Children's home run by The Partnership of Care Today

Inspection report children’s home: SC044745 1 SC044745 Registered provider: The Partnership of Care Today Children’s Services

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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 home is owned by a private company. It is registered to provide care for six children who may have experienced childhood instability resulting in trauma and associated complex behaviours. The registered manager holds a level 5 qualification.

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Information about this children’s home

Due to COVID-19 (coronavirus), at the request of the Secretary of State, we suspended all routine inspections of social care providers on 17 March 2020.

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Information about this children’s home

We last visited this setting on 18 September 2019 to carry out a routine inspection. The report is published on our website.

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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: 18 September 2019

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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: SC044745 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

18/09/2019 Full Good 05/02/2019 Interim Declined in effectiveness 03/10/2018 Full Good 19/09/2017 Full Good Inspection report children’s home: SC044745 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Four children are currently living at the home. Since the last inspection, two children have moved in and one child has moved out.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children have trusting relationships with staff and the registered manager. Playful banter between staff and children helps to create a relaxed atmosphere in the home. Children speak positively about their relationships with staff. One child told inspectors that he liked staff and he felt safe in the home. This helps children to feel valued and supports them to develop positive relationships.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff know the children well and are child-focused in their practice. This means that staff provide individualised care to meet their needs. Children make progress in many aspects of their lives because of the support and help from staff. For example, staff say that children’s self-confidence and self-esteem have improved.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

All four children attend the on-site school and have excellent attendance. One child, who before coming to the home did not attend school, is now attending full time. Staff play an active role in the children’s education and encourage their progress. This has improved children’s motivation and attitude towards their learning.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff help the children to recognise and manage their behaviours. The staff know the children well and recognise when they are struggling. Staff and the manager carefully reflect on and consider the best way to help children. Social workers commented on the positive progress the children make, with one social worker describing the progress as outstanding.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The home has an in-house therapist. She provides a good oversight of the care that children receive. The therapist attends staff meetings and offers staff consultations. She supports staff to reflect on their practice and learn from challenging incidents. Some children attend therapy sessions and make good progress.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff ensure that children’s health needs are met. Staff understand children’s additional health needs and support children to attend specialist appointments.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children enjoy a wide range of activities and make use of the home’s rural location. For example, during the inspection, they had all been kayaking and they were planning a trip to the local trampoline park. These experiences provide the children with a sense of achievement and enjoyment.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The home is spacious and provides children with the opportunity to engage in group and individual activities. However, children’s bedrooms are in need of improvement. For example, they have mismatched furniture and are not personalised to reflect the ages and interests of children. One bedroom had a broken curtain rail, which further detracts from the appearance of the room. Inspection report children’s home: SC044745 4

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

Children’s risk assessments are appropriate, easy to read and identify the relevant risks for each child. They provide clear guidance for staff to manage risk. The registered manager reviews the assessments on a regular basis and updates them accordingly. This helps to reduce risks and keeps children safe.

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

Significant incidents are analysed effectively by the manager and additional measures are put in place to safeguard children. For example, when children have self-harmed, staff ensure that additional supervision and support are provided for them. Staff complete reflective sessions with the home’s therapist. This provides staff with effective strategies and skills to support children. As a result, self-harming behaviours have reduced.

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

When children go missing from the home, staff and the registered manager respond swiftly. Staff work hard to understand the reasons why children have gone missing. Due to the support offered to children, missing-from-home episodes have vastly reduced.

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

Staff are successful at de-escalating children’s behaviours. This means that the need for physical restraints is low.

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

The registered manager responds well to allegations. He ensures that children’s accounts are clearly recorded and the home’s own safeguarding procedures are followed. Following an allegation, the registered manager provides a reflective session for the team and completes debriefs with the children. These sessions offer the team an opportunity to develop their practice and keep children safe.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager has been in post since December 2017. He is a skilled and experienced manager. The members of the staff team feel well supported by the registered manager and they speak highly of him.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Regular supervision sessions mean that staff have the opportunity to reflect and develop their skills and practice. Staff benefit from fortnightly team meetings where the registered manager ensures that staff are debriefed when incidents occur. During team meetings, staff are encouraged to have open discussions around their practice. This makes staff feel supported in their role to care for children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff have completed mandatory training. The registered manager has identified additional training for staff that is tailored to children’s specific needs. One member of staff informed inspectors that the additional training has been helpful and has equipped him in his role. With the additional training, staff have been able to deal with incidents safely and effectively. Inspection report children’s home: SC044745 5 The registered manager understands the home’s strengths and areas for development. He has effective monitoring systems in place. This helps to improve the quality of care the children receive.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager ensures that partner agencies are fully informed of the progress that children are making. If he is concerned that a child is not getting the service they require, he will actively escalate this to the appropriate person. This collaborative approach ensures that children’s needs are met.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager communicates well with parents and family members. Parents speak positively about the registered manager, with one parenting informing inspectors that ‘communication from the home is excellent.’

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager ensures that children are offered opportunities to be consulted and give feedback with regards to how they feel and what improvements can be made to the quality of their care. The registered manager attends and actively participates in the children’s meetings and provides feedback to children’s responses. This leaves children feeling that their views are listened to and acted upon.

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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

provide to children living in the home the physical necessities they need in order to live there comfortably. (Regulation 6 (1)(a)(b) (2)(vii))

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Requirement Due date

This specifically relates to the conditions of the children’s bedrooms. 28 June 2021 Inspection report children’s home: SC044745 6

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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: SC044745 7

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Lansdowne House, 85 Buxton Road, Stockport SK2 6LR

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Inspectors

Lisa O’Donovan, Social Care Inspector Lydia Isaac, Social Care Inspector Inspection report children’s home: SC044745 8 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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