Children's home run by The Partnership of Care Today

Inspection report children‟s home: SC025409 1 SC025409 Registered provider: The Partnership of Care Today Children‟s Services

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Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This privately run children‟s home is registered to provide care and accommodation for up to three young people who may have emotional and behavioural difficulties, learning disabilities and mental disorders. The home‟s statement of purpose states that it cannot accommodate young people who have a significant mental disorder.

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Overall experiences and progress of

children and young people, taking into account

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requires improvement to be good

How well children and young people are helped and protected requires improvement to be good

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requires improvement to be good

The effectiveness of leaders and managers requires improvement to be good

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requires improvement to be good

The children‟s home is not yet delivering good help and care for children and young people. However, there are no serious or widespread failures that result in their welfare not being safeguarded or promoted.

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requires improvement to be good

Overall judgement at last inspection: Improved effectiveness

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Enforcement action since last inspection

None Inspection report children‟s home: SC025409 2

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Key findings from this inspection

This children‟s home requires improvement to be good because:

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Key findings from this inspection

 Young people do not benefit from having comprehensive education plans in place. These shortfalls are hindering young people‟s learning and preventing them from reaching their full potential. This will affect their future life choices and opportunities.  Staff do not use effective strategies to engage young people in constructive activities both inside and outside of the home. Young people are not participating in positive activities or wholly exploring their interests and talents.  Care planning is not yet effective. The home‟s progress plans do not assess young people‟s full range of needs or reflect young people‟s wishes and views.  Risk assessments do not address all potential risks. Staff have not consistently taken action to prevent potential harm.  The registered manager has failed to notify Ofsted of serious safeguarding incidents as required by legislation.  The home is not taking effective action to ensure that it continually improves.

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Key findings from this inspection

 The registered manager is not leading the home in a way that is consistent with the aims, objectives and ethos that are set out in the home‟s statement of purpose.  Monitoring systems are still not robust. They have failed to identify all of the shortfalls raised at this inspection.

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Key findings from this inspection

 Young people said they feel safe living at the home. They said that they can talk to their staff and staff listen to them.  Staff are good at building positive and trusting relationships with young people. Regular key-work sessions with staff are helping young people to reflect on their behaviour and manage their emotions in a more positive way.  Staff work in partnership with other professionals when young people go missing from care. Effective partnership working is reducing incidents of missing, and is keeping young people safe.  Staff promote young people‟s health well. They have forged strong links with specialist health services, and this helps young people to access the support and guidance that they require.  Young people benefit from being cared for by a stable and committed team that is skilled at developing positive relationships with young people, parents and other professionals.  Staff have opportunities to learn and develop, and this is equipping them with

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Key findings from this inspection

Inspection report children‟s home: SC025409 3 the necessary skills to undertake their roles.

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

13/03/2017 Interim Improved effectiveness 01/12/2016 Full Requires improvement 23/03/2016 Interim Improved effectiveness 24/11/2015 Full Requires improvement Inspection report children‟s home: SC025409 4

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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 education standard is that children make measurable progress towards achieving their educational potential and are helped to do so.

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to ensure that staff help each child to achieve the child‟s education and training targets, as recorded in the child‟s relevant plans; help each child to understand the importance and value of education, learning, training and employment; promote opportunities for each child to learn informally. (Regulation 8 (1) and (2)(a)(i)(iv)(v))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, ensure that young people have personal education plans in place; they develop an understanding about the importance of their education and attend; and are provided with structured activities during the day when they are not attending school. 28/07/2017

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Requirement Due date

The protection of children standard is that children are protected from harm and enabled to keep themselves safe.

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to ensure that staff 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; take effective action whenever there is a serious concern about a child‟s welfare. (Regulation 12 (1) and (2)(a)(i))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, ensure that all potential risks are assessed and room searches are carried out so that the home is a safe environment. 28/07/2017 Inspection report children‟s home: SC025409 5 13: The leadership and management standard

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Requirement Due date

The leadership and management standard is that the registered person enables, inspires and leads 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 lead and manage the home in a way that is consistent with the approach and ethos, and delivers the outcomes, set out in the home‟s statement of purpose; use monitoring and review systems to make continuous improvements in the quality of care provided in the home. (Regulation 13 (1)(a)(b) and (2)(a)(h))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, ensure that young people‟s education, welfare and safety is wholly promoted so that that they reach their full potential and are safeguarded from all potential harm. Also, young people‟s progress needs to be effectively monitored and reviewed by the registered manager to ensure improvement. 28/07/2017

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Requirement Due date

The care planning standard is that children receive effectively planned care in or through the children‟s home. (Regulation 14 (1)(a))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, improve the monitoring and recording of young people‟s progress and reflecting young people‟s views in their progress plans. 28/07/2017

