Children's Home run by The Partnership of Care Today in Blackburn with Darwen

Inspection report for children’s home: SC467268 1 SC467268 Registered provider: The Partnership of Care Today Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This privately operated home provides care for up to five children. The home’s statement of purpose states that children primarily placed in the home have social and emotional difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager was registered in August 2018. An application to register an additional manager has been submitted to Ofsted.

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Information about this children’s home

The inspector only inspected the social care provision at this site.

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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: 25 January 2022

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good

Overall judgement at last inspection: good

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children’s home: SC467268 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

25/01/2022 Full Good 10/02/2020 Full Good 15/11/2018 Full Good 18/10/2017 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: SC467268 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

There have been five children living in the home since the last inspection.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children were relaxed and happy. Observations of staff and children during the inspection showed caring and close relationships. Staff are committed to providing good-quality care to children, and their genuine affection for the children was evident.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Detailed plans outline how each child’s unique needs will be met. These plans are followed closely, reviewed frequently and adapted according to changing circumstances.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Members of staff ensure that all healthcare needs are very well met, and that emotional support for children is of a particularly high standard.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

As a result of the personalised care they receive, children have made significant progress in their development, socially and educationally, and their self-esteem has increased. For example, the children are in full-time education and have great attendance. All the children have managed to increase their educational attainments, which is excellent, taking into account their difficult past and low starting points.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children experience a range of activities that are tailored to their individual interests and abilities. Children are regularly taken for walks in the surrounding countryside and they talk knowledgeably about the wild animals and birds in the local area. They spoke excitedly about activities, such as trampolining, ice-skating and go-karting. Being able to take part in these activities, and in particular the use of these as a vehicle for communication with the children, has resulted in the development of children’s confidence and social skills, and contributes greatly to their improved ambitions and aspirations.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

A stable and committed staff team provide children with consistent and high-quality care. Children are supported to manage powerful emotions and to self-regulate strong feelings. They are given clear and consistent messages about acceptable behaviour, and they receive clear guidance when their behaviour is unacceptable. This helps them to understand and learn how to respond in a more positive way.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff carefully support children’s time spent with their families. Staff fully understand the children’s feelings and manage any anxieties. Staff have successfully facilitated the return of two children to their families. One parent said: ‘The staff have worked really hard with my [child] and have helped [the child] to understand how to keep out of trouble. They have made it possible for [the child] to come home and for us to live as a family again. I can’t thank them enough.’ Inspection report for children’s home: SC467268 4

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

Staff understand the children’s strengths and vulnerabilities and plan accordingly. A comprehensive understanding of each child’s behaviours is underpinned by advice and guidance from therapists. This enables staff to provide an emotionally safe and secure home. In turn, this helps children to feel confident enough to explore their behaviours enabling them to develop more positive coping strategies and resilience. Consequently, incidents of distressing and challenging behaviour lessen over time.

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

Managers do not always give full consideration of the effects that someone new moving into the home may have on children living there, or the effects that known behaviours and risks may have upon a new child. Managers do not fully assess the skills and experience of staff members and how these meet the needs of new children coming into the home, and do not identify any gaps in training or knowledge which may need to be addressed.

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

Similarly, managers do not always ensure that risk assessments clearly outline the strategies to be used by staff to prevent or reduce the risk of harm to children. Requirements have made in this regard.

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

Positive behaviour is celebrated and rewarded. Children’s behaviour and self- management skills have significantly improved, and staff acknowledge progress that has been made. This process has helped children to develop their self-esteem and enjoy their own successes. For one child, this has resulted in a significant reduction in incidents of concerning behaviour.

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

Restraint is used appropriately and monitored by managers. All incidents are assessed to establish whether they were managed appropriately and if behaviour plans need to be changed. Children’s views are gathered after each incident to make sure that they feel safe, treated fairly, and can reflect on the events surrounding the incident.

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

Children do not usually go missing from this home. There have only been two incidents since the last inspection, both of which were for short periods of time and the children returned home safely. Staff are clear about the procedures they should follow should a child go missing from the home. Managers have well established links with the local police and safeguarding children’s board.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Children’s well-being is at the centre of practice in this home. Managers and staff have high expectations of each other, and this also means that they are ambitious for the children. Each child’s progress is monitored carefully, and strategies are adapted when necessary. This ensures that there is a constant drive to help children to progress and flourish.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff are committed and passionate and speak fondly of the children in their care. Inspection report for children’s home: SC467268 5 Emphasis is placed on listening to the children and to learning from their behaviours. The children’s views are valued, and expression is encouraged. Children can influence and negotiate routines, activities and their individual behaviour management plans. This encourages a whole sense of a community working together and the children feel empowered to have a meaningful say in their lives.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

External professionals gave excellent feedback regarding the levels of communication, standard of care and the impressive progress children have made. One social worker commented positively about the excellent communication he receives from staff and managers, and how this enhanced his confidence in their ability to care for the child and stated: ‘[The child] is most definitely in the right place. The staff keep me up to date with everything going on in [the child’s] life and they tell me of the progress [the child] makes. I feel fully involved in the child’s life and I have every confidence in the ability of the staff to keep [the child] safe and help [the child] to progress.’

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Managers understand the strengths and weaknesses of the home, and how development plans drive improvements. A requirement made at the last inspection in relation to the recording of the administration of medication to children has been addressed. However, the continued monitoring of this improvement is inconsistent and a requirement has been made at this inspection in this regard.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff receive supervision and support from a suitably experienced person on a regular basis. However, supervision does not provide staff with the opportunity to reflect upon their own practice, and the impact that this may have upon the children in the home. A recommendation has been made at this inspection in relation to this shortfall. Inspection report for children’s home: SC467268 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)(a)(i))

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Requirement Due date

Specifically, ensure that risk assessments consider all factors relating to risk, and that they detail the guidance and strategies necessary to mitigate and prevent the risk of harm. 1 September 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 fulfill 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

understand the impact that the quality of care provided in the home is having on the progress and experiences of each child and use this understanding to inform the development of the quality of care provided in the home;

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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) (2)(f)(h)) 1 September 2022 Inspection report for children’s home: SC467268 7 In particular, this relates to ensuring that assessments fully consider the effects of a new child coming into the home, including risk and behaviours of children who are already living in the home, and ensuring that systems are in place for effective oversight and monitoring of the administration of medication to children.

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Recommendation

 The registered person should ensure that staff supervision allows staff to reflect upon their own practice and how this affects children’s experiences and progress. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 39, paragraph 8.15)

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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: SC467268 8

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Children’s home details

Registered Provider: The Partnership of Care Today

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Lansdowne House, 85 Buxton Road, Stockport, Cheshire SK2 6LR

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Inspector

Jacqueline Georghiou, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: SC467268 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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