Children's Home run by The Together Trust in Stockport

Inspection report for children’s home: SC025745 1 SC025745 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

This children’s home is run and managed by a charitable organisation. The home provides short-break care for up to five children who may have learning disabilities and/or physical disabilities.

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Information about this children’s home

Twenty-four children have access to the service. Three children were staying at the home at the time of this inspection.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager was registered with Ofsted in April 2022. She is suitably qualified and experienced.

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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 outstanding

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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: 8 December 2021

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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: SC025745 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

08/12/2021 Full Good 19/08/2019 Full Good 06/11/2018 Full Good 29/11/2017 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: SC025745 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children experience warm and nurturing care from a skilled staff team. Staff know children well and as a result children receive high-quality individualised care.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

A parent said, ‘Staff do a difficult job with a smile on their faces and make it look easy. I didn’t think I would ever be able to let my child stay anywhere overnight but I trust the staff here completely.’

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Assessments completed before children start their stays at the home are detailed. Clear plans are put in place to support children’s introduction to the home. Admission processes consider the needs of the child coming into the home alongside the needs of other children in the home. This means that children benefit from a calm and harmonious environment.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Work to support children to move into appropriate adult provision is timely and well considered. There are robust systems in place to monitor the needs of children as they move towards adulthood and to make sure their plans are progressed. Children are supported to understand the changes to their lives through pictorial social stories which meet their communication needs. This is an area of exemplary practice.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are supported to make choices and have their wishes and feelings understood through their preferred methods of communication. The implementation of a new model of practice is helping children to identify and communicate their emotions to staff. The effective use of symbols and pictures throughout the home means that children are able to gain a better understanding of the home environment and participate in the day-to-day life of the home.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are regularly consulted about their care. At the time of this inspection, there was an ongoing consultation about proposed changes to the use of some rooms to create additional space for children to relax in. Children’s views were being sought and collated to inform the decision-making.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

One-to-one time is used effectively to help children to learn new skills and to take part in activities they enjoy. Children have opportunities to do a range of activities in the home and in the community. Children attended the organisation’s annual awards ceremony and enjoyed a fun, celebratory event with their families, peers and staff. These activities contribute to children having positive childhood experiences which enhance their lives.

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

The good-quality individualised care children receive is underpinned by clear and detailed written care records. These are regularly reviewed and updated. Inspection report for children’s home: SC025745 4 Staff are alert to changes in children’s behaviours and respond to these effectively. Staff appropriately shared concerns about behavioural changes they had identified in one child, which led to further investigations and the diagnosis of a health condition. This professional curiosity and detailed understanding of children helps to keep children safe.

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

Staff have the information they need to meet children’s health needs. Leaders and managers ensure staff have access to additional training to increase their skills and knowledge when required. Staff have had further training to understand and respond to one child’s emerging epilepsy diagnosis. However, this was online training and not individualised to the child.

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

Staff only intervene physically with children as a last resort to keep them safe. When used, these interventions are low level and are mainly used to guide children away from situations where they are at risk of harming themselves or others. This nurturing care helps children to build trusting, positive relationships with staff.

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

The organisation’s electronic recording system is not used in a way which helps to easily identify the use of physical intervention. Some incidents are recorded as involving physical intervention when this is not the case. This is not helpful for leaders and managers or for external scrutiny of practice, as it leads to an apparent over-reporting of physical interventions in the home.

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

Staff generally administer children’s medication in a safe manner. There has been one incident since the last inspection when a child was given the wrong dosage of medication. The registered manager’s investigation of the incident was extremely thorough and learning points for staff were identified. Staff received appropriate training and support following the investigation to reduce the likelihood of future incidents.

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

The registered manager ensures that information about serious incidents is shared with families, social workers and other relevant professionals in a timely manner. This ensures that practice in the home is open to an appropriate level of scrutiny and children are safeguarded.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

Children and staff benefit from the skilled and committed leadership of the registered manager and the assistant manager. Together, the management team drives a culture of continuous improvement and high aspiration for all children. They balance their tasks and responsibilities as leaders effectively with a detailed knowledge of the needs of the children who use the service. This means they have an excellent understanding of the quality of care and practice in the home.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

Staff new to the home receive a detailed induction and the opportunity to shadow experienced staff before taking on additional responsibilities. Staff are not expected Inspection report for children’s home: SC025745 5 to work sleep-in shifts until they have built up the skills and experience to undertake this task. This supports staff and safeguards children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

The staff team is highly motivated, dedicated and skilled. Good-quality supervision helps staff to undertake their roles effectively. Supervision is used to encourage good practice and build on strengths. A new member of staff said she had never experienced such positive supervision.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

Regular team meetings provide staff with opportunities to reflect on children’s progress and identify actions staff need to complete. Staff use this time creatively to share ideas and improve the quality of care.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

The registered manager uses her detailed knowledge of the home to undertake thorough evaluations of the care children receive. Children’s views are included in the quality of care reports and inform planning. However, these reports do not yet include views of parents and external professionals. A clear action plan is in place and the report is used as a working document to drive improvement in the home. Inspection report for children’s home: SC025745 6

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that the review of the quality of care provided by the home demonstrates that the views of families and external professionals have been considered and contribute to the outcome of the review and future planning. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 64, paragraph 15.2)  The registered person should consider face-to-face training for staff, in addition to the online training which is available, to ensure they have the skills and expertise to care for children with epilepsy. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 34, paragraph 7.2)  The registered person should ensure that records of restraint are recorded in such a way that they are easily identifiable as such on the provider’s electronic recording system. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 49, paragraph 9.59)

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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: SC025745 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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Children’s home details

Registered manager: Caroline Whittaker-Axon

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Inspector

Dawn Parton, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: SC025745 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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