Children's Home run by Stoke-on-Trent City Council in Stoke-on-Trent

Inspection report children’s home: SC369825 1 SC369825 Registered provider: Stoke on Trent City Council

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Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

The home provides care and accommodation for up to two young people who have emotional and/or behavioural difficulties. The home is operated by a local authority.

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Overall experiences and progress of

children and young people, taking into account

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Good

How well children and young people are helped and protected Good

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Good

The effectiveness of leaders and managers Requires improvement to be good

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Good

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

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Good

Overall judgement at last inspection: Sustained effectiveness

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Good

Enforcement action since last inspection: None

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Key findings from this inspection

 Effective partnership working with relevant agencies provides young people with a consistent, shared approach to their care.

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Key findings from this inspection

 Staff are clear about the individual needs of young people. Inspection report children’s home: SC369825 2  Managers ensure that young people’s contact with family members is encouraged, supported and maintained.

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Key findings from this inspection

 The manager ensures that there is a well-qualified, trained and supported staff team in place to help meet young people’s needs.

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Key findings from this inspection

 Young people benefit from good health and have a high level of staff support to ensure that their health needs are met.

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Key findings from this inspection

 Young people are encouraged and supported to increase their semi-independent skills in line with their age, ability and level of understanding.

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Key findings from this inspection

The children’s home’s areas for development

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Key findings from this inspection

 Managers’ monitoring and reviewing arrangements are not effective.

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Key findings from this inspection

 Managers have not ensured that the independent visitor’s monitoring identifies shortfalls to support service development.

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Key findings from this inspection

 Managers have not ensured that all young people are engaged in education, training or employment. This limits their progress and ability to reach their full potential.

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Key findings from this inspection

 Managers have not ensured that young people have the opportunity to contribute to the running of the home.

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Key findings from this inspection

 Managers have not ensured that there is an up-to-date workforce plan in place to support the home’s development.

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

01/03/2017 Interim Sustained effectiveness 01/06/2016 Full Requires improvement 29/01/2016 Interim Improved effectiveness 04/06/2015 Full Requires improvement Inspection report children’s home: SC369825 3

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Statutory requirements

This section sets out the actions that the registered person(s) must take to meet 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

The children’s views, wishes and feelings standard requires the registered person to

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Requirement Due date

help each child to express views, wishes and feelings;

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Requirement Due date

help each child to understand how the child’s views, wishes and feelings have been taken into account and give the child reasons for decisions in relation to the child;

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Requirement Due date

regularly consult children, and seek their feedback, about the quality of the home’s care. (Regulation 7(2)(a)(ii)(iii)(iv)) 14/07/2017

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that staff help each child who is above compulsory school age to participate in further education, training or employment and to prepare for future care, education or employment. (Regulation 8(2)(a)(ix)) 14/07/2017

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must enable, inspire and lead a culture in relation to the children’s home that helps children aspire to fulfil their potential and promotes their welfare.

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to using monitoring and review systems to make continuous improvements in the quality of care provided in the home. (Regulation 13(1)(2)(h))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, this refers to risk assessments. 14/07/2017

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Recommendations

 Ensure that there is independent scrutiny of the home and make best use of information from independent and internal monitoring (including under regulations 44 and 45) to ensure continuous improvement. They should be skilled in anticipating difficulties and reviewing incidents, such as learning from disruptions and placement breakdowns. They are responsible for proactively implementing lessons learned and sustaining good practice. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 55, paragraph Inspection report children’s home: SC369825 4 10.24)

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Recommendations

 The registered person should have a workforce plan, which can fulfil the workforce-related requirements of regulation 16, schedule 1 (paragraphs 19 and 20). 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, including the home’s manager. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 53, paragraph 10.8)

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Young people receive good levels of support from a committed and experienced staff team. Staff have a positive view of the young people and work hard to engage with young people. This helps young people to feel confident about their relationships with staff and supports their progress.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Placement plans are clear and set out what staff must do to meet the needs of young people effectively. All staff are aware of the detail set out in young people’s individual care plans. This ensures that young people are treated consistently and know what their objectives are and how they will be met.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff ensure that young people have clear health plans and are registered with the relevant primary healthcare services. Staff understand the importance of good health and support young people to attend physical and psychological health appointments. Young people’s medication is stored and administered safely by trained and competent staff.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Some young people have maintained good school attendance, However, other young people have yet to engage in any education or training activities, despite staff giving them encouragement and different options, such as work-based apprenticeships. This means that some young people have made no academic progress and are left without any meaningful activities during the day.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The views and opinions of young people on aspects of the home are not actively sought. House meetings do not take place regularly. Therefore, young people’s views do not significantly influence the running of the home.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The manager works closely with placing authorities to promote contact with family and friends that is positive and safe. This ensures that young people continue to build relationships and attachments with those significant to them.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Some young people aim to move forwards into semi-independent accommodation. They use a local authority flat to practise essential skills in living alone. Young people work with staff to identify their skills and development needs so that they can become Inspection report children’s home: SC369825 5 equipped to manage their adult lives successfully. Independence plans are responsive to their different levels of age and accomplishment and are regularly reviewed to ensure that young people are not struggling with new responsibilities.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Young people are offered a good range of constructive leisure activities in the local community, which strengthens their sense of belonging. Individual interests and talents are actively encouraged and supported, which increases self-esteem and confidence.

