Children's Home run by Rochdale Borough Council in Rochdale

Inspection report for children’s home: SC034922 1 SC034922 Registered provider: Rochdale Borough Council Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

p.1

Information about this children’s home

This home is owned and managed by a local authority. It provides care for up to 4 children who may experience social and emotional difficulties.

p.1

Information about this children’s home

The manager registered with Ofsted in July 2021.

p.1

Information about this children’s home

At the time of this inspection, 3 children were living at the home. Two children spoke with the inspector about their experiences of living at the home.

p.1

Overall experiences and progress of

children and young people, taking into account

p.1

good

How well children and young people are helped and protected good

p.1

good

The effectiveness of leaders and managers good

p.1

good

The children’s home provides effective services that meet the requirements for good.

p.1

good

Overall judgement at last inspection: requires improvement to be good

p.1

good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children’s home: SC034922 2

p.1

Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

27/08/2025 Full Requires improvement to be good 11/03/2024 Full Good 21/03/2023 Full Good 19/10/2021 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: SC034922 3

p.2

Summary of findings

Children appear happy and settled in the home. Staff know the children’s health needs and their family situations and support children to have their voices heard. The manager and staff know how to keep children safe. They speak with genuine warmth and care about the children. This helps the children to feel increasingly safe and secure. Managers and staff have developed collaborative relationships with a range of professionals, and this promotes regular, effective communication that helps children to make progress and stay safe. Some areas of improvement are needed regarding updating staff training, ensuring that risk assessments are regularly updated with relevant information and ensuring that impact risk assessments contain the views of staff and children.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Since the last full inspection, 2 children have moved into the home. These moves were well planned. Staff supported the children and made them feel welcome. This helped them to settle quickly and feel at home.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The manager understands the importance of carefully considering the needs of new children moving into the home alongside children already living in the home. However, one child’s impact risk assessment did not include the views of the staff and the other child currently living at the home. This means that the needs of all children are not always considered before children move into the home.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children receive good levels of support from a committed staff team. Staff have a positive view of the children and work hard to engage with them. This helps children to develop positive relationships with staff and supports their progress.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children have access to specialist services and support to promote their physical and emotional wellbeing. They are encouraged and supported to attend routine health appointments. Appropriate arrangements are in place for the safe administration and management of medicines to promote the safety and wellbeing of children.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Not all children are routinely accessing education or employment. However, staff continue to encourage daily engagement in education with learning activities and educational trips. Managers and staff continue to escalate their concerns to promote children’s education and to ensure that identifying suitable school placements remains a priority.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children have good opportunities to develop independence skills, build on their existing abilities and take controlled risks. Children’s confidence and resilience are developed through these opportunities. Inspection report for children’s home: SC034922 4 Staff support children to spend time with their families and supervise this when necessary. This helps children to sustain relationships with people who are important to them.

p.3

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

Managers have not ensured that risk assessments are kept up to date or contain all the relevant information. For example, one risk assessment does not detail the significant circumstances around a child’s most recent missing-from-home episode. This means that the staff could miss important information needed to safeguard children.

p.4

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

There are clear and consistent boundaries in place for managing challenging behaviour. Although children may display behaviours that are difficult to manage, staff respond consistently and use the strength of their relationships with the children to manage these situations. As a result, staff have not needed to use physical restraint to manage children’s behaviour.

p.4

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

When children are not where they are expected to be, staff take appropriate action to locate them and ensure that they return home. Children are provided with an opportunity to speak with an independent person following missing-from-home episodes. Information is shared appropriately and is used to manage incidents and prevent children from going missing from home in the future.

p.4

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

Key-work sessions are tailored to the needs of the children. Topics covered show that areas of risk are discussed. This demonstrates that children are being helped to learn how to keep themselves safe.

p.4

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

Staff are vetted and assessed as suitable before any appointment is confirmed. These procedures promote the safety of children by preventing unsuitable adults from working with them.

p.4

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The home is managed by a suitably qualified and experienced manager. He is passionate about his role and aspires for children to achieve success in their lives. These beliefs and values are shared with staff, who work together to create a positive environment for children to live in.

p.4

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager is well supported by the head of care and a deputy manager who both share his vision for the standard of care provided to children. This strong management structure ensures that the home is achieving its stated aims and objectives.

p.4

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff morale is positive, and they say that they feel supported in their roles. There have been some recent changes in the composition of the staff team; however, a core group of staff remains, providing continuity of care. New staff are familiarised with their role and develop the required skills and competencies through induction processes and training. Inspection report for children’s home: SC034922 5 Not all staff training is up to date. For example, some staff members’ safeguarding and fire safety refresher training is overdue. This means that staff are not consistently updating their skills and knowledge.

p.4

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff supervision meetings are held regularly. Meetings are supportive and provide staff with opportunities to reflect on their practice and the children’s needs. Newly recruited staff receive more frequent supervision, which supports their understanding of their role and responsibilities.

p.5

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Team meetings are held regularly and focus on the progress children are making and what can be done to improve practice in the home. Managers use these meetings to drive the ethos of the home and improve staff’s knowledge, skills and understanding of their role.

p.5

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The staff and manager have established positive working relationships with a range of agencies and external professionals who are involved in children’s care. Staff work closely with teachers, social workers and parents. This ensures that appropriate support is in place to encourage children’s progress and maximise their potential. Inspection report for children’s home: SC034922 6

p.5

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.6

Requirement Due date

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

p.6

Requirement Due date

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

p.6

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. (Regulation 12 (1) (2)(a)(i))

p.6

Requirement Due date

This specifically relates to ensuring that risk assessments are accurate and contain all the relevant information in relation to risks. 5 August 2026

p.6

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.6

Requirement Due date

helps children aspire to fulfil their potential; and

p.6

Requirement Due date

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

p.6

Requirement Due date

ensure that staff have the experience, qualifications and skills to meet the needs of each child. (Regulation 13 (1)(a)(b) (2)(c))

p.6

Requirement Due date

This specifically relates to ensuring that staff training is kept up to date. 5 August 2026

p.6

Requirement Due date

The care planning standard is that children— 5 August 2026 Inspection report for children’s home: SC034922 7 receive effectively planned care in or through the children’s home. (Regulation 14 (1)(a)(b))

p.6

Requirement Due date

This specifically relates to ensuring that impact risk assessments include consultation with others as part of the assessment process.

p.7

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: SC034922 8

p.7

Children’s home details

Registered provider: Rochdale Borough Council

p.8

Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Number One Riverside, Smith Street, Rochdale OL16 1XU

p.8

Inspector

Dave Carrigan, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: SC034922 9 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.8

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.9

Inspector

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

p.9

Inspector

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

p.9