Children's Home run by The Partnership of Care Today in Staffordshire

Inspection report children’s home: SC005050 1 SC005050 Registered provider: The Partnership of Care Today Children’s Services Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This home is owned by a private company. It is registered to provide care and accommodation for six children and young people who may have experienced childhood instability, resulting in trauma and associated complex behaviours.

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Information about this children’s home

The registered manager holds a level 5 qualification.

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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: SC005050 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

13/03/2019 Full Good 30/01/2018 Full Good 21/02/2017 Interim Sustained effectiveness 01/11/2016 Full Outstanding Inspection report children’s home: SC005050 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Young people are happy and settled. They enjoy living in a well-maintained and homely environment. Staff work hard to provide an atmosphere that is characterised by nurture and warmth. Young people’s photographs are on display throughout the home. This helps them to settle and develop a strong sense of belonging. A young person told the inspector, ‘I feel settled here. Staff are kind and funny. I can talk to any of them when I need to. They respect us.’

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

All young people attend the on-site school. Their levels of attendance and progress are excellent. For some young people, this is significant progress from their starting points. Staff value education and provide young people with consistent structure and routines. This sets the foundations for education success.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff understand the importance of young people spending time with those who matter most to them. They work hard to develop relationships with families and carers. Staff act as strong advocates for young people. This determined approach ensures that young people have safe and regular time with those who are important to them.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Young people are respected and valued by staff. Their views are considered in the day-to-day running of the home. For example, young people’s meetings provide opportunities to organise activities and menus. Staff also involve young people in more complex aspects of their care. For example, they work alongside young people to review their plans, set targets and discuss progress.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

A varied programme of activities provides young people with a range of enjoyable experiences. Some young people are members of local sports clubs or volunteer in the local community. Staff organise cooking competitions in the home. In addition, the registered manager and some staff are now fully accredited to deliver the Duke of Edinburgh award. As a result, young people enjoy a range of activities while developing their confidence and skills.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

A therapist is employed by the home. She provides direct therapy for some young people. In addition, the therapist works closely with staff to embed a therapeutic environment. This well-informed and consistent approach helps young people to make significant progress.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Overall, young people arrive and move on from the home in a well-planned and positive manner. However, staff did not work in a timely or effective manner when a young person’s behaviour became unsettled. For example, a lack of proactive partnership working meant that opportunities to explore additional support were missed. Unfortunately, the young person’s behaviour escalated, and he left the home in an unplanned manner. Inspection report children’s home: SC005050 4

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

Staff reward young people for positive behaviour. They provide them with frequent guidance to help them manage challenging behaviours. In addition, staff use a calm and measured approach to de-escalate challenging situations. As a result, incidents of restraint are rare. This is significant progress when young people’s starting points are considered. A young person told the inspector, ‘My behaviour is much better. I think I’ve grown up, staff here have helped, they talk to me, show me the right way.’

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

Staff provide mostly good support to young people to help them understand how to keep safe. For example, young people’s meetings discuss online safety and the impact of bullying that helps to broaden children’s knowledge. However, gaps in key- work sessions mean that there are some missed opportunities for staff to fully support young people to understand and reduce all known risks that they may be exposed to.

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

Staff provide consistent rules and boundaries and understand young people’s risks. However, some risk assessments are out of date and do not reflect young people’s needs. This is a recording shortfall but could impact on the registered manager’s ability to review the effectiveness of strategies to keep young people safe and keep staff abreast of any changes.

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

Overall, staff provide a robust and proactive response when young people go missing. They are diligent in searching for young people and work closely with the police and local authorities. On one occasion, communication between staff and a local authority was delayed and disjointed. The subsequent actions taken by the registered manager and staff were ineffective. For example, the registered manager did not escalate his concerns about this delay. This was a missed opportunity to agree a timely and coordinated response to locate and safely return the young person. It is acknowledged that the police were actively searching for the young person throughout this period.

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

Young people can seek support from trusted members of staff to discuss their concerns or worries. This open and supportive culture helps young people to feel safe and secure.

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

Staff mostly work effectively with key safeguarding agencies to manage and review challenging incidents and risk in a timely manner. On one occasion, this practice fell short. Staff did not immediately notify a social worker when a young person sustained an injury during an incident of restraint. It is acknowledged that neither the young person or staff raised concerns about the incident at that time. However, the delay meant that the young person’s social worker was unable to speak to the young person and make a timely assessment of risk.

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

Staff recruitment is safe. The registered manager ensures that all necessary checks on potential new employees are completed. This helps to protect children from possible harm or abuse from unsuitable adults caring for them. Inspection report children’s home: SC005050 5

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The experienced and innovative registered manager continues to develop staff practice and improve children’s experiences. For example, he introduces new ideas to encourage staff to challenge and reflect on their practice. In addition, the registered manager works hard to introduce new and enriching experiences for young people. For example, the registered manager and staff are now fully accredited to deliver the Duke of Edinburgh award. As a result, young people have opportunities to achieve while building valuable life skills. These innovative approaches mean that young people’s care and experiences continue to develop and improve.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

An established and diverse staff team provides young people with a range of expertise. Staff are committed to young people and genuinely care about them. They demonstrate a good knowledge of young people and strive to provide them with new and enjoyable experiences. For example, cooking competitions are a regular theme in the home. Staff practice strikes a healthy balance between embedding strong boundaries while using humour and a calm, nurturing approach.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

A healthy learning environment ensures that staff continue to develop the necessary knowledge and skills. Staff have access to a good training programme. They work closely with the in-house therapist to reflect on their practice. Staff feel supported by managers and their peers. They receive regular supervision and appraisal to support their development.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager and staff use their detailed knowledge of young people to review and update internal placement plans. Overall, plans are detailed, individualised and in line with local authority objectives. The registered manager includes young people when he reviews their plans and progress. This inclusive approach means that young people understand and play an active role in their plans.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff work effectively with teachers at the on-site school. Young people take part in daily handovers. This is an opportunity to share successes and discuss progress. Staff and teachers jointly set targets and provide consistent support. As a result, young people continue to make excellent progress.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Overall, staff work effectively with a range of external agencies. As a result, young people receive well-informed care that responds to their needs. Feedback from professionals is highly complimentary. An independent reviewing officer told the inspector, ‘Staff know him [young person] really well. He is doing exceptionally well and presents as happy and much calmer.’ Inspection report children’s home: SC005050 6

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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 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

help each child to understand how to keep safe;

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Requirement Due date

understand the roles and responsibilities in relation to protecting children that are assigned to them by the registered person.

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Requirement Due date

(Regulation 12(1)(2)(a)(i)(ii)(v)) In particular, ensure that risk assessments are up to date, staff provide timely and effective key-work support to address young people’s risk-taking behaviour and staff notify the placing authority without delay if a child receives an injury during a restraint. 04/05/2020

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Recommendations

 Effective care planning and strong working relationships between the staff of the home and the placing authority are essential to the success of placements. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 56, paragraph 11.2) Inspection report children’s home: SC005050 7

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Information about this inspection

Inspectors have looked closely at the experiences and progress of children and young people, 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: SC005050 8

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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

Gareth Leckey, Social Care Inspector Inspection report children’s home: SC005050 9 to 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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