Children's Home run by Dalepeak Limited in Oldham

Inspection report for children’s home: SC005553 1 SC005553 Registered provider: Dalepeak Limited Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

p.1

Information about this children’s home

This children’s home is operated by a private organisation. The home provides care for up to four children with learning disabilities.

p.1

Information about this children’s home

At the time of the inspection, there were two children living at the home. One child was spoken to during the inspection.

p.1

Information about this children’s home

The home registered with Ofsted in June 1999. The manager was registered with Ofsted in September 2010.

p.1

Overall experiences and progress of

children and young people, taking into account

p.1

requires improvement to be good

How well children and young people are helped and protected requires improvement to be good

p.1

requires improvement to be good

The effectiveness of leaders and managers requires improvement to be good

p.1

requires improvement to be good

The children’s home is not yet delivering good help and care for children and young people. However, there are no serious or widespread failures that result in their welfare not being safeguarded or promoted.

p.1

requires improvement to be good

Overall judgement at last inspection: good

p.1

requires improvement to be good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children’s home: SC005553 2

p.1

Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

11/03/2025 Full Good 06/02/2024 Full Good 14/03/2023 Full Good 08/02/2022 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: SC005553 3

p.2

improvement to be good

The overall progress and experiences of children are impacted by shortfalls in safeguarding practices and management oversight.

p.3

improvement to be good

One child’s social worker and an education professional reported that a child wished to go away on a specific trip. However, staff could not take the child away for this trip. This response could impact on the child feeling listened to by those adults who care for him.

p.3

improvement to be good

Staff use well-embedded communication strategies, including the use of PECS (Picture Exchange Communication System) and PBS (Positive Behaviour Support) with children. These approaches are tailored to children’s individual needs and contribute to improved engagement with children. This improves children’s overall emotional well-being.

p.3

improvement to be good

Children make good progress in education. Staff maintain relationships with educational professionals and education providers. Staff focus on promoting children’s attendance in school and their academic achievements. This helps children work towards their educational goals. Staff monitor children’s educational outcomes. Staff celebrate children’s progress.

p.3

improvement to be good

Staff ensure that children’s health needs are met. Children have access to appropriate healthcare services, and staff are proactive in supporting appointments, medication routines and specialist support if required. This ensures that children’s physical and emotional health is prioritised.

p.3

improvement to be good

Safeguarding practice is not consistent. Staff do not consistently follow relevant policies and procedures when children make allegations in relation to staff. Staff do not demonstrate professional curiosity. On some occasions, staff do not escalate concerns appropriately. This could impact on staff’s ability to keep children safe from potential harm.

p.3

improvement to be good

In one instance, a member of staff failed to disclose or follow protocol when an allegation was made against a child. Therefore, concerns were not responded to in a timely manner.

p.3

improvement to be good

The home does not use physical restraint, and this is a positive aspect of practice. Staff manage incidents when children are in crisis through de-escalation techniques and nurturing relationships. This promotes a safe and supportive environment for children and young people, where their dignity and emotional well-being are respected. Inspection report for children’s home: SC005553 4 Children do not go missing from home. This demonstrates that children are settled living at home.

p.3

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

Most safeguarding incidents are managed effectively. However, on two occasions, management oversight was poor. There was limited action taken. This compromises the ability of staff to respond appropriately to risks.

p.4

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

The absence of consistent management has led to delays in addressing safeguarding matters. This undermines staff’s ability to ensure children’s well-being and safety.

p.4

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

The registered manager does not use team meetings effectively to ensure that staff receive up-to-date and relevant information. Communication systems lack consistency, and important updates are not always shared across the staff team. As a result, staff do not always have the knowledge they need to respond appropriately to children’s needs or emerging risks.

p.4

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

Staff receive regular supervision. These sessions provide opportunities for reflection, professional development and discussion of practice. Supervision is used to support staff’s well-being. This contributes to a stable and consistent approach to meeting children’s needs. However, some elements of supervision records are duplicated across staff. This undermines the effectiveness of individual professional development.

p.4

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

During the inspection, it was noted that two of the three children have reached adulthood while residing at the children’s home. Staff could not provide a clear plan regarding a child that has moved out of the home. Therefore, staff could not demonstrate that the child experienced a positive end to his time living at the home. Inspection report for children’s home: SC005553 5

p.4

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.

p.5

Requirement Due date

The protection of children standard is that children are protected from harm and enabled to keep themselves safe.

