Children's home run by Smoothstone Care & Education Limited

Inspection report children's home: 1278966 1 Registered provider: Smooth Stone Care & Education Ltd Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

The home provides care for up to six children aged between 11 and 18 years. The children may have multiple and complex needs such as learning difficulties or associated mental health conditions. The home extends their leaving age to 20 years when this will assist children in their transition to independence.

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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

Date of last inspection: 6 November 2019

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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: 1278966 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

06/11/2019 Full Good 07/01/2019 Full Good Inspection report children's home: 1278966 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are happy living in this home. The home provides a comfortable and homely environment. Leaders and managers keep developing the environment so that it suits each child’s individual needs. For example, there is a new garden room and various areas have been newly refurbished for activities such as art, computers, playing and watching television. For one child who has recently been admitted, a new go-kart is on order to meet his interests. Other children’s interests are reflected in other areas of the home, such as ‘Japanese anime’ and ‘Harry Potter’. Resources are available to meet children’s needs and interests.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The home has a school that is on the same site. There are good communication and coordination of efforts between care and education staff. This helps to encourage children to attend school. Children are achieving some very good results in education. Some are now looking forward to their adulthood because they have developed their interests and talents. One child was excited to tell the inspector about achieving an ‘A’ grade in a recent exam. Another child, who has not accessed education for some years, is now starting to build up some time in school.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

When new children move to the home, this is very well managed. One parent said of their child’s admission, ‘They [staff and managers] dealt with it pretty well.’ This is good practice and helps children to settle quickly and make progress.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children remain in contact with their families and people important to them. The managers and staff work well with families. This ensures that children get the most out of visits home and remain very close to those important to them. Parents and carers receive support from the managers. This positively affects the child’s home life and wider family relationships.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children’s health needs are a priority for the manager and staff. There is a very strong focus on children’s mental health and emotional well-being. However, there have been some medication errors. Managers took quick action. An investigation took place, and managers have commissioned an independent review of the procedures. This will help to make sure that the procedures are as safe as possible.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children have had to cope with a lot of change due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Staff have focused on the children. They respond to children’s wishes, feelings and changing needs. They know when children are struggling or not feeling themselves. Support for children is always at hand, whether this be internally or externally resourced to meet children’s needs.

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

Children are kept safe and protected. Children’s plans address their individual needs, including their vulnerabilities. Children’s risk assessments are updated regularly. Inspection report children's home: 1278966 4 They reflect children’s complex and changing needs. Staff know what actions to take to keep the children safe. Staff are well versed in safeguarding disabled children; they are skilled and knowledgeable.

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

The staff have not received training in adult safeguarding. This is important because one child has now reached independence. This prevents staff from understanding what they should do if an adult protection matter arises. This has the potential to impact on children as they transition into adult services.

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

When there are safeguarding concerns, there is a swift and effective response from managers and staff. Staff at all levels take their safeguarding responsibilities seriously. Staff, managers and leaders work well together to make sure that safeguarding responses are robust. Joint working arrangements with external professionals are very good. This ensures that the right professionals are involved to support children at the earliest opportunity.

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

Staff and children enjoy warm and affectionate relationships. Children trust staff and can talk to them. This means that children are more likely to discuss their safety concerns with staff. One child talked about how she had progressed. She said: ‘I didn’t use to be able to open up and now I can.’

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

The staff manage children’s behaviour well. Children understand the behavioural boundaries implemented by staff. Children learn what constitutes acceptable behaviour. There are times when children have been held, but this is only ever if there is a risk of harm. When children have marks or bruising from holds, these are recorded and monitored. However, physical marks and bruises are not regularly escalated to the child’s social worker. The manager is not identifying any patterns or trends. This is a missed opportunity to make sure that children are as safe as they can be.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The leadership and management of the home have improved since the last Ofsted inspection in 2019. Improvements to staff supervision mean that there is an open culture that encourages communication. One staff member said: ‘I get on well with managers and feel like I can talk to them about things.’

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The new manager has done a great job under difficult circumstances, despite the COVID-19 pandemic. Leaders always look forward; they are solution focused. This brings about constant improvement. Even when children face challenges and struggles, the leaders have a ‘can do’ attitude. This means there is never any drift in children’s progress.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Children and staff have lovely relationships. The staff respect and celebrate each child’s personality and diverse needs. Staff speak very highly of the children. This helps children to feel cherished. Inspection report children's home: 1278966 5 Training and development opportunities keep staff excited and enthusiastic in their roles. Staff are very well trained, skilled and experienced. They are highly motivated and supported to pursue their interests to further their own development. This benefits the home.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

There are high staffing ratios. Temporary staff are rarely used. There is a great team ethos. Staff are happy to pick up extra shifts if it means that children’s care is not disrupted. The COVID-19 pandemic has brought staffing challenges. There have been a few occasions when waking night staff have worked alone rather than with a colleague. The manager is looking at better contingency plans to make sure that such shifts are subject to a more robust risk assessment, in line with policy. Some night staff members do not feel as included in day-to-day decisions as the day staff. For example, they read minutes of staff meetings when decisions have already been made.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Children have a strong voice. If they raise an issue, it is always followed up by managers. Children are always listened to, whatever their communication style. As a result, children learn that they can and should have a say in their own lives. They feel valued and respected. Inspection report children's home: 1278966 6

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Recommendations

 The registered person should have a workforce plan which can fulfil the workforce related requirements of regulation 16, schedule 1 (paragraphs 19 and 20). The plan should detail the processes and agreed timescales for staff to achieve induction, probation and any core training (such as safeguarding, health and safety and mandatory qualifications). This is specifically in relation to adult protection training for staff. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations, including the quality standards’, page 53, paragraph 10.8).  The registered person should ensure that all incidents of control, discipline and restraint are subject to systems of regular scrutiny to ensure that their use is fair and the principles as set out in 9.35 are respected. This is with specific reference to when children sustain marks or bruising following a restraint and reporting to the relevant agencies. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations, including the

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Recommendations

quality standards’, page 46, paragraph 9.36)

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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: 1278966 7

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Children’s home details

Provision sub-type: Residential special school

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Smooth Stone Care & Education Ltd

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Datum House, Electra Way, Crewe, Cheshire CW1 6ZF

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Inspector

Caroline Brailsford, Social Care Inspector Inspection report children's home: 1278966 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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