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

Inspection report children’s home: SC437645 1 SC437645 Registered provider: The Partnership of Care Today and Parallel Parents

p.1

Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

p.1

Information about this children’s home

This is a privately run children’s home. It provides care and accommodation for young people who experience emotional and/or behavioural difficulties.

p.1

Overall experiences and progress of

children and young people, taking into account

p.1

good

How well children and young people are helped and protected good

p.1

good

The effectiveness of leaders and managers good

p.1

good

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

p.1

good

Date of last inspection: 21 February 2017

p.1

good

Overall judgement at last inspection: Improved effectiveness

p.1

Key findings from this inspection

 Children and young people are cared for by a committed staff team that places them at the heart of all it does.  Children and young people maintain and improve levels of contact with their Inspection report children’s home: SC437645 2 family and other significant people in their lives.  The manager and staff team actively monitor the progress of children and young people. They drive through achievement and identify areas of concern.

p.1

Key findings from this inspection

The children’s home’s areas for development:

p.2

Key findings from this inspection

 Recording of individual sessions between children and young people and staff would be more useful to those involved if they included more detail and analysis of the impact on children and young people.  Some documents, such as the recording of consequences, could be presented in a clearer format.

p.2

Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

21/02/2017 Interim Improved effectiveness 22/11/2016 Full Requires improvement 08/03/2016 Interim Improved effectiveness 23/11/2015 Full Outstanding Inspection report children’s home: SC437645 3

p.2

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children and young people living in this home are making good progress from their starting points. They are having a range of positive experiences through the carefully planned care they are receiving from the staff team. They have a sense of permanence, with some children and young people sustaining placements at the home for several years. In line with the home’s statement of purpose, children and young people benefit from ‘bespoke plans’ which recognise that each child and young person is different. Some young people enjoy physical pursuits such as football, while others prefer computer gaming or doing hair and make-up. One young person shops for and prepares her own meals as part of a health plan. Effective and regular planning involving social workers and others helps children and young people to progress. One social worker commented that, ‘the team around the child here is strong, we all work in partnership’.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children and young people are achieving in education. Where there are challenges, staff are proactive in advocating in their best interests. They instill the importance of education into children and young people and support them with homework and after- school activities. One young person is performing in a school talent show. Children and young people enjoy warm relationships with the staff. This is because staff place young people’s well-being at the centre of practice. They are well informed about the experiences and needs of children and young people when they come to live at the home. They carefully plan how to meet these and are consistent in their response to the challenges children and young people may present. The health needs of children and young people are well met. One young person has lost a significant amount of weight through attendance at a slimming club. The staff have fully supported her with this. She plans, shops and cooks her own meals, which is

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

teaching her how to keep herself healthy. It is also preparing her for transition to adulthood. Referral to specialist services to support the emotional health of children and young people is timely, resulting in them receiving help when they need it. Children and young people take part in a range of activities both within the home and the local community, including Girl Guides, football teams, day trips and holidays. Activities are used to motivate young people and help them build positive relationships with each other. This results in them having a wide range of interests and seeing themselves as part of the family in the home. Children and young people keep photographs and memorabilia of their lives at the home in a memory box. Staff work through children and young people’s life experiences sensitively with them, at their pace. High-quality life story books are prepared with information obtained in therapeutic work so that children can understand their histories.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Individual sessions between children and young people and staff cover a wide variety of topics related to their care plans. However, recording of these would be more useful to everyone involved if they included more detail and analysis of the impact on children and Inspection report children’s home: SC437645 4 young people. The promotion of contact for children and young people with appropriate family members and previous carers is strong. Staff invest time in helping families build and maintain relationships with the children and young people. These relationships help young people to develop their self-identity while remaining safe. For some children and young people, relationships with siblings have been successfully built and maintained through the efforts of the staff team.

p.3

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

Staff understand the vulnerabilities of children and young people in detail. They respond with clear boundaries about what is safe and acceptable. They use their strong relationships to help children and young people to manage their feelings and behaviour safely. As a result, children do not go missing and the use of physical restraint is minimal. Where physical restraint is used it is in accordance with the legislative framework. The risks associated with children and young people, such as self-harming behaviour, are known and understood by staff. Up-to-date risk assessments set out what action should be taken, and these are being followed by staff. As a result, risks are being minimised and for some young people the risk of harm has reduced significantly. Conflict management includes the use of restorative practice, which minimises the use of sanctions and encourages children and young people to develop insight into the impact

p.4

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

of their actions. Careful recruitment and monitoring of staff prevents unsuitable people from having the opportunity to place children and young people at risk.

p.4

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Leaders and managers have systems in place which provide a good oversight of the care provided to children and young people. Placing and host authorities are engaged as necessary. Leaders and managers take steps to ensure that plans for individual children comprehensively identify their needs. They maintain comprehensive scrutiny of the progress made by each child and young person in all areas of their lives. This ensures that any issues are swiftly identified. For example, the school placement of one child is not now fully meeting his needs, and so the manager has called for an early review and a more suitable placement is being secured. The views of children and young people, parents and other professionals are being sought. They are being used to inform the evaluation of the quality of care and progress provided to children and young people in the six-monthly review. The requirement made with regard to this is met.

p.4

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager actively drives the achievement of important milestones for children and young people. If necessary, appropriate challenge is made to ensure that decisions and actions are in a child or young person’s best interests. As a result, the manager is able to demonstrate the positive impact that living in the home has had on the life chances of Inspection report children’s home: SC437645 5 children and young people. Child-centred decisions are made about children and young people coming to live in the home. Detailed information is gathered and the impact on those already living there is considered. Leaders and managers understand the emotional process that some children and young people go through when they are settling in, and show commitment to supporting them through this. There is an established staff team with appropriate qualifications. They receive regular supervision and are encouraged to undertake a wide range of training.

p.4

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Communication between all team members is strong, with frequent team meetings in which important information about the children and young people is shared. One parent noted that staff on duty are all consistent in their knowledge of the young person. The manager promotes a culture that is characterised by high expectations and aspirations for the children and young people, and this is shared by staff.

p.5

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 differences 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 whom it is trying to help, protect and look after.

p.5

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: SC437645 6

p.5

Children’s home details

Registered provider: The Partnership of Care Today and Parallel Parents

p.6

Children’s home details

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

p.6

Inspector(s)

Janet Black, social care inspector Inspection report children’s home: SC437645 7 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 looked after children, safeguarding and child protection.

p.6

Inspector(s)

If you would like a copy of this document in a different format, such as large print or Braille, please telephone 0300 123 1231, 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 http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence , write to the Information Policy Team, The National Archives, Kew, London TW9 4DU, or email: psi@nationalarchives.gsi.gov.uk .

p.7

Inspector(s)

Interested in our work? You can subscribe to our monthly newsletter for more information and updates: http://eepurl.com/iTrDn .

p.7

Inspector(s)

T: 0300 123 1231 Textphone: 0161 618 8524 E: enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk W: http://www.gov.uk/ofsted

p.7