Children's home run by The Partnership of Care Today

Inspection report children's home: SC005042 1 SC005042 Registered provider: The Partnership of Care Today Children’s Services Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This home is owned by a private company. It provides care for children with social and/or emotional difficulties. The children’s home can accommodate up to 10 children, with a further two children accommodated in the satellite home.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager is not yet registered with Ofsted.

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Information about this children’s home

The inspectors only inspected the social care provision at this school.

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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 15 June 2020 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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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: 17 September 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: SC005042 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

17/09/2019 Full Good 30/05/2018 Full Requires improvement to be good 04/07/2017 Full Good 02/02/2017 Interim Sustained effectiveness Inspection report children's home: SC005042 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children make good progress in the important areas of their lives. Children enjoy living in the home. During the inspection, one child said that she was ‘living her best life’.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

When children move into the home, they are well supported. For example, before moving in, children meet the staff and other children, choose paint colours for their new bedroom and pick a favourite meal for their first night. In addition, the manager undertakes an assessment as to whether children can be appropriately cared for. However, in one instance, the manager’s assessment did not capture the decision-making about how staff would respond to children having similar behaviours. This did not impact on the well-being and safety of children.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff have developed trusting and positive relationships with children. The children’s key-working sessions are creative and focused. For one child, staff have created a self-care book to help her identify strategies that make her feel relaxed and calm. Another child has been supported to write a CV and apply for jobs. Children benefit from this individualised support.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children attend full-time education at the on-site school and are making good progress. In addition, informal learning sessions take place during house meetings to explore topics such as bullying, safe relationships and road safety. This support allows children to engage in informal and formal learning.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff encourage children to have fun and have new experiences. Children take part in a variety of activities, including going to the local park, youth club, football matches and roller skating. Where appropriate, staff observe children during activities to monitor responses in the community and ensure that children are supported. Activities encourage children to build friendships outside of the home and develop new interests.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are registered with local health services and attend routine appointments. Specialist mental health services are sought when required, and during the inspection, children explained the benefit of time spent with therapists. This means that children’s physical and emotional health has improved.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Professionals comment positively on the care children receive. Staff communicate effectively with the important people involved in children’s lives. One parent said that the staff have helped her build on her relationship with her son and that staff always go the extra mile. Inspection report children's home: SC005042 4

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

Children say they feel safe living in this home. Staff understand the children’s known risks and what actions they are expected to take to keep children safe. However, written risk assessments do not accurately reflect the strategies in place to protect children. This includes how staff manage the risks associated with children using mobile phones and when children spend independent time in the community. Despite this recording shortfall, the safety of children has not been compromised.

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

Since the last full inspection, there have been no episodes of children going missing from the home. Physical interventions are rare and only used when necessary to keep everyone safe. Following physical interventions, staff ensure that professionals are informed and that children complete debrief sessions. This supports children to learn alternative behaviours.

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

Positive behaviour is recognised. Children have incentive charts with mutually agreed goals. Children are provided with the opportunity to save for a special item, such as a new controller for their games console. In addition, children’s individual achievements are celebrated. One child recently attended a music concert; this was a surprise from staff in recognition of her progress. This helps the children to understand the impact of their behaviour and reflect on how well they are doing.

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

The manager takes immediate action when children share sensitive information related to their experiences. When concerns have arisen, managers have completed effective investigations and worked well with the relevant professionals. These actions ensure that children feel safe living in the home.

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

Staff carry out regular health and safety checks. The manager has a location risk assessment, and this includesdata about criminal activity in the local area and the views of external agencies. This ensures that children live in a safe environment.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The home is managed by passionate and committed managers. A new manager has been appointed and is in the process of applying for registration with Ofsted. The new manager has a good awareness of the strengths and needs of the provision.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff morale in the home is good. The children receive care from a stable and consistent staff team. This means children experience consistency and have the opportunity to form meaningful relationships.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff speak highly of the support and guidance that they receive. Supervision and appraisals are completed regularly, and they are used to develop and improve practice. The management team seeks the views of the children through the use of questionnaires to inform staff development. Consequently, managers have created an environment where children enjoy living and staff enjoy coming to work. Inspection report children's home: SC005042 5 All staff have completed mandatory training, and on occasions, the manager has completed workshops during team meetings to further enhance staff development. However, the staff have not completed training to meet the specific needs of the children. For example, one child has dyspraxia, and no training has taken place. This may impact the care provided to children. During the inspection, the manager scheduled training to rectify this shortfall.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

There are times when managers have not ensured that their concerns are escalated within reasonable timescales. For example, when a local authority has not met the agreed actions following a care planning meeting, the manager has failed to escalate the concerns. While this has not had any serious consequences so far, it has the potential to do so.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager has not updated the home’s statement of purpose to reflect the changes to the therapeutic support offered to children. This shortfall prevents the regulator, professionals and loved ones from having clear and up-to-date information about the care provided in the home. Inspection report children's home: SC005042 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

In meeting the quality standards, the registered person must, and must ensure that staff—

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Requirement Due date

if the registered person considers, or staff consider, a placing authority’s or a relevant person’s performance or response to be inadequate in relation to their role, challenge the placing authority or the relevant person to seek to ensure that each child’s needs are met in accordance with the child’s relevant plans. (Regulation 5 (c))

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Requirement Due date

This specifically relates to ensuring that there is a clear and effective escalation plan in place to ensure that children’s needs are met in accordance with plans. 25 March 2022

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Requirement Due date

The protection of children standard is that children are protected from harm and enabled to keep themselves safe.

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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

assess whether each child is at risk of harm, taking into account information in the child’s relevant plans, and, if necessary, make arrangements to reduce the risk of any harm to the child. (Regulation 12 (1) (2)(a)(i))

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Requirement Due date

This specifically relates to the manager ensuring that the children’s risk assessments are clear. 25 March 2022

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Requirement Due date

The leadership and management standard is that the registered person enables, inspires and leads a culture in relation to the children’s home that—

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Requirement Due date

helps children aspire to fulfil their potential; and

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to— 25 March 2022 Inspection report children's home: SC005042 7 ensure that staff have the experiences, qualifications, and skills to meet the needs of each child. (Regulation 13 (1)(a)(b) (2)(c))

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Requirement Due date

This specifically relates to the manager ensuring that all staff complete child-specific training.

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that the home is at all times conducted in a manner which is consistent with its statement of purpose. (Regulation 16 (5))

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Requirement Due date

This specifically relates to the statement of purpose being up to date with the care that is provided in the home. 25 March 2022

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Recommendation

 The registered provider should ensure that the manager works closely with the placing authority to understand the child’s relationship history and the impact that the child’s arrival may have on the group living in the home. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations, including the quality standards’, page 38, paragraph 8.3)

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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: SC005042 8

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Children’s home details

Provision sub-type: Residential special school

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: The Partnership of Care Today Children’s Services

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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

Sophie Hills, Social Care Inspector Nick Bennison, Social Care Inspector Inspection report children's home: SC005042 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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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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Inspectors

T: 0300 123 1231 Textphone: 0161 618 8524 E: enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk W: www.gov.uk/ofsted

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