Children's Home run by Stoke-on-Trent City Council in Stoke-on-Trent

Inspection report children’s home: SC369840 1 SC369840 Registered provider: Stoke-on-Trent City Council Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This children’s home is run by the local authority and offers care for two children and young people who have experienced early childhood instability that has led to trauma and/or associated complex behaviours.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager has been registered with Ofsted since January 2018 and holds a level 5 qualification in leadership and management.

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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

Inspection dates: 21 and 22 September 2021

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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: 14 January 2020

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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: SC369840 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

14/01/2020 Full Good 20/11/2018 Full Outstanding 01/03/2018 Interim Sustained effectiveness 29/08/2017 Full Good Inspection report children’s home: SC369840 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

At the time of this inspection, one young person lives in this home. He is making good progress from his starting point. He told the inspector that ‘the staff are amazing, and they keep me safe’.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff have taken the time to get to know the young person well. Consequently, they provide a bespoke care package that meets his specific needs and vulnerabilities. In addition, staff are sensitive and resilient in their approach to care. This gives the young person a sense of security and positive self-worth.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff have developed meaningful and positive relationships with the young person. They have a clear understanding of his complex needs and difficulties and are proactive in responding to his needs. As a result, the young person has developed trusting relationships with all staff and is settled in the home.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Due to the COVID-19 pandemic and lawful restrictions placed on the young person’s freedom of movement, it has been difficult for him to participate in outdoor leisure and recreational activities. Staff have been creative in encouraging and supporting the young person to be active. For example, he helped to cultivate the home garden and enjoyed walks and fishing trips.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Although the young person has not been in a school setting, staff have worked well with teachers and the social worker to ensure that his learning and development have progressed undisrupted. Staff have a good understanding of the barriers to his learning and use strategies from their in-house therapeutic consultant to support his educational attainment. As a result, he has made good academic progress and has aspirations to continue further education.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff work collaboratively with health professionals to ensure that the young person maintains a healthy lifestyle to improve his physical and emotional well-being. The young person is continually supported by staff to attend all routine and specialist medical health appointments. As a result, all his health needs are managed and promoted well.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Family relationships are positive due to the hard work of staff. Because staff have a good understanding of family relationships, they ensure that the young person is supported to stay in touch with important individuals in his life. As a result, he has kept a sense of identity and belonging.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The young person lives in a supportive, warm and nurturing environment. The home is welcoming and has been furbished with new carpets. Some of the decor has been refreshed to meet the needs of the young person, and his bedroom has been decorated since the last inspection. However, some aspects of the home need Inspection report children’s home: SC369840 4 modernisation. For example, further work is required to improve the garden and some other areas of the home’s interior, to ensure that the home is comfortable throughout.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff help to prepare the young person to take the next step to adulthood. They recognise that he needs to develop independence skills to help him when he moves to new accommodation. Staff use the young person’s internal care plans well to support him to develop new skills.

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

Staff have access to an in-house therapeutic support service, which helps them get a better understanding of the young person’s complex needs and vulnerabilities. This support also helps them to provide him with a consistent approach in line with his care plan. Consequently, this makes it easy for staff to focus on and prioritise particular risks. As a result, this promotes the young person’s safety and welfare.

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

Staff use de-escalation techniques appropriately to manage challenging behaviours and keep the young person safe. They use calming techniques and distraction to reduce confrontation. There have only been three incidents of restraint since the last inspection. These measures ensure that the young person is better supported in managing their feelings and that restraints are used as a last resort.

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

Managers make sure that staff receive a range of training on how to safeguard the young person, including training about child sexual and criminal exploitation and online safety. As a result, staff have a good understanding and knowledge of how to manage and reduce all known risks to promote the young person’s welfare.

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

Overall, managers and staff ensure that the young person’s risk assessments are detailed and contain advice on how to manage and reduce risks. However, managers do not always ensure that they have oversight of risk assessments. For example, some staff had not had sight of important documents which set out requirements designed to help them keep the young person safe from harm. This shortfall has the potential to leave the young person vulnerable.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The young person lives in a home that is managed by a dedicated, committed and qualified manager. The manager is very knowledgeable about the home and its strengths and limitations. He uses this insight to support the young person and staff to help them achieve their potential.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff confirmed to the inspector that they feel supported by managers. They have good opportunities to develop their learning and reflect on their practice because of regular and reflective supervisions. This ensures that staff strive to raise the standard of the quality of care they provide to the young person. In addition, all staff have the relevant qualification in residential childcare, which means they have the acquired knowledge and skills to provide good care. Inspection report children’s home: SC369840 5 The manager is responsive to feedback and advice. In addition, he has taken action to address the requirements raised at the last inspection. For example, he has improved the management oversight of regular practice-related supervision and ensured that the young person’s bedroom has been decorated.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager has developed and maintained positive relationships in partnerships with other agencies to ensure that the young person benefits from tailored support. This enables the young person to stay safe and make good progress in all areas of his development.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Overall, the manager uses monitoring and review systems well to help him to have a good level of oversight of the home. However, a shortfall was identified at this inspection. Children’s case records, such as children’s accident reports, are not always kept up to date.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, the manager has worked hard to ensure that the core staff team receives varied and specific training. This training has helped to improve staff’s understanding of sexual harmful behaviours and has provided them with additional knowledge and skills on how to keep young people safe. However, the manager does not always ensure that casual staff continue to receive refresher training. This delay could compromise the staff’s ability to update their knowledge and skills to care for young people. Inspection report children’s home: SC369840 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

have the skills to identify and act upon signs that a child is at risk of harm;

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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

that the premises used for the purpose 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)(a)(i)(iii)(v)(d))

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Requirement Due date

This particularly refers to the manager ensuring that staff have read and understood children’s risk assessments and that they are up to date.

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Requirement Due date

It also relates to ensuring that all aspects of the home are welcoming. 29 October 2021 Inspection report children’s home: SC369840 7

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that all children’s case records are kept up to date, including children’s accident reports. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 62, paragraph 14.3)

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that all staff receive refresher mandatory training. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 53, paragraph 10.11)

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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: SC369840 8

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Stoke-on-Trent City Council

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: City of Stoke-on-Trent, Swann House, Boothen Road, Stoke-on-Trent, Staffordshire ST4 4SY

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Inspector

Patrick McIntosh, Social Care Inspector Inspection report children’s home: SC369840 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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