Children's home run by Social Care Services Limited 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:

 The manager has addressed the shortfalls identified during the last inspection and as a result, there has been a significant improvement in quality of care and practice in the service.  The home is now fully staffed with a staff team with a wide range of experience and who have had the required training to enable them to look after the young people they are caring for  Staff place high priority on young people`s education and consequently young people attend school and are making progress educationally. .  Staff are proactive at promoting young people`s contact with family members in line with their individual care plans.  Staff have improved the quality of direct work they undertake with young people on identified areas of needs. This work is thorough, well-planned and reflects young people`s views.  Risk management is much improved since the last inspection with clear written risk management plans in place, which detail individual risk and clear

p.3

The children's home provision is good because:

guidance for staff on managing identified risks such as self-harm, alcohol use and missing behaviour.  There were shortfalls identified during this inspection in respect of the home’s locality risk assessment, development plan and recording of missing episodes. These shortfalls have not impacted adversely on young people`s safety and well-being.

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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

 The location risk assessment needs to be updated to reflect current risks in the local area specifically in relation to child sexual exploitation. ('Guide to the children's homes regulations including the quality standards', page 64, paragraph 15.1)

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Recommendations

 The registered person should have a workforce plan. The plan should be updated to include any new training and qualifications completed by staff while working at the home, and used to record the ongoing training and continuing professional development needs of staff. ('Guide to the children's homes regulations including the quality standards', page 53, paragraph 10.8)

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Recommendations

 Records must be kept detailing all individual incidents when young people go missing from home , this is with specific reference to a detailed record of what actions staff have taken and also when return interviews have been carried out. ('Guide to the children's homes regulations including the quality standards', page 46, paragraph 9.31)

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Information about this children's home

This home is registered to provide care and accommodation for up to three young people who have emotional and/or behavioural difficulties. The home is part of an independent company .

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Recent inspection history

Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement 17/01/2017 Full Inadequate 01/03/2016 Interim Sustained effectiveness 15/12/2015 Full Good 12/03/2015 Interim Sustained effectiveness

p.5

Good

There has been one young person admitted to the home since the last inspection and one young person has been discharged. The manager has completed robust impact assessments which ensures that the young people who live in the home are well matched and that staff have the skills to meet the young person’s needs. Consequently, young people in the home get on well, they are settled in their placements and live in a stable home environment.

p.6

Good

Young people have positive relationships with staff, which were observed during the inspection. Young people like living in the home. They feel that that staff look after them well and that they can talk to staff if they are worried about anything. One young person commented that staff, ’Make sure I am fine and safe, they look after me really well, they make sure I eat, I am settled at night and that I am okay before I go to bed at night, this makes me feel wanted.’

p.6

Good

Young people are making good progress from their individual starting points due to the individualised and well-planned care that they receive from staff. Both young people attend school with good attendance and are making good progress academically. Staff encourage school attendance by using reward charts with young people, which works well. One young person has attained 100% school attendance and has received numerous awards at school, for example, for most improved student. This helps young people increase their self-confidence and self- esteem and encourages educational attainment.

p.6

Good

Staff promote young people`s physical and emotional well-being by ensuring that they are registered with doctors and dentists when they arrive in the home and ensuring that they attend medical appointments when necessary. One young person reported that staff, ‘Make sure I go to appointments even though I don’t want to go.’ All young people have an up to date health plan on file detailing their individual health needs and staff seek specialist input from substance misuse services or the child and adolescent mental health service when necessary which ensures that young people`s needs are met.

p.6

Good

Staff spend time getting to know young people and their likes and dislikes and as a result, young people engage with a wide range of activities based on their individual interests such as free running or attending youth groups. This enable`s young people to develop social relationships out of the home and develop individual interests and talents.

p.6

Good

Staff undertake direct work with young people in key work sessions on individual areas of need, which supports young people make sense of their feelings and emotions and make changes to their behaviour. One young person reported that ‘ Staff are helping me, I have anger issues but have not kicked off as much as I used to as I always have staff to talk to, if I do flip, they handle it well, staff have pushed me in the right ways, they help me with triggers and anxiety.’

