Children's Home run by Paramount Children’s Services Limited in Manchester

Inspection report for children’s home: 2606062 1 Registered provider: Paramount Children’s Services Limited Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This home is privately owned and run. It is registered to provide care for up to three children who may have emotional and/or behavioural difficulties or learning disabilities.

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Information about this children’s home

The home was registered by Ofsted in January 2021. The registered manager is suitably qualified and experienced. He has managed the home since registration.

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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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outstanding

How well children and young people are helped and protected outstanding

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outstanding

The effectiveness of leaders and managers good

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outstanding

The children’s home provides highly effective services that consistently exceed the standards of good. The actions of the children’s home contribute to significantly improved outcomes and positive experiences for children and young people who need help, protection and care.

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outstanding

Overall judgement at last inspection: not applicable

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outstanding

Enforcement action since last inspection: not applicable Inspection report for children’s home: 2606062 2

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outstanding

Children who have experienced significant adversity and instability in their childhoods make exceptional progress. They receive a consistently high quality of care from the adults caring for them.

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outstanding

Children say that the home is their home, not a ‘children’s home’. One child who moved into the home following a period living in semi-independent accommodation said, ‘It feels like family here. It felt like coming home.’ The sense of belonging and permanence children experience helps them to make significant progress and enhances their lives.

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outstanding

Children and staff engage in regular activities together. These have included camping trips, visits to London, and a whole-staff team outing with the children to a theme park. These experiences are captured in photos throughout the home and in each child’s memory books. Children excitedly speak about these experiences and the enjoyment they got from them. These opportunities open the world to children, build their confidence and consolidate their positive relationships with staff.

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outstanding

Children’s education, training and employment is actively promoted. Children who have not been able to access education for prolonged periods of time are supported to return and make excellent progress. Children who have left formal education are supported to identify and successfully apply for jobs and training. One child has completely altered their lifestyle since obtaining full-time employment. They are no longer going missing from care or misusing drugs and alcohol. The child said, ‘I realised I can’t work full-time and party!’ The culture within the home, and the expectation of staff, that all children will be involved in some form of education or employment motivates children and helps them to develop a greater sense of independence and self-worth.

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outstanding

Children’s achievements and milestones are celebrated. For their birthdays, children get a custom-baked cake which reflects their personal interests. One child with an interest in farming received a cake depicting a farm scene along with various farm animals. During the inspection, he proudly showed off his photos of his cake and birthday party. Smaller achievements, such as weekly progress with education or positive contributions to the home, are acknowledged with rewards personal to the child, such as restaurant vouchers or bedroom accessories. This makes children feel cared for and valued.

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outstanding

Children receive help from services in the community to meet their needs. The manager and staff team have developed excellent links with looked after children’s nurses, sexual health workers and the substance misuse service locally. Children are supported to understand and, when they can, reduce risks to their health through increased awareness and education. Inspection report for children’s home: 2606062 3 Children benefit from the regular consultations staff have with the home’s psychologist. These consultations support staff to provide children with care which is trauma informed and recognises the current impact on children of previous childhood experiences.

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outstanding

Children are supported to take age-appropriate risks and develop their independence. Children spend time in the community with their friends and these friends are welcome to visit the home. Children approaching adulthood are supported to develop the skills they need to make a successful transition towards independence. The exceptional quality of relationships between staff and children and the nurturing family environment that the children experience mean that children are settled in the home and want to stay there until they are ready to live independently.

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outstanding

Children’s care records provide children and staff with comprehensive information that help them to understand the history, current needs and the progress that individual children are making. There is a clear thread running through the case records from the point of referral. This provides relevant information which demonstrates how the care children receive is addressing their individual needs, in line with their care plan.

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outstanding

Staff signatures on records and some handwritten manager evaluations of incidents are not always legible. Additionally, some records do not include a printed name, which means that there is a lack of accountability for some written records.

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outstanding

High-quality risk assessments and risk reduction plans support staff to care for children in a way that keeps them safe. Risks are reviewed regularly, and records include a good reflection on the child’s journey. This gives staff an excellent understanding of how effective the care children are experiencing is, and the impact that this is having on the reduction of risks.

