Children's Home run by The Together Trust in Stockport

Unique reference number SC025739 Inspection date 13/03/2013 Inspector Mandy Williams Type of inspection Interim Provision subtype Children's home

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Date of last inspection 16/10/2012 Website: www.ofsted.gov.uk

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Brief description of the service

The home is owned and operated by a private organisation. It is registered to provide care and accommodation for up to four children and young people. The young people may have emotional and/or behavioural difficulties or learning disabilities.

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The inspection judgements and what they mean

Good progress The children’s home has demonstrated continued improvement in quality of care and outcomes for children and young people and where appropriate has addressed all requirements and the large majority of recommendations that were raised at the previous inspection. Satisfactory progress The children’s home has maintained quality of care and outcomes for children and young people and where appropriate has addressed all requirements and the majority of recommendations that were raised at the previous inspection. Inadequate progress The children’s home has failed to address one or more requirements and/or has not met the majority of recommendations and/or the quality of care and outcomes for children and young people have declined since the last full inspection.

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Progress

Since their previous inspection the service is judged to be making good progress .

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Progress

At the last full inspection in October 2012, the overall effectiveness of the home was judged to be good. At that time, Ofsted recommended that the provider review their procedures in relation to rewards and sanctions. This issue has now been addressed by the home.

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Progress

Young people now benefit from clear individualised incentive plans. Their targets are clear and achievable. Young people's targets are subject to regular review and are focussed on their presenting behaviours. Young people have responded well to this and have been proud of their achievements.

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Progress

The type of sanction imposed by the home has also been subject to review. The type of sanction given now relates to the incident for which it was imposed. For example: damage to the games console resulted in not being allowed to play on the machine for a day; poor behaviour in the car resulted in a short term ban on being transported in the car; and the breaking of crockery resulted in the task of going to purchase new items. There is no longer a reliance on monetary based consequences. This helps young people appreciate that there are implications to their actions that have a direct affect. Young people feel that the sanctions now imposed are fair and reasonable.

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Progress

Since the last inspection much of the home has been redecorated. This includes all the young people's bedrooms that have been personalised for them. This has resulted in a reduction in destructive behaviours from some young people, who are learning to respect and appreciate their personal living space. The home has also completed the decoration and furnishing of their 'chillax' room. This is a space for young people to relax and enjoy activities such as a foot massage or nail painting. Young people were closely involved in the development of this project, choosing items to furnish it as well as fund raising to provide a stock of items for the room.

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Progress

The participation of young people is strong in the home and young people regularly attend the organisation's children's forum. They are also involved in the recruitment of staff for the service. This helps young people feel that their views are important and enables them to be involved in decision making in the home.

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Progress

The number of incidents requiring a physical intervention in the home has continued to reduce since the last inspection. The Registered Manager monitors this with the help of graphs that clearly demonstrate the reductions. Staff are good at learning from previous incidents. The Registered Manager has sought the advice of the organisation's psychologist when particular triggers appear to be apparent for young people. This has helped staff adopt a different approach when needing to deal with a similar situation in the future. This has been effective in reducing the need to implement a restraint and in helping young people to control their behaviours.

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Progress

The Registered Manager remains alert to the changing needs of the young people in the home and is keen to develop the service accordingly. No specific requirements or recommendations resulted from this interim inspection.

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About this inspection

The purpose of this inspection is to assure children and young people, parents, the public, local authorities and government of the quality and standard of the service provided. The inspection was carried out under the Care Standards Act 2000 to assess the effectiveness of the service and to consider how well it complies with the relevant regulations and meets the national minimum standards.

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About this inspection

The report details the progress made by the provider since the last full inspection, identifies any further strengths, any areas for improvement and makes judgements as outlined in the Inspection of children’s homes – framework for inspection.

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