Children's home run by The Partnership of Care Today in Stockport

Inspection report children’s home: SC008608 1 SC008608 Registered provider: The Partnership of Care Today Children’s Services

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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 run by a partnership. The home provides care and accommodation for one young person who may have emotional and/or behavioural difficulties and/or learning disabilities .

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Information about this children’s home

The registered manager has been in post since March 2007.

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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 good

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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 Inspection report children’s home: SC008608 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

02/05/2018 Full Good 20/09/2017 Full Good 15/02/2017 Interim Sustained effectiveness 24/10/2016 Full Good Inspection report children’s home: SC008608 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The young person who lives in the home has made sustainable progress in relation to his starting point across aspects of his physical, social, emotional and behavioural development. He benefits from receiving well-planned, highly personalised care that promotes his needs effectively and contributes to sustainable change and improvement in his life. The young person has complex needs and came with a history of challenging, risk-taking behaviours.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The young person’s guardian reported, ‘[Young person’s] behaviour has transformed since being at the home. Although there are blips, they have worked well to encourage a more reasonable response to boundaries.’

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The young person has slowly begun to develop positive and trusting relationships with staff. However, he remains very distrustful of other professionals. As a result, he is not yet benefiting from the external support made available to him from all other agencies. Staff continue to help the young person to overcome his fears and anxieties around meeting new people. They work proactively with the young person’s social worker, school, parents and other professional agencies to ensure that his specific needs are consistently met and he benefits from the best possible help and all-round support.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff have made some progress in terms of promoting the young person’s education. Historically, education has been an issue and currently the young person attends an alternative educational provision. His attendance is sporadic and not enough to promote his achievements and learning. The young person has a specific health condition that can make school life stressful and difficult for him. Staff are considering home tuition and are working closely with the providers of the young person’s education to help him resume his education. The young person has a personal education plan (PEP) and education, health and care (EHC) plan in place. However, these plans do not reflect the current arrangements made to promote the young person’s education.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Medical consent is in place and staff are familiar with the health decisions and responsibilities that are charged and delegated to them. The young person is prescribed medication to help manage his health condition. His personal hygiene has improved, as too have his self-esteem and self-confidence. The young person is registered with a doctor, dentist and optician, and has access to specialist support. He has attended some medical and routine health appointments, but struggles to attend these at the frequency required. Staff continue to support the young person to attend his health appointments to promote his physical, emotional and psychological well-being.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The young person enjoys attending various activities with staff in the community. In particular, he enjoys going motocross racing and fishing. The young person benefits from having contact with his family. As a result, he sustains his close relationships with Inspection report children’s home: SC008608 4 the people who are most important to him. A parent reported, ‘[Child] is progressing well. He’s made great progress since starting and he’s only getting better.’ His social worker reported, ‘I think they have done a fantastic job with the progress they have made. We are really very pleased.’

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

Prior to his admission, the young person had presented with a range of risk-taking behaviours, such as going missing from care for long periods, drug misuse, antisocial behaviour and numerous assaults on staff. Staff have endured a difficult and turbulent few months in addressing the young person’s needs and presenting behaviours. The young person did struggle to settle in initially. However, through perseverance, dedication and commitment, the staff have managed to develop trusting and warm relationships with the young person. They provide him with a safe, supportive, caring and nurturing environment.

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

The young person benefits from having continuity of care, and has consistency and stability in his life. He has slowly begun to respond to the consistent boundaries that staff have put in place to promote his positive behaviour. Risks associated with the young person’s behaviours have reduced and he is now learning to self-regulate his own feelings and behaviours more safely.

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

The young person knows how to make a complaint. However, he has made no complaints since his admission. There is evidence to demonstrate that the young person’s views are considered, and staff act on his feelings and reasonable requests. Staff have a good understanding of the young person’s specific needs and emerging vulnerabilities, and take appropriate action to address them. The young person is safer because of the actions staff have taken to support and protect him. He is kept safe and is developing a strong sense of personal safety.

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

The young person has only been missing from the home on one isolated occasion. Staff took prompt action to locate the young person quickly and this ensured his safe return. The young person has a history of going missing, but incidents of this nature have reduced in number significantly.

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

The young person’s behaviours are managed safely and effectively by staff. The use of restraint is rare. If this measure is used at all, it is a last resort to protect the young person from harm. The use of consequences to address unacceptable behaviour is kept to an absolute minimum. Greater emphasis is placed on acknowledging, praising and rewarding the young person’s positive behaviour.

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

The young person is currently in the process of having his bedroom completely redecorated in accordance with his needs, feelings and wishes. He is encouraged by staff to take ownership of his bedroom and to keep his room clean and tidy. Staff undertake daily spot checks to ensure that this is the case. Health and safety matters are addressed effectively to promote a safe environment for young people and staff. Inspection report children’s home: SC008608 5

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager has been in post since March 2007. The home benefits from the post-holder’s well-developed management skills. The home employs sufficient numbers of well-qualified, trained and experienced staff to meet the specific needs of the young people at the home.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The young person’s needs are prioritised effectively by staff. Staff work proactively, as a team, and closely with parents and the wider professional communities to ensure that young people benefit from having the best possible support. This ensures that young people’s specific needs are consistently met. Staff strive to achieve the best outcomes possible for young people. They provide the young person with effective, high-quality support.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The home has met and addressed the recommendations from the last inspection. The young person living at the home has relevant plans in place to promote his specific needs. Staff are suitably trained to manage young people’s behaviours safely and therapeutic support is sourced for young people who need additional support to promote their emotional and psychological well-being.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

There are effective arrangements made for the routine monitoring of the performance of the home. The home is visited once a month by an independent person who scrutinises the home’s arrangements to safeguard young people and promote their well-being. A copy of the independent visitor’s report is sent to the home and Ofsted each month, and is accessible to the placing authority upon request. Combined with the registered manager’s own internal monitoring activities, this means that there are effective arrangements in place to secure the home’s continuing improvement.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The views of young people, social workers and other stakeholders are ascertained and considered. This ensures that they can influence the services that the home provides for young people. Inspection report children’s home: SC008608 6

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Recommendations

 Ensure that all relevant plans are obtained from the placing authority (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 14, paragraph 3.1). This relates specifically to obtaining a copy of the EHC plan and an up-to-date PEP.  Children should be in full-time education whilst they are of compulsory school age, unless their personal education plan contained within the care plan or other relevant plan states otherwise. The home must aim to support full-time attendance at school unless the child’s relevant plan indicates this is not in their best interests. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 28, paragraph 5.14)  Homes have a key role in organising and ensuring each child’s attendance at the necessary primary and secondary health services. Most health services that a child needs to access will be provided by other organisations. If these services

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Recommendations

are not accessible, or are withdrawn, staff should inform and engage with those who also hold a responsibility for the child’s health to ensure their health needs are met under regulation 5 (engaging with the wider system to ensure children’s needs are met) (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 34, paragraph 7.11). This relates specifically to supporting the young person to attend routine health and medical appointments.

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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 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: SC008608 7

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: The Partnership of Care Today Children’s Services

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Children’s home details

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

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Inspector

Anthony Kyem: social care inspector Inspection report children’s home: SC008608 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 children looked after, safeguarding and child protection.

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Inspector

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Inspector

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