Children's home run by ROC Family Time Ltd

Inspection report for children’s home: 2688209 1 Registered provider: ROC Family Time Ltd

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Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

The home is privately operated. It provides care for up to 2 children who may experience social and emotional difficulties and who may have learning disabilities, physical disabilities, and/or sensory impairment.

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Information about this children’s home

At the time of this inspection, 2 children were living at the home. The inspector spoke with both children.

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Information about this children’s home

There is no registered manager in post. An interim manager is overseeing the running of the home. They are not applying to register.

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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: 14 January 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: 2688209 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

14/01/2025 Full Good 18/09/2023 Full Good 28/11/2022 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: 2688209 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Some children have lived at the home for several years and over time, develop trusting relationships with staff. Children make good progress from their starting points. Staff adopt a sensitive and nurturing role to help children learn and develop. Through responsive care, children’s communication skills improve which helps them to gain confidence and resilience.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children make good progress in education. Staff support this progress by encouraging children to attend and advocating for them effectively. One child who has previously not engaged in education has returned to education full-time. This has helped the child to work towards individual targets and choose subjects they are interested in. This helps children to learn and increase their future life opportunities. Additionally, children take part in school clubs which increases their social skills and helps to develop friendships.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff regularly ask children about their views and wishes. Children are consulted when a new child moves into the home which helps them feel involved and prepare for changes. Children have a say about their home which includes decorating communal spaces which are warm and inviting.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children personalise their bedroom to their likes and interests by choosing paint colours and the decor. They are encouraged to care for their personal belongings and take pride in items they make, for example LEGO structures. This helps children to develop a sense of belonging in their home.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff understand the importance of family connections and help children to keep in touch with people who are important to them when it is safe to do so. These arrangements extend to family pets. Staff show genuine understanding of what matters most to children and children benefit from the comfort and reassurance from seeing their pets.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children’s moves in and out of the home are planned as much as possible. On one occasion, identified risks between children resulted in one child moving out swiftly. However, staff supported the child in their new home and celebrated a milestone birthday. This approach provided continuity for the child to reduce the potential challenges of an abrupt move.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

On one occasion, the previous manager’s poor assessment of a child’s suitability to live at the home resulted in the child moving in and out of the home in a short space of time. The responsible individual identified that staff could not meet the child’s complex needs and challenged the perceived lack of support from other professionals. However, the poor decision-making resulted in the child experiencing unnecessary moves in and out of the home. Inspection report for children’s home: 2688209 4

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

Children live in a safe environment where risks are known and understood. Children's plans are updated and reviewed regularly. They give staff clear directions on how to support children during difficult times. Children can identify staff they have a good relationship with and who they would go to if they needed help.

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

Children rarely go missing from home. When they do, there is a coordinated response. Staff take appropriate action and look for the children. This approach has resulted in children returning to a safe environment promptly.

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

Staff understand children’s needs and the potential risks these bring. Staff plan discussions with children about topics that are specific to their needs and risks. These educative conversations are effective and help children to understand potential risks and be safer.

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

Positive behaviour is promoted in the home and avoids the use of negative consequences. Staff use their relationships with children to respond to challenging behaviour and help children to manage their emotions. Staff recognise the triggers for children and use effective de-escalation strategies. As a result, staff rarely need to use physical holds to manage unsafe behaviour. Furthermore, staff help children learn from their experiences and incidents in the home have reduced.

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

Robust medication procedures are in place. Following one concern about medication practice, the responsible individual took prompt action to review procedures. This included introducing new medication templates, staff training, and increased audits. Additionally, measures have included a commissioned visit from medical professionals to further review procedures. This will help to ensure that safe practice of medication administration is embedded.

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

Allegations of harm are responded to appropriately. Leaders and managers follow safeguarding procedures and share information with safeguarding professionals. Additionally, when concerns were identified that one child may pose a risk to another child in the home, this was acted on swiftly and sensitively. However, leaders and managers do not always submit safeguarding notifications to Ofsted. This limits the regulators oversight to be reassured that children are safe.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Since the last inspection, there has been changes in the management arrangements of the home. This includes several interim management arrangements following the departure of the previous registered manager. The provider has taken proactive steps to recruit a new manager. The responsible individual has provided stability during this period of transition. She is enthusiastic about her role and has a clear vision for the service. Inspection report for children’s home: 2688209 5 The responsible individual and current interim manager are ambitious and committed to the children. They lead by example and inspire staff to be confident in their abilities and provide quality care to children. The interim manager is visible in the home and spends time with staff and children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff receive regular practice-related supervision that focusses on children’s needs as well as staff wellbeing and development. The interim manager is providing good levels of support to the staff but also challenges practice when necessary. Staff describe the interim manager as approachable and welcome the clear direction and stability she has brought to the team. The interim manager quality assures all staff supervisions, adding another layer of oversight and scrutiny and reassurance that staff are meeting children’s needs.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Team meetings are held regularly and are well attended. The interim manager uses these as a learning opportunity covering topics such as safety planning, policy updates, and safeguarding scenarios. This helps staff to improve their understanding of good practice. Staff describe working well as a team.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Feedback from professionals and family members is positive. Professionals also recognise the instability in staffing arrangements recently and the effect this has had on children. However, professionals also recognise the improvements in children feeling secure since the interim manager took over management responsibility.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Leaders and managers carry out monitoring and regular audits of children’s records and the home environment. However, children’s records do not include a delegated authority document. This means that the interim manager cannot be reassured that staff are following the child’s most up-to-date care plan; and staff do not have authority to provide care for children in certain circumstances.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The independent person visits the home on a regular basis. However, a lack of direct consultation with children, staff and relevant people undermines the visitor’s ability to be satisfied that children are cared for and safeguarded effectively. The report does not help staff take action or make changes that would benefit the children. Inspection report for children’s home: 2688209 6

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Statutory requirements

This section sets out the actions that the registered person 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 must comply within the given timescales.

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Requirement Due date

The care planning standard is that children—

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Requirement Due date

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

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Requirement Due date

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

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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

that children are admitted to the home only if their needs are within the range of needs of children for whom it is intended that the home is to provide care and accommodation, as set out in the home’s statement of purpose.

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Requirement Due date

(Regulation 14 (1)(a)(b) (2)(a)) 28 February 2026

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must notify HMCI and each other relevant person without delay if—

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Requirement Due date

an incident requiring police involvement occurs in relation to a child which the registered person considers to be serious;

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Requirement Due date

there is an allegation of abuse against the home or a person working there. (Regulation 40 (4)(b)(c)) 28 February 2026

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that each child’s placement plan includes permissions that their placing authority has delegated to the registered person. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards,’ page 30, paragraph 6.2)  The registered person should ensure that the independent person makes a rigorous and impartial assessment of the home’s arrangements for safeguarding and promoting the welfare of the children in the home’s care. In particular, the registered person should support the independent person to include consultation Inspection report for children’s home: 2688209 7 and feedback from parents, relatives, relevant people, and persons working at the home. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards,’ page 65, paragraph 15.5)

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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: 2688209 8

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: ROC Family Time Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Hope House, Burnhope, Newton Aycliffe, Durham DL5 7ER

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Inspector

Cat Makel, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2688209 9 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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Inspector

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