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

Outstanding

The children's home provides highly effective services that consistently exceed the standards of good. The actions of the home contribute to significantly improved outcomes for children and young people who need help, protection and care.

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The children's home provision is outstanding because:

 Young people make exceptional progress in all areas of their lives.  They receive high-quality, individualised care from committed, caring and supportive staff.  Young people develop open and trusting relationships with the staff team.  The professional staff provide excellent outreach work when the plan is for young people to return home. Parents benefit from the support and advice offered to them.  Young people are regularly consulted about the running of their home. Staff promote young people’s access to advocacy services and independent visitors.  Effective risk management and individualised risk assessments are evident. Young people feel safe and protected at the home.  Missing from home episodes have significantly reduced as a result of the proactive approach of the staff team.  The risk of child sexual exploitation has lessened as a result of the work undertaken by staff with young people.

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The children's home provision is outstanding because:

 Effective behaviour management and reward systems are in place. There is an improvement in behaviour.  The strong leadership team leads by example and is ambitious and aspirational for young people.  The manager is constantly striving to improve care and outcomes for young people, and there are effective systems in place to monitor progress.

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Recommendations

To improve the quality and standards of care further, the service should take account of the following recommendation:  Any individual appointed to carry out visits to the home as an independent person must make a rigorous and impartial assessment of the home's arrangements for safeguarding and promoting the welfare of the children in the home's care. Specifically, this is in respect of ensuring that the independent person provides their opinion about whether the home is promoting the welfare of the children in the home's care using the wording within the regulations. (‘Guide to the children's homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 65, paragraph 15.5).

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Information about this children's home

The home is registered to accommodate up to five young people who have emotional and/or behavioural difficulties and learning disabilities. It is owned and operated by an independent provider.

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Recent inspection history

Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

p.5

Recent inspection history

15/03/2016 Interim Sustained effectiveness

p.5

Recent inspection history

30/03/2015 Interim Sustained effectiveness

p.5

Outstanding

Young people make exceptional progress, due to the high-quality, individualised care provided by committed, caring and supportive staff. The diverse staff team offers positive role models to young people. The strong and stable relationships that staff develop are responsible for the positive changes made by young people. They feel valued and develop a sense of belonging. The majority of young people feel settled, have lived at the home for a significant time and want to remain. One young person who has recently left said, ‘I was happy with staff. I’m grateful for everything.’ Young people are fully involved in their care planning, with an individualised, child- friendly ‘My Progress’ placement plan. Any action planning ensures timescales and achievements are logs. These are regularly reviewed, updated and shared with young people and professionals. Independence work is encouraged with young people taking responsibility to set their own targets for progression. This leads to

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Outstanding

improved self-esteem, confidence and enthusiasm, helping them to make continued progress. Staff are highly effective in preparing those young people in bridging placements for moving on. This includes returning home, moving to foster care or on to independent living. The level of support and commitment of staff facilitates a well- organised and smooth transition for young people. The professional staff team provides a flexible, tailor-made package of outreach support to those young people who are returning home. Staff develop excellent working relationships with parents and carers. Trust and confidence are built, resulting in the acceptance of information, advice and support. Staff’s involvement and intervention provide targeted work with young people and their families. This includes advocacy work and the development of behaviour management skills. This results in improved family relationships and increased contact, which becomes a

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Outstanding

positive experience for young people. This heightens the chances of some young people returning to live with their families. One parent reported, ‘Staff have positively encouraged [young person] to build bridges with me and discuss the issues we had openly and honestly. They have done some very positive outreach activities.’ All young people are attending school or some form of education provision and are making progress. Staff work closely with education professionals and use their understanding of young people to develop individual strategies to promote good attendance. They support, encourage and instil the value of education, which leads to improved outcomes in this area. Young people enjoy spending time at home with staff but also take part in a wide range of social and recreational activities. Staff purposefully use activities to build on existing talents and interests, and to promote young people’s health and well-

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Outstanding

being. Self-confidence, self-esteem and social skills improve. A parent reported, ‘My daughter is taken out and has good experiences at activities. She can now go places on her own, without feeling self-conscious and scared, and she is able to make friends more easily.’ Staff are highly aspirational for young people and recognise their potential. They are creative, which leads to improvements and positive outcomes. Staff used a young person’s interest in antiques to encourage him to go outside after he was isolating himself at the home. He now regularly goes out with staff to car boot sales. His expertise in this area has developed, and staff report that he is now a bit of an ‘entrepreneur’. Young people build positive peer relationships with each other through planning group activities at home and in the community. This provides a ‘family’ atmosphere and promotes tolerance and understanding of others. A short bridging placement

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Outstanding

for two asylum-seeking young people has helped the existing group of young people to develop an understanding of other cultures and ethnic backgrounds. This has led to improved relationships and harmony in the home. A dedicated activities coordinator looks at creative ideas for young people to involve themselves in the community. For example, young people recently helped an elderly neighbour with her garden. Some young people have recently attended a fundraising activity with staff. This involved a staff member having her hair shaved to raise money for charity. As a result, young people develop an enhanced community spirit and help others. High levels of engagement and consultation take place with young people through key-working sessions and informal discussions. Young people become more confident to communicate their views. A parent commented, ‘[Young person] is a completely different girl now, thanks to staff at the home. She is happy and

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Outstanding

confident and much more able to vocalise her feelings and explain how she thinks and feels.’ Staff ensure that young people take an active role in the running of their home through weekly meetings. Their requests are met promptly, which helps them to feel valued and respected. Staff promote young people’s access to advocacy services and independent visitors. Staff also challenge professionals on behalf of the young people. A staff member said, ‘One of our strengths is the lengths we go to to advocate on behalf of our young people. This helps them with positive communication skills to be able to voice their wishes and feelings.’ Judgement grade

