Children's Home run by The Together Trust in Stockport

Inspection report for children’s home: SC025739 1 SC025739 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

The home is run and managed by a charitable organisation. It is registered to provide care for four children who may have emotional and/or behavioural difficulties and/or learning disabilities. The home is led by an experienced registered manager who has been in post since 2009.

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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 good

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outstanding

The effectiveness of leaders and managers outstanding

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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

Date of last inspection: 10 September 2019

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outstanding

Overall judgement at last inspection: outstanding

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outstanding

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children’s home: SC025739 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

10/09/2019 Full Outstanding 27/11/2018 Full Good 20/11/2017 Full Outstanding 27/03/2017 Interim Sustained effectiveness Inspection report for children’s home: SC025739 3

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outstanding

Children receive exceptional care from a team dedicated to helping them reach their potential. The children currently living in the home have lived here for several years. During this time, the support offered to children has been life-changing. This is because the manager and staff do not give up on children, even when they are going through the most challenging of times. Children experience love, security and stability, which enable them to thrive.

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outstanding

Children make remarkable progress in education. The manager and staff are determined that children attend school. They use a combination of persistence, additional support and incentives to achieve this. One child has attained GCSEs with the help of a private tutor and is now employed in a full-time apprenticeship. As a result, he has developed high levels of self-motivation and independence, which are key life-skills for the future.

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outstanding

The manager and staff have built excellent and enduring relationships with children’s families. They have taken the lead to improve the frequency and quality of time children have with their parents and extended family, while still working to children’s care plans. One child proudly told the inspector she can now have weekends and special occasions with her mum and sisters, which had not happened previously. Another child had Christmas Day celebrations at the home with his family, which was important to him. A member of staff said, ‘It made his face light up.’ The staff do this because they know how important it is for children’s identity and emotional well- being.

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outstanding

Children benefit from well-established trauma-informed practice. The in-house psychologist provides impressive clinical supervision and bespoke training for staff. This helps to ensure that the team uses the approaches in all situations. Children have built trusted relationships, show increased resilience and make outstanding progress with their emotional well-being. The children are also in very good physical health because the manager and staff are tenacious in helping children attend medical appointments.

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outstanding

Children have recently experienced the tragic loss of two members of staff. While this will clearly have had a significant impact on children and staff, the level of support provided by the team has been invaluable in helping the children to grieve. The manager and staff have also demonstrated a high level of emotional intelligence in the management of their own grief, which has ensured that children have continued to experience stability during this very difficult time.

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outstanding

The manager and staff have commendable relationships with external agencies. Professionals describe the home as ‘brilliant’ and ‘fantastic’. Communication and information-sharing with involved professionals and agencies are very good. Regular Inspection report for children’s home: SC025739 4 meetings take place and all agencies working with children are very well coordinated. This means children receive the help and support they need to progress.

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

Staff understand the risks and vulnerabilities of children well. Risk-management plans include pertinent issues and concerns for children. They are updated and reviewed regularly, particularly following an incident.

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

Children have made excellent progress in managing their feelings and behaviours. Staff use a blend of therapeutic work and strong boundaries to help children achieve this. Incidents have reduced considerably over time and rarely escalate into potentially harmful situations. As a result, children learn to compromise and negotiate when they have disagreements.

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

Staff follow missing-from-care procedures when children go missing from the home. They understand and act on any concerns relating to child exploitation or other forms of abuse. Staff work closely with involved agencies, identifying actions that increase the safety of children.

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

Children are supported to take well-managed, age-appropriate risks. This includes spending time away from the home without supervision. Examples include making their own arrangements to see family, spending time with friends in the local area and travelling on public transport independently. This helps children to build self- confidence and master new skills.

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

The manager and staff are clear about their role in safeguarding children. Safe recruitment processes ensure that children are cared for by suitable adults. There are good links with the local authority designated officer and other relevant agencies. The manager and leaders have not always notified Ofsted of significant incidents. This has not affected the safety of children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

An accomplished and inspirational manager leads the home. She provides the required balance of nurture and challenge to sustain a highly competent team. The manager has shown absolute commitment to the children in her care, consistently going above and beyond her role to do so. The determination she demonstrates is commendable. Children’s lives are transformed because of the care they receive.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

The manager has led the team through periods of significant adversity. She is always available to staff for support and guidance. Staff said that the manager is the ‘lynchpin’ of the home and they cannot praise her enough. The manager’s durability ensures that staff maintain their resilience and motivation. There is excellent retention of staff, which ensures that children receive consistent care. Inspection report for children’s home: SC025739 5 The team receives regular training and learning opportunities. New staff are well supported with a robust induction and also benefit from the wealth of experience in the team. They soon build confidence and enthusiasm in their role. Staff said they are happy to work at the home because they have very good relationships with their colleagues. This cohesion provides the bedrock from which children thrive.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

Leaders and managers actively review and monitor the quality of care. They act on feedback to continually improve the experiences of children. Any concerns, or potential concerns, are investigated thoroughly and have clear outcomes. Performance issues are dealt with promptly and monitored through the supervision process. This ensures that there is minimal impact on children’s care.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

The manager has the full confidence of a range of professionals. She is self-assured and has the ability to drive children’s plans forward. The manager is a strong advocate for children in the decision-making about their lives. She ensures that children are included in their care-planning. Children know they can rely on her to influence others and help achieve their goals. Inspection report for children’s home: SC025739 6

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Recommendation

 The registered person should notify Ofsted and other relevant persons if one of the situations specified in regulation 40 occurs. It is for the registered person to judge whether the incident is sufficiently serious to make formal notifications and, if it is, which other relevant persons may be notified. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 63, paragraphs 14.10 and 14.12)

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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: SC025739 7

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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

Laura Walker, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: SC025739 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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