Children's home run by Social Care Services Limited in Stockport

Assurance visit report: SC021684 1 SC021684

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Information about this children’s home

The home is operated by a private provider. It is registered to provide care and accommodation for up to six young people who may have learning disabilities and/or physical disabilities.

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Information about this children’s home

There is a manager in place, who was registered with Ofsted in August 2018.

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Information about this children’s home

Previous inspection judgement: Requires improvement to be good

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Information about this visit

Due to COVID-19 (coronavirus), Ofsted suspended all routine inspections in March 2020. As part of a phased return to routine inspection, we are undertaking assurance visits to children’s social care services that are inspected under the social care common inspection framework (SCCIF).

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Information about this visit

At these visits, inspectors evaluate the extent to which:

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Information about this visit

 children are well cared for  children are safe  leaders and managers are exercising strong leadership. This visit was carried out under the Care Standards Act 2000, following the published guidance for assurance visits.

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Information about this visit

Her Majesty’s Chief Inspector of Education, Children’s Services and Skills is leading Ofsted’s work into how England’s social care system has delivered child-centred practice and care within the context of the restrictions placed on society during the COVID-19 pandemic.

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Findings from the visit

We did not identify any serious or widespread concerns in relation to the care or protection of children at this assurance visit. Assurance visit report: SC021684 2

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The care of children

Young people were observed to have positive relationships with staff, who have good insight into their individual and unique needs. Staff are responsive to young people’s requests, which means they feel listened to. The use of gentle humour helps to keep a happy, relaxed atmosphere at the home.

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The care of children

All young people regularly attend school, which they enjoy. The COVID-19 pandemic has caused some disruption to their schooling, leading to confusion and raised anxiety. However, staff have put good contingency plans in place by replicating the school routines at the home. This has helped the young people to maintain some normality and stability.

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The care of children

Communication methods are used to help young people make sense of the world around them. The use of picture exchange communication systems and social stories enable young people to understand issues that are currently affecting them, such as the COVID-19 pandemic. The use of symbols displayed to help young people communicate and understand words could be enhanced by making them more visual.

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The care of children

Young people are making good progress in developing healthy lifestyles and reducing risks to their health. They enjoy healthy and nutritious diets. Young people engage, with great enthusiasm, in a range of physical activities, including zumba and football. They are becoming more aware about the importance of looking after their bodies and that exercise can help them to relax.

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The care of children

Staff monitor young people’s emotional well-being with care and attention, and seek professional advice when necessary from outside agencies, such as child and adolescent mental health services (CAMHS). This ensures that young people receive the right form of support when in crises.

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The care of children

Young people maintain regular contact with their families. Staff have supported young people in using technology to talk to their families during COVID-19 restrictions. With the easing of these restrictions, staff have facilitated young people’s contact with their families face to face, where this has been possible. One social worker reported that family contact was a strength of the home.

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The safety of children

Young people thrive from living in a safe and nurturing environment. They show a good awareness of the consistent boundaries in place that help to protect them from harm. There is effective supervision from staff in managing and redirecting young people’s behaviour.

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The safety of children

The home environment is safe and secure. However, there are areas that would benefit from some attention, particularly the bedroom and storage areas. They Assurance visit report: SC021684 3 appear sparse and unclean respectively. Additional security measures would enhance young people’s safety on the premises.

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The safety of children

Staff demonstrate good insight into risks to young people, including their health needs. These are captured on the risk assessment management plans. However, risk assessments do not demonstrate that they are current in the absence of clear updates. They are not always explicit in terms of the strategies to be implemented by staff, such as levels of supervision.

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The safety of children

Staff support young people to manage their own safety both inside and outside the home, with high levels of supervision in place. Restraint is only used as a last resort. Such incidents are infrequent because staff adopt other preventative measures.

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The safety of children

Young people learn how to use technology and social media safely. Staff educate young people in following COVID-19 guidance about social distancing and washing their hands.

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The safety of children

Staff demonstrate a good understanding of the procedures to follow in the event of an allegation being made. Safeguarding incidents, which are few, have been dealt with quickly and effectively.

