Children's Home run by Together for Children in Sunderland

Inspection report children’s home: 1254835 1 Registered provider: Together for Children Sunderland Limited Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

The home is owned and managed under trust arrangements. It is registered to care for up to six children who may have emotional and/or social difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager registered with Ofsted on 1 April 2017.

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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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Information about this children’s home

We last visited this setting on 30 March 2021 to carry out a monitoring visit. The report is published on the Ofsted website.

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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 good

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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: good

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outstanding

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report children’s home: 1254835 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

02/07/2019 Full Good 26/06/2018 Full Good 12/03/2018 Interim Improved effectiveness 08/11/2017 Full Good Inspection report children’s home: 1254835 3

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outstanding

There are six children currently living in the home. The inspector spoke to all the children during the inspection.

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outstanding

Children are making significant progress from their starting points, which is attributed to the excellent care that they receive from a caring and committed staff team. In describing the progress that they have made, one child said: ‘I feel like a totally different person now.’

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outstanding

The manager has been instrumental in implementing a therapeutic reparenting model of care in the home. The staff have ongoing support from a clinical psychologist, who provides training in this model, regular consultations with the staff and clinical oversight, as well as working with the individual children. The overwhelming consensus in the feedback received from professionals is that this model of care is working exceptionally well and that children are making excellent progress.

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outstanding

Children enjoy trusting and secure relationships with the staff, who know them well and are invested in them. All the children spoken to score the home highly, with the positive relationships with their individual key workers being a consistent theme raised.

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outstanding

The manager and staff have managed COVID-19 restrictions extremely well and have ensured that the pandemic has not been a negative experience for the children. As a result, the children have continued to make good progress during this time.

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outstanding

Children are supported well to move on to independence. The manager has developed a transition programme for the children and the staff to follow. This is based on research and information from key professionals on what skills the children need in place before they move on. Staff ensure that the children have everything that they need to move on, often purchasing gifts themselves for the children. Children are provided with a digital memory book that captures in words and pictures the child’s journey from first moving into the home. Staff remain in contact with the children after they have moved on, for example by celebrating significant birthdays with them. This provides the children with the opportunity to learn new skills and prepares them well for their futures.

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outstanding

Children’s health needs are well met. Children are supported by the staff to attend routine health appointments as well as specialist and therapeutic services. The staff are suitably trained to support children with complex health needs with all aspects of their care. This helps the children to lead a healthy lifestyle.

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outstanding

Most children are in education, employment or training. One child, who has completed his formal education, is actively seeking employment and is being Inspection report children’s home: 1254835 4 supported by the staff with this. Some children who have previously experienced barriers to attendance and learning are now attending full-time education or training, which is considerable progress. One professional said: ‘Education is a priority in this home.’ This means that the children are supported to reach their academic potential.

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outstanding

The staff understand the importance of the children spending time with the people who are important to them. Staff keep in contact with the children’s family members and work hard to improve the children’s relationships with them. Examples of this include supporting family members in applying for housing, and preparing and delivering Christmas dinner. One parent said: ‘The staff are brilliant. If there are any issues, the staff will contact me. I know [name of child] is safe and they care about him.’ This approach builds meaningful relationships and gives the children a clear message that the staff and their family are working together.

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

Children said that they feel safe living in the home. Staff consistently follow safeguarding procedures and understand their responsibilities in this. Staff follow each child’s risk assessment and individual crisis support plan. These plans are clear, easy to understand and are kept up to date. This means that the staff always have the most up-to-date information to enable them to keep the children safe from harm.

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

The priority of the staff is to keep the children safe. When children do go missing from the home, the staff are proactive in their efforts to secure the child’s safe return. This includes maintaining contact with the child by telephone and remaining in contact with the child’s family members and friends, as well as driving to all known locations where the child might be, to locate them. Once children are found, one-to-one sessions are undertaken and return home interviews are offered.

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

Children who are new to the home are welcomed sensitively and with careful planning. Prior to children moving into the home, an impact risk assessment is completed. This considers the potential risks and impact for the child moving into the home as well as for those children already living in the home. Management oversight of these documents provides an analysis of the matching considerations and whether these potential risks can be safely managed by the staff.

