Children's home run by The Together Trust in Stockport

Inspection report for children's home: SC025714 1 SC025714 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 registered to provide care and accommodation for up to five children who may experience social and emotional difficulties and/or have a learning disability. The home is privately owned and managed.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager has been registered since June 2017.

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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

Overall judgement at last inspection: good

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children's home: SC025714 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

08/03/2022 Full Good 10/10/2019 Full Good 28/11/2018 Full Good 31/01/2018 Interim Sustained effectiveness Inspection report for children's home: SC025714 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Three children live in the home. The staff build good relationships with the children. The staff know the children well and speak warmly and knowledgably about them.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The children are attending school and college. There is good communication between the staff and education providers, who work well together. This is helping one child to reengage in school following an unsettled period.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff support the children to maintain good physical health. Children are encouraged to eat healthily and attend all their health appointments.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children enjoy a range of activities. One child regularly goes BMX track riding and competes in competitions. Another child has a Saturday job. This is helping the children to learn new skills and build resilience.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Individual sessions are completed with the children. These are focused on and specific to the children’s needs and daily experiences. However, the children said they would like the staff to ask their views about the day-to-day life in the home, including the decoration and furnishings, and for these to be taken into consideration.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Positive behaviour is promoted. Children are praised for this and receive incentives for doing well. Consequences are proportionate and fair.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff support the children to see their family, and friends are welcome in the home. This helps the children to maintain their identity and continue to see the people who are important to them.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff do not have the current copy of all the children’s relevant documents, including personal education plans and minutes from strategy meetings. The managers have not escalated this shortfall effectively to make sure they receive the information in a timely way. Therefore, staff do not have up-to-date information about the children. This limits the staff’s ability to support the children and their development and to measure the children’s progress accurately from when they moved in.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The home environment is not consistently well maintained and needs to improve. The upstairs bathroom needs some renovation. The decoration and furniture need to be refreshed in parts of the home to ensure that it is a pleasant and homely environment for the children to live in. Inspection report for children's home: SC025714 4

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

The children currently living in the home say that they feel safe. Children receive help and support to manage their behaviour and feelings safely. Staff provide children with clear boundaries. Staff use effective de-escalation techniques, and physical intervention is used as a last resort.

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

The managers and staff have a good understanding of safeguarding. They respond appropriately to any serious safeguarding concerns. They work with other agencies to keep children safe, especially when a child goes missing from the home.

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

Assessments of risk are in place and updated regularly. There are strategies in place to protect children in the home.

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

Children are supported to take age-appropriate risks as part of their development of independent living skills. One child regularly uses public transport independently and arranges their health appointments.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The home is led by a suitable qualified and experienced manager. There is an experienced assistant manager in place. The managers know the children well and are positive role models for both staff and children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The home is adequately staffed for the children currently living in the home. New staff have been recruited since the last inspection and the safer recruitment policy is followed. When additional staff are required, the staff will cover this themselves, which provides consistency for the children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Effective monitoring and review systems are in place. The manager took appropriate action to review a child’s plan with a local authority when it became apparent that the child’s needs could not be met.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff receive training to develop the necessary skills and knowledge to understand and meet the children’s individual needs. For example, staff have completed training in ‘Prevent’ duty and knife crime awareness. As a result, staff have a good knowledge and skill base to safeguard children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff describe the managers as being supportive. Staff have regular supervision, and records demonstrate that staff are given an opportunity to reflect on their practice individually and as a group. Staff recently reflected together on a child’s time in the home and discussed how things could have been done differently. This helps managers gain a clear understanding of staff strengths and areas for development.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager’s last report of the review of the quality of care does not capture the opinions of the children living in the home. The report does not include the opinions of families or external professionals about how the staff support the children to promote positive outcomes. Inspection report for children's home: SC025714 5

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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 quality and purpose of care standard is that children receive care from staff who—

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Requirement Due date

understand the children’s home’s overall aims and the outcomes it seeks to achieve for children; and

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Requirement Due date

use this understanding to deliver care that meets children’s needs and supports them to fulfil their potential.

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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

ensure that the premises used for the purposes of the home are designed and furnished so as to—

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Requirement Due date

enable each child to participate in the daily life of the home. (Regulation 6 (1)(a)(b) (2)(c)(i)(ii))

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Requirement Due date

This relates to the registered person ensuring that the children live in a home that is homely, clean, tidy, and decorated and furnished to a good standard throughout. 16 February 2023

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Requirement Due date

The quality and purpose of care standard is that children receive care from staff who—

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Requirement Due date

understand the children’s home’s overall aims and the outcomes it seeks to achieve for children; and

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Requirement Due date

use this understanding to deliver care that meets children’s needs and supports them to fulfil their potential.

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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

ensure that staff— 2 March 2023 Inspection report for children's home: SC025714 6 provide personalised care that meets each child’s needs, as recorded in the child’s relevant plans, taking account of the child’s background. (Regulation 6 (1)(a)(b) (2)(b)(iv))

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Requirement Due date

Specifically, the registered person should ensure that children’s relevant documents are obtained from the placing local authority to inform care planning to meet the children’s needs, especially when considering new children moving into the home.

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Requirement Due date

The children’s views, wishes and feelings standard is that children receive care from staff who—

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Requirement Due date

develop positive relationships with them;

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Requirement Due date

take their views, wishes and feelings into account in relation to matters affecting the children’s care and welfare and their lives.

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to ensure that staff—

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Requirement Due date

ascertain and consider each child’s views, wishes and feelings, and balance these against what they judge to be in the child’s best interests when making decisions about the child’s care and welfare;

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Requirement Due date

help each child to express views, wishes and feelings;

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Requirement Due date

help each child to understand how the child’s views, wishes and feelings have been taken into account and give the child reasons for decisions in relation to the child; and

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Requirement Due date

regularly consult children, and seek their feedback, about the quality of the home’s care. (Regulation 7 (1)(a)(b)(c) (2)(a)(i)(ii)(iii)(iv))

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Requirement Due date

This relates specifically to the registered person ensuring that all children are supported to communicate their views, wishes and feelings and to participate as fully as possible in all aspects of their care planning, daily care and home life. The registered person needs to ensure that this is detailed in the records of all children. 16 February 2023 Inspection report for children's home: SC025714 7 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. (Regulation 45 (2)(b))

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Requirement Due date

This relates specifically to the need for feedback from children, family members and other professionals to be detailed in the Regulation 45 report. 2 March 2023

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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: SC025714 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

Dawn Walker, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children's home: SC025714 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 looked after children, safeguarding and child protection.

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Inspector

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Inspector

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Inspector

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