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Leaders and managers

The staff team benefit from a manager who has extensive experience, knowledge and understanding of children’s needs. The manager is supported well by the deputy. Together, they lead by example. They promote the delivery of good-quality care and improvement. Cohesive forward planning enables young people to engage in new experiences according to their age, ability and interests.

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Leaders and managers

Managers have experienced a challenging time during this pandemic year, causing significant disruption to the staff team and to the young people. However, managers have remained resilient and resolute. The successful recruitment of 10 new staff, given previous high turnover, has led to greater stability and improved continuity within the team.

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Leaders and managers

Leaders and managers have demonstrated that the requirements and recommendations raised at the last inspection relating to access to potential hazards and medication have been met. Monitoring is not always effective as records are not always accurate and up to date. Ascertaining young people’s wishes and feelings to inform the quality of care is an area that can be strengthened.

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Leaders and managers

Staff attend regular team meetings and receive supervision. Staff feel supported through the direct input received from managers and relevant training, such as self- harm and e-safety training. However, not all staff have received training in learning disability (LD) or attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). Feedback obtained from staff is, overall, positive. However, not all feel that good practice is shared across the team. Assurance visit report: SC021684 4 There are good systems in place for exchanging information within the team, such as handover meetings and use of changeover books that contain key messages for staff. However, this is not always effective as it does not include vital information arising from changes to young people’s risk assessments.

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Leaders and managers

Partnership with other agencies is embedded in the home’s practice. Good links are maintained with speech and language therapists and other health professionals that provide expert advice and guidance to staff in helping young people to overcome health-related issues.

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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. (Regulation 12 (1)(a) (2)(a)(i))

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Requirement Due date

This relates to staff’s understanding and implementation of each individual young person’s risk assessment regarding keeping them current and up to date. 28 January 2021

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Requirement Due date

The leadership and management standard is that the registered person enables, inspires and leads a culture in relation to the children’s home that—

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Requirement Due date

helps children aspire to fulfil their potential; and promotes their welfare.

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to— 28 January 2021 Assurance visit report: SC021684 5 ensure that staff work as a team where appropriate;

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Requirement Due date

ensure that staff have the experience, qualifications and skills to meet the needs of each child;

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Requirement Due date

understand the impact that the quality of care provided in the home is having on the progress and experiences of each child and use this understanding to inform the development of the quality of care provided in the home;

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Requirement Due date

demonstrate that practice in the home is informed and improved by taking into account and acting on—

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Requirement Due date

feedback on the experiences of children, including complaints received. (Regulation 13 (1)(a)(b) (2)(a)(b)(c)(f)(g)(ii))

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Requirement Due date

This specifically relates to the provider upskilling the staff to ensure that they receive the training they need, keeping all records up to date and accurate, sharing best practice across the team, and using communication aids, such as widgets, to promote young people’s ability to voice their feelings about living at the home.

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must prepare and implement a policy (“the behaviour management policy”) which sets out the measures of control, discipline and restraint which may be used in relation to children in the home.

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that within 24 hours of the use of a measure of control, discipline or restraint in relation to a child in the home, a record is made which includes—

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Requirement Due date

details of the child’s behaviour leading to the use of the measure;

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Requirement Due date

the date, time and location of the use of the measure;

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Requirement Due date

a description of the measure and its duration;

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Requirement Due date

details of any methods used or steps taken to avoid the need to use the measure;

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Requirement Due date

the name of the person who used the measure ("the user"), and of any other person present when the measure was used; 28 January 2021 Assurance visit report: SC021684 6 the effectiveness and any consequences of the use of the measure. (Regulation 35 (3)(a)(i)(ii)(iii)(iv)(v)(vi)(vii))

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Requirement Due date

This specifically relates to ensuring that records are accurate and reflect the nature of the incident that has occurred.

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Recommendation

 The registered person should ensure that children’s bedrooms are homely where possible to reduce the institutional feel and apply additional security measures to the premises to storage areas. (Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 15, paragraph 3.9)

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Social Care Services Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: 31 Shaw Road, Stockport, Cheshire SK4 4AG

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Inspectors

Michael Charnley, Social Care Inspector Cheryl Field, Social Care Inspector Assurance visit report: SC021684 7 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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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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