Children's home run by Stoke-on-Trent City Council

Inspection report children’s home: 1259118 1 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 early childhood instability that has led to trauma and/or associated complex behaviours.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager has been registered with Ofsted since May 2018.

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Information about this children’s home

Inspection dates: 19 to 20 November 2019

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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

Date of last inspection: 11 September 2018

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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: 1259118 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

11/09/2018 Full Good 31/10/2017 Full Good Inspection report children’s home: 1259118 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 quality and purpose of care standard is that children receive care from staff who—

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Requirement Due date

understand the children’s home’s overall aims and the outcomes it seeks to achieve for children;

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Requirement Due date

use this understanding to deliver care that meets children’s needs and supports them to fulfil their potential.

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to—

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Requirement Due date

ensure that the premises used for the purposes of the home are designed and furnished so as to—

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Requirement Due date

meet the needs of each child; (Regulation 6 (1)(a)(b)(2)(c)(i))

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Requirement Due date

Specifically, regarding the home’s decor. 22/01/2020

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Requirement Due date

The protection of children standard is that children are protected from harm and enabled to keep themselves safe.

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to ensure—

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Requirement Due date

assess whether each child is at risk of harm, taking into account information in the child’s relevant plans, and, if necessary, make arrangements to reduce the risk of any harm to the child;

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Requirement Due date

that the premises used for the purposes of the home are designed, furnished and maintained so as to protect each child from avoidable hazards to the child’s health. (Regulation 12 (1)(2)(a)(i)(d))

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Requirement Due date

With regards to risk assessments and the home’s freezer. 22/01/2020 Inspection report children’s home: 1259118 4

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Since the home’s last inspection, one young person has left the home. The young person had a well-planned move into a semi-independent living. A new young person has moved into the home and has settled in well.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Young people make good progress from their starting points. This is because young people receive care from staff who are committed to making a positive difference to young people’s lives. Staff speak about young people with warmth and with knowledge. This demonstrates how well staff respect and know the young people.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Young people have clear health plans and are registered with the relevant primary healthcare services. Staff understand the importance of good health and support young people to attend all health-related appointments. Appropriate arrangements are in place for the safe management of medicines to promote the safety and well-being of young people.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Young people maintain good school or college attendance. Staff ensure that they maintain good communication with young people’s teachers. This close partnership working helps to ensure that young people make good progress across all their academic subjects.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Young people spend time with their families in line with their care plans. These arrangements are supported and supervised by staff as required. This promotes the development and maintenance of relationships that are important to young people.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The home is generally kept to a good standard. Young people take pride in their bedrooms and have personalised them. However, some areas in the home are beginning to show signs of wear. This includes the decoration in the lounge and kitchen requiring freshening up. This is not conducive to creating a homely and well cared for environment.

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

Young people confirm that they feel safe and settled living in the home. Staff receive safeguarding training as part of their induction and they demonstrate that they are familiar with the procedures to follow in the event of any concerns.

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

Staff understand young people’s vulnerabilities and are committed to protecting young people from the risk of harm and abuse. However, not all risk assessments contain accurate information. For example, one young person’s risk assessment is based on their previous placement. This means that staff are working with documents that do not accurately reflect young people’s present vulnerabilities. Inspection report children’s home: 1259118 5 Some young people require physical intervention to help them and others to remain safe. Regular monitoring by the manager helps to ensure that staff practice is effective. This reflective approach to behaviour management ensures that physical intervention is only used as a last resort and that the manager continues to review staff practice.

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

Staff carry out regular health and safety checks and follow a range of safety procedures to protect young people from potential hazards. These include carrying out fire drills to ensure that young people know what to do in the case of an emergency. However, the freezer in the home is not reaching the required temperature. This has the potential to put young people’s health at risk if not addressed.

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

The manager ensures that young people are protected by having thorough recruitment procedures in place. She ensures that staff suitability is checked before any appointment is confirmed. These measures promote young people’s safety by preventing unsuitable adults from working with them.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The home is led by a suitably qualified and experienced registered manager. She provides effective leadership to the staff team and uses reviewing and monitoring systems to improve the care and outcomes for young people.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff report that they are well supported by the manager. They have regular opportunities, through practice-related supervision and team meetings, to reflect on young people’s progress and to look at new ways of supporting young people.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

All staff receive a wide range of training. This includes safeguarding and physical restraint, as well as more specific training that relates to young people’s individual needs; for example, helping staff to understand autism spectrum disorder. All staff have gained their level 3 diploma in residential childcare. As a result, staff are equipped with the necessary skills and knowledge to meet young people’s wide-ranging needs.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Good working relationships exist with other professionals, such as the police, teachers and social workers. As a result, there is a coordinated approach to meeting young people’s needs and communication is shared quickly, which helps to keep young people safe.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Suitable action has been taken to address the requirements and recommendation from the previous inspection. The statement of purpose has been reviewed and is now an accurate description of the services the home provides. All staff now hold the required qualification in residential childcare and the manager’s reviewing and monitoring systems are now more effective.

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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 Inspection report children’s home: 1259118 6 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: 1259118 7

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: City Of Stoke-on-Trent, Boothen Road, Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire ST4 4SY

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Inspector

Dave Carrigan, social care inspector Inspection report children’s home: 1259118 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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Inspector

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