Children's home run by Salford City Council in Salford

Inspection report for children’s home: SC040511 1 SC040511

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Registered provider: Salford 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 a support service provided by the local authority alongside their outreach programme.

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Information about this children’s home

The home is registered to provide care for up to six children who may experience social and emotional difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

The home’s statement of purpose states that they provide short-term care to children and can also provide emergency care.

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Information about this children’s home

At the time of the inspection, there were four children living at the home.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager was registered with Ofsted in September 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

Date of last inspection: 12 February 2025

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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: SC040511 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

12/02/2025 Full Good 20/09/2023 Full Good 24/05/2022 Full Good 25/11/2021 Interim Improved effectiveness Inspection report for children’s home: SC040511 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff build positive and trusting relationships with children. They support children to increase their ability to form and sustain relationships and build emotional resilience. This helps children to make progress in the short time they are at the home and enables them to experience a positive ending to their time at the home.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Assessments are completed prior to children moving into the home. This ensures that there is a child-centred approach to assessing children’s needs, that children are suitable to live together and that staff have the skills to meet the needs of individual children. Children who are new to the home are always welcomed sensitively. When children move into the home in an emergency, staff do all they can before the move to address any anxieties that children may have about moving to a new home without preparation.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Due to the nature of the service and children being on short-term placements, it is not always possible for moves on from the home to be planned in advance. However, staff do support children to move to their new homes in the best possible way, and this is done in consideration of their individual circumstances and with sensitivity towards their needs.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are provided with a children’s guide on their arrival. This has been adapted to suit children’s ages and abilities. However, there is not enough information in the guide to help children understand how to make a complaint or to let them know who the children’s commissioner is.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children’s health needs are met. When children require health appointments, staff work with the in-house nurses to ensure that children have access to the resources they need, such as dentist, opticians or doctors, and children are encouraged to attend any outstanding medical appointments.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are encouraged to join in activities and interact positively with each other during their time at the home. They go to the local Youth Zone, cinema and park, and they also play games and watch films in the home. The activities are often community based to support children to feel a sense of belonging and to encourage them to maintain their local links for when they move on from the home.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children spend time with staff to talk about things that are important to them. These sessions are meaningful, and child focused and are used to ensure that children can explore their emotions and to help them prepare for upcoming events. They also support children to explore and celebrate their heritage. This helps children to develop a sense of their own identity.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The home is warm and welcoming, and children have had an input into the decorating of the home and garden. However, children do not have independent access to their own Inspection report for children’s home: SC040511 4 personal spaces. Their bedroom doors are locked when they are not in them, requiring children to rely on adults to access their bedrooms.

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

When children have raised complaints or concerns, these have been taken seriously, and suitable action has been taken. Leaders and managers have ensured that children’s welfare is a priority throughout. They have notified relevant professionals and acted in line with safeguarding procedures. Children are notified of the outcome of their complaints.

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

Children’s support plans and risk assessments are detailed documents, which are frequently updated with new information as staff get to know children and learn more about them. These documents include clear guidance and strategies to help staff provide consistent care in line with children’s identified risks and behaviours. Children are encouraged to contribute to these plans, and their voices are heard throughout.

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

When children have been missing from the home, staff take suitable action to search for them and support them to return home as quickly as possible. Children are supported to have a return home interview, and staff show professional curiosity to understand the reasons they have been missing and where they have been and who with. Staff work with relevant professionals, such as the police and the local missing-from-home team, to support children when they are away from the home.

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

When there have been occasions where the children have caused harm to themselves, staff have responded sensitively. They have provided first aid and emotional support. Staff seek support from external professionals when needed, such as children and adolescent mental health services (CAMHS) and in-house specialist nurses.

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

When incidents have taken place in the home, there has been a robust and proactive response by staff, who have ensured that children’s welfare is promoted throughout. Staff have implemented strategies to reduce risk, and the manager has been proactive in considering and planning for any future challenges.

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

There are systems in place for the safer recruitment of staff. However, these systems have not identified some shortfalls in recruitment checks, where some references and employment history are not confirmed.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

There is a registered manager, who is supported by a team of experienced staff who all share the same vision and aspirations for what they want to achieve for children and for the home.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff enjoy working at the home and feel valued and supported. There is a positive ethos in the home, and the staff team aspire to improve the lives of the children they care for. Inspection report for children’s home: SC040511 5 Staff have clear roles and responsibilities and have a shared sense of ownership and accountability. They work well as a team, and managers lead by example.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Leaders and the manager have effective systems in place for the monitoring and oversight of the home, which means that they are able to identify any areas for improvement and drive developments in the home.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff are suitably trained and qualified. Staff have completed a range of training to provide them with the knowledge and skills to care for children and to understand children’s individual complex needs.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Team meetings are held often, are well attended and staff understand their value. They are used to share updates and information about children and as a development opportunity for staff. External professionals often attend these meetings to deliver training workshops to staff. When necessary, specialist health providers, such as CAMHS, speech and language professionals and specialist nurses, also attend the meetings in order to share information about their input into children’s care.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Supervision sessions take place regularly and are used as a supportive tool for staff. However, they are not always practice related or child focused. This is a missed opportunity for staff to reflect on how their practice impacts children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager and staff are committed to working together with parents, placing authorities, specialist health advisers and schools. These positive and effective working relationships make sure that children consistently receive a high level of care and ensure that there is a wraparound approach to supporting children’s progress in line with their individual targets and goals. Inspection report for children’s home: SC040511 6

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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 registered person must recruit staff using recruitment procedures that are designed to ensure children’s safety.

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Requirement Due date

employ an individual to work at the children’s home; or

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Requirement Due date

if the individual satisfies the requirements in paragraph (3).

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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) (2)(a) (3)(d)) 15 January 2025

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that all employees—

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Requirement Due date

undertake appropriate continuing professional development;

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Requirement Due date

receive practice-related supervision by a person with appropriate experience. (Regulation 33 (4)(a)(b)) 15 January 2025

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Requirement Due date

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

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Requirement Due date

develop positive relationships with them;

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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.

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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

ensure that staff— 15 January 2025 Inspection report for children’s home: SC040511 7 ensure that each child—

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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

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Requirement Due date

keep the children’s guide and the home’s complaints procedure under review and seek children’s comments before revising either document;

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Requirement Due date

ensure that an explanation is given to each child as soon as reasonably practicable after the child’s arrival about—

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Requirement Due date

how to make a complaint or representations in relation to the home or the care the child receives and how any such complaint or representations will be dealt with. (Regulation 7 (1)(a)(b)(c) (2)(a)(b)(ii)(c)(d)(i)(ii))

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Requirement Due date

Specifically, the registered person must ensure that the children’s guide includes clear guidance about how to make a complaint and that it also includes details of the children’s commissioner.

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Recommendation

 The registered person should ensure that children have unrestricted access to their own bedrooms unless there are specific reasons why this would not meet a child’s need. (‘Guide to the Children’s Home Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 15, paragraph 3.10)

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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: SC040511 8

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Salford City Council, City Treasurer, Civic Centre, Chorley Road, Swinton M27 5AW

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Inspectors

Katie Tomlinson, Social Care Inspector Vicky Byron, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: SC040511 9 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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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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