Children's Home run by The Partnership of Care Today Children's Services in Stockport

Unique reference number SC008486 Inspection date 16/05/2013 Inspector Anthony Kyem Type of inspection Full Provision subtype Children's home

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Date of last inspection 19/12/2012 Website: www.ofsted.gov.uk

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Brief description of the service

The home is registered to provide care and accommodation for up to six young people with emotional and behavioural difficulties. The home is privately owned.

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The inspection judgements and what they mean

Outstanding : a service of exceptional quality that significantly exceeds minimum requirements Good : a service of high quality that exceeds minimum requirements Adequate : a service that only meets minimum requirements Inadequate : a service that does not meet minimum requirements

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Overall effectiveness

The overall effectiveness is judged to be good .

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Overall effectiveness

Young people benefit from a safe, nurturing and caring environment that promotes their positive progress across all aspects of their welfare, social, emotional and behavioural development. They benefit from good relationships with staff and they sustain their positive attachments. Young people's views about their care and their relationships with staff are consistently positive. Young people enjoy living at the home, where they are kept safe and enjoy a strong sense of personal safety.

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Overall effectiveness

Young people say, 'I've lived here for three years. It's great. I am the guy I am now because of them three years...This is the right kind of care home, with the right staff and the right rules. I love it.'

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Overall effectiveness

Another young person says, 'I've been here for about two months. It's really good. I have been in seven different placements but, only two have made me feel settled and this is one of them. I've told children's rights that I want to stay here…Why, because it's comfortable. It's a place I don’t mind coming back to even after an argument with staff.'

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Overall effectiveness

Care planning and practice is highly individualised to meet the needs of individual young people. Young people's views and opinions are regularly sought, to enable them to influence the running of the home. As a result, young people are able to contribute to decisions made about them.

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Overall effectiveness

Young people benefit from a home that is managed efficiently and effectively. The manager makes positive use of the home's monitoring activities to promote the quality of young people's care. They strive to achieve the best outcomes possible for young people. Young people make good progress at the home and they benefit from good quality care.

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Overall effectiveness

As a result of this inspection, there are two recommendations made for the home to consider. These relate to reviewing young people's risk assessments to ensure they are compatible with the home's joint protocol, and obtaining personal education plans for young people, who require them.

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Recommendations

To improve the quality and standards of care further the service should take account of the following recommendation(s):

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Recommendations

 ensure risk assessments in relation to young people going missing are compatible with the home's joint protocol and procedures for reporting children missing (NMS 5.6)  ensure a personal education plan is maintained for all young people. (NMS 8.4)

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Outcomes for children and young people

Young people benefit from good support to promote their positive self-view. They learn to view themselves positively. They are taught to value their own strengths and positive self-attributes. Young people learn to develop their emotional resilience so they have skills and coping strategies to deal with lives difficulties and challenges. Young people are well supported to overcome their difficulties so they can move forward and plan for the future. Young people benefit from good support to promote their physical, emotional and psychological well-being.

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Outcomes for children and young people

Young people are registered with doctors, dentists and opticians to promote their positive health. They have access to the services they need to meet their particular health needs. This includes access to therapy and support with their sexual health. Staff promote a healthy environment for young people. Young people are taught about key health issues so they take responsibility for own health. The home has obtained medical consent for young people so staff are clear about what health decisions and responsibilities are delegated to them. The arrangements for managing young people's medication are safe and effective. Medication is stored and administered safely.

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Outcomes for children and young people

Young people make good educational progress. They benefit from good attendance at school or alternative provision. They receive the encouragement and support they need to learn and achieve. The educational achievement of young people is good, taking into consideration both their attainment and progress in relation to their starting points. However, not all young people benefit from personal education plans to promote their educational needs. Young people are actively supported to make a positive contribution to the home and the wider community. They are engaged in enjoyable activities that provide them the opportunity to develop their particular interests. Young people benefit from the social, educational and developmental aspects of these experiences. Young people are supported to maintain contact their friends and families, so they can sustain their positive attachments.

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Outcomes for children and young people

Young people benefit from pathway plans to support their move to adult life. Young people learn to develop their life skills and they benefit good support, advice and guidance from staff, where necessary. This ensures young people have the right skills, to live independently. Young people are allowed to take risks, appropriate to their age and level of understanding to promote their growth and natural development. Eligible care leavers confirm they are confident and positive about their readiness for independence. As one young person puts it, 'I ready to be independent.'

