Children's Home run by Care Today (Childrens Services) Ltd in Manchester

Inspection report children’s home: 2625182 1 Registered provider: Care Today (Children’s Services) Limited 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 private organisation.

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Information about this children’s home

The provider states in its statement of purpose that it provides care for children who may have social and/or emotional difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager was registered with Ofsted in March 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: 26 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 children’s home: 2625182 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

26/01/2022 Full Good Inspection report children’s home: 2625182 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

There are two children living at the home. Both children have recently moved in to the home.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The children have settled in well and have begun to develop good relationships with the adults who care for them. Staff provide children with personalised, well-planned care that promotes their needs effectively. A child said, ‘I’ve lived in lots of different homes, and this is the best. I rate it. It’s very good to be fair.’

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff have high aspirations for children and support their education and learning. Children are currently engaged in alternative forms of education, with home schooling and educational activities supported by staff. Staff are in the process of identifying longer-term school placements for the children to attend after the summer holidays to promote their educational achievements.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

One child requires a care plan from their placing authority, and updated education, health and care plan to reflect their specific needs. Children are engaged in positive and enjoyable activities. Children enjoy quad biking, the cinema, gym, pool and watching professional football matches. Staff promote the children’s interests and hobbies.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are registered with the health services they need to be healthy. They receive support and encouragement from staff to attend their health and medical appointments. Staff support children to see their friends and families. As a result, children sustain their familiar relationships with the people who are most important to them.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Contact plans are in place for children. However, one child needs their plan updating in line with the new agreements made with the placing authority. A child said, ‘They’re dead flexible and support me with contact.’

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

Risks associated with children are well known and understood by staff. Staff prioritise the safety of children and work closely with the police and other safeguarding agencies to keep children safe from harm.

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

There is evidence that the frequency of missing-from-home incidents has reduced in relation to children’s starting points. Children are protected if they go missing from the home. Staff actively look for children when they are missing and work closely with the police to locate them quickly and secure their safe return.

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

The manager escalates concerns when children are not provided with an independent return-home interview. This is because some return-home interviews Inspection report children’s home: 2625182 4 have not taken place. A risk assessment for one child needs updating so that accurate information is available for staff about the child’s potential whereabouts. Children know how to make a complaint. However, no complaints have been made by children since the last inspection.

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

The use of holds to protect children in unsafe situations are rare. Restrictive practice is a last resort. When holds are used by staff, they are only ever used to protect children from harm.

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

Staff praise, acknowledge and reinforce children’s positive behaviour. Sanctions are kept to a minimum, and rewards are used to promote the children’s positive behaviour. Staff employed to work with children are vetted carefully. This ensures that adults employed in a caring and trusted role are safe and suitable people.

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

Significant incidents are shared with the appropriate authorities. This ensure that there is a well-coordinated response from professionals to protect children from harm. The use of risk management plans and safe working practices promotes the safety and well-being of children.

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

There is limited evidence for some children in relation to planned one-to-one work to demonstrate how staff have educated children about keeping themselves safe from harm. As a result, direct work to support children could be more robustly evidenced.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The home is managed efficiently and effectively by an experienced and dedicated registered manager. The manager demonstrates strong and effective leadership of the operation of the home.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Children benefit from a warm, welcoming, cosy and homely living environment. Health and safety matters are addressed effectively to ensure that a safe home is maintained for children, visitors and staff.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The home meets the aims and objectives as set out in its statement of purpose. The home employs well-qualified, skilled and experienced staff to meet the specific needs of the children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff are managed effectively and benefit from effective support through regular practice-related supervision. The manager is supportive of staff’s practice and ensures that staff feel supported in their roles.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Regular team meetings take place. This ensures that staff can reflect on their practice and are familiar with the plans for the children. The manager and staff maintain effective partnerships with social workers and other professional agencies to ensure that children benefit from effective help and the best possible support.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The home is visited on a regular basis by an independent professional who reports on the conduct of the home and reviews the quality of the children’s care. These Inspection report children’s home: 2625182 5 visits help the manager and staff to understand the strengths and weaknesses of the home. The manager addresses any shortfalls to secure the home’s improvement.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager makes good use of the home’s monitoring activities so that shortfalls are ratified quickly. However, the manager’s six-monthly quality-of-care review fails to consider the views of children, parents or social workers, or any other stakeholders, which is a missed opportunity. Inspection report children’s home: 2625182 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 education standard is that children make measurable progress towards achieving their educational potential and are helped to do so.

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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

help a child who is excluded from school, or who is of compulsory school age but not attending school, to access educational and training support throughout the period of exclusion or non-attendance and to return to school as soon as possible. (Regulation 8 (1) (2)(a)(viii))

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Requirement Due date

This refers specifically to ensuring that children are attending full-time education. 10 October 2022

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must complete a review of the quality of care provided for children ("a quality of care review") at least once every 6 months.

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Requirement Due date

In order to complete a quality of care review the registered person must establish and maintain a system for monitoring, reviewing and evaluating—

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Requirement Due date

the feedback and opinions of children about the children’s home, its facilities and the quality of care they receive in it; and

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Requirement Due date

any actions that the registered person considers necessary in order to improve or maintain the quality of care provided for children. (Regulation 45 (1) (2)(b)(c))

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Requirement Due date

This specifically relates to the registered manager ensuring that the views of children, social workers and other stakeholders are considered. 19 December Inspection report children’s home: 2625182 7

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that all relevant plans are in place for children. This relates specifically to obtaining up-to-date care plans and education, health and care plans from the placing authorities. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, paragraph 3.1, page 14)

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that return-home interviews take place when a child is missing, the information gained from such interviews is used, and missing-from-care risk assessments for children are updated, when necessary. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 45, paragraph 9.30)

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that staff help the child to understand risks and promote their safety through one-to-one work. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 42, paragraph 9.7)

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that plans reflecting the current contact arrangements for children are in place. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 58, paragraph 11.18)

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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: 2625182 8

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Care Today (Children’s Services) Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Care Today Children’s Services, 2nd Floor, Lansdowne House, 85 Buxton Road, Stockport SK2 6LR

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Children’s home details

Responsible individual: Liam Fitzpatrick

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Inspectors

Anthony Kyem, Social Care Inspector Kelly McCurdy, Social Care Inspector Inspection report children’s home: 2625182 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

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