Children's home run by Social Care Services Limited

Inspection report for children’s home: 2680502 1 Registered provider: Social Care Services (Clayton) Limited Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This privately owned children’s home provides care for up to two children. The statement of purpose states that the home provides children with opportunities to develop a wider range of social relationships, which their needs and behaviours may otherwise exclude them from.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager registered with Ofsted on 21 May 2022. This is the home’s first inspection.

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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: not applicable

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children’s home: 2680502 2

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Recent inspection history

Not previously inspected Inspection report for children’s home: 2680502 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The home is welcoming and well decorated and has a nice feel to it. However, some furniture needs replacing, for example dining chairs which are unsafe as the legs are buckling. The manager had identified this prior to this inspection.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff prepare children for moving into the home and encourage family members to visit the home prior to children moving in. Children are also encouraged to choose the decor and colours for their bedrooms, to personalise them. Children’s individual interests, such as fishing, baking and dancing are encouraged.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff have positive relationships with children’s families, which means they have a good understanding of family dynamics and why these relationships are important to children. One child has regular family time in the home, which he and the wider family enjoy. This enables the staff team to get to know the family dynamic better and has enabled the child to settle well and feel safe.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Records detail the needs of children, their day-to-day care and how they need to be cared for. Key-work sessions addressing a range of issues important to the children take place and are recorded. However, children do not regularly review or comment on the work undertaken with them. The feedback from children about their care is pertinent to providing care that supports continued progress.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children’s health is suitably monitored, and medication is securely stored.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children attend school or other educational provision. The manager and staff consistently liaise with the providers and are attentive when there are concerns. For example, when alternative education is not working, the manager has advocated for a review of the plan.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are cared for using the framework of TCI (therapeutic crisis intervention). The focus of care and interventions with children is relationship-based, founded on the principles of a child-centred, caring and nurturing approach through active listening.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Consequences are rarely imposed. However, staff need to be more aware of using consequences which may cause further anxiety for children. During the inspection, the manager identified a need to change this and so averted further concerns.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are cared for by a small team of staff who understand their individual needs. The team is passionate about the care of the children, and this helps children to form trusting relationships. Inspection report for children’s home: 2680502 4

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

Children say they feel safe in the home, and this is supported by staff understanding the children’s vulnerabilities and identified risks. This means that children are safeguarded effectively.

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

When children go missing from home, staff actively look for them and work with other agencies to return them home safely. The staff have a good relationship with the missing-from-home service. Debriefs for children are child-centred and staff are clear on what action they would take should a child go missing from the home.

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

One child is subject to several restrictions of their liberty in the home, community and their school setting. The team understands the arrangements in place, but these are not readily available to see, as the court-ordered restrictions are not included on the child’s file. The restrictions and support offered by staff have resulted in a significant reduction in risk-taking behaviours by the child.

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

Family time is promoted well and aligned to the local authority plans. This is documented in a child-friendly way so that memories can be made and recorded. Some of these memories are captured in files that the children have created themselves, or in mementos displayed on their bedroom walls.

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

When children come to live at the home, they are provided with age-appropriate information, including the children’s guide, the house rules and support information, should they wish to speak to an adviser independent of the home.

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

The manager has been helping a family member to build her knowledge of risky behaviours to support the family. They have done this through online courses and working alongside the manager to work through the issues. This has upskilled the family member to understand more complex behaviours.

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

Most staff have experience of working together at a different home and when new staff have joined, the recruitment process is safe.

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

A record must be kept of any visitors to the home. This is particularly important to enable an audit of who has visited the children’s home and so that the manager is aware who is in the home at any time.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager is suitably qualified and supported by her deputy and staff team. The leadership team is strong and efficient. This enables the wider team to provide children and their families with a good standard of care that improves their lives.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager has a good understanding of safeguarding concerns. She encourages the staff team to engage with children to keep them safe. This was particularly evident during times when children went missing from the home. Inspection report for children’s home: 2680502 5 Staff receive support from the manager and deputy manager and supervisions take place regularly, complemented by informal daily support. A staff member was particularly positive about the support she received after a recent incident. It was evident the staff support each other.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager has systems in place to monitor the service and identify any shortfalls. This monitoring is complemented by monthly audits undertaken by the responsible individual.. The staff team received training in exploitation, which relates to one child in the home. However, this could have been in place sooner to help children who have now left the home.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The regulator has not been provided with a statement of purpose for review. This has hindered the ability to understand the service before the inspection. This shortfall does not currently have a significant impact on the quality of care provided to children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The independent person has not sent their reports to the regulator, and this means the regulator has not been able to have oversight of progression at the home. . This shortfall does not currently have a significant impact on the quality of care provided to children. Inspection report for children’s home: 2680502 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 independent person must provide a copy of the independent person’s report to —

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Requirement Due date

HMCI. (Regulation 44 (7)) 26 February 2023

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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

supply to HMCI a copy of the quality of care review report within 28 days of the date on which the quality of care review is completed. (Regulation 45 (4)(a)) 26 February 2023

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Requirement Due date

notify HMCI of any revisions and send HMCI a copy of the revised statement within 28 days of the revision. (Regulation 16 (3)(b)) 26 February 2023

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must maintain records ("case records") for each child which—

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Requirement Due date

include the information and documents listed in Schedule 3 in relation to each child;

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Requirement Due date

are signed and dated by the author of each entry. (Regulation 36 (1)(a)(b)(c))

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Requirement Due date

This specifically relates to ensuring that any court-directed order that deprives a child of their liberty is included in the child’s records. 26 February 2023 Inspection report for children’s home: 2680502 7 Schedule 4 sets out the other information that the registered person must keep in relation to a children’s home.

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Requirement Due date

maintain in the home the records in Schedule 4;

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Requirement Due date

ensure that the records are kept up to date; and (Regulation 37 (1) (2)(a)(b))

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Requirement Due date

This specifically relates to ensuring that a record is kept of visitors to the home and to children, including their names and the reason for their visit. 26 February 2023

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that children’s homes are nurturing environments. In particular, furniture such as the dining room furniture should be safe to use. (‘Guide to the Children’s Home Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 15, paragraph 3.9)  The registered person should ensure that children are encouraged to view and contribute to the records that are held in the home about them. (‘Guide to the Children’s Home Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 58, paragraph 11.19)  The registered person should ensure that the home’s workforce development plan reflects the statement of purpose and the ability of staff to manage behaviours through appropriate training. This relates to children who are at risk of exploitation. (‘Guide to the Children’s Home Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 53, paragraph 10.11)

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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: 2680502 8

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Social Care Services (Clayton) Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: 31 Shaw Road, Heaton Moor, Stockport SK4 4AG

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Inspectors

Colin Jones, Social Care Inspector Maria McGranaghan, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2680502 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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