Children's Home run by The Partnership of Care Today in Leeds

Inspection report children’s home: SC437645 1 SC437645 Registered provider: The Partnership Of Care Today Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

The home is run by a private company. It provides care and accommodation for up to four children who may have social, emotional and/or behavioural difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager registered with Ofsted in February 2012.

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Information about this children’s home

Due to COVID-19, at the request of the Secretary of State, we suspended all routine inspections of social care providers on 17 March 2020. We returned to routine SCCIF inspections on 12 April 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: 15 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: SC437645 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

15/01/2020 Full Good 23/07/2018 Full Good 27/02/2018 Interim Improved effectiveness 04/07/2017 Full Good Inspection report children’s home: SC437645 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are well supported by a caring and committed team of staff who know them well. Staff are committed to supporting children to achieve positive outcomes. One child said, ‘The staff are great; they really look after me.’

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are supported to maintain positive relationships with their family. Staff have made extensive efforts to ensure that children have a positive experience of family time. This has helped children to settle and make progress.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children’s care plans clearly outline their needs, with clear targets to measure and capture progress. Good care plans ensure that staff have a consistent approach, and they are able to understand and meet the children’s needs.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children have made good progress from their starting points in all areas of their lives. One professional said that a child had made fantastic progress since living at the home. Evidence gathered at this inspection demonstrates that children are well supported and achieving positive outcomes.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are supported to become more independent in line with their age and development. Staff ensure that children are encouraged to take some responsibility for day-to-day activities, such as laundry and meal planning and preparation. This is helping children to learn appropriate life skills.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children benefit from regular, focused key work, where they discuss any worries or concerns, and staff recognise and reflect on the progress made. Records provide a good insight into the progress made by children and children’s input is clearly recorded. Good-quality key work has helped children to understand important issues and enabled them to celebrate their achievements.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The children regard the home’s environment as their home. They have personalised their rooms and have access to a range of games, toys, books and activities. The atmosphere is welcoming, and the children appear relaxed and comfortable in their surroundings.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are supported to take part in a range of activities, hobbies and interests. They clearly have lots of fun times and these are captured in photos and memorabilia. This provides children with a record of their experiences.

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

Risk assessments are up to date and outline all known risks and provide staff with clear direction and strategies to keep children safe. Risk evaluation is accurate and there is evidence of good management oversight. Good-quality, up-to-date risk assessments mean that the risk of significant harm to children is minimised. Inspection report children’s home: SC437645 4 There have been few incidents where children have gone missing from the home. Staff have made extensive efforts to find children when they have been missing and ensured that they return home quickly and safely. Children say that staff care about them and they do look for them if they go missing. The action of staff has helped to reduce the likelihood of reoccurrence.

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

Staff know the children well and positive behaviour is promoted. When children experience periods of emotional difficulties, staff respond well, providing care and support. This helps to ease children’s distress.

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

Physical interventions are rarely used and only ever as a very last resort. The manager has oversight of any incidents and ensures that staff receive debrief and support. Children are well supported following any incidents of physical intervention.

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

Staff have supported children well through the Covid-19 pandemic. When children tested positive for Covid-19 at the home, staff responded well with care and concern and ensured that children were safe. One child said, ‘I worried about staying in but I knew staff would keep me busy.’ It is evident that children have received good care and support through this challenging period.

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

Staff are recruited safely, and all the appropriate checks are carried out. The provider follows safe recruitment practices. This helps to ensure that children are looked after by people who are safe to do so.

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

All potential risks in and around the home have been assessed and there are strategies in place for staff to follow. Staff have all signed the risk assessment to show that they have a clear understanding of safety issues around the home. This means that staff have the information and skills needed to keep children safe in the home.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager is qualified and experienced. He has good oversight of the running of the home. Leaders and managers are aware of the home’s strengths and areas for development and monitor the home well to ensure continuous improvement.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

There is good communication with other professionals. The manager raises appropriate challenge and escalation in order to ensure that children receive good support. One professional said that communication was ‘brilliant’, and that the manager really advocates for the children. Good communication provides better support and protection for children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff state that they are well supported by the manager. Staff have regular supervision and team meetings, which supports them to reflect on and improve their practice. Staff are well supported to meet the needs of the children. Inspection report children’s home: SC437645 5 Staff receive all the necessary training. Training is up to date and the manager is aware of when training needs renewing. The manager ensures that staff have the skills to meet the needs of the children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager has a real commitment to listening to children and there is evidence of changes being made in line with children’s expressed wishes and feelings. Children’s views and opinions are listened to and acted on. This further demonstrates that children are at the heart of the home.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager is committed to ensuring that children achieve good outcomes and make positive progress. The manager is committed to achieving high standards of care for the children.

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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: SC437645 6

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Children’s home details

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

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Inspectors

Brian Wood, Social Care Inspector Steve Guirey, Social Care Inspector Inspection report children’s home: SC437645 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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