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

Inspection report children’s home: SC390576 1 SC390576 Registered provider: Partnership of Care Today Children’s Services Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

p.1

Information about this children’s home

A large provider of children’s services operates this home. It provides care and accommodation for up to four children who have experienced childhood instability, resulting in trauma and associated complex behaviours.

p.1

Information about this children’s home

The manager was registered with Ofsted in 2017.

p.1

Overall experiences and progress of

children and young people, taking into account

p.1

outstanding

How well children and young people are helped and protected outstanding

p.1

outstanding

The effectiveness of leaders and managers outstanding

p.1

outstanding

The children’s home provides highly effective services that consistently exceed the standards of good. The actions of the children’s home contribute to significantly improved outcomes and positive experiences for children and young people who need help, protection and care.

p.1

outstanding

Date of last inspection: 12 December 2017

p.1

outstanding

Overall judgement at last inspection: good

p.1

outstanding

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report children’s home: SC390576 2

p.1

Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

12/12/2017 Full Good 17/03/2017 Interim Sustained effectiveness 06/09/2016 Full Outstanding 18/03/2016 Interim Sustained effectiveness Inspection report children’s home: SC390576 3

p.2

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.

p.3

Recommendations

 The registered person must have systems in place so 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 home regulations including the quality standards’, page 61, paragraph 13.2).

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

Children live in a warm and nurturing home. Staff invest in children, listen to them and know them well. This helps children to form secure relationships with staff and develop a sense of permanence. One child told the inspector: ‘The staff are kind and polite. They treat you with respect. If I need them, they are there for you.’ This caring ethos supports children to make exceptional progress across many areas of their lives.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

Staff place the well-being of children at the heart of their practice. They are strong advocates for children, and will challenge and rectify any shortfalls in their care. One member of staff told the inspector: ‘Everything we do here is for the children. If there is anything amiss, then we will fight tooth and nail for them. The children know this as well.’ This child-centred practice helps children to feel secure and develop an increasing sense of self-worth.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

Children are happy and content in their home. They benefit from spontaneous, affectionate care from staff who genuinely care about them. Children seek out different members of staff to enjoy a range of experiences. For example, one staff member takes children to the gym weekly and other staff take children shopping, swimming and ice skating. Children and staff also enjoy going on holidays together. One staff member told the inspector, ‘We are like one big family’.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

Children often arrive at the home with poor and unsettled education experiences. However, the aspirational registered manager and the staff quickly set children on the path to educational success. Staff provide boundaries and promote a culture of success and achievement. In addition, they initiate and maintain strong relationships with schools. As a result, children’s school attendance is excellent and their academic and Inspection report children’s home: SC390576 4 social progress is outstanding, considering their starting points. One child’s recent school report noted that he had made ‘the best progress in the school’. School staff speak highly of the support that children receive at their home. One teacher told the inspector: ‘His home really stands out. The manager really cares about him. She goes above and beyond. It’s not just a job for her; it means much more than that.’

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

Staff work hard to promote positive and productive relationships with children’s families and carers. On occasion, staff also mediate between parents and the local authority. These sensitive and child-centred discussions ensure that children continue to benefit from regular and safe contact with their families. Parents and carers speak positively about the care that their children receive from staff. One parent told the inspector: ‘I couldn’t wish for my child to be anywhere else. The staff organised a day out so I could see him on his birthday. It just meant so much to us.’

p.4

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

Staff practice is consistently underpinned by the home’s social pedagogy model. This is the cornerstone of children’s exceptional progress. Staff acknowledge that children will experience uncertainty, resulting in difficult thoughts and emotions. In response, they work together with children to find solutions. As a result, children learn new strategies to manage their anxieties. For example, staff provide children with ‘worry’ boxes and notepads to write down their thoughts. One child told the inspector: ‘I used to get angry at little things, but now I don’t. The staff have taught me this.’

p.4

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

Children play a central role in the day-to-day running of the home. Staff use a variety of means to capture children’s views, including daily discussions, key-work sessions and children’s meetings. This helps staff to understand how children feel about their care and to make the necessary improvements. Furthermore, children are heavily involved in more complex aspects of their care, such as reviewing their internal placement plans and risk assessments. Children also benefit from regular individual review meetings with the registered manager. This helps children to feel valued and have a sense of ownership of their plans.

p.4

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

The home environment is bright and vibrant. Children’s bedrooms are decorated to their personal taste and lounges are exceptionally well furnished. This gives children a choice over where to spend free time. Pictures that capture happy memories and enjoyable events are on show throughout the home. Children thrive in this positive and relaxed environment and have a sense of pride in their home. One child told the inspector: ‘I hadn’t lived in a children’s home before. I didn’t think it would be a nice place, but this just feels like a normal home.’