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must maintain in the home the records in Schedule 4. (Regulation 37 (2)(a))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, ensure that the rotas are accurate and detail the actual hours that staff have worked. 28/07/2017

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must notify HMCI and each other relevant person without delay if an incident requiring police involvement occurs in relation to a child, which the registered person considers to be serious. (Regulation 40 (4)(b)) 28/07/2017

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Requirement Due date

44: Independent person: visits and reports

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Requirement Due date

The independent person must produce a report about a visit (“the independent person‟s report”) which sets out, in particular, the independent person‟s opinion as to whether children are 28/07/2017 Inspection report children‟s home: SC025409 6 effectively safeguarded; and the conduct of the home promotes children‟s well-being. (Regulation 44 (4) (a)(b))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, provide accurate information about young people‟s personal education plans; and include their evaluation of all serious safeguarding incidents that have occurred in the home.

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Recommendations

 Ensure to maintain and repair all areas of the home so that the home provides a nurturing environment that is welcoming. („Guide to the children‟s homes regulations including the quality standards‟, page 15, paragraph 3.7)  Ensure that children are offered a wide range of activities both inside and outside of the home (where appropriate) and are encouraged to participate in those activities. („Guide to the children‟s homes regulations including the quality standards‟, page 31, paragraph 6.5)  Ensure a record of supervision is kept for all staff, including the manager. The record should provide evidence that supervision is being delivered in line with regulation 33(4)(b). All employees must receive practice-related supervision by a person with appropriate experience. („Guide to the children‟s homes regulations including the quality standards‟, page 61, paragraph 13.3)

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improvement to be good

Staff have developed positive relationships with young people and provide young people with stability and continuity in care. Young people report feeling „happy‟ and they all said that they get along with their staff and feel listened to and supported. These positive relationships were observed during the inspection and confirmed in discussions with professionals.

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improvement to be good

Young people do not benefit from effective care planning. The home‟s individual care and progress plans do not demonstrate robust care planning whereby young people‟s needs are clearly assessed, monitored and recorded. Individual progress plans fail to evaluate the progress that young people make. Furthermore, young people‟s case records are not consistently kept up to date; nor do they reflect young people‟s wishes and feelings.

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improvement to be good

Some young people have not made continuous progress in their education despite living at the home for over a year. This has resulted in a young person leaving school without any formal qualifications. How the home plans for education requires improvement. Young people do not have personal education plans (PEPs) in place that reflect their current situation. Although the responsibility for coordinating personal education plans rests with the placing authority, the home has not sufficiently chased this up with young Inspection report children‟s home: SC025409 7 people‟s social workers. As a result, young people and staff do not have clear plans or targets to work with.

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improvement to be good

Additionally, staff do not ensure that young people are provided with opportunities to learn informally when they are on reduced timetables or refusing to attend school. This does not help young people to understand the importance and value of education, nor does it encourage or prepare them to return to full-time school, training or employment.

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improvement to be good

Staff promote young people‟s health needs well. Effective partnership working with a range of health providers, including drug services, sexual health clinics and children and adolescent mental health services (CAMHS), is ensuring that young people have access to the support and guidance that they need. Furthermore, the manager has arranged for drug and sexual health workers to visit staff and young people at the home to provide them with specialist support and advice. This effective partnership working is reflected in the feedback from professionals. A social worker said, „The team is fantastic. They always put the child first. They chased up her CAMHS‟s appointment, which got her the support sooner.‟

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improvement to be good

Staff provide regular key-work sessions to young people around their health, and this helps young people to understand the importance of looking after themselves. When young people are reluctant to attend health appointments, for example the dentist, staff work with young people and provide encouragement and reassurance until they eventually attend.

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improvement to be good

Young people are offered opportunities to try new hobbies and interests and, on occasion, young people have enjoyed spending time with their staff, such as going shopping and to the cinema. However, staff have struggled to encourage young people to sustain regular activities and hobbies in the local community. As a result, some young people spend long periods away from the home and therefore staff are not able to assess or ensure their safety.

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improvement to be good

Many elements of safeguarding practice are sound. Young people say that they feel safe, and staff have regular safeguarding training including child sexual exploitation, e-safety and radicalisation. Staff therefore have a good understanding of some of the potential risks that young people face.

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improvement to be good

Staff are skilled at managing challenging behaviour. Staff‟s calm approach to difficult behaviour has assisted them to de-escalate situations and prevent the use of physical intervention or restraint. Additionally, the use of successful rewards and consequences coupled with regular key-work sessions has supported young people to reflect on their behaviour and improve.