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Good

Young people feel safe and protected at the home. Risk management is very effective. Individualised risk assessments are comprehensive and clearly outline potential and real risks. Plans are specific to each young person who contributes to these. They respond positively to the concerns of staff, and one young person reported, ‘They worry and they are concerned for my safety.’ Staff have excellent insight into the vulnerabilities that young people face. A professional reported, ‘They have a good understanding of the young people’s history and how this impacts on their emotional and behavioural development.’ Staff stringently follow the robust missing from home procedures in place. The excellent links with the police and the missing persons officer provide a co- ordinated response, and young people are either quickly located or return of their own accord. Return home interviews are requested and pursued by staff. This

p.8

Good

ensures that the circumstances of the missing episode are known. Staff are able to pre-empt and stop any further episodes. Young people begin to take responsibility for their actions and keep in touch with staff if they are absent from the home. Missing from home episodes have significantly reduced. Young people are kept safe, due to the proactive approach adopted by staff. Staff ensure that young people are educated about the risks and dangers they face. This has led to a dramatic reduction in risk to one young person who was at high risk of child sexual exploitation. The extremely detailed locality risk assessment provides information about areas close to the home, which could present risks to young people. Close working links with safeguarding agencies ensure that intelligence is shared. Staff receive extensive training in safeguarding and apply this knowledge to their daily work. Effective behaviour management and reward systems are in place. Staff find out

p.8

Good

what young people enjoy doing and use these activities as incentives. Behaviour management plans are completed with young people who highlight valuable information to staff. Staff adopt good handling strategies and de-escalation techniques. These provide a consistent and planned approach to deal with any negative or challenging behaviour. Staff’s patience and the use of a highly personalised approach to behaviour management have ensured that there has only been one physical intervention since the last inspection. This was used as a last resort. When talking about staff, a parent reported, ‘Their patience knows no bounds and they have done lots of work with [young person] on many areas and have been fair and just with any punishments or consequences that have arisen.’ Staff recognise when they are unable to keep young people safe or when young people’s escalating negative behaviour is affecting the other young people. Staff

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Good

support young people to move to more specialist placements. This planned response enables placements to end positively and staff keep in contact with young people. The manager recognised that some placing authorities were not providing sufficient information at the referral stage. To address this and to ensure the successful matching and placement of young people, a more stringent referral and impact risk assessment are now in place. Young people are only admitted to the home if their complex needs can be met by staff. This avoids any unnecessary placement disruption for young people.

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Outstanding

The manager has 16 years’ experience in residential care and has held the status of registered manager since December 2013. She has the relevant skills, experience and qualifications to undertake the role. The manager also holds the A1 assessor award and is the practice teacher for staff undertaking the level 3 children and young people’s workforce diploma. The assistant manager holds the level 5 diploma in leadership for health and social care and children and young people’s services. This provides a strong leadership team that is both ambitious and aspirational for all young people and helps them to prosper. The management team leads by example and provides ongoing support and guidance to staff and young people. Regular team meetings and supervision are of the highest standard. Staff are provided with continuous learning and development opportunities, which inform their practice. Staff feel valued and are able to share

p.9

Outstanding

their ideas. They take responsibility for improving the service further. The manager recognises the importance of practice being rooted in research and, as a result, reflective practice takes place in group and individual meetings. Findings from research and developments are shared with staff, in order for this to be put into practice in the home. Managers and staff have a clear and shared understanding of the home’s ethos and objectives, as outlined in the statement of purpose. It states, ‘The home offers positive role models through careful selection and matching of staff to meet the needs of the young people. Staff recognise that strong and stable relationship have a correlation with good outcomes.’ Stringent recruitment, induction and training ensure the recruitment of high calibre staff, who exhibit a passion and talent for working with young people. Mandatory training is complemented by specialist

p.9

Outstanding

sessions, with access to training provided by the Local Safeguarding Children Board. The manager recognises the strengths and weaknesses of the home. She is constantly striving to improve care and outcomes for young people. Effective monitoring systems in place contribute to ensuring that the care provided is of the highest quality and that young people continue to be effectively safeguarded. The manager recognises the importance of feedback about the service and effectively obtains feedback from young people, parents, staff and stakeholders. This intelligence provides information for the ongoing development of the service. Staff have developed close working links with other professionals. They are highly effective at communicating with others. Regular consultation ensures that professionals are fully aware of the progress that young people are making. One professional said, ‘They send a weekly progress report. The manager will email and

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Outstanding

update me. We tend to speak weekly. Staff are always available for meetings.’ The stable staff team enjoys working at the home. A strength of the home is that the staff team members have been working consistently together for the last year. One staff member said, ‘It is a lovely, warm and caring home. It is such a friendly place, with a positive vibe in the home.’ The large home has recently had an extensive redecoration and refurbishment programme and is comfortable, well furnished and well maintained. All bedrooms are personalised, and the home provides a homely and comfortable environment for young people to relax in. The recommendation raised at the last inspection in relation to the refurbishment of the laundry area is now met. This means young people can easily access the laundry facilities to help develop their independence skills. The requirement in relation to the independent visitor now provides rigorous scrutiny of the home.

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Outstanding

However, their opinion about whether the young people are effectively safeguarded and their welfare promoted is not clear. A recommendation has therefore been made in respect of this.

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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 that 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 that 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 whom 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

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Information about this inspection

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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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