p.7

Good

Staff ensure that young people have individual independence plans in place and they use reward charts to encourage young people to complete independence tasks such as helping with food shopping and tidying their rooms. This ensures that young people are supported to learn the skills that they will require for their adult lives.

p.7

Good

Young people`s views are routinely obtained on all aspects of their care and there is good evidence of their views being sought by staff in key work sessions, teen meetings and in feedback forms. This ensures that young people feel listened to and that their views are central to the running of the home.

p.7

Good

Staff are committed to promoting contact between young people and their families by supervising contact when necessary, providing transport or liaising with social workers to get contact set up. This ensures that young people spend time with family members in a safe and supported way, which promotes a positive sense of family identity.

p.7

Good

Young people feel safe living in the home and say that they feel that staff keep them safe. The manager has ensured that young people`s individual risks are identified in written risk assessments, which detail actions staff should take to manage risk-taking behaviour such as going missing, alcohol use or self-harm. As such, staff understand each young person’s individual risks and know what action to take to minimise risk and keep young people safe from harm.

p.7

Good

Staff have a good understanding of missing from home protocols and are proactive when young people go missing by searching the local area to try to locate them. Staff undertake direct work with young people and use incentives charts to try to reduce missing behaviour. Young people and professionals report that this is approach is effective. A missing from home worker commented, ‘Whatever they have done with X is brilliant, it seems to have worked, I have not seen him for weeks and weeks.’

p.7

Good

A shortfall was identified in the recording of missing incidents. While staff record missing, the recording does not always contain enough detail about the circumstances of the missing behaviour. This means that there is not always sufficient detail to identify patterns or reasons for a young person going missing, which reduces the opportunity for evaluation, and identifying work to reduce this behaviour.

p.8

Good

Staff have developed effective relationships with professionals such as schools, police and social workers and professionals contacted as part of inspection process confirm this. Risk assessments are shared with social workers and strategy meetings take place when there are concerns about young people going missing This ensures a multi-agency approach to managing risk, which keeps young people safe.

p.8

Good

Most staff are now trained in therapeutic crisis intervention (TCI) trained which is the model that staff are expected to use to manage challenging behaviour. Staff use TCI strategies to de-escalate situations effectively in the home, this has meant that there have been no physical restraints or incidents of the police being called to the home since the last inspection.

p.8

Good

The manager has ensured that all staff have completed safeguarding and first aid training meaning that they are better equipped to meet the needs of the young people they are looking after . The manager has organised for staff to have ligature training and fire safety training to ensure staff have the skills to manage the individual needs of the young people living in the home and keep them safe.

p.8

Good

The home is managed by a suitably quality and experienced manager who has moved from managing another home within the organisation to managing this home. The post holder is not yet registered with Ofsted for this home. The manager has a good understanding of the home’s strengths and areas for development. He was fully accepting of the shortfalls identified at the last inspection and has taken effective action to address all of the shortfalls identified which has had a significant impact on the quality of the service. By ensuring that all of the requirements made at the last inspection are met, he has showed an ability to learn and make improvements to the home.

p.8

Good

Staffing has been a challenge for the home and the organisation as a whole. The home is now fully staffed and the manager has ensured that there is more of a mix of experience in the staff team by bringing staff that are more experienced from other homes within the organisation. This means that the staff team have a wider range of experience and skills to meet the needs of the young people they are caring for and that new staff have the opportunity to learn from more experienced staff members as part of their professional development.

p.9

Good

Staff enjoy working in the home and describe the manager as approachable and supportive. Staff receive regular supervision, both formally and informally, which supports them in their practice. The manager does not have a workforce development plan in place which records the ongoing training needs and continuing professional develop needs of staff. The manager acknowledged this during the inspection and is taking action to rectify this.

p.9

Good

The manager has ensured that young people`s files are reflective of their daily lives and include all of the key paperwork such as local authority care plans and delegated authority. This means that staff have a clear basis from which to plan and provide effective care based on individual need.

p.9

Good

The manager has updated the locality risk assessment however this needs to be further updated to reflect current risks in the local area specifically in relation to child sexual exploitation to ensure that staff have a the most up to date knowledge to inform their practice and work with young people when they go missing.

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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

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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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