p.5

Requirement Due date

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

p.5

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;

p.5

Requirement Due date

help each child to understand how to keep safe;

p.5

Requirement Due date

have the skills to identify and act upon signs that a child is at risk of harm;

p.5

Requirement Due date

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

p.5

Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person must ensure that when safeguarding incidents are raised, the safeguarding policy is followed and concerns are investigated thoroughly. 8 December 2025

p.5

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—

p.5

Requirement Due date

helps children aspire to fulfil their potential; and

p.5

Requirement Due date

In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to— 8 December 2025 Inspection report for children’s home: SC005553 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;

p.5

Requirement Due date

ensure that staff work as a team where appropriate;

p.6

Requirement Due date

ensure that staff have the experience, qualifications and skills to meet the needs of each child;

p.6

Requirement Due date

ensure that the home has sufficient staff to provide care for each child;

p.6

Requirement Due date

ensure that the home’s workforce provides continuity of care to each child. (Regulation 13 (1)(a)(b) (2)(a)(b)(c)(d)(e))

p.6

Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person must ensure that changes in risk assessments, staff practice or needs of the child are shared with the staff in a timely manner.

p.6

Requirement Due date

The children’s views, wishes and feelings standard is that children receive care from staff who—

p.6

Requirement Due date

develop positive relationships with them;

p.6

Requirement Due date

take their views, wishes and feelings into account in relation to matters affecting the children’s care and welfare and their lives.

p.6

Requirement Due date

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

p.6

Requirement Due date

ascertain and consider each child’s views, wishes and feelings, and balance these against what they judge to be in the child’s best interests when making decisions about the child’s care and welfare;

p.6

Requirement Due date

help each child to express views, wishes and feelings;

p.6

Requirement Due date

help each child to understand how the child’s views, wishes and feelings have been taken into account and give the child reasons for decisions in relation to the child;

p.6

Requirement Due date

regularly consult children, and seek their feedback, about the 8 December 2025 Inspection report for children’s home: SC005553 7 quality of the home’s care;

p.6

Requirement Due date

help each child to understand how the child’s privacy will be respected and the circumstances when it may have to be limited;

p.7

Requirement Due date

help each child to prepare for any review of the child’s relevant plans and to make the child’s views, wishes and feelings known for the purposes of that review; and

p.7

Requirement Due date

make each child aware of and, if necessary, remind them of each of the matters in sub-paragraph (d)(i) to (iii);

p.7

Requirement Due date

is enabled to provide feedback to, and raise issues with, a relevant person about the support and services that the child receives;

p.7

Requirement Due date

has access to the home’s children’s guide, and the home’s complaints procedure, when the child’s placement in the home is agreed and throughout the child’s stay in the home; and

p.7

Requirement Due date

is given appropriate advocacy support. (Regulation 7 (1)(a)(b)(c) (2)(a)(i)(ii)(iii)(iv)(v)(vi)(vii)(b)(i)(ii)(iii))

p.7

Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person must consider a child’s wishes and feelings when planning activities or holidays.

p.7

Requirement Due date

The care planning standard is that children—

p.7

Requirement Due date

receive effectively planned care in or through the children’s home; and

p.7

Requirement Due date

have a positive experience of arriving at or moving on from the home.

p.7

Requirement Due date

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

p.7

Requirement Due date

that the child’s placing authority is contacted, and a review of that child’s relevant plans is requested, if—

p.7

Requirement Due date

the registered person considers that the child is at risk of harm or has concerns that the care provided for the child is 8 December 2025 Inspection report for children’s home: SC005553 8 inadequate to meet the child’s needs;

p.7

Requirement Due date

the child is, or has been, persistently absent from the home without permission; or

p.8

Requirement Due date

the child requests a review of the child’s relevant plans. (Regulation 14 (1)(a)(b) (2)(e)(i)(ii)(iii))

p.8

Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person must ensure that they provide care ‘wholly and mainly’ for children. The registered person must ensure that a regular review of is considered to continue to meet children’s ongoing needs.

p.8

Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that the quality of care review is evaluative and contains feedback from wider stakeholders. The review should enable the registered person to identify areas of strength and possible weakness in the home’s care, which will be captured in the written report. The report should clearly identify any actions required for the next six months of delivery within the home and how those actions will be addressed. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 65, paragraphs 15.2 and 15.4)  The registered person should ensure that staff have an opportunity to reflect on their practice during individual supervision sessions. This should be recorded, as appropriate, on the staff supervision record. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 39, paragraph 8.15)

p.8

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: SC005553 9

p.8

Children’s home details

Registered provider address: 60 School Lane, Bamber Bridge, Preston PR5 6QE

p.9

Inspector

James Meeks, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: SC005553 10 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.

p.9

Inspector

If you would like a copy of this document in a different format, such as large print or Braille, please telephone 0300 123 1231, or email enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk . You may reuse this information (not including logos) free of charge in any format or medium, under the terms of the Open Government Licence. To view this licence, visit www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence , write to the Information Policy Team, The National Archives, Kew, London TW9 4DU, or email: psi@nationalarchives.gsi.gov.uk .

p.10

Inspector

Interested in our work? You can subscribe to our monthly newsletter for more information and updates: http://eepurl.com/iTrDn .

p.10

Inspector

T: 0300 123 1231 Textphone: 0161 618 8524 E: enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk W: www.gov.uk/ofsted

p.10