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

Inspection report children’s home: SC381085 1 SC381085 Registered provider: Stoke-on-Trent City Council

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Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This children’s home is run by the local authority and offers care and accommodation for two young people who have experienced childhood instability leading to trauma and associated complex behaviours. The manager has been registered with Ofsted since July 2016.

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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: SC381085 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

12/06/2018 Full Good 15/03/2018 Interim Sustained effectiveness 11/07/2017 Full Good 24/01/2017 Interim Improved effectiveness Inspection report children’s home: SC381085 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Three young people have left the home since the last inspection. One young person was supported to move into semi-independent accommodation while two young people have moved to new placements that can meet their needs.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

One new young person has moved into the home. The manager and the staff have managed this move well. The manager shared information with the young person about the home before the admission and has successfully built up a good rapport. This pre- admission support helped to reduce the young person’s anxieties about moving and she has now settled into the home well. Good partnership working with children’s services, education and youth offending services has meant that arrangements for the young person’s access to local services have been set up without delay.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

All the young person’s health needs are known and recorded in her plans. The young person has access to external professional health support and a clinical psychologist visits the home twice a month. This provides the staff with opportunities to reflect on and understand the young person’s needs and the reasons underpinning her behaviours. The arrangements for the controlled storage and administration of medication are safe and effective.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Suitable education arrangements are now in place for the young person. These are tailored to her needs and take into account her previous educational circumstances. Staff work in partnership with education providers and other relevant professionals to ensure that the young person has every opportunity to reach her full potential. For example, during the inspection the young person was being supported to attend an interview for a college placement.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The young person’s time with her family is actively supported and promoted by staff. Staff are effective at improving and sustaining relationships between the young person and members of her family, even when there are challenges with this. This means that the young person experiences greater opportunities to sustain important relationships and attachments with those significant to her.

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

The young person lives in a safe home. There are strong and supportive safeguarding arrangements to help her feel safe and protected from harm. Staff support the young person to have a better understanding of risk and to develop healthy and safe relationships.

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

The manager makes good use of opportunities to look at serious incidents when the young person has displayed aggressive and challenging behaviours so that improvements can be made to support her. Regular focused team meetings and one-to- Inspection report children’s home: SC381085 4 ones with staff support them through challenging periods with the young person. This allows staff to reflect on their practice and focus on building a trusting relationship with the young person. As a result, challenging behaviour has significantly reduced in the home.

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

The young person lives in a physically safe environment. There are measures in place to ensure that the home is free from hazards. Regular fire drills are carried out to ensure that the young person knows what she needs to do in the event of an emergency.

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

Staff are vetted and assessed as suitable before any appointment is confirmed. These procedures promote the safety of the young person by preventing unsuitable adults from working with her.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The home has an appropriately qualified registered manager in place. The manager has been registered with Ofsted since July 2016 and holds a diploma in leadership, health and social care at level 5.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager sets high expectations of the staff. He uses staff meetings and supervision well to communicate the positive ethos of the home. Staff report that they find supervision helpful and supportive.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff are well trained and competent. They have good access to training opportunities to ensure that they have the knowledge and skills they need for their work with the young person. Staff are either qualified to a level 3 diploma in residential childcare or are working towards gaining the qualification.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager and staff have developed positive relationships with other agencies. Education professionals, social workers and health professionals all feel that communication with staff is very good. An education professional reported, ‘From my point of view, communication with the home is always excellent. They respond to questions and queries speedily and when we have had any issues, they have always followed up promptly.’

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

In response to the two requirements and one recommendation made at the last inspection, young people are receiving education according to their individual needs, relationships between young people and staff are much more positive and there have been improvements in the quality of the regulation 44 reports. Inspection report children’s home: SC381085 5

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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: SC381085 6

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Children’s home details

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

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Inspector

Dave Carrigan, social care inspector Inspection report children’s home: SC381085 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 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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