Children's Home run by The Together Trust in Stockport

Inspection report children‟s home: SC025739 1 SC025739 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 registered to provide care and accommodation for four children who may have emotional and/or behavioural difficulties and/or learning disabilities. The home is owned and operated by a private organisation.

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Information about this children’s home

Inspection dates: 27 to 28 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

Date of last inspection: 20 November 2017

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good

Overall judgement at last inspection: outstanding

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report children‟s home: SC025739 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

20/11/2017 Full Outstanding 27/03/2017 Interim Sustained effectiveness 19/12/2016 Full Outstanding 09/03/2016 Interim Improved effectiveness Inspection report children‟s home: SC025739 3

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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.

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must prepare and implement a policy (“the behaviour management policy”) which sets out— how appropriate behaviour is to be promoted in the children‟s home; and the measures of control, discipline and restraint which may be used in relation to children in the home. The registered person must keep the behaviour management policy under review and, where appropriate, revise it. The registered person must ensure that— within 24 hours of the use of a measure of control, discipline or restraint in relation to a child in the home, a record is made which includes— the name of the child; details of the child‟s behaviour leading to the use of the measure; the date, time and location of the use of the measure; a description of the measure and its duration; details of any methods used or steps taken to avoid the need to use the measure; the name of the person who used the measure (“the user”), and of any other person present when the measure was used;

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Requirement Due date

the effectiveness and any consequences of the use of the measure; and a description of any injury to the child or any other person, and any medical treatment administered, as a result of the measure; within 48 hours of the use of the measure, the registered person, or a person who is authorised by the registered person to do so (“the authorised person”)— has spoken to the user about the measure; and has signed the record to confirm it is accurate; and within 5 days of the use of the measure, the registered person or the authorised person adds to the record confirmation that they have spoken to the child about the measure. (Regulation 35(a)(b)(2)(3)(a)(i)(ii)(iii)(iv)(v)(vi)(vii)(viii)(b)(i)(ii)(c)) In particular, all measures of control, including the locking of 15/01/2019 Inspection report children‟s home: SC025739 4 external doors, should be reviewed to ensure that the use of such measures of control is proportionate and appropriate.

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must maintain records (“case records”) for each child which— include the information and documents listed in Schedule 3 in relation to each child; are kept up to date; and are signed and dated by the author of each entry. (Regulation 36(1)(a)(b)(c)) In particular, the registered person must ensure that copies of local authority care plans are on file. 15/01/2019

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Recommendations

 Ensure that staff continually and actively assess the risk to each child and the arrangements in place to protect them („Guide to the children‟s homes regulations including the quality standards‟, page 42, paragraph 9.5). In particular, where a risk assessment rating system is used to identify a young person‟s vulnerabilities, the assessment should include a clear rationale for the agreed rating.  Children who wish to keep and take their own medication should be supported to, if they are able to do so safely. Staff should be mindful that children holding their own prescribed medication must only use it for themselves in accordance with the prescription („Guide to the children‟s homes regulations including the quality standards‟, page 35, paragraph 7.16). In particular, an assessment should be completed to identify if a young person is able to safely administer their own medication. This assessment should take into consideration the impact for the

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Recommendations

young person if they were not to use their medication as directed.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff have a comprehensive understanding of young people‟s needs. Regular consultation with a clinical psychologist supports the staff‟s reflective approach to supporting young people. Staff recognise the underlying factors that are linked to young people‟s presenting behaviours. This knowledge helps staff to be sensitive and considered in their approach.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff show a real commitment to and resilience in meeting the needs of young people. This contributes to the development of relationships between staff and young people. Young people increasingly learn to trust and respect staff.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Young people are at the heart of everything that staff do. Staff are giving of their time and recognise the need to be patient and available for young people. This means that Inspection report children‟s home: SC025739 5 young people have lots of opportunities to talk to staff. This helps young people feel well cared for.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff implement clear boundaries and routines for young people, while also being adaptive and responsive to the day-to-day needs of young people. This helps provide young people with a sense of stability.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff work hard to engage young people with education. As a result, all young people make progress from their starting points. A newly admitted young person has a reduced timetable with a mixed commitment to attending their lessons and therefore this continues to be an area of development. Staff work closely with education colleagues to address barriers to engagement and share ideas on how best to help the young people.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Despite the many examples of the staff‟s effective care planning, staff have not ensured that copies of young people‟s local authority care plans are on file. During the inspection, staff acted on this and were able to obtain one of the two outstanding care plans. There has been no specific impact on young people‟s care because of the absence of these care plans.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Overall, the home provides young people with a pleasant and welcoming place to live. Young people are given the opportunity to choose their own bedrooms and decide how they should be decorated. This helps to give young people a sense of belonging. However, some areas of the home are in need of repair. Specifically, young people have recently damaged doors and walls. Positively, initial repairs have been completed and further decoration is planned to take place soon.