p.4

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

Staff identify and understand the risks for each child. Individualised and up-to-date risk assessments contain clear guidance for staff to manage risk. Children work alongside staff to review their levels of risk and discuss strategies to keep them safe. This helps children to understand risk and take responsibility for their own safety.

p.4

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

Staff provide children with the knowledge and skills required to manage challenging and Inspection report children’s home: SC390576 5 risk-taking behaviour. For example, children are able to take part in a range of training courses that help to increase their awareness of the risks associated with substance misuse, gang culture and child sexual exploitation. Staff use their intuition to identify when children are anxious or agitated. They provide children with a calm and nurturing response, and offer strategies to help them to manage difficult feelings and emotions. One child told the inspector: ‘My behaviour has got a lot better. The staff have helped me to think about my behaviour and make better choices.’

p.4

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

Children make significant and sustained progress in reducing their risk-taking behaviour. They rarely go missing from the home or behave aggressively. For some children, this is significant progress from their starting points. Staff provide children with structure and routine, and staff practice strikes a good balance between enforcing boundaries and rewarding positive behaviour. One parent told the inspector: ‘They (staff) have worked wonders with him (child). He is more mature now. He is a different child.’

p.5

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

Staff support children to take age-appropriate risks. For example, a child travels to school independently and has unsupervised time away from the home to socialise with his friends. Staff act, as any good parent would, by getting to know children’s friends and family. This helps staff to keep children safe while still allowing them the opportunity to enjoy friendships and explore their local community.

p.5

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

Children are able to seek out members of staff to share their concerns. They feel that staff listen to them and take their concerns seriously. Recently, a child had expressed concern about local gang culture. Informal staff discussions and targeted key-work sessions provided the child with an invaluable insight into the associated risks. As a result, he detached himself from a potentially risky peer group.

p.5

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

The registered manager uses research to enhance staff’s knowledge of modern-day risks. For example, she recently used online information to discuss the risks posed by ‘county lines’, with a focus on child exploitation and gang culture. This innovative approach helps staff to keep children safe.

p.5

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

Recruitment processes are robust and safe. This protects children from unsafe adults.

p.5

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

The registered manager is aspirational, child focused and ambitious for the children in her care. This ethos inspires staff to deliver exceptional care. Staff provides children with continuity of care. One member of staff told the inspector: ‘I feel we are an amazing staff team with an amazing manager. It’s a great place to work.’

p.5

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

The staff team is diverse and has an excellent mix of experience and skills. Staff are positive role models for children and offer them a range of expertise. New staff receive excellent inductions. This helps them to settle in quickly and learn key aspects of their role. A healthy learning environment ensures that staff have access to a comprehensive training programme. This equips staff with the knowledge required to offer children high-quality care. Inspection report children’s home: SC390576 6 The registered manager has effective monitoring systems in place. She compiles information on all aspects of children’s care, using a variety of means. Internal monthly reports help to identify the strengths and weakness of the home and track children’s behaviour patterns. In addition, the registered manager occasionally works on shift to oversee the quality of care that children receive. She leads by example and addresses

p.5

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

The registered manager is keen to develop her staff. She strives for continual improvement in staff practice by offering effective challenge and support. Senior staff follow individual development programmes and are undertaking management qualifications. All staff have a clear pathway for their promotion in the home. This motivates staff to continue to deliver high-quality care.

p.6

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

The registered manager ensures that children receive exceptional, personalised care that responds to their needs. Staff and children work together to write and review key documents. Social workers and family members work alongside staff to secure positive outcomes for children. The registered manager also introduces ideas to help children to engage in their care. For example, the children’s weekly planners and meeting agendas are colourful, imaginative and personalised.

p.6

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

Staff develop excellent working relationships with a number of agencies. This coordinated approach helps children to make exceptional progress. School staff and social workers are very positive about the care that children receive. They receive regular updates on children’s progress and feel confident that staff will address issues. A teacher told the inspector: ‘We have daily contact with the home. Together, we offer seamless support. Things are going extremely well for him (child)’.

p.6

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

The registered manager is supportive of staff and ensures that they receive regular supervision. Some supervision records do not record children’s progress or staff’s reflections on their role. The impact is lessened, as staff team meetings offer a forum to reflect on and challenge practice and to discuss children’s progress. - Inspection report children’s home: SC390576 7

p.6

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

p.7

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: SC390576 8

p.7

Children’s home details

Registered provider: Partnership of Care Today Children’s Services

p.8

Children’s home details

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

p.8

Inspector

Gareth Leckey, social care inspector Inspection report children’s home: SC390576 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 looked after children, safeguarding and child protection.

p.8

Inspector

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 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.9

Inspector

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

p.9

Inspector

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

p.9