Children's home run by The Partnership of Care Today in Stockport

Inspection report children’s home: SC008608 1 SC008608 Registered provider: The Partnership of Care Today Children’s Services 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 one young person who may have emotional and/or behavioural difficulties. The home is run and managed by a private company.

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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: 15 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

 The young person benefits from well-planned, highly individualised care that promotes his needs effectively and contributes to change and improvement in his life.  The young person is starting to make good progress, taking into account his Inspection report children’s home: SC008608 2 starting point, across all aspects of his physical, social, emotional and behavioural development.  The young person has settled in quickly and has been made to feel welcome by staff. He enjoys living at the home and feels safe and secure living there.  Staff provide the young person with effective, good-quality care. The young person has stability and consistency in his life. Staff maintain effective partnerships with the young person’s family, tutors and social worker to ensure that he benefits from the best possible help and all-round support. The young person is kept safe and has a strong sense of personal safety.

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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 young person is relatively new to the home. Currently, he attends his education on-site. He is learning and making good progress at the home. However, once a suitable school placement is identified for him to attend locally, he will require updated plans to promote his specific needs.

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

15/02/2017 Interim Sustained effectiveness 24/10/2016 Full Good 22/02/2016 Interim Sustained effectiveness 22/10/2015 Full Good Inspection report children’s home: SC008608 3

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Recommendations

 Ensure that all relevant plans are obtained from the placing authority. This relates specifically to obtaining a copy of the education, health and care plan (EHC plan) and an up-to-date personal education plan (PEP). (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 14, paragraph 3.1)

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

This home continues to operate as a single occupancy provision. Since the last inspection, the young person who had lived at the home previously has moved on to alternative care provision. The most recent admission was only admitted to the home in August 2017. The young person has settled in quickly and has been made to feel welcome by staff. He enjoys living at the home and feels safe and secure living there.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The young person is making initial good progress, taking into account his starting point, across all aspects of his physical, social, emotional and behavioural development. He has started to develop good relationships with staff and settled well into the placement. The young person benefits from well-planned, individualised care that promotes his needs effectively. His social worker reports, ‘I have had several contacts with the home and with education. All of which have been very positive. I feel there’s been real positive progress made considering the length of time he’s been there… it’s the best progress he has made so far.’

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The young person was initially placed at the home following their previous placement breaking down. This placement was made as a short-term care arrangement. However, given the good progress that the young person has made since their admission, the placing authority has now extended their placement. The young person receives home tuition at the home currently and they attend education every day. Their engagement in education is positive and they are learning and making good progress, as a result. The home is working closely with the placing authority to identify a suitable school placement for the young person to attend to help him achieve his full potential. Once a local school is identified, the young person will need updated plans to promote their specific needs. The young person reports, ‘Education is brilliant. Even the education officer’s amazing.’

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The young person is registered with a doctor, dentist and optician and they have access to these services when they need them. Medical consent is obtained so that staff are clear about what health decisions and responsibilities are delegated to them. The home maintains effective partnerships with all health professionals to promote the young person’s good health. Specialist services are currently being sourced to further promote his emotional and psychological well-being. Inspection report children’s home: SC008608 4 Staff provide the young person with advice and support on key health issues and this encourages them to lead and maintain a healthy and active lifestyle. The young person is taking responsibility for their own health and benefits from sporting activities that include lots of physical exercise. The young person enjoys constructive and positive activities, such as fishing, quad biking, boxing and attending the marine cadets. The

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

young person reports, ‘I’m a boxer and a marine cadet. I do lots of activities. I do all sorts. It’s all fun.’

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The young person is actively supported by staff to have regular contact with his family. Staff maintain effective partnerships with the young person’s family, which ensures that he can sustain his close relationships with the people who are most important to him. The young person’s family reports, ‘Very pleased. Staff communicate with us and always let us know what’s going on and what he’s been up to... it’s absolutely excellent. He has his moments, but staff are informative and very pleasant. I just hope he can stay there. I’m more than happy. I think it’s fantastic. He’s joined the marine cadets and boxing and he’s doing really well. They’re brilliant.’

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

There have been no complaints since the last inspection. The young person is happy with their care and did not have any complaints or concerns. The young person said, ‘It’s really good. It’s the respect you get here. They’re really understanding and they have an awesome manager and brilliant members of staff. They listen and they give you space and they talk to me. I have no complaints and nothing bad to say about this house. It’s perfect. They’re like family to be honest. They’re such caring and understanding people.’