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outstanding

Forms used for pre-admission assessments and matching of children do not demonstrate the comprehensive range of factors considered by the registered manager when planning a new admission to the home. Records of these discussions and actions are held separately to the pre-admission assessment document. As a result, the excellent practice undertaken to ensure that children can live together successfully and safely is not included in the written assessments. This has not adversely impacted the quality of matching and the high standards of care children experience.

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outstanding

Children are supported by regular, well-planned one-to-one time with staff. These sessions link with placement plan goals and are used effectively, post-incident, to reflect with children on significant events. This regular individual time children have Inspection report for children’s home: 2606062 4 with staff helps build trust and enables staff to understand children’s views, wishes and feelings.

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outstanding

Staff have been proactive in seeking a speech and language assessment for one child on their admission to the home. This has assisted the whole staff team to understand and support the child’s individual communication needs. The implementation by staff of the recommendations in the assessment has contributed to the child’s increased ability to communicate confidently and improved his self- esteem.

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outstanding

Children who have previously been extremely vulnerable to risks in the community, compounded by regular and prolonged episodes of being missing from home, make excellent progress in reducing their levels of risk and also reducing their number of missing-from-home episodes. One child who was very vulnerable in the community on admission to the home is no longer going missing and is fully involved in the life of the home. Staff work with specialist services, including complex safeguarding teams and youth justice services, to share information and support children and safeguard them.

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outstanding

When children go missing, staff follow the detailed missing-from-home plans in place. Staff are proactive in their response and seek to return children to the home as soon as possible. Staff actively search for children in areas they are known to frequent, and family and friends are contacted swiftly. Staff work with police and children’s social workers to share information. When required, staff contribute to local authority missing-from-care meetings to agree strategies to reduce risks and get children home safely.

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outstanding

There has only been one incident of physical restraint of a child since the home opened. The intervention was minimal and appropriate to support the child to regain control of his emotions and prevent further injury to other people in the home. Recording of the incident is detailed and provides a full picture of events. The child and staff were able to discuss the incident with the manager and reflect on ways to prevent a recurrence. Children are encouraged to behave positively, and any problems that arise are dealt with swiftly and in a way which promotes positive relationships.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager is a skilled and experienced leader who has been involved in developing the home since its registration. He is supported by an experienced and knowledgeable responsible individual. Together, they ensure the home is providing a high standard of care to children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

One deputy manager recently left the home to take up a registered manager position elsewhere within the organisation. The second deputy manager is currently being supported to gain the skills and experience to progress to a registered manager role. There is good succession planning and development of the staff to Inspection report for children’s home: 2606062 5 support them to make progress through internal promotion. This contributes to the stability and consistency of the staff team.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff benefit from regular, high-quality supervision that provides both support and challenge. Staff are provided with additional support sessions to look at areas of practice which need improvement. Supervision gives staff a good opportunity to reflect on the progress and experiences of children living in the home. Records of supervision are detailed and support staff to undertake their role effectively. Formal probation review meetings are held for staff new to the home and there are clear expectations for standards of practice.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Team meetings take place regularly and provide staff with a good opportunity to reflect on the progress and experience of children, as well as staff needs in relation to training or support to meet children’s needs. Good recording of these meetings means that staff have a record of discussions to revisit if required to inform their care of children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager has established systems in place to monitor and evaluate practice. He has a good overview of significant incidents in the home and signs off key records for each child. He actively seeks feedback from children, families and external professionals. The registered manager uses his quality of care reports to reflect on the progress and experience of children and look at areas of practice improvement.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The home is decorated, furnished and maintained to a high standard. The home provides space for children to spend time together as well as having space for them to be on their own. The decoration of the home reflects the interests of the children and provides them with a home they can take pride in and which makes them feel valued. Inspection report for children’s home: 2606062 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 and staff signatures should be accompanied by a printed name to ensure that there is accountability for practice and decisions. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations, including the quality standards’, page 62, paragraph 14.4)  The registered person should ensure that records of pre-admission matching assessments provide a clear rationale and detail of the actions taken when considering the matching of children new to the home. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations, including the quality standards’, page 62, paragraph 14.4)

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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: 2606062 7

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Paramount Children’s Services Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: 1 Kinburn Road, Manchester M19 1RH

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Inspector

Dawn Parton, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2606062 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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