Children's Home run by Social Care Services Limited in Manchester

Inspection report children’s home: SC021684 1 SC021684 Registered provider: Social Care Services Limited Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

The home is operated by a private provider. It is registered to provide care for up to six children who may have learning disabilities and/or physical disabilities. At the time of this inspection, four children were living at the home.

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Information about this children’s home

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

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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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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 requires improvement to be 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: requires improvement to be good

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report children’s home: SC021684 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

10/03/2020 Full Requires improvement to be good 03/10/2018 Full Good 18/01/2018 Interim Sustained effectiveness 25/04/2017 Full Good Inspection report children’s home: SC021684 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children thrive in an environment where they are cared for by staff who know them well and provide them with individualised care.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children benefit from a stable home life. No children have left or been admitted to the home since the last inspection. All the children are extremely settled and making significant progress from their starting points in respect of their emotional health, communication and independence skills.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The impact on children of some staff changes has been reduced by a consistent core team of staff who provide the children with continuity of care and with whom they have developed warm and caring relationships.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children who are non-verbal, or have additional barriers to verbal communication, are supported to share their views and feelings using visual communication tools such as widgets, Picture Exchange Communication Systems and sign language. This enables children to participate in decision-making and contribute to the life of the home.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children’s education is valued and prioritised. Staff work with schools to ensure that children experience a consistent approach to meeting their needs across the school and home environment. The registered manager is proactive in addressing any concerns about the approach to children’s individual needs in school and works constructively with teaching staff to agree joint strategies to support children effectively.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are encouraged to participate in a wide range of activities in the community. One child has continued to access her dance class online during lockdown and attends a youth club. This inclusive approach provides her with opportunities to meet new people and increase her social skills, and supports her as she moves towards her transition from the home to adult care provision.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children’s emotional and physical health needs are well understood by staff and children have access to the services they need to meet these needs. Systems in place to administer and record medication are robust. The registered manager has good oversight of children’s medication and actively seeks further information from health professionals if she has any concerns about decisions made relating to children’s medication. Inspection report children’s home: SC021684 4

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

Staff understand the vulnerabilities and strengths of the children in their care and this understanding is underpinned by good written risk assessments. Updates to some plans are handwritten addenda to existing documents. As a result, changes to plans or additional information are not always clear.

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

Children are supported to feel safe and positive behaviour is promoted using individualised behaviour management plans. These provide staff with detailed information about each child which helps staff to care for children in a way which supports their emotional and physical well-being. As a result, children are being cared for in a positive home environment where they can express themselves in a safe way. There has only been one incident of physical restraint of a child in the reporting period.

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

Children’s care records are detailed and comprehensive and include the local authority plans and relevant documents for each child. Staff have information they need from children’s placing authorities to inform their care and keep them safe.

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

There is good joint planning between staff and children’s social workers. Staff are working with children’s services and adult services to assess the needs of an older child who is approaching adulthood. As a result, a positive planned transition from the home to an adult care setting is being put in place in a timely way.

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

The physical environment of the home requires improvement. A programme of work has started and the home has been rewired and a new central heating system fitted recently. No timescales have been set for this work to be completed. Generally, the home is very dated and needs complete refurbishment and redecoration. An annex building, previously used by children and their families to spend time together and for the children to have time away from the main building, is damp and no longer fit for purpose. Children do not currently have a home environment which shows they are valued.

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

As a result of the improvement work already started, the children’s sensory room is no longer available to them and the old equipment has been removed. This means that children do not have access to specialist equipment to meet their sensory needs and promote their well-being.

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good

Children and staff benefit from the commitment, skills and knowledge of the registered manager. The registered manager’s child-centred approach to the delivery of care to children is evident in her practice. She ensures she spends time with the children and understands their day-to-day experiences.

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good

The home has sufficient staff to meet the needs of each child. Staffing is increased as needed at specific times to support children on a two-to-one basis. The registered Inspection report children’s home: SC021684 5 manager can use staff from the provider’s other homes when required to supplement the permanent staff team. Staff are passionate about their work and the children they care for. They work well as a team to ensure that children are happy and enjoy living in the home.

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good

Staff have access to a range of core training provided by the organisation across all its homes. This core offer does not include training for staff in relation to understanding and meeting the needs of children with learning and physical disabilities and different communication needs. Staff from other homes within the organisation working at the home on an ad hoc basis do so with no additional training in caring for children with complex needs. Staff are not being provided with formal training that supports them to meet the needs of the children in their care, and new staff rely on the skills and knowledge of more experienced staff to help them develop their practice.

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good

Staff receive regular supervision which provides support and challenge to them and gives them a forum to discuss the progress of children. New staff are encouraged to work towards their required qualifications and where practicable are given time during their working day to progress their studies.

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good

The registered manager’s quality of care reviews do not evidence the views of children, families and other external professionals. Systems to monitor and review patterns and trends in the home are under-developed. This means that the registered manager is not yet using all the information available to her to reflect on the quality of care and contribute to plans for improving practice.

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good

The statement of purpose for the home has not been shared with Ofsted in a timely manner when changes to staffing have been made. As a result, the regulator does not have current information to assist in oversight of the home.

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good

The registered manager has positive and well-established working relationships with placing authorities. In addition, good relationships with schools, colleges and health providers contribute to positive experiences and outcomes for children. Inspection report children’s home: SC021684 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

keep the statement of purpose under review and, where appropriate, revise it; and

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Requirement Due date

notify HMCI of any revisions and send HMCI a copy of the revised statement within 28 days of the revision. (Regulation 16 (3)(a)(b)) 31 October 2021

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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

ensure that the premises used for the purposes of the home are designed and furnished so as to—

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Requirement Due date

enable each child to participate in the daily life of the home. (Regulation 6 (1)(a)(b) (2)(c)(i)(ii))

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Requirement Due date

This specifically relates to ensuring that the sensory room is equipped with the specialist equipment needed to meet each child’s sensory and cognitive needs. 31 December

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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— 31 December Inspection report children’s home: SC021684 7 that the premises used for the purposes of the home are designed, furnished and maintained so as to protect each child from avoidable hazards to the child’s health. (Regulation 12 (1) (2)(d))

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Requirement Due date

This relates specifically to the completion of the refurbishment and redecoration of the home and that the annex building is refurbished and the damp addressed before it is used by children.

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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

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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

lead and manage the home in a way that is consistent with the approach and ethos, and delivers the outcomes, set out in the home’s statement of purpose;

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Requirement Due date

ensure that staff have the experience, qualifications and skills to meet the needs of each child. (Regulation 13 (1)(a)(b) (2)(a)(c))

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Requirement Due date

Specifically, that all staff who work in the home, on a permanent or temporary basis, receive training in relation to caring for children with learning disabilities and children with additional communication needs. 30 November

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that the quality of care review includes the views of children, families and external professionals and takes into consideration trends and patterns within the home. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 64, paragraph 15.2)  The registered person should ensure that staff are familiar with the home’s policies on record-keeping and understand the importance of careful, objective and clear recording. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 62, paragraph 14.4) Inspection report children’s home: SC021684 8

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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: SC021684 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 SK4 4AG

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Children’s home details

Responsible individual: Annabella Foulkes

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Inspector

Dawn Parton, Social Care Inspector Inspection report children’s home: SC021684 10 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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