Children's Home run by Stoke-on-Trent City Council in Stoke-on-Trent

Unique reference number SC381085 Inspector Dave Carrigan Type of inspection Interim Provision subtype Children's home

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Registered person Stoke on Trent City Council Registered person address City of Stoke-on-Trent, Civic Centre Glebe Street STOKE-ON-TRENT ST4 1HH Responsible individual Susan Hammersley Registered manager Linda Jane Dent Date of last inspection 15/05/2014 2 of 5 Inspection date 11/03/2015

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Previous inspection adequate Enforcement action since last inspection none

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This inspection

This home was judged adequate at the last full inspection. At this interim inspection Ofsted judge that it has improved effectiveness .

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This inspection

Since the last inspection there has been one change to the young people living in the home. One young person has moved to independent living and there has been one new admission.

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This inspection

Young people continue to live in the main in a comfortable and pleasant home. This helps them to feel secure and promotes their sense of well-being. There are some maintenance issues relating to one of the bedrooms. The issues undermine the otherwise good quality of the physical environment.

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This inspection

Attendance at school and work based placements for young people are good. Staff work in partnership with education departments and other relevant professionals to ensure that young people have every opportunity to reach their full potential.

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This inspection

There is a low level of behaviour management in the home. Records show that there has not been an episode of physical intervention in over twelve months. This is a consequence of positive interventions at an early stage that avoids behaviour escalating.

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This inspection

Consultation with young people is not always well recorded. The young persons ‘bubble’ document does not fully reflect the extent of work undertaken by staff to promote the young person’s development. This means that, when young people review their records, now or in the future, the progress they have made is not immediately apparent.

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This inspection

There was previously an increase in the number of reported missing from care incidents. The home have reviewed this and put measures in place. As a result, the numbers of missing from care incidents has reduced significantly. The home ensures that it maintains close and effective working with other relevant agencies and 3 of 5 regularly reviews risk assessments to manage and alleviate the risks associated with missing from care.

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This inspection

The home promotes and develops effective partnerships with other agencies including the police, youth offending service and placing authorities. An education provider has commented ‘the home is very good at partnership working, they regularly ring up asking for feedback’. There is evidence that young people are better protected as a result of this collaborative approach.

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This inspection

The home has a stable staff team with one member of staff recruited since the last inspection. Vetting and checks of new staff are robust and appropriate. A range of training opportunities are available to staff, the management team use an electronic training matrix to assist in the monitoring of this.

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This inspection

At the last full inspection three requirements and two recommendations were made. These have all been addressed, as a result, children are better protected; the home’s administration systems have been updated and timely reviews of care are now taking place. The recommendations have been implemented, as a result, young people are being prepared for independence and records’ regarding young people’s contacts have been updated. 4 of 5

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Information about this children’s home

This children's home is registered to provide care and accommodation for two young people of either gender with emotional and/or behavioural difficulties. The home is operated by the local authority.

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

15/05/2014 Full adequate 18/02/2014 Interim inadequate progress 12/12/2013 Full good 27/03/2013 Interim good progress

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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 that the home provides a comfortable and homely environment and is well maintained and decorated (NMS 10.3)  ensure that staff support and encourage the child to reflect on and understand their history, according to their age and understanding, and to keep appropriate memorabilia of their time in the placement. (NMS 22.6) Website: www.ofsted.gov.uk

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Recommendations

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What inspection judgements mean

At the interim inspections we make a judgement on whether the home has improved in effectiveness, sustained effectiveness, or declined in effectiveness since the previous full inspection. This is in line with the Inspection of children’s homes: framework for inspection.

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Information 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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Information 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 framework of inspection for children's homes.

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