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Quality of care

Young people benefit from constructive relationships with staff and they receive good support, to maintain their positive relationships. A social worker reports, 'As far as the placement goes, the placement's fine...She has developed some good relationships with staff. She talks fondly of some staff members.'

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Quality of care

Young people's views and opinions are regularly sought and young people feel listened too. Young people are able to influence the running of the home, because staff involve young people in decision making. Young people are familiar with the home's complaints procedure, so they know how to make a complaint. They have access to independent advice and support to ensure their rights are promoted effectively.

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Quality of care

Young people's needs arising from age, gender, race and ethnicity are positively addressed, both within care planning and daily living. This ensures young people's diverse needs are met. Young people's needs as individuals are identified clearly. They benefit from well-planned, highly personalised care that promotes their needs effectively.

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Quality of care

The home is kept in a good standard of decorative repair. Young people benefit from good quality, homely, comfortable living accommodation. A young person says, 'It’s a nice house with a relaxed atmosphere…It's about trust and that level of respect. At the end of the day it's my home and you don't break things in your own house.' The location of the home ensures young people benefit from good access to local amenities.

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Safeguarding children and young people

The service is good at keeping children and young people safe and feeling safe. Risks associated with young people's activities are generally identified clearly. This enables staff to recognise young people's particular vulnerabilities, so they can take appropriate action to address them. The use of clear risk assessment, and positive behaviour management strategies are applied consistently to keep young people safe. Consequently, young people receive good support and protection.

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Safeguarding children and young people

Young people are proactively protected from abuse, neglect, bullying and exploitation. Staff are trained in child protection so they know how to deal with allegations and report suspected abuse. Staff employed to care for young people are selected and vetted carefully to protect young people from unsuitable people.

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Safeguarding children and young people

Staff know how to promote young people's safe return if they are missing. They follow the home's protocols and procedures to ensure young people are located at the earliest opportunity. However, young people's risk assessments in relation to them going missing from the home, are not currently compatible with the local authority's joint protocol for recording risk, when reporting young people missing. This information is needed in order to categorise young people's particular vulnerabilities.

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Safeguarding children and young people

Young people are not engaged in anti-social behaviour or offending. They respond positively to the rewards systems used by staff to promote their positive behaviour. The use of restraint is exceptionally rare and sanctions are kept, to an absolute minimum. Positive reinforcement, incentive and reward is the preferred and chosen method of behaviour management. The existence of positive relationships between young people and staff contribute to the safe and effective management, of young people's behaviour.

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Safeguarding children and young people

Young people benefit from a safe and appropriately secure environment. There are positive arrangements in place to promote the safety of the premises. There are regular fire drills to ensure young people are familiar with, and know how to follow the home's emergency evacuation plans and procedures.

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Leadership and management

The leadership and management of the children's home are good .

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Leadership and management

There were no requirements or recommendations made at the last inspection. The home continues to operate, in accordance with the conditions of its registration. The home employs sufficient staff to meet the aims and objectives of its Statement of Purpose and the needs and numbers of young people. The home can demonstrate its capacity for continuing improvement, based on its track record and its previous inspection history.

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Leadership and management

Young people benefit from a home that is managed efficiently and effectively. The home employs a suitably qualified and experienced manager, who exercises effective leadership over the day-to-day operations of the home. As a result, the operations of the home are managed effectively. The home can demonstrate the positive impact it has made to young people's lives, and how their life chances and outcomes have improved overtime.

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Leadership and management

Written development plans promote the continuing improvement of the service. Positive use is made of the home's monitoring activities to promote the quality of young people's care. The manager regularly monitors the home's paperwork, which enables them to identify any emerging patterns or trends. Consequently, they can take action to address any areas of concern that are identified, as part of the home's monitoring activities. All significant events concerning the welfare of young people are notified to the appropriate authorities promptly to ensure appropriate action is taken to protect young people, if necessary.

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Leadership and management

Young people benefit from well-trained, suitably qualified and experienced staff. They receive continuity of care to enable them to sustain their positive attachments. Every effort is made to achieve continuity of care so that young people are familiar with the adults, who support them. Staff have access to good quality training to enable them to develop their skills and keep up to date with professional and practice developments.

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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 main strengths, any areas for improvement, including any breaches of regulation, and any failure to meet national minimum standards. The judgements included in the report are made against the Inspections of children’s homes – framework for inspection and the evaluation schedule for the inspection of children's homes.

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