Children's home in Stockport

Good

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

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The children's home provision is good because:

 Young people make very good progress from their starting points, in particular to attending school regularly and achieving their targets.

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The children's home provision is good because:

 The leadership and management team are effective and set high standards of care that provides a homely experience for young people.

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The children's home provision is good because:

 Incidents of offending behaviour and missing from home, have significantly reduced, this means young people are safer.

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The children's home provision is good because:

 The staff have good relationships with partner agencies and young people’s family members. This provides consistency for them to settle in the home and to remain in touch with those important to them.

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The children's home provision is good because:

 Young people participate in a range of activities, have part time jobs and learn new skills and experiences to set them up for adulthood.

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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 wishes and views of young people, following consultation meetings, are promptly responded to. (The Guide 4.10)

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Information about this children's home

The children's home is one of a number of homes operated by a private organisation. It is registered to provide care and accommodation for up to three young people with emotional and/or behavioural difficulties.

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Recent inspection history

Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

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Recent inspection history

14/10/2015 CH - Interim sustained effectiveness

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Recent inspection history

11/06/2014 CH - Interim declined in effectiveness

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good

Young people living here have emotional and behavioural needs as a result of past early childhood trauma and abuse. The stable, experienced and qualified staff team support and guide them to move forward in their lives, for example, young people are now attending school for the first time in many years and making good progress. Moreover, they are no longer involved in offending behaviour or missing from home which means they are safer. A social worker commented: ‘The staff go above and beyond, this is the most settled he has ever been, he's made good progress in education and behaviour.’

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good

Young people and the staff have very good relationships and their well-being is at the heart of care practice, irrespective of the challenges they present. They participate in a range of activities together including; gymnasium, motorsport events, cinema, cooking, holidays, meals out and theme parks. The staff know young people very well and fully understand their behaviours and needs. They listen to their views and thoughts through daily living, key working sessions and consultation meetings. Young people do however raise their unhappiness with allowances for personal items. They also raised this to the owners of the company during a consultation event in November 2015. They have not yet had a response to ensure their views are listened to and responded to promptly.

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good

There are good relationships between young people's parents and partner agencies, sharing information and working together to make a difference to their lives. Contact arrangements are fully supported by the staff, and young people appreciate this. They make direct arrangements with parents and transport children back to their home town, which is distance away. They have a good understanding of family history and relationships and work proactively with the local authority to make sure contact is safe and enjoyable.

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good

Challenging behaviour is well managed by the staff through various strategies, such as a reward system, praise and encouragement. Furthermore, all the young people attend the company school and work towards Friday motorbike riding for positive behaviour all week. This is successful in the main and provides an incentive for them to take responsibility for their actions. With the help of staff they continue to learn how to regulate their emotions and behaviours. At times behaviour can be extreme and the police are called to assist appropriately.

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good

Each young person's day-to-day health and wellbeing needs are met. The staff work successfully with a qualified psychologist and medical professionals to ensure they attend appointments. A young person has been to the dentist for the first time which is a real achievement. Staff also receive regular first aid and administration of medication training to ensure their competence further.

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good

Young people are new to the home since the last full inspection and impact risk assessments and thorough planning are part of the process to enable them to be involved in decisions and feel part of home life. Also, booklets and guides are in place and clearly explain the routines of the home including, pocket money and safety.

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good

Young people feel safe and protected living here and staff have a good understanding of their duties in ensuring their safety. Additionally, vulnerabilities and risks are identified within written assessments. Since living at the home there has been a significant reduction in offending behaviour and self-harming behaviour. This demonstrates the effective and safe care of young people.

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good

There are detailed written policies and procedures in place to promote the protection of young people. They rarely go missing from home. There has been five episodes of children going missing since March 2015, which reflects a positive approach by staff in reducing these behaviours and good safeguarding practice.

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good

Situations where restraint may be used are clear in terms of preventing harm or damage. Records are kept of these incidents and young people and staff are supported following a restraint. There are minimal restraints at this home; each is proportionate and only carried out for a short period of time.

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good

The staff work with young people to educate them in keeping themselves safe. For example, they have guidance from them on using the internet and social media safely. They also have individual key working sessions with time away from the group to talk about safe relationships and emotions and feelings. These help build confidence and resilience.

