Children's Home run by Prosperity Children’s Services Limited in Rochdale

Inspection report for children’s home: 2769098 1 Registered provider: Prosperity Childrens Services 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 operated by a private company. It provides care for up to 2 children who may experience social and emotional difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

At the time of the inspection, 2 children were living in the home. One young person had recently moved on from the home. During the inspection, both children spent time with the inspector, and the inspector spoke with the young person who had moved on from the home.

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Information about this children’s home

The registered manager post is vacant. An interim manager has been appointed and has applied to Ofsted to be the registered manager.

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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: good

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children’s home: 2769098 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

18/03/2025 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: 2769098 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The children have close relationships with staff and were relaxed in the home. Staff know the children well and are committed to offering them sensitive and nurturing care. One young person said that staff were ‘lovely’ and said that care offered by staff was ‘10 out of 10’. All professionals said that during their visits to the home, the children appeared relaxed and happy.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children can confidently share their views. Staff listen to children’s views, and this influences decisions about activities and their daily care. The children enjoy a variety of activities in line with their wishes including going to the zoo, playing pool, going horse riding and attending the gym. Furthermore, children are supported to have a say about their future care plan. This approach ensures that children have a say regarding important decisions in their life and helps them to develop social skills.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff support children to have their health needs met. At times when children refuse prescribed medication, staff encourage them and remind them of its importance. Staff also help children to talk to specialist health professionals to further understand their prescriptions. Staff gain support and guidance from the in-house therapist and external mental health services and they help children to access therapy in line with their wishes and feelings.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are making progress with their education. Staff have supported children to access private tuition and overcome any barriers that they may face. This has led to children gaining a college placement and future career opportunities.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff are committed to supporting children to develop their independence. They assist children to plan meals, cook, budget and shop for necessities. One professional supporting a young person said that the support offered by staff, has assisted the young person to be proud of their skills and move to semi-independent living.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Managers sensitively plan children’s moves into the home. When children are unable to visit the home prior to moving, the support from staff helps to reduce any anxieties that children may have. Staff also support children to have positive moves on from the home and maintain safe and suitable links for support.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff help children to spend time with people who are significant to them. Staff maintain contact with children when they are away from the home, being a continued source of support for the children and their families. These actions from staff help children to gain a sense of belonging. Inspection report for children’s home: 2769098 4

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

The children were observed to have close and trusted relationships with staff. The children can share any concerns with staff and systems are in place that support children if they wish to make a complaint. When a child was unable to recall how to make a formal complaint, the manager spent time with the child, helping them to understand and feel confident to raise any concerns.

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

Staff understand the risks to individual children. Risk assessments and plans are detailed. They provide staff with information about potential risks for children, any possible triggers, behaviours and actions for staff to take. The manager effectively uses risk assessments to identify patterns and implement any changes needed to better support children’s needs.

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

Staff offer children clear boundaries about safe and acceptable behaviour. Staff spend time talking with children to help them understand associated risks and behaviours. Staff focus on praising children for their achievements. The use of consequences is minimal and restorative in nature and are used to reduce risk for children.

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

Staff approaches prevent incidents from escalating and help toward keeping children safe. Staff have not needed to physically hold children and no child has gone missing from the home. However, should this happen, children have plans that provide staff with actions to take to keep the children safe.

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

Staff known what actions to take if they have concerns about staff practice. The manager has effective links with the children’s local authority designated officers and seeks advice appropriately. This supports multi-agency response to any concerns which helps keep children safe.

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

On one occasion, staff have not clearly recorded their response to an incident and have delayed sharing information with others. The manager provided assurances and clarity about the management of this incident, including the mitigation of risk for this child, specifically addressing online safety and safe and healthy relationships. However, shortfalls in practice were evident, which effected the timely oversight from the manager and other agencies.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager knows the children well, she is committed and has high aspirations for the children in her care. The manager understands the children’s plans and she advocates for them. Staff are equally committed and help to ensure that the children have positive experiences and live in a safe and nurturing environment.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager understands the home and uses detailed monitoring and reviewing systems that supports their oversight of quality of care for children. The manager has systems in place to seek feedback from significant others. Additionally, the provider has Inspection report for children’s home: 2769098 5 external auditing systems in place that help leaders and managers understand themes and develop the care offered to the children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The home is appropriately staffed by a team who feel valued and supported. Newly appointed staff receive inductions that assist their understanding of the children’s needs. Overall, staff benefit from receiving consistent, reflective supervision sessions. This provides staff with the opportunity to discuss the children’s needs and reflect on their own learning and development.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Leaders and managers ensure that regular team meetings take place which are well attended by staff. The reflective discussions and support offered to staff during these meetings helps improve the quality of care offered to the children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Leaders and managers are committed to staff development. The manager has detailed workforce development plans and works with other managers to research areas of development for staff. Staff have access to support that assist them to develop the necessary skills to meet the needs of the children. Additionally, they can access specialist support that can help them develop skills tailored to children’s individual needs.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager carries out assessments when considering the compatibility of children moving into the home. However, the manager has not had timely access to all updated information. Furthermore, assessments have not fully considered the needs of children already living in the home. The manager rectified this during the inspection to reduce any impact on the children. However, the manager has not ensured this was fully progressed in a timely manner prior to children being welcomed into the home. Inspection report for children’s home: 2769098 6

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that staff have the appropriate skills to recognise and be alert to signs that indicated children could be at risk, and clearly record any actions taken to mitigate any potential concerns for the children in their care. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 43, paragraph 9.12)  The registered person should ensure that staff are aware of their responsibilities to share information with the local authority when there is a potential significant event that could impact on a child’s welfare. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 42, paragraph 9.4)  The registered person should ensure that they have all relevant updated information regarding children they are welcoming into the home, so they can be confident that the home can meet the child’s needs. In addition, they should fully consider the needs of

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Recommendations

children already living in the home and identify any potential actions needed to mitigate any impact that the placement will have on the existing children. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 56, paragraph 11.4)

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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: 2769098 7

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Prosperity Childrens Services Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Unit 8, Venus House, Mercury Rise, Altham Business Park, Altham, Accrington BB5 5BY

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Inspector

Gina Lightfoot, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2769098 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 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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