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

Safer recruitment processes are followed when staff are appointed. This provides assurance that they are suitably vetted to provide care.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The home is run effectively by a permanent, suitably experienced and qualified registered manager. He is supported by a competent and equally driven deputy manager.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager is passionate and ambitious about his vision for the children. One professional said: ‘The manager has a clear vision of what he wants the home to Inspection report children’s home: 1254835 5 achieve and that is to repair the trauma that children arrive with. He has worked very hard on this.’

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager leads by example and is innovative and driven to provide the highest quality of care for children. This approach has resulted in the children continuing to make outstanding progress. One professional said: ‘[Name of child] has made significant progress. I don’t think if they had gone anywhere else, they would have made as much progress.’

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager has an excellent understanding of the strengths and weaknesses of the home. This is because he ensures that he maintains close oversight of the staff’s practice, care planning and the children’s progress. He has in place a range of effective internal auditing and quality assurance processes, which are used effectively to track the children’s progress and the performance of staff.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

All children’s case records are up to date and of a high standard. They are child- focused and difficult issues are recorded sensitively. The manager welcomes feedback and external scrutiny. This is then shared in team meetings and in supervisions with staff to make further improvements and to raise the standard of care that the children receive. This demonstrates a culture of openness and willingness to listen and change.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager is highly regarded by the children and the staff. He is committed to the induction, supervision and appraisal of the staff, which promotes the staff’s ongoing professional development. One member of staff said: ‘The manager and deputy manager have the same vision for the home and wanting to get it so right for the children. It is so good to have such a strong management team.’

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

However, not all staff are sufficiently trained. Four members of staff have passed the relevant date for gaining their required residential care qualifications. This failure means that some staff are not appropriately qualified to care for the children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager ensures that the staff have a structured training programme in place and training records are kept up to date. However, staff have not completed training specific to an individual child’s needs. While this has not adversely affected the child, it is important that staff keep their skills and knowledge up to date.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager and staff are now caring for a child whose needs fall outside the home’s statement of purpose. In addition, the child’s needs were not considered at their recent Child in Care review. As a result, the manager cannot be assured that all of this child’s needs are known, understood and being met by the staff. Inspection report children’s home: 1254835 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 care planning standard is that children—

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Requirement Due date

receive effectively planned care in or through the children’s home.

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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

that children are admitted to the home only if their needs are within the range of needs of children for whom it is intended that the home is to provide care and accommodation, as set out in the home’s statement of purpose;

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Requirement Due date

manage and review the placement of each child in the home. (Regulation 14 (1)(a) (2)(a)(b)(ii)) 12 February 2022

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must recruit staff using recruitment procedures that are designed to ensure children’s safety.

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Requirement Due date

employ an individual to work at the children’s home; or

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Requirement Due date

if an individual is employed by a person other than the registered person to work at the home in a position in which the individual may have regular contact with children, allow that individual to work at the home, if the individual satisfies the requirements in paragraph (3).

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Requirement Due date

the individual has the appropriate experience, qualification, and skills for the work that the individual is to perform.

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Requirement Due date

For the purposes of paragraph (3)(b), an individual who works in the home in a care role has the appropriate 12 July 2022 Inspection report children’s home: 1254835 7 qualification if, by the relevant date, the individual has attained—

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Requirement Due date

the Level 3 Diploma for Residential Childcare (England) ("the Level 3 Diploma"); or

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Requirement Due date

a qualification which the registered person considers to be equivalent to the Level 3 Diploma. (Regulation 32 (1) (2) (a) (b) (3)(b) (4)(a)(b))

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Recommendation

 The registered person should ensure that the staff can access appropriate facilities and resources to support their training needs and should understand the key role they play in the training and development of staff in the home. This should include training specific to the individual needs of the children, specifically foetal alcohol spectrum disorder and learning disabilities. (‘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: 1254835 8

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Together for Children Sunderland Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Stanfield Business Centre, Addison Street, Sunderland SR2 8SZ

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Inspector

Paula Shepherd, Social Care Inspector Inspection report children’s home: 1254835 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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