Children's home run by Social Care Services Limited in Stockport

Inspection report children’s home: SC412687 1 SC412687 Registered provider: Social Care Services (Clayton) Limited Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This home is registered to provide care and accommodation for three young people who may have emotional and/or behavioural difficulties. The home is part of an independent company. The manager has been registered with Ofsted since June 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 outstanding

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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: 21 September 2017

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good

Overall judgement at last inspection: good

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report children’s home: SC412687 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

21/09/2017 Full Good 06/03/2017 Full Good 17/01/2017 Full Inadequate 01/03/2016 Interim Sustained effectiveness Inspection report children’s home: SC412687 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 health and well-being standard is that–

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Requirement Due date

the health and well-being needs of children are met; children receive advice, services and support in relation to their health and well-being; and children are helped to lead healthy lifestyles.

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to ensure– that each child is registered as a patient with a general medical practitioner and a registered dental practitioner; and

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Requirement Due date

that each child has access to such dental, medical, nursing, psychiatric and psychological advice, treatment and other services as the child may require. (Regulation 10(1)(a)(b)(c), (2)(b)(c)) 04/03/2019

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that staff can access appropriate facilities and resources to support their training needs, and should understand the key role they play in the training and development of staff in the home. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 53, paragraph 10.11). Specifically, the manager should ensure that the learning and development of staff are evaluated for effectiveness and that staff identify the impact that any learning has on the care that they provide. Inspection report children’s home: SC412687 4

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children and young people benefit from high-quality care provided by a fully committed staff team that has high aspirations for them. Children and young people are very well supported and the care that they receive is making a positive difference to their lives. A young person said, ‘I’ve been here 10 months and it’s been good, feels like a home. I’d say this is an outstanding home.’ A placing social worker commented, ‘I think this is a wonderful placement. (Name) has made progress, he is happy and content there and wants to remain there. They are supporting him 100%.’

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff provide children and young people with stability, routine and the continuity of care that enable them to build trust and develop a sense of permanence and belonging. Consequently, children and young people have a strong sense of safety and security.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff provide children and young people with a high level of support and encouragement. Children and young people have built strong and trusting relationships with staff, who listen to them and invest time on a daily basis. This helps to build self- esteem and promotes children’s and young people’s progress.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff promote children’s and young people’s education well. All children and young people are engaged in education and enjoy attending. One young person is currently on track to achieve a number of national qualifications. Staff meet regularly with education staff, and this promotes positive educational outcomes for all children and young people.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

There are close working relationships with external health agencies in relation to children’s and young people’s physical, emotional and psychological well-being. Overall, children and young people are healthy. However, one young person is outside of his healthy weight range, and it is not clear from his plans how this is being monitored and addressed. A requirement has been raised to address this.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children and young people benefit from regular house meetings and key-work sessions that enable them to contribute their views, feelings and opinions. This ensures that children and young people contribute to the running of the home. In addition, the manager seeks the views of parents and professionals to help to improve practice in the home.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff provide children and young people with opportunity to participate in new experiences and take part in social activities. Examples include trampolining, bowling and cinema trips. One young person is an avid Manchester United fan and enjoyed a trip to Old Trafford to watch Soccer Aid. In addition, children and young people have taken part in several charity events, including raising money and donating food at the local foodbank. This helps to develop the children’s and young people’s confidence and social skills. Inspection report children’s home: SC412687 5

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

Children and young people are safe in the home. A young person spoken to said that they are confident to talk to staff if they are worried or feel unsafe. Staff are trained in safeguarding and are familiar with their safeguarding roles and responsibilities. There have been no safeguarding concerns since the last inspection.

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

Staff are vigilant to incidents of bullying and appropriately challenge this behaviour. However, there is little conflict between the children and young people. Records show that, during their house meetings, staff discuss the expectations for behaviour and group living. This encourages children and young people to interact positively, and they learn to express themselves better.

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

Since the last inspection, staff have not used any physical intervention and there has been minimal use of sanctions. Children and young people respond well to the rules and boundaries. There is a strong emphasis on celebrating children’s and young people’s achievements. Staff are well trained in behaviour management and use their skills and experience to very good effect.

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

Staff have an excellent understanding of children’s and young people’s risks and vulnerabilities. Comprehensive risk assessments identify children’s and young people’s risks and ensure, where possible, that they are kept safe. This includes careful assessment of children’s and young people’s use of mobile phones and internet.

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

There have been very few incidents of children and young people going missing from the home. Clear protocols are in place, should an incident occur. The manager attends provider meetings with other providers and local safeguarding agencies. These forums are used to share good practice and intelligence that can be used to safeguard the children and young people.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

The home is managed by a suitably qualified and experienced manager. The manager and her deputy are ambitious and influential in changing children’s and young people’s lives. Together, they can clearly demonstrate the positive impact that the home is having in enhancing the lives of children and young people.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

Managers have created a supportive environment where staff are able to challenge and express their views. Staff confirm that they receive regular and effective supervision. Staff use team meetings, handovers and consultations extremely well to reflect on children’s and young people’s progress. A member of staff said, ‘I feel consultations have helped the staff team to understand how best to help (name). It has given us some important strategies.’ Observations of staff during the inspection demonstrate that they clearly enjoy their work.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

The home is well resourced and meeting the aims and objectives of the statement of Inspection report children’s home: SC412687 6 purpose. The manager has an excellent understanding of the strengths and weaknesses of the home. She makes effective use of both internal and external monitoring to ensure that high standards of care are maintained. The previous recommendations made at the last inspection have been addressed.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

The manager is committed to having a staff team that is well trained and qualified. Since the last inspection, staff have completed training on the topics of child development, sexualised behaviour, trauma and self-harm. This ensures that the staff have the right skills and knowledge to provide children and young people with the best possible support. However, the manager does not monitor and evaluate the impact of this learning for effectiveness in improving outcomes for children and young people. That said, this is not having any impact on the quality of care that children and young people receive.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

Parents and professionals are extremely positive and complimentary about the home and the quality of care provided to children and young people. A parent said, ‘As for the staff, they are all really good. I can’t fault them. It’s a really nice place.’ A professional commented, ‘I’ve been really impressed. Communication is great, I get weekly reports and I’m kept up to date. He has settled so quickly and has nicknames for all the staff. I’ve worked with them before and definitely wanted to work with them again.’ Inspection report children’s home: SC412687 7

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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 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.

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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: SC412687 8

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Social Care Services (Clayton) Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Social Care Services Group, 31 Shaw Road, Stockport SK4 4AG

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Inspector

Michelle Bacon: social care inspector Inspection report children’s home: SC412687 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.

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Inspector

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Inspector

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Inspector

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