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

Good

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

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The children’s home’s provision is good because:

 Young people are positive about the care and support they receive and feel safe and comfortable in the home.  The manager ensures that all young people are engaged in education or training.  Young people are involved in the running of the home and have good opportunities to have their views heard.  The manager and staff work in partnership with other professionals to ensure that young people receive the best support and guidance.  Staff promote contact for young people so that they sustain their close relationships with the people who are important to them.  The manager ensures that staff have good training opportunities and are well supervised.  Young people benefit from good health and there is a high level of support offered to young people to ensure that their health needs are met.  The manager ensures that young people learn the appropriate skills to prepare them for their futures when they move into adulthood and

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The children’s home’s provision is good because:

independence.  Young people are able to manage their behaviours well and physical interventions have not been required.  There are a few shortfalls in practice. These include risk assessments not being robust and updating the children’s guide.

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Statutory requirements

This section sets out the actions which must be taken so that the registered person(s) meets the Care Standards Act 2000, 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.

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Requirement Due date

In order to meet the protection of children standard, with particular reference to risk assessments, the registered provider must ensure that staff:

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Requirement Due date

2 (a)(i) 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. 30/09/2016

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Recommendations

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

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Recommendations

 Ensure that the children’s guide helps children to understand: what the day- to-day routines of the home are (‘what happens in the home’), and the care they can expect to receive while living there (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 24, paragraph 4.22).

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Information about this children’s home

The setting is a family-sized home. Care is provided for two young people of either sex who have emotional and behavioural difficulties. A private company owns and operates this setting.

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Recent inspection history

Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement 08/03/2016 Interim Sustained effectiveness 03/11/2015 Full Good 26/03/2015 Interim Improved effectiveness 24/10/2014 Full Good

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Good

Young people spoken with during the inspection report that they have good relationships with staff. One young person told the inspector that, ‘the staff are like family they always listen to you and always manage to have a good laugh with you.’ Staff members spend time with young people and are good role models for them. As a result, young people benefit and have a sense of belonging, and say, ‘It’s a good place to be.’ All young people have personalised care plans in relation to their own needs and how they will be supported. Staff implement these plans effectively, with regular updates and reviews to reflect young people's changing needs and progress. Young people are registered with doctors, dentists and opticians. They attend their routine health appointments with good support and encouragement from staff. Young people have access to the services they need to promote their physical, emotional and psychological well-being.

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Good

Young people's attendance and engagement with education is good. All young people attend school or college regularly. Staff work in partnership with education departments and other relevant professionals to ensure that young people have every opportunity to reach their full potential. Young people benefit from making a positive contribution to the home and their care plans through a variety of forums, such as key worker sessions, young people’s meetings, placement planning and statutory reviews. Young people confirmed to the inspector that they know how to make a complaint if they are unhappy or have any concerns about their care. Young people have clear contact plans in place to ensure that they retain positive links with family members. Staff support these arrangements, both practically and by providing emotional support to young people. Young people develop social and independence skills that will help them when they

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Good

move towards independence. This includes development of self-care skills, such as independent travel on public transport, shopping and the preparation of meals. Young people are growing in confidence because they are provided with a variety of activities, including boxing and playing football. This helps them to make new friendships within the community and gives them the opportunity to try different experiences and to develop new skills. Judgement grade

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Good

Young people say that they feel safe, reporting to the inspector, ‘Whenever I am out, the staff always ring me up to check I am OK, they always make sure that I am safe.’ A social worker further validates this, reporting: ‘He is definitely safe at the home. Yet again, more credit to the staff who support him so well.’ Staff are trained in the appropriate use of physical restraint but only use this as a last resort, preferring to use de-escalation techniques. The home’s written records confirm that there have been no incidents of physical intervention since the last inspection. This is a consequence of positive interventions at an early stage and recognising and rewarding positive behaviour. The manager ensures that staff know how to implement and follow the local authority’s joint protocol and procedures for reporting young people missing from care. The manager and staff work effectively with the police and local safeguarding

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Good

team, ensuring that information about young people is appropriately shared so that they can be protected in the community. The manager ensures that young people live in a home that provides physical safety and security. Fire safety and health and safety checks are regularly carried out. Records show that young people and staff regularly practice evacuation of the building so they know how to respond in the event of an emergency. The manager ensures that young people are protected by the organisation's robust recruitment practices. Staff are vetted and assessed as suitable before any appointment is confirmed. These procedures promote the safety of the young people by preventing unsuitable adults from working with them. The manager ensures that young people live in a healthy environment that actively supports their physical and emotional health. The home is suitably located in a residential area where there are good public transport links and access to local

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Good

facilities. Personalised risk assessments help to inform staff about the issues pertinent to each young person. However, not all risk assessments are robust and do not always set out all available risk management strategies. This means that staff are not utilising all the available resources to safeguard young people. Judgement grade

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Good

The home has a registered manager in place. The manager has been in post since March 2016 and is currently undertaking her level 5 national vocational qualification in leadership for health and social care. The manager ensures that all staff receive regular supervision, which provides the opportunity to review young people’s care as well as considering individual staff members’ professional developmental needs. All staff complete a range of mandatory training, refresher courses and training in particular areas such as radicalisation. All staff are qualified or working to gain the relevant qualification for their roles within regulatory timescales. This ensures that staff keep their skills and knowledge up to date and are competent in looking after young people. Monitoring visits from someone independent of the home take place every month. This ensures that practice is focused on outcomes for young people. It provides an

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Good

effective check for compliance with regulations, standards, ensuring that young people’s needs are central to proceedings, and that they are safely cared for at all times. The manager ensures that there is positive partnership working with external agencies to benefit young people. Staff are proactive in their efforts to engage the relevant agencies as and when required. For example, the local police community support officer visits the home to meet the young people regularly. A professional commented, ‘The home works in partnership very well, we are regularly in touch with each other.’ This collaborative approach ensures that information is shared quickly, which helps to keep young people safe. The manager ensures that the statement of purpose demonstrates the aims and objectives of the home. This makes it possible for parents or placing authorities to have a clear understanding of services available. The children’s guide is a generic

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Good

document that does not provide information on the specific home. This means that young people are not provided with unique information about the home or the area they live in. There were no requirements or recommendations raised at the last inspection.

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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 children looked after 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, work- based learning and skills training, adult and community learning, and education and training in prisons and other secure establishments. It inspects services for children looked after 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

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

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