Children's home run by The Partnership of Care Today

Inspection report children’s home: SC005042 1 SC005042 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

The privately owned service is both a children’s home and a school that provides care and education for up to 10 young people who have social and/or emotional and/or behavioural difficulties. Ten young people can be accommodated at the children’s home, with a further two young people can be accommodated in the satellite home.

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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 Good

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Good

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

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Good

Date of last inspection: 2 February 2017

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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

 Young people are positive about the care that they receive and feel safe in the home. Inspection report children’s home: SC005042 2  The manager ensures that young people’s contact with carers and family members is encouraged, supported and maintained well.  A committed and supportive staff team care for young people.  The manager ensures that young people benefit from good health and there is a good support offered to ensure that their health needs are met.  The manager has ensured that staff work well with other professionals to support young people.  Young people have good attendance at education, and good working practices with education staff allows for good levels of joined-up care.

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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

 The manager’s supervision needs to be more formalised to allow for reflection and scrutiny of performance.  Young people’s independence planning requires a greater level of detail to support preparation for adulthood.  One of the shower rooms is showing signs of wear and tear and requires updating.

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

02/02/2017 Interim Sustained effectiveness 19/07/2016 Full Good 20/01/2016 Interim Sustained effectiveness 15/09/2015 Full Good Inspection report children’s home: SC005042 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 quality and purpose of care standard is that children receive care from staff who ensure that the premises used for the purposes of the home are designed and furnished so as to meet the needs of each child. (Regulation 6 (1)(2)(c)(i)) 22/07/2017

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Recommendations

 Ensure that all staff, including the manager, receive supervision of their practice from an appropriately qualified and experienced professional, which allows them to reflect on their practice and the needs of the children assigned to their care. ‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 61, paragraph 13.2)  Ensure that staff help each child to prepare for any moves from the home, whether they are returning home, moving to another placement or adult care, or to live independently. This includes supporting the child to develop emotional and mental resilience to cope without the home’s support and, where the child is moving to live independently, practical skills such as cooking, housework, budgeting and personal self-care. ‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 17, paragraph 3.27)

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Young people make good progress because they are provided with a stable and supportive environment. The manager and staff are committed to improving the quality of life for the young people in their care. Young people speak highly about their relationships with staff and the care they receive. One young person said, ‘It’s good living here. We get well looked after, we are trusted to have freedom, go on loads of activities and there is more than one kid here, which makes it even better.’ Staff work closely with families and a range of professionals who provide additional support and guidance. The manager ensures that young people have access to a range of health services that promote their physical and emotional well-being. Young people are encouraged and Inspection report children’s home: SC005042 4 supported to attend routine appointments with dentists and doctors. A good medication management system ensures the safe administration of medication. The staff maintain

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

clear records and medication is securely stored. The home is part of a school, which is on site. Handovers between education and care staff ensure that there is consistent care and support, both in school and in the home. All young people maintain good engagement in their education since arriving at the home. Staff consult with young people through regular residents’ meetings. Each young person has a key worker, and meetings between key workers and young people take place at regular intervals. These allow young people to have their views heard and to have an input on their own care. Young people are encouraged to maintain contact with their families and carers in accordance with their care plans. Staff support contact with families well and supervise contact when necessary. This means that young people are able to sustain important relationships that are important to them. The service operates across two sites. The main house includes the school, and there is

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

a smaller home situated close by which accommodates young people on a semi- independence plan. Although young people have gained some practical independence skills during their time at the home, there are no structured independence programmes for them to engage in. This makes it difficult to evaluate and measure any progress the young people are making. The manager ensures that the home is generally kept to a good standard. Young people take pride in their bedrooms and have personalised them. However, one of the shower rooms is showing signs of wear and presents as an unsightly facility for young people. Young people take part in a range of activities inside the home and the local community. This provides them with opportunities to have fun and enjoyment and build confidence and self-esteem. Examples of activities include playing sports for local teams, trips to the cinema and days out to places of interest.

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

The manager ensures that young people are safe in the home. Staff fully understand policies and procedures in relation to safeguarding, and social workers confirm that staff keep young people safe. A social worker told the inspector, ‘The staff know how to keep him safe, they know his triggers and just sense when he is unhappy. I have no concerns around his safety.’ The manager ensures that staff are trained to manage young people’s behaviour safely and effectively. Staff use physical restraint as a last resort, preferring to use de- escalation techniques. There is good evaluation of incidents, along with reflective work with both young people and staff that is overseen by the manager. There have been no reported incidents of young people going missing from the home since the last inspection. However, the home has clear procedures in place to notify the Inspection report children’s home: SC005042 5 relevant bodies in the event of a young person going missing.

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

Young people live in a safe and secure environment. There are effective health and safety systems in place. Regular fire drills ensure that young people know how to exit the building safely and quickly, in the event of an emergency. When appointing staff, the manager follows safer recruitment practice guidelines. This means that those deemed suitable to work with vulnerable individuals only look after young people.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The home has an appropriately qualified registered manager in place. The manager has been in post since April 2014 and holds a level 4 national vocational qualification in leadership, health and social care. The manager ensures that all staff receive regular supervision, which provides the opportunity to review young people’s care as well as considering individual staff members’ professional developmental needs. The manager’s supervision is informal and does not allow him to reflect on his practice or receive feedback on his performance. All staff complete a range of mandatory training, refresher courses and training in particular areas such as safeguarding and understanding the risks of child sexual exploitation. All staff are either qualified to a level 3 diploma in residential childcare or working towards the qualification in the regulatory timescale. This ensures that staff keep their skills and knowledge up to date and are competent in looking after young

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

people. The statement of purpose has recently been reviewed. It provides clear information about the level of service provided and clear information for stakeholders about the aims and objectives and the facilities offered. The young person’s guide enables young people to see where they will live, informs them of their rights, and what to do if they have a concern or complaint. Monitoring visits from someone independent of the home take place every month. The reports arising from these visits review the home’s performance and young people’s progress and identify areas for improvement. Consultation with young people and professionals influences the progress of the home and supports young people’s well- being. Staff have developed good relationships with a variety of partnership agencies and parents. One professional said, ‘I have no issues around communication, they always tell me about any issues through an email or a phone call. We work in partnership together

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

to address any issues that may arise.’ The manager makes sure that all those with an interest in, or responsibility towards, young people are involved in care planning. This means that young people’s needs are being met and they are kept safe. Suitable action has been taken to address the one requirement from the previous inspection. The managers’ review of care now includes the opinions of others. Inspection report children’s home: SC005042 6

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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 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: SC005042 7

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Children’s home details

Provision sub-type: Residential special school

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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(s)

Dave Carrigan, social care inspector Anne Daly, social care inspector Inspection report children’s home: SC005042 8 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(s)

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Inspector(s)

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Inspector(s)

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