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

children and young people since the most recent full inspection

This home was judged good at the full inspection. At this interim inspection, Ofsted judges that it has sustained effectiveness .

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

The home continues to operate as a solo placement and there have been no new admissions since the last inspection. The young person living in the home continues to make good progress. Staff have worked well with educational professionals to support the young person with a transition to a new school and there is a clear rewards system in place to encourage school attendance. As a result, the young person is attending school regularly and is on track to sit her GCSE exams this year. The school attendance officer reported that staff are ‘excellent’ at supporting the young person’s education and that, ’The level of progress X has made is extensive.’ This means that the young person is supported and encouraged to meet her educational potential.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

The young person speaks positively about living in the home. She is settled in the home, which is good progress given the fact that she had a number of placement moves prior to this placement. The young person reported:

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

I love it here me, it’s not like a care home, it’s my family. I have bonds with them. I have been here for over a year, it is my longest placement. They have done a lot for me, helped me get out of bad stages and got me where I am today.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

Relationships between the young person and staff are a particular strength and these provide a basis to support the young person to manage her feelings and behaviour effectively. For example, staff have spent time with the young person helping her to understand the risks inherent in a new friendship group. As a result, the young person has chosen not to continue certain friendships, meaning that there has been a recent reduction in significant events and a reduced risk of the young person coming to the attention of the criminal justice system.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

Staff understand the risks associated with the young person going missing and becoming involved in child sexual exploitation. Staff are proactive when the young person goes missing; they look for her and follow missing from home procedures. There is good quality direct work undertaken with the young person after missing- from-home episodes to help her understand the risks involved in missing behaviour. Staff also spend time with the young person using resources designed to increase her awareness of child sexual exploitation so that she is able to identify this as a risk and make better choices to keep herself safe.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

Staff are proactive in supporting the young person’s family contact, in line with the young person’s care plan. They transport the young person to contact and remain in touch with the young person and her mother by telephone during this contact to support them with this. Staff have also been quick to liaise with the social worker if any issues have arisen during the contact. This has supported the young person to maintain relationships with family members in a safe way which promotes her sense of family identity.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

The manager manages three homes in the local area. He ensures that he has oversight of this home by being present in the home regularly. He uses a range of quality assurance processes to monitor and improve the home’s performance, including visits from the independent visitor and feedback from the young person. The home is in the process of being redecorated as requested by the young person. The manager is committed to developing his staff team. For example, staff have recently completed training in radicalisation and social media and some staff are registered to start counselling courses and attachment training over the coming months. This demonstrates a commitment to the professional development of staff and ensures that staff have the knowledge and skills to meet the needs of the young people they are working with. The manager ensures that the home is staffed by a stable staff team who are committed to achieving the best outcomes for the young person whom they care

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

for. Staff feel well supported and like working in the home. The length of time some of the staff have worked in the home is testament to this and ensures that there is a stable and consistent staff team for the young person, which assists with the young person developing good attachments to members of staff.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

The manager has ensured that the requirement made at the last inspection regarding notifications has been met by ensuring that notifications are sent to Ofsted promptly. There have been no restraints since the last inspection, but the manager is aware of the requirement made about this at the last inspection should there be any further incidents. There was one shortfall identified in this inspection in respect of gaps in the recording of staff supervision, but this shortfall has not affected the well-being of the young person placed at the home.

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Information about this children’s home

This home is run by a private company and is registered to provide care and accommodation for up to two young people who may have emotional and/or behavioural difficulties or learning disabilities.

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Recent inspection history

Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement 06/09/2016 Full Good 15/02/2016 Interim Sustained effectiveness 07/05/2015 Full Good 26/02/2015 Interim Sustained effectiveness

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Recommendation

To improve the quality and standards of care further, the service should take account of the following recommendation:  The manager needs to ensure that staff supervision sessions are recorded and kept up to date. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 61, paragraph 13.3)

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What the inspection judgements mean

At the interim inspection, 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

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 focused on the effectiveness of the home and the progress and experiences of children and young people since the most recent full inspection.

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Information about this inspection

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 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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