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improvement to be good

Incidents of young people going missing have reduced. When a young person does go missing, staff follow the home and local protocols well. The missing-from-care police Inspection report children‟s home: SC025409 8 coordinator spoke highly of staff and said, „I have a good working relationship with the manager. The team work closely with us. I visit the home and we discuss concerns in the local area. Communication is good, I have no concerns.‟

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improvement to be good

Staff are alert to the signs of drug misuse and take effective action when they suspect that a young person is under the influence of a substance. For example, they have sought medical attention and monitored a young person throughout the night to keep them safe. However, staff have not always assessed potential risk and taken action to prevent harm. In particular, when there have been concerns about young people possessing drugs or weapons, staff have not proceeded to carry out a bedroom search to check if such items are being brought into the home.

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improvement to be good

Staff do not assess all potential risks, such as areas and venues where young people frequently visit and when there are concerns regarding their welfare and safety while there. Consequently, individual risk assessments lack detail and effective strategies for managing all potential harm.

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improvement to be good

The registered manager has not informed Ofsted of all serious safeguarding concerns as required. She failed to notify Ofsted of an incident where a young person was arrested and subsequently convicted for being in possession of a weapon. This prevented the home‟s regulator from evaluating a serious safeguarding concern and the action taken by the home to prevent reoccurrence.

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

A suitably qualified and experienced registered manager runs the home. The team is sufficiently staffed and stable, which supports continuity in care. The majority of staff hold or are working towards the recognised qualification in children‟s residential care. The manager has extended the deadline for one member of staff to complete the relevant qualification. Her decision to do so was appropriate, taking into consideration the specific needs and circumstances of the staff member and offering additional support to enable her to gain the qualification as soon as possible.

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

Staff feel settled and well supported, and they said that they „love‟ their job. The stability and happiness of the team is reflected in the positive relationships that have been established with young people and other professionals.

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

Staff receive monthly professional supervision and annual appraisals. However, the minutes from staff supervisions do not include practice-related discussions or identify specific training needs. Staff supervision is an area that can improve to ensure that staff benefit from reflecting on their practice, identifying learning needs and setting targets for achieving these.

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

The statement of purpose is kept up to date and provides a clear picture of the service‟s aims and objectives. However, the manager has not continuously led the home in a way that is consistent with the approach and ethos set out in this document. In particular, she has not ensured that young people aspire to fulfil their potential at school, which has Inspection report children‟s home: SC025409 9 significantly affected their education, welfare and future.

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

The team‟s working rota has improved and it now specifies the days that the registered manager is working at the home. However, the times that staff have worked is unclear, because they do not record hours using the 24-hour clock or state „am‟ or „pm‟. For example, one record stated that a member of staff started at „12.00‟ and finished at „1.15‟. Furthermore, the record of the actual rotas worked are not always accurate. These shortfalls in staff rotas are significant because they could potentially jeopardise future investigations into allegations or complaints made against staff, which in turn weakens safeguarding practice in the home.

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

The registered manager has updated the local area risk assessment, and this now informs the home‟s compatibility risk assessments, taking into consideration the needs of the young people and any potential risks within the neighbourhood. She has worked in partnership with the police and missing-from-care coordinator to ensure that this assessment is a true reflection of the local area. Furthermore, the home has established good links with many local services, such as local drug services and a local sexual health clinic. Young people and staff benefit from having regular input from these services.

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

Staff have worked hard to establish a warm, homely, welcoming environment, and strive to achieve a „family‟ atmosphere. Young people are encouraged and supported to personalise their bedrooms, and they have a say in the decor of the home. There are some minor outstanding repairs to be completed, such as painting in the kitchen, landing and dining room, as well as replacing the kitchen floor and securing a laminate floor panel in the hall. The registered manager said that these repairs are soon to be actioned.

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

Monitoring systems continue to require improvement. The independent monitoring reports do not provide accurate information or a thorough assessment of how young people are safeguarded. For example, one report failed to highlight that a young person had been arrested and convicted for being in possession of a knife. Another stated that a young person had a personal education plan in place when they did not. Furthermore, the manager‟s monitoring system is still not identifying all of the shortfalls in the home‟s and young people‟s records. Ineffective monitoring systems are hindering the home‟s continued development and improvement.

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

The registered manager demonstrates a clear understanding of the home‟s strengths, such as a stable and settled team and effective partnership working with many professionals and services. Likewise, she acknowledges the shortfalls and wants to improve the service and achieve a good inspection judgement. She has recently recruited a manager to the home. He is suitably qualified and experienced, and he will be working alongside her on a full-time basis. The new manager is due to start at the end of June 2017, and will support the registered manager and the team to make the required improvements.

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Information about this inspection

Inspection report children‟s home: SC025409 10 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 children and young people who 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: SC025409 11

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: The Partnership of Care Today Children's Services

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Lansdowne House, 85 Buxton Road, Stockport, Cheshire SK2 6LR

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Inspector

Marina Tully, social care inspector Inspection report children‟s home: SC025409 12 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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