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

There is evidence to show that the young person is consulted, by staff, on a regular basis. The young person is able to contribute to decisions and influences the running of their home. The young person’s views, wishes and feelings are treated seriously and this ensures that they feel respected, valued and actively listened to. The young person’s views about their care and their relationships with staff were consistently and exceptionally positive.

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

Staff consistently place the young person’s safety at the centre of their practice, irrespective of the challenges that this presents. The young person is kept safe and enjoys a strong sense of personal safety. Staff have a good understanding of the young person’s needs and vulnerabilities and they take appropriate action to address them. Risks associated with the young person are well known and understood by staff.

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

Staff are familiar with their safeguarding roles and responsibilities. They are trained in child protection so that they know how to deal with allegations and report suspected abuse. They maintain effective partnerships with the police and all other safeguarding agencies, to promote the safety and well-being of the individual. They ensure that significant incidents are reported to the appropriate authorities that are charged with a duty to support and protect young people. Inspection report children’s home: SC008608 5 When young people have gone missing, or have been absent from the home without authority, the staff actively look for them and follow the home’s procedures to locate them and encourage their safe return. The frequency with which the young person has gone missing has reduced significantly, taking into account their previous history and starting point. The young person has never gone missing since they came to live at the

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

Staff encourage the development of positive behaviour. They praise the young person’s achievements and reward their positive behaviour. This develops the young person’s self-esteem and improves his self-confidence. Staff apply the home’s rules and boundaries consistently and ensure that consequences for unacceptable behaviour are fair and are kept to an absolute minimum. Where sanctions are used, they are usually restorative in nature.

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

The use of restraint is always a last resort and, if used at all, it is only ever used to protect the young person from harm. Staff build positive relationships with the young person, which provide the foundations for managing the young person’s feelings, emotions and behaviours safely. The young person’s independent reviewing officer reports, ‘Staff are working to support the young person to manage his behaviour. The young person is making good progress in the placement and attended his review throughout. I was pleasantly surprised with the way the young person has settled and how staff are supporting him.’

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

The home provides the young person with a physically safe, appropriately secure, comfortable and homely environment. Health and safety arrangements are managed effectively to ensure a safe environment for staff, visitors and young people.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The home is managed efficiently and effectively by an experienced registered manager who demonstrates strong and effective leadership of the home. He ensures that the young person’s needs are prioritised effectively and staff are consistently well-supported and professionally supervised, managed and led.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff deliver a good-quality service for young people. They provide the young person with continuity of care, which offers them security, consistency and stability. The young person enjoys good relationships with staff who contribute to change and improvement in his life.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff provide a good standard of high-quality care that meet the aims and objectives as set out in the home’s statement of purpose. The home is able to evidence the positive impact and difference it has made to the young person’s life, taking into account his very recent starting point.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The performance of the home is monitored effectively to review and improve the quality of the young person’s care. An independent person visits the home on a monthly basis to evaluate the performance and conduct of the home. This ensures that there is Inspection report children’s home: SC008608 6 effective scrutiny of the home’s performance, which enables the independent person to form an impartial and professional opinion about the effectiveness of the home’s arrangements to safeguard young people and promote their well-being. These visits help the manager to develop their own understanding of the strengths and weaknesses of the home. Consequently, appropriate action can be taken to eliminate those weaknesses and any shortfalls. The manager makes good use of the home’s internal and external monitoring activities to secure improvement.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The home seeks regular feedback from young people, their families and social workers as part of the home’s wider quality assurance systems. This ensures that the views from these parties are appropriately considered and can influence the running of the home. Staff build and maintain effective partnerships with the young person’s family, social worker and the education provider to ensure that the young person benefits from the best possible help and all-round support. Staff provide weekly feedback on the young person’s progress, which the young person’s grandparents and social worker find informative and useful.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager escalates concerns and challenges any decision making if they believe those decisions are not in the best interests of young people. The manager has high expectations of staff and other professionals and ensures that they work collaboratively to improve outcomes for young people at the home.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager ensures that the home is appropriately staffed and is well resourced. A well-balanced, skilled and appropriately qualified staff group is employed to meet the needs of the young person living at the home. There are effective systems for staff to reflect on their practice and performance. Staff benefit from appraisal of their practice, regular team meetings, training and practice-related supervision. All of which support them to provide positive care for resident young people.

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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 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.

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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: SC008608 7

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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

Anthony Kyem: social care inspector Inspection report children’s home: SC008608 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 looked after children, safeguarding and child protection.

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Inspector

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