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good

The manager has developed good relationships with the police to share information and the police community support officer (PCSO) also visits the home informally, to discuss any specific concerns with young people. This further promotes their safety and awareness of risks.

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good

The staff are all recruited and selected through a process that takes account of safe recruitment practice to promote the protection of young people. This includes checks with the disclosure and barring service, checks with previous employers and taking up references. This helps to safeguard them against unsafe adults.

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good

The responsible individual, registered manager and deputy manager make up the management team. The Registered Manager has been in position for approximately three years and knows the service very well. They all have management qualifications and rich experience in working with young people. They have high aspirations for them and a warm and nurturing culture is prevalent within the home. This filters through to the staff.

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good

The manager has recently been registered for another small home in the company. She intends to share her time between the two homes and work closely with the deputy managers and senior managers to ensure the quality of care is achieved.

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good

All significant events are notified to the relevant bodies and action is taken to ensure young people’s safety and protection. A complaint has been received from the community and the complaint procedure has been followed to ensure a robust response and resolution. The complaint investigation report is due to conclude shortly.

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good

The quality of relationships between the staff, parents and partner agencies are very good. They report very high levels of satisfaction with the care and progress of young people and the professionalism of staff. They comment: ‘I am very happy, the staff are brilliant, I can see the difference in him. Another person stated: ‘I can’t fault it, communication is excellent.

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good

Quality audit systems are in place and provide an overview of care practice. For example, case management meetings are held weekly to discuss each young person’s progress and experience. Additionally, independent monitoring is robust and actions set are welcomed to learn and improve. A development plan is in place and sets the direction for the home; such as refurbishment of the home and further training specific to young people’s needs. The one recommendation from the last inspection has been addressed as education needs are fully met.

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good

Staff spoken to enjoy their work and are highly complimentary of the management team. They are well trained, supervised and appraised to ensure their care practice meets the standards set. A diverse team of differing backgrounds and age ranges is beneficial to young people who like to do certain activities with particular staff members.

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What the inspection judgements mean

The experiences and progress of children and young people are at the centre of the inspection. Inspectors will use their professional judgement to determine the weight and significance of their findings in this respect. The judgements included in the report are made against Inspection of children's homes: framework for inspection.

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What the inspection judgements mean

An outstanding children's home provides highly effective services that contribute to significantly improved outcomes for children and young people who need help and protection and care. Their progress exceeds expectations and is sustained over time. A good children's home provides effective services that help, protect and care for children and young people and have their welfare safeguarded and promoted. In a children's home that requires improvement , there are no widespread or serious failures that create or leave children being harmed or at risk of harm. The welfare of looked after children is safeguarded and promoted. Minimum requirements are in place, however, the children's home is not yet delivering good protection, help and care for children and young people. A children's home that is inadequate is providing services where there are widespread or serious failures that create or leave children and young people being

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What the inspection judgements mean

harmed or at risk of harm or result in children looked after not having their welfare safeguarded and promoted.

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Information about this inspection

Inspectors have looked closely at the experiences and progress of children and young people living in the children's home. Inspectors considered the quality of work and the difference adults make to the lives of children and young people. They read case files, watched how professional staff work with children, young people and each other and discussed the effectiveness of help and care given to children and young people. Wherever possible, they talked to children, young people and their families. In addition the inspectors have tried to understand what the children's home knows about how well it is performing, how well it is doing and what difference it is making for the children and young people who it is trying to help, protect and look after. This 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 Children's

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Information about this inspection

Homes (England) Regulations 2015 and the Guide to the children's homes regulations including the quality standards. the guidance raising concerns and making complaints about Ofsted, which is available from Ofsted's website: www.gov.uk/government/organisations/ofsted . If you would like Ofsted to send you a copy of the guidance, please telephone 0300123 4234, or email enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk .

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Information about this inspection

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, workbased learning and skills training, adult and community learning, and education and training in prisons and other secure establishments. It inspects services for looked after children and child protection. If you would like a copy of this document in a different format, such as large print or Braille, please telephone 0300 123 4234, 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,

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Information about this inspection

The National Archives, Kew, London TW9 4DU, or email: psi@nationalarchives.gsi.gov.uk .

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Information about this inspection

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

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Information about this inspection

Store Street Manchester M1 2WD T: 0300 123 1231 Textphone: 0161 618 8524 E: enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk W: www.gov.uk/government/organisations/ofsted

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