Children's home run by The Together Trust in Stockport

Inspection report children’s home: SC025715 1 SC025715 Registered provider: The Together Trust

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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 home is owned and managed by a voluntary organisation. It is registered to provide care and accommodation for up to three children who may have physical and/or learning disabilities. The manager has been registered with Ofsted since 2009.

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Information about this children’s home

Inspection dates: 13 to 14 November 2018

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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 outstanding

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good

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

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good

Overall judgement at last inspection: good

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

30/08/2017 Full Good 16/03/2017 Interim Improved effectiveness 13/12/2016 Full Good 14/03/2016 Interim Sustained effectiveness Inspection report children’s home: SC025715 2

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Recommendations

 For children’s homes to be nurturing and supportive environments that meet the needs of their children, they will, in most cases, be homely, domestic environments. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 42, paragraph 9.5) In particular, ensure that any mould or mildew is cleaned off the bedroom windowsill and the sealant in the bathroom.  Ensure that the workforce development plan is updated to include any new training and qualifications completed by staff while working at the home, and used to record the ongoing training and continuing professional development needs of staff, including the home’s manager. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 53, paragraph 10.8)

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good

The staff provide children with a stable, warm and nurturing environment. Children benefit from a staff team that has an excellent understanding of their individual needs. Children are encouraged and supported to take part in everyday life and attend school. A placing social worker wrote, ‘I have worked with a number of children who have stayed at [name of the home] and they have always gone above and beyond for the children. They communicate well with parents and professionals and ensure that children enjoy and achieve.’ Children receive high-quality care and their experience of living or staying at the home enhances their life chances. Children are making good progress from their initial starting points. For example, one child is now eating a more varied diet and trying new foods. A parent said, ‘He enjoys it there, he is settled and doing so much more; he is trying new things. Progress is great.’ Clear routines and boundaries ensure that children receive consistent care.

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good

All children attend school. There is regular liaison between the home and all the schools to ensure that children’s learning needs are fully supported. Specialist services, including speech and language therapists and occupational therapists, work with the children in school to support their progress and development. The children and staff attended an awards evening to celebrate their achievements. Children’s health needs are very well supported. While parental responsibility Inspection report children’s home: SC025715 3 is maintained by parents, staff’s strong working relationships with parents and health professionals ensure that children’s health needs are consistently met. Staff follow programmes of care that are tailor-made to the individual needs of the children. Staff have had training specific to the needs of the children, including autism awareness, epilepsy and Makaton. This ensures that staff have the skills and knowledge to work with complex and vulnerable

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good

children effectively. Staff recognise the importance of transitional work to help children understand why change is happening and to ensure that they are well prepared. For example, one child had lots of visits to the home over a number of months, to help him become familiar with his new surroundings. This also enabled the staff team to understand his complex needs. A professional commented on the ‘smooth transition’ for the child and how he is ‘benefiting’ from his stay at the home. It is evident from feedback from parents and professionals that staff place children at the centre of their practice. Staff promote contact with families very well, which is a key strength. Parents are made very welcome in the home to spend time with their children. This enables parents to maintain an active role in their children’s lives. Staff provide children with a wide range of stimulating activities that increase their social interactions. For example, some go swimming or enjoy

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good

spending their pocket money at the shops, while others enjoy travelling on public transport. A professional commented, ‘He is able to have lots of fun and life experiences there…I have observed him there and he is a different boy.’

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good

The home’s safeguarding arrangements promote the welfare and safety of children. Parents and professionals report that their children are safe. Observations confirm that the children have positive relationships with staff and trust them. There are no incidents of children going missing from the home. Staff understand the missing from care procedures, and good levels of supervision ensure that the children receive the support and attention necessary. Risk assessments identify all known risks for each child and how these should be managed by staff to keep children safe. There has been one complaint since the last inspection. Records show that this was thoroughly investigated, and appropriate action taken. Staff are well trained in a nationally recognised programme that enables them to understand and support children’s behaviour. Staff are skilled at using redirection or reassurance to help children stay calm. This means that

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good

the use of physical intervention is kept to a minimum. Children respond well to clear and consistent boundaries. Staff offer practical strategies, such as visual reminders, objects of reference and picture Inspection report children’s home: SC025715 4 exchange communication systems to help individual children communicate their wishes. This helps to reduce children’s anxieties and improve their feelings of security. The organisation undertakes careful selection and vetting of staff to protect children. Safeguarding training ensures that staff have a good understanding of their role and responsibilities in keeping vulnerable children safe.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

The statement of purpose, which is kept under review, clearly sets out the ethos and objectives of the home. The home is accredited with the National Autistic Society, demonstrating that it meets the required standard for delivering care to children with autistic spectrum disorder. An experienced and knowledgeable staff team cares for the children. Seven of the 10 staff hold an appropriate childcare qualification. For new staff, the provider has a comprehensive induction programme and, following their probationary period, staff are enrolled on the level 3 diploma course. Staff complete mandatory training as well as specialist training to ensure that they have the skills to look after children with complex needs. However, more needs to be done to improve the workforce development plan to show ongoing training and the continuing professional development needs of staff. The manager and her deputy are ambitious, inspirational and influential in

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

changing children’s lives. They create a culture of high aspiration and have high expectations of staff. Managers know the children very well and strive for the best outcomes for each child. Parents and professionals were extremely positive about the high quality of care and how the staff are improving the overall experiences and outcomes for children. Staff receive excellent support through regular supervision and appraisal. Staff spoken to said that they are well managed and feel valued. Daily handovers and monthly team meetings provide a clear view of children’s progress. The home’s development plan identifies key targets for improvement over the coming months. The registered manager has an excellent understanding of the strengths and weaknesses of the home and uses both internal and external monitoring well to ensure that the high standards of care practice are maintained. The manager has addressed the recommendations made at the previous

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

inspection. Managers and staff have created a warm and welcoming home. However, it would be beneficial to replace the seal around the bath due to the mould. In addition, one of the bedrooms also has a small amount of mould on the windowsill due to condensation. That said, the two recommendations made during this inspection do not impact on the welfare or safety of the children.

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Information about this inspection

Inspection report children’s home: SC025715 5 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: SC025715 6

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: The Together Trust Centre, Schools Hill, Cheadle, Cheshire SK8 1JE

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Inspector

Michelle Bacon: social care inspector Inspection report children’s home: SC025715 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.

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Inspector

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Inspector

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Inspector

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