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

Inspection report children’s home: 2484586 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 social and/or emotional difficulties. The manager has a social work qualification and has been registered with Ofsted since August 2018.

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Information about this children’s home

Inspection dates: 10 to 11 December 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: 15 January 2019

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good

Overall judgement at last inspection: good

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: good Inspection report children’s home: 2484586 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

15/01/2019 Full Good Inspection report children’s home: 2484586 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— understand the children’s home’s overall aims and the outcomes it seeks to achieve for children; use this understanding to deliver care that meets children’s needs and supports them to fulfil their potential. In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to— ensure that the premises used for the purposes of the home are designed and furnished so as to— meet the needs of each child; and enable each child to participate in the daily life of the home. (Regulation 6(1)(a)(b)(2)(b)(c)(i)(ii)) 02/02/2020

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Requirement Due date

The education standard is that children make measurable progress towards achieving their educational potential and are helped to do so. In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to ensure— that staff— help a child who is excluded from school, or who is of compulsory school age but not attending school, to access educational and training support throughout the period of exclusion or non-attendance and to return to school as soon as possible; and help each child to attend education or training in accordance with the expectations in the child’s relevant plans. (Regulation 8(1)(2)(a)(viii)(ix)(x)) 02/02/2020

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Requirement Due date

If the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005(a) applies to the home— the registered person must ensure that the requirements of that 02/02/2020 Inspection report children’s home: 2484586 4 Order and any regulations made under it, except for article 23 (duties of employees), are complied with in respect of the home. (Regulation 25(2)(b))

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Young people receive good care from staff who are dedicated in their roles and are committed to understanding each young person’s individual needs. Good-quality, individualised care supports young people’s progress. Staff know the young people who they care for. Because of these relationships, they can support young people to make good progress across all areas of their development. Staff support young people to meet their health needs. Young people are registered with appropriate healthcare services and attend appointments with the support of staff as required. Medication kept in the home is stored and administered safely. Young people’s sense of identity is promoted through meaningful and safe time with their families. This enables young people to have positive experiences of seeing their family and understanding their social history and culture. When damage has been caused to the house, the speed at which repairs are carried out

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

can be too slow. This leaves some parts of the home in a less than suitable condition and is not conducive to creating a homely environment. Staff are not always successful at ensuring that young people access education. Repeated efforts by staff to encourage young people to attend school or college have not been successful. This means that young people are left without any structure and meaningful activities during the day.

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

The safety of the young people is at the centre of staff practice, irrespective of the challenges this presents. Staff have an excellent understanding of the young people’s needs and vulnerabilities and take appropriate action to address them. Risks associated with the young people are well known and understood by staff. Staff ensure that risk assessments outline the risks to young people’s safety and have clear guidance in how to mitigate against and manage risks. Records show that the frequency of young people going missing from home is reducing. Young people are provided with an independent person to speak to on their return home. This helps to consider any information that may help protect the young people from going missing from home in the future. Young people have made positive improvements in their attitudes and behaviours. Staff have a good understanding of each young person and use well-thought-out behaviour

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

management strategies and positive relationships to defuse and manage situations and Inspection report children’s home: 2484586 5 support young people to behave appropriately. Staff carry out regular health and safety checks and follow a range of safety procedures to protect young people from potential hazards. These include fire drills to ensure that young people know what to do in the case of an emergency. However, not all these checks have been carried out which means that potential areas of risk are not being identified. The manager ensures that staff are carefully selected and vetted before starting work in the home and visitors are routinely checked and appropriately supervised. This helps deter unsuitable people having access to vulnerable young people.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager is experienced and has a strong commitment to improving young people’s outcomes. Staff confirm that they are well supported by the manager. They benefit from regular supervision and team meetings, which enables them to reflect on practice and identify developmental needs. Training is strongly promoted and, in addition to mandatory training, staff receive training that is designed to meet young people’s needs. This ensures that staff have the right skills and are fully aware of current good practice. There are effective systems for reviewing and improving the quality of young people’s care. The home is visited on a regular basis by an independent professional who scrutinises the performance of the home and the arrangements made to safeguard young people and promote their well-being. Good partnership working with other agencies, such as the youth offending service, police, schools and colleges, ensures that young people benefit from all-round support to

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

enable them to stay safe and make good progress. The manager has taken appropriate steps to address the requirements raised at the last inspection. Records of training are now accurate, staff meetings are more thorough and detailed, and the home’s statement of purpose is now an accurate record of the services it provides.

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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: 2484586 6 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: 2484586 7

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Swann House, Boothen Road, Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire ST4 4SY

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Inspector

Dave Carrigan, social care inspector Inspection report children’s home: 2484586 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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