with the expectations in the child’s relevant plans. (Regulation 8 (1) (2)(a)(i)(viii)(x))

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Requirement Due date

This was a requirement at the last inspection and is restated. 1 October 2025

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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; 1 October 2025 Inspection report children's home: SC035339 6 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; and

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Requirement Due date

take effective action whenever there is a serious concern about a child’s welfare. (Regulation 12 (1) (2)(a)(i)(iii)(v)(vi))

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Requirement Due date

This relates specifically to each child having an individualised risk management plan for staff to follow should children go missing from the home.

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Recommendation

 The registered person should ensure that the annex building is maintained, decorated and furnished to a high-quality standard for children. Additionally, the registered person should also ensure that children’s bedrooms are kept tidy and free from clutter. (‘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 children's home: SC035339 7

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Metropolitan House, Hobson Street, Oldham OL1 1HD

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Children’s home details

Responsible individual: Nicholas Whitbread

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Inspector

Anthony Kyem, Social Care Inspector Inspection report children's home: SC035339 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 children looked after, safeguarding and child protection.

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Inspector

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Inspector

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