Children's Home run by Stoke-on-Trent City Council in Stoke-on-Trent

Inspection report children’s home: SC403895 1 SC403895 Registered provider: Stoke on Trent City Council Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

p.1

Information about this children’s home

The home provides care and accommodation for up to two young people who have emotional and/or social difficulties. A local authority operates the home. The home only supports young people from the local authority’s area. The manager has been registered with Ofsted since February 2018.

p.1

Information about this children’s home

Inspection dates: 18 to 19 September 2018

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: 12 September 2017

p.1

good

Overall judgement at last inspection: good

p.1

good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report children’s home: SC403895 2

p.1

Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

12/09/2017 Full Good 15/03/2017 Interim Declined in effectiveness 07/06/2016 Full Outstanding 03/03/2016 Interim Sustained effectiveness Inspection report children’s home: SC403895 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

Requirement Due date

The quality and purpose of care standard is that children receive care from staff who— understand the children’s home’s overall aims and the outcomes it seeks to achieve for children; use this understanding to deliver care that meets children’s needs and supports them to fulfil their potential. In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to— ensure that the premises used for the purposes of the home are designed and furnished so as to— meet the needs of each child; and enable each child to participate in the daily life of the home. (Regulation 6 (1)(a)(b)(2)(c)(i)(ii)) 30/10/2018

p.3

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. In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to— use monitoring and review systems to make continuous improvements in the quality of care provided in the home. (Regulation 13 (1)(a)(b)(2)(h)) 30/10/2018

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Young people live in a caring, supportive and nurturing environment. They benefit from well-planned individualised care that promotes their needs effectively and contributes to positive change in their lives. Relationships between staff and young people are good. Young people enjoy living at the home and develop an appropriate sense of permanence and belonging. One young person told the inspector, ‘The staff listen to us and make us Inspection report children’s home: SC403895 4 laugh. It’s a house where people care about you.’

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Young people make good progress in their lives. For example, one young person has recently successfully moved into semi-independence and is attending college. The young person’s reviewing officer told the inspector, ‘The progress she has made is amazing. The home has played a massive part in her life. With good support from the staff she has gone from strength to strength.’

p.4

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Young people have clear health plans and are registered with the relevant primary healthcare services. Young people have access to professional health support including a clinical psychologist who visits the home each month. This enables young people to receive support and guidance in relation to their physical health and emotional well- being.

p.4

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff work in partnership with schools and other relevant professionals to ensure that young people have every opportunity to reach their full academic potential.

p.4

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Young people receive good practical and emotional support to maintain contact with their families and people who are important to them. This enables young people to have positive experiences of seeing family members and to understand their social history and culture.

p.4

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

Young people continue to be safe in this home. Staff work with young people individually to address any vulnerabilities and risks. Care plans, behaviour management plans and risk assessments all help to contribute to young people’s changing needs so that they stay protected from harm.

p.4

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

The good relationship that the young people have with the staff means that the need for physical intervention is rare. Incidents that require physical intervention are monitored and evaluated by the manager. Debriefs routinely take place with young people and staff to provide opportunities to explore each incident and to capture any learning.

p.4

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

However, the manager is not monitoring the sanctions and reward systems. This means that there is no evidence of their effectiveness.

p.4

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

Most young people do not go missing from the home. Staff know how to implement and follow the local authority’s joint protocol and procedures for reporting young people missing from care. They take appropriate action to locate young people quickly and promote their safe return.

p.4

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

Young people take pride in their bedrooms. However, some areas in the home are showing signs of wear and tear. This includes the decoration and fittings in the bathroom area. This does not ensure that the young people’s home is well furnished throughout to meet their needs. Inspection report children’s home: SC403895 5 When appointing staff, the manager follows safer recruitment practice guidelines. This means that only those deemed suitable get to work with young people.

p.4

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

Regular health and safety checks, along with routine servicing of equipment, ensure that the home is kept safe for young people, staff and visitors. Staff are trained in fire safety procedures, and they ensure that young people take part in fire evacuation drills, so that they understand how to leave the home safely in an emergency.

p.5

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The home has an appropriately qualified registered manager in place. The manager has been in post since February 2018 and holds a national vocational qualification in leadership, health and social care at level 4.

p.5

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Young people receive a good level of individualised care from a caring and committed staff team. The team comprises staff who are experienced in the service, and some newly appointed staff. This gives a mixture of experience and skills and provides good role models for new staff.

p.5

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff have good access to training opportunities to ensure that they have the knowledge and skills they need to meet the diverse needs of the young people they look after. All staff are qualified or are working towards gaining the level 3 diploma in residential childcare. Staff report that they feel they are well supported. They have regular formal supervision meetings at which they can discuss their own training and development needs as well as the care of the young people.

p.5

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Strong working relationships exist with other professionals such as the police, teachers and social workers. Because of this, young people benefit from a holistic approach to their care. Effective communication ensures that information is shared quickly, which helps to keep young people safe. One social worker told the inspector, ‘Communication is good with the home. I get weekly reports and one-to-one logs, and the manager will ring me if there’s a problem.’

p.5

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

There are no requirements or recommendations outstanding from the previous inspection.

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 Inspection report children’s home: SC403895 6 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: SC403895 7

p.6

Children’s home details

Registered provider: Stoke on Trent City Council

p.7

Children’s home details

Registered provider address: City of Stoke-on-Trent, Civic Centre, Glebe Street, Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire ST4 1HH

p.7

Inspector

Dave Carrigan, social care inspector Inspection report children’s home: SC403895 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.

p.7

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 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.8

Inspector

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

p.8

Inspector

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

p.8