Children's Home run by The Together Trust in Stockport

Inspection report for children’s home: SC025745 1 SC025745 Registered provider: The Together Trust Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

The home is run and managed by a charitable organisation. The home provides short breaks for up to five children who may have learning disabilities and/or physical disabilities.

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Information about this children’s home

The registered manager post has been vacant since November 2020. A new manager has been appointed. She is not yet registered with Ofsted.

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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 carried out under the social care common inspection framework (SCCIF) 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

Overall judgement at last inspection: good

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children’s home: SC025745 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

19/08/2019 Full Good 06/11/2018 Full Good 29/11/2017 Full Good 26/01/2017 Interim Sustained effectiveness Inspection report for children’s home: SC025745 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The service has continued to offer short breaks for children with complex needs throughout the pandemic. The staff team has worked tirelessly and creatively to keep the service going. This has meant children have been able to maintain relationships and enjoy the time they spend with staff and other children.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children have benefited from the range of positive activities offered to them. This has been crucial to children and their families at a time when many were not able to access other services. One parent said: ‘Without access to this service our family would be at breaking point.’

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

During lockdown, children have had the opportunity to keep active through the use of a range of play equipment in the home’s garden. Children also have access to numerous activities and experiences in the home such as the sensory room, computers and a range of games and creative resources to meet the individual needs of children.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children who communicate non-verbally or are developing verbal communication are supported to make decisions during their time at the home. Staff use a variety of visual and verbal techniques to ensure that children are supported to communicate.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children’s participation around decision-making has been improved by the introduction of individual ‘My Choices’ pictorial books. Emoji symbols are being used increasingly for non-verbal children to express their views and feelings. As a result of this, children are enabled to contribute to decisions about their lives and adults who care for them have a better understanding of their thoughts and feelings.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children develop warm and nurturing relationships with staff, who know them well. Children are provided with a high quality of care which promotes their physical and emotional well-being. This gives children and their families a sense of security and allows children to flourish.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children who need help with personal care are treated with dignity and respect. Staff have high aspirations for children and support them to make progress and make small steps towards increased independence.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Some children use the service for many years, until they reach adulthood. Staff are tenacious in their approach to ensuring that children have a well-planned and positive transition to adult services. They are strong and effective advocates for children. The approach taken by the staff team to challenge local authorities to provide effective services for children into adulthood demonstrates exemplary practice. Inspection report for children’s home: SC025745 4

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

As a result of the additional health risks to children with complex needs due to COVID-19, some children have not been able to access the service. When children have been unable to make use of short breaks, staff have kept in contact with families through regular telephone calls to maintain relationships and have an understanding of the experiences of each child and their family. Children have resumed access to the service as soon as it has been assessed as safe to do so.

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

Child-centred assessments and care plans support staff to deliver individualised care to children which meets their physical, emotional and behavioural needs. When children show that they are physically or emotionally distressed, staff use these plans to respond in a manner which reduces upset. This helps children to quickly regain a feeling of safety and security.

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

The use of physical intervention by staff to restrict the movement of children is appropriate and proportionate to keep children and staff safe. Information about restrictions of movement is shared with parents and carers in a timely manner. Records of physical interventions are detailed, and children are given an opportunity to express their views through a range of communication methods. Some handwritten records, including the evaluation of incidents undertaken by managers, are not always legible. This reduces accountability and the effectiveness of external scrutiny of these records.

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

The physical environment of the home protects children from the risk of harm while encouraging greater independence, where this is appropriate. All children have personal emergency evacuation plans which support staff to help children in the case of an emergency in the home. A fire risk assessment has recently been undertaken by the fire service at the request of the manager. This has ensured that the building and the practice of staff meet all statutory requirements.

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

When children or staff raise concerns about the practice of staff there is a swift response from the manager, supported by senior managers within the organisation. Information is shared with parents, carers and the local authority. This strong safeguarding culture ensures that children are kept safe and staff have the skills and knowledge to care for children and promote their well-being.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager post has been vacant for 13 months. During this time, the assistant manager has taken on the role of manager on an interim basis. She has now been appointed to the post permanently. The manager has applied for registration with Ofsted.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The interim management arrangements have provided staff and children with continuity. This continuity has been further embedded by the appointment of a senior care worker from the staff team to the post of assistant manager. These two Inspection report for children’s home: SC025745 5 senior roles in the home are being undertaken by experienced and skilled staff who know the home well and can continue to build on the good work of the service.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The staff team is large and diverse. The passion and commitment of all staff shines through. There is a strong learning culture and leaders are evident at all levels of the team. Staff want to take on additional responsibilities for developing practice. For example, individual staff are leading on work around the communication needs of children, and effective transitions to adult services. The dissemination of good practice means that the staff team is well placed to deliver excellent care to children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager has good oversight of the quality of care provided to children. She has systems in place to monitor and evaluate practice. The manager uses this information to review the quality of care experienced by children. She is not yet incorporating into these reviews the views of children, families and external professionals, although these are captured as part of regular feedback. This means that these views are not being used as effectively as they could be to reflect on and improve practice.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

To support improvements in the quality of input by the independent visitor to the home, the manager and her peers within the organisation have amended the format of the independent visitor’s reports. The manager now receives information which is of benefit to them. These changes are in their infancy and the impact is not yet evident.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

There are strong and effective relationships in place between staff and children’s families. There is regular dialogue about the service available for children, and parents and carers can express their preferences for when their child accesses the service. Good planning means that families know these arrangements well in advance. This clarity supports them to feel that there is consistency and stability for their children. Inspection report for children’s home: SC025745 6

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that staff understand the importance of careful, clear recording. Information about the child must always be recorded in a way that will be helpful to the child. In particular, handwritten records should be legible. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations, including the quality standards’, page 62, paragraph 14.4)  The registered person should ensure that the review of the quality of care provided by the home demonstrates that the views of children, families and professionals external to the home have been taken into consideration and contribute to the outcome of the review and future planning. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations, including the quality standards’, page 64, paragraph 15.2)

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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 for children’s home: SC025745 7

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: The Together Trust Centre, Schools Hill, Cheadle SK8 1JE

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Inspector

Dawn Parton, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: SC025745 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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Inspector

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Inspector

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Inspector

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