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How well children and young people are helped and protected: good

Young people said that they feel safe. The staff team receives regular safeguarding training and has a good understanding of its duties in promoting young people’s welfare. This ensures that staff are confident in the procedures to follow should any concerns arise. Staff make sure that care plans and risk assessments are in place for each young person to help to keep young people safe.

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How well children and young people are helped and protected: good

Staff are trained in the appropriate use of physical restraint but only ever 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.

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How well children and young people are helped and protected: good

The manager ensures that staff comply with locally agreed protocols for young people that go missing. When young people go missing, staff liaise with the police and complete detailed records of actions taken and appropriate individuals contacted. Young people have access to an independent person to speak to on their return home. This helps staff to consider any information that may help to protect young people from going missing again.

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How well children and young people are helped and protected: good

The manager ensures that young people benefit from living in a safe environment. Staff make sure that the home is kept safe by carrying out regular health and safety checks and making sure that equipment is serviced. Staff also practise the home’s fire evacuation procedure and test the system on a regular basis. Young people also participate in fire evacuation so that they know what to do in the event of a fire or other emergency situations, which helps to keep everyone safe.

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How well children and young people are helped and protected: good

Young people are protected by the organisation’s robust recruitment practice. Staff are vetted and assessed as suitable before any appointment is made. This procedure promotes the safety of the young people by preventing unsuitable adults from working with them.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

The home has an appropriately qualified registered manager in place. The manager has been in post since December 2016 and holds a level 4 national vocational qualification in leadership, health and social care. The manager also has responsibility for another home in the area. Inspection report children’s home: SC369825 6 The manager has ensured that staffing levels are appropriate to meet young people’s needs. Staff are well supported through regular supervision and annual appraisal and benefit from a range of appropriate training to develop their knowledge, skills and professional practice. All staff are appropriately qualified and have the required level 3 diploma qualification. As a result, staff are well trained and qualified to meet the needs of young people.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

The statement of purpose document clearly 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. Young people are provided with a children’s guide that provides them with information that is important for them to know and understand.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

The manager ensures that monitoring visits from someone independent of the home take place each month. The reports resulting from these visits lack scrutiny and evaluation and do not ensure that there are effective systems in place to monitor the quality of care provided to young people. The manager’s internal monitoring and reviewing arrangements require improvement. For example, some young people, as part of the home’s risk management plan, are still subject to conditions from six months ago. This means that the risk has not been reviewed and is a missed opportunity to demonstrate the significant progression that some young people may have made.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

The manager ensures that good working relationships exist with other professionals, such as the youth offending team, education providers and social workers. One professional said, ‘I manage to have contact with the whole staff team, either through meeting up with them or email.’ As a result, there is a coordinated approach to meeting young people’s needs, and communication is shared quickly, which helps to keep young people safe.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

The manager has not ensured that the home’s development plan is up to date. This means that any planning for a future workforce is not captured.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

In response to the requirements and recommendations made at the last inspection, care planning has improved and a regulation 45 report has been submitted to Ofsted. Sanctions are now more restorative and staff have a greater understanding of the home’s policies. Requirements in relation to the manager’s monitoring and reviewing systems and the updating of the workforce plan have not been met and have been repeated.

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Information about this inspection

Inspectors have looked closely at the experiences and progress of children and young people. Inspectors considered the quality of work and the difference made to the lives of children and young people. They watched how professional staff work with children and young people and each other and discussed the effectiveness of help and care provided. Wherever possible, they talked to children and 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 Inspection report children’s home: SC369825 7 children and young people whom it is trying to help, protect and look after.

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Information about this inspection

Using the ‘Social care common inspection framework’, this inspection was carried out under the Care Standards Act 2000 to assess the effectiveness of the service, how it meets the core functions of the service as set out in legislation, 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’. Inspection report children’s home: SC369825 8

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: City of Stoke-on-Trent, Civic Centre, Glebe Street, Stoke-on-Trent ST4 1HH

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Children’s home details

Responsible individual: Susan Hammersley

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Inspector

Dave Carrigan, social care inspector Inspection report children’s home: SC369825 9 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, further education and skills, adult and community learning, and education and training in prisons and other secure establishments. It assesses council children’s services, and inspects services for children looked after, safeguarding and child protection.

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Inspector

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Inspector

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Inspector

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