Children's home run by The Together Trust in Stockport

Inspection report for children’s home: SC025740 1 SC025740 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

This children’s home is operated by a charity. It is registered to provide care for up to six children. The provider states in their statement of purpose that they provide care for children with EBD (social and emotional difficulties).

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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 requires improvement to be 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: sustained effectiveness

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children’s home: SC025740 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

09/03/2020 Interim Sustained effectiveness 04/06/2019 Full Good 24/07/2018 Full Requires improvement to be good 27/11/2017 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: SC025740 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Since the last inspection, one child has left the home because staff could not meet his needs or keep him safe. At the time of the inspection, three children were living at the home.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children receive good levels of support from a committed staff team. Staff have a positive view of the children and work hard to engage with them. This helps children to feel confident about their relationships with staff and supports their progress.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children attend school or college placements that are appropriate to their abilities. Staff provide transport to support children to and from respective placements and seek feedback from their teachers on their progress. This sharing of information helps the staff stay up to date with children’s educational progress and achievements.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are in good health. Staff ensure that children are registered with primary healthcare services. Staff receive clinical oversight from the organisation’s therapist that provides them with opportunities to develop strategies to improve the emotional well-being of children. The arrangements for the controlled storage and administration of children’s medication are safe and effective.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff support children’s time with their families. This ensures that children remain close to people who are important to them and benefit from being involved in a wider support network outside the home.

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

Staff have a clear understanding of the importance of safeguarding and the need for vigilance. Good collaborative working with the police, teachers and other professionals contributes to keeping children safe.

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

However, the manager has not ensured that the assessments of risk levels for children are correct. For example, some risk management plans have not been updated with relevant information and some records have incorrect dates. This leaves staff without all the necessary information that they need to enable them to always keep children safe.

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

The home is a busy environment in which children are encouraged to develop their tolerance of others and the skills that they need to live as part of a wider group. Serious incidents between children are rare and when they do occur appropriate and immediate action is taken.

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

Any socially unacceptable behaviour by children towards each other and staff is challenged using appropriate and fair sanctions. These focus on building positive Inspection report for children’s home: SC025740 4 relationships and modelling more acceptable behaviours. For example, if a child is rude to their peers, they are encouraged to reflect on how this makes others feel. As a result, children are developing a sense of empathy and understanding.

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

Some children have required physical intervention as a measure of control to prevent them from hurting themselves or others. Management oversight of such incidents help to ensure that staff practice is effective and that children can express their views about their behaviour and the measures used by staff.

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

Staff work closely in partnership with other agencies such as the police and local authority when children go missing from the home. Children are provided with an independent person to speak to on their return home. This enables any information that may help protect them from going missing again to be considered.

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

Children live in a home that provides them with physical safety and security. Fire safety and health and safety checks are regularly carried out. Records show that children and staff regularly practise evacuation of the building, so they know how to respond in an emergency or fire. The home has established systems and structures in place to maintain safe practices and fulfil health and safety obligations.

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

Safe recruitment practice helps to protect children. Before managers appoint staff, they vet and assess their suitability. These procedures promote the safety of children by preventing unsuitable adults from working with them.

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good

The home has an appropriately qualified registered manager in place. The manager has been in post since August 2018 and holds a diploma in leadership, health and social care at level 5.

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good

When new children arrive who have their own unique needs, the manager has not considered whether the staff team has the skills to manage these. This practice is not effective in ensuring the safety and well-being of all children.

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good

Some children’s records are handwritten and are not easy to read due to the standard of handwriting. This has an impact on the oversight and reviewing of reports, and makes it difficult for children, staff and external professionals to read what has been written.

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good

Staff benefit from regular supervision. This enables them to reflect on their practice and on the needs of the children they are caring for. All staff are suitably qualified or currently undertaking the diploma in residential childcare. There is a training programme in place to ensure that staff have the necessary skills to meet the complex and challenging needs of children in their care.

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good

Staff have strong working relationships with other professionals such as police, teachers and social workers. As a result, children benefit from a holistic approach to Inspection report for children’s home: SC025740 5 their care. Effective communication ensures that information is shared quickly, which helps to keep children safe. Inspection report for children’s home: SC025740 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 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 ensuring that risk management plans are reviewed, are accurate and contain the relevant information to reduce risks to children. 30 April 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—

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Requirement Due date

use monitoring and review systems to make continuous improvements in the quality of care provided in the home. (Regulation 13 (1)(a)(b) (2)(h))

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Requirement Due date

This specifically relates to ensuring that handwritten reports are clear and legible, to enable them to be easily reviewed and monitored. 30 April 2022

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Requirement Due date

The care planning standard is that children— 30 April 2022 Inspection report for children’s home: SC025740 7 receive effectively planned care in or through the children’s home; and

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Requirement Due date

have a positive experience of arriving at or moving on from the home. (Regulation 14 (1)(a)(b))

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Requirement Due date

This specifically relates to ensuring that, prior to a child moving into the home, staff receive training to meet the child’s specific needs.

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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: SC025740 8

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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

Dave Carrigan, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: SC025740 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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