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 Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

p.1

Information about this children’s home

This home is owned by a private company. It is registered to provide care for five children who may have experienced childhood instability that has resulted in trauma and associated complex behaviours.

p.1

Information about this children’s home

The registered manager holds a level 5 qualification.

p.1

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.

p.1

Overall experiences and progress of

children and young people, taking into account

p.1

good

How well children and young people are helped and protected good

p.1

good

The effectiveness of leaders and managers good

p.1

good

The children’s home provides effective services that meet the requirements for good.

p.1

good

Overall judgement at last inspection: good

p.1

good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report children’s home: SC005050 2

p.1

Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

11/03/2020 Full Good 13/03/2019 Full Good 30/01/2018 Full Good 21/02/2017 Interim Sustained effectiveness Inspection report children’s home: SC005050 3

p.2

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

At the time of the inspection, four children were living in the home. One child had recently moved out in accordance with his care plan.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff help children settle into the home quickly when they move in. Within a short period of time, they start to make progress from their starting point. For example, all children attend full time at the school, which is on the same site as the home. For some children, this is a notable achievement as their previous school attendance was poor.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

A stable team of staff provide children with consistent care. Staff changes are minimal. No new staff have been employed in the home since 2019. This helps children build positive and trusting relationships with the staff.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

All children have access to and engage in weekly therapy sessions with the in-house therapist. The therapist also helps the staff to understand the children’s needs, through training, team meetings and by reflecting on their practice. This is beneficial to children and ensures that they are provided with individualised and tailored care.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff are proactive in helping children to see and stay in touch with those people who are important to them. This includes those children whose families do not live locally. Staff advocate for children and put children’s views forward when they are not seeing their family as frequently as they would like.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff continually strive to achieve the best for children and promote children’s independence skills for the future. Some children are working towards their Duke of Edinburgh award. This is helping those children to learn new skills and have positive and memorable experiences. Staff are skilled at helping children who are reluctant to develop new skills by thinking of different approaches, such as making the goal smaller and more achievable.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The staff encourage children to get involved in the local community and help them attend different activities, such as football and rugby clubs. Staff and children also participate in charity. For example, children have done coffee mornings and taken part in a three peaks challenge. This promotes children’s social skills and interests.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

During the COVID-19 pandemic, children and staff were limited on the activities that they could participate in. However, staff utilised the home’s extensive grounds to bury a time capsule, create a football golf course and enjoy walks. As the restrictions have been reduced, children have been on day trips to Blackpool and have participated in white water rafting. Children told the inspector that they enjoyed these activities. Inspection report children’s home: SC005050 4

p.3

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

Staff are effective at helping children to manage their emotions. Staff use de- escalation strategies to encourage positive behaviour. Staff are supported by the registered manager and the home’s therapist to reflect and to improve the approaches that they use. As a result, staff are well informed and skilled at managing children’s behaviours.

p.4

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

Staff focus on promoting positive behaviour. Staff regularly praise children and reward them for their good behaviour. Children understand what strategies staff use to manage their behaviour. One child told the inspector that they thought the behaviour management strategies were fair and that they were involved in deciding what strategies should be used. This collaborative approach is effective. Children feel involved in their care and part of the decision-making.

p.4

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

Staff only restrain children to keep them safe when all other strategies have been utilised. This is not common practice, but when a child is restrained it is proportionate to the risk posed.

p.4

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

Generally, children do not go missing from the home. This is a positive improvement for children who previously had a history of going missing. Despite this, recently, there has been a slight increase in one child going missing from the home. Staff are responsive and work collaboratively with the police, the local authority and the family members to ensure that the child returns home safely.

p.4

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

Staff carry out direct work with children to help them understand the impact of their behaviours for themselves and for others. These reflective sessions are based on the individual risks and behaviours of the children. When needed, staff seek input from external services. For example, staff have used input from a drug support service to help improve some children’s understanding around the risks of substance use.

p.4

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

Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, the registered manager and the staff have kept up to date with government guidance and have kept detailed risk assessments, to help keep everyone safe.

p.4

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager is qualified and experienced. He leads his team effectively to ensure that children receive good care.

p.4

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff have regular supervision sessions and yearly appraisals. Staff told the inspector that they are supported by the registered manager and that he is always available to them. The registered manager’s knowledge and experiences enable staff to feel secure in their practice. Inspection report children’s home: SC005050 5 There is a strong ethos in supporting and developing the staff team, for example the registered manager provides ongoing training and qualifications. All staff have achieved the minimum required qualification. The home’s therapist provides training and consultations with staff that is specific to each child’s needs. This is in addition to online training and alongside reflection sessions in team meetings. Therefore, staff have the knowledge and the skills to meet children’s individual needs.

p.4

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Children have regular opportunities to share their views about the home and the care they receive. This is done through direct work and weekly house meetings. As such, children feel that they are listened too.

p.5

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager and the staff have excellent relationships with professionals. They provide social workers with weekly reports and continually update them about children’s progress. Social workers feel up to date and well informed about children’s progress and experiences.

p.5

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager has good monitoring systems in place, and he understands the home’s strengths and areas for development. Inspection report children’s home: SC005050 6

p.5

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 7

p.6

Children’s home details

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

p.7

Inspector

Lisa O’Donovan, Social Care Inspector Inspection report children’s home: SC005050 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.

p.7

Inspector

If you would like a copy of this document in a different format, such as large print or Braille, please telephone 0300 123 1231, or email enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk . You may reuse this information (not including logos) free of charge in any format or medium, under the terms of the Open Government Licence. To view this licence, visit www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence , write to the Information Policy Team, The National Archives, Kew, London TW9 4DU, or email: psi@nationalarchives.gsi.gov.uk .

p.8

Inspector

Interested in our work? You can subscribe to our monthly newsletter for more information and updates: http://eepurl.com/iTrDn .

p.8

Inspector

T: 0300 123 1231 Textphone: 0161 618 8524 E: enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk W: www.gov.uk/ofsted

p.8