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

Detailed risk assessments provide staff with clear guidance on how best to respond to known risks. Despite this, the staff‟s rationale when applying the risk assessment rating system is not always clear. For example, one young person was assessed as being at a low risk of exploitation, despite the assessment identifying clear factors which would make the young person at a potential risk of exploitation. The impact of this is limited, as despite the assessment of low risk, there are clear and well-considered plans in place to protect the young person from exploitation. As a result, this is an administrative rather than practice-based issue.

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

Staff do have a good understanding of young people‟s vulnerability to potential risks. Staff put in place appropriate strategies to keep young people safe. Staff keep these strategies under continuous review. The staff‟s approach to safeguarding young people is enhanced by regular consultation with social workers and a clinical psychologist. This means that there is a holistic and multi-agency approach to managing risk. As a result of this, young people are kept safe.

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

Staff have many successes in managing young people‟s complex and challenging behaviours. This success is based upon the quality of the staff‟s relationships with young Inspection report children‟s home: SC025739 6 people, and the staff‟s ability to adapt and respond quickly to the changing needs of young people. As a result, in many aspects there have been significant changes in young people‟s behaviours.

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

Staff use personalised rewards charts to incentivise young people to display positive behaviours. These are often effective in promoting young people‟s good behaviours. The staff‟s dynamic approach means that staff continuously adapt these reward systems to promote young people‟s engagement.

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

Despite some fantastic and impressive changes in young people‟s behaviours, they continue to struggle to manage their emotions. In most cases, this is due to factors outside of the staff‟s control. However, as a result, young people do display aggressive behaviour towards staff, and occasionally damage the home.

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

This means that staff have needed to use physical restraints in some cases. When staff use such restraints, the registered manager‟s evaluations are clear. This means that staff only use restraints where appropriate. The registered manager has considered the need for targeted staff training to ensure that young people and staff are kept safe during such restraints. This is good practice given the high level of training staff already receive.

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

In some circumstances, staff have locked internal and external doors as a means of controlling young people‟s movements. The use of such measures is targeted and time limited. In these situations, staff feel that this is the only option available for keeping themselves and young people safe. Young people‟s social workers have endorsed the use of such approaches. Furthermore, this approach has been agreed following consultation with a clinical psychologist. The use of such measures is not typical of the staff‟s approach to managing young people‟s behaviours, and is used as a last resort. However, the registered manager does not consistently record the locking of doors as a formal measure of control. This means that the registered manager does not always evaluate and review the locking of doors as required.

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

Those young people who are able to self-administer medication are given clear guidance by staff on how to do this safely. Although staff consider potential risks associated with young people self-administering their own medication, they do not complete a formal assessment of this. There is no evidence that this has resulted in any harm to young people.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

The registered manager has extensive experience and knowledge. The registered person is an individual who leads from the front and role models exemplary care for young people.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

The registered manager‟s child-focused approach is mirrored by her staff team. The experienced and passionate staff have high expectations of each other and, as a result, Inspection report children‟s home: SC025739 7 high aspirations for young people.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

Research-based practice is the cornerstone of the staff‟s approach to meeting young people‟s needs. The staff‟s theoretical knowledge is good. This is reflected in the staff‟s ability to understand and rationalise the impact of young people‟s childhood experiences on their current behaviours. The staff‟s evidence-based approach is strengthened by their regular consultations with a clinical psychologist who supports staff to apply this theoretical knowledge to their practical care and support of young people.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

With the support of the clinical psychologist, a complementary theoretical model is in the process of being introduced. This will further enhance the staff‟s ability to assess young people‟s needs and identify areas of progress. This demonstrates the staff‟s willingness to continually improve the quality of care provided for young people.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

Young people‟s lives are enhanced as a result of the care they receive. This helps young people to make good progress from their starting points.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

Staff feel well supported and it is clear that the manager has established a supportive and inclusive culture. This gives staff the confidence and resilience to meet the needs of young people.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

Staff work closely with partner agencies to provide a collaborative approach to meeting young people‟s needs. Staff use the expertise of specialist services, such as a sexual- health service. This means that young people receive targeted interventions when required.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

Staff work well with young people‟s social workers and schools. This results in effective care planning which is tailored and specific to the individual needs of young people. Feedback from the young people‟s social workers about the care currently being offered by staff was excellent. Social workers praised staff for their sensitive and responsive approach.

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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 Inspection report children‟s home: SC025739 8 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: SC025739 9

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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

Paul Robinson: social care inspector Inspection report children‟s home: SC025739 10 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 children looked after, safeguarding and child protection.

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Inspector

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Inspector

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Inspector

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