Children's home run by The Partnership of Care Today Children‟s Services

Inspection report for children’s home: SC021677 1 SC021677 Registered provider: The Partnership of Care Today Children’s Services Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This home is owned and managed by a private organisation. It provides care for up to four children who may have experienced social or emotional difficulties. Four children were living in the home at the time of this inspection.

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Information about this children’s home

The home currently has two registered managers. One manager registered with Ofsted in April 2015 and the other in April 2022.

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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: SC021677 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

27/07/2021 Full Good 22/10/2019 Full Good 19/09/2018 Interim Sustained effectiveness 12/06/2018 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: SC021677 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children have good relationships with the staff and enjoy spending time with them. The staff show a genuine interest in children’s lives and what they have to say about the things that matter most to them. Staff act on the children’s views. One child commented, ‘I’m respected and listened to. This is a good place to be.’

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Some children engage well in education. This is helping them to achieve the skills that they need for later life. When there are barriers to learning, staff are creative in helping to try and encourage the children to learn in different ways. For example, some children have bespoke education plans that focus less on formal classroom learning. Consequently, children begin to recognise the importance of education.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are prepared well for later life. The staff help the children to learn skills which are appropriate for their age and understanding, including travelling on public transport, cooking and shopping.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are encouraged to take part in enjoyable and developmental activities in the home. They also enjoy a range of activities out of the home that provide them with new experiences and opportunities. These activities help children to develop their social skills, expand their social circles and grow in confidence.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff work closely with children and their families to help them to spend quality time together. For example, staff arrange food parcels and link family members with other specialist services when necessary. One social worker commented, ‘Working with families is what staff do really well here. This is key to supporting the children.’

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff help children to attend routine health appointments. Children feel that they can talk to staff about any health worries. When children raise health concerns, the staff take action to make sure they receive medical attention as soon as possible. Staff have a warm approach which encourages the children to talk to them. This open approach supports the children’s emotional well-being. If children need more focused emotional support, specialist services are used.

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

The staff talk to the children about how to stay safe. The staff use incidents which happen in the local area as learning points. This helps children to be aware of potential dangers in their community. The learning also provides them with strategies to keep safe.

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

Children have individualised risk assessments and staff update these documents following any significant events. These risk assessments help staff to understand how to manage and reduce risks to children’s safety. However, in one risk Inspection report for children’s home: SC021677 4 assessment, the actions that staff should take to protect children are not fully detailed. This lack of detail may confuse staff and lead to inconsistent practice.

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

Staff complete safeguarding training which helps them to understand how to keep the children safe and respond to any allegations. When issues arise, the staff put their learning into practice. They act quickly to put measures in place to support the children and to reduce risk.

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

Staff use their positive relationships with the children to support them when they are in crisis. Staff do not regularly need to hold children to keep them safe. When this is required, this is as a last resort and at the lowest level to help to keep the child safe. The child and staff always talk about the incident afterwards and reflect on why it occurred. This reduces the likelihood of this happening again.

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

Some children’s risks of going missing from home have significantly reduced since they moved into the home. When children do go missing, staff search the local area and continually try to contact the child by phone. Partnership working between the staff and other agencies helps to ensure that children are quickly located and they return to the home.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

There are currently two managers responsible for the day-to-day running of the home. Both are registered with Ofsted. The managers lead the staff team by example and know the children well. They are actively involved in children’s day-to- day routines and care. This shared knowledge helps to ensure that practice across the home is consistent and reflects children’s needs.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The managers are ambitious for the children to succeed in all areas of their lives. They listen to children’s wishes and act on these when possible, to ensure that children’s support plans reflect what the children want to achieve. The managers are strong advocates for the children. When needed, they challenge other professionals to make sure that children can access the services that they need.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The staff feel well supported by the managers and receive regular supervision. Nevertheless, records of staff supervision sessions do not fully demonstrate staff reflection around children’s experiences and progress. This is a missed opportunity to further develop the care for children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The managers monitor children’s progress through a progress tracking system. The tracking system allows the managers to identify when children are making progress and when there need to be changes made to better support the children. The managers are aware that one child’s engagement and progress are limited. Various actions are being taken to improve outcomes for this child and to ensure that a multi-agency approach focuses on meeting the child’s needs. Inspection report for children’s home: SC021677 5 The managers carry out regular quality of care reviews. However, these reviews do not include feedback from children about the care that they receive. This does not help the managers to set new goals to improve the service further.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The managers work closely with other professionals. These positive working relationships with others help to ensure that relevant information is shared effectively to help children and their families. Inspection report for children’s home: SC021677 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, the 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) (2)(a)(i)) 1 May 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

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 (1)(2)(b)) 1 October 2023

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Recommendation

 The registered person should ensure that supervision is focused on children’s experiences, needs, plans and feedback, and that supervision is recorded effectively. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 61, paragraph 13.2) Inspection report for children’s home: SC021677 7

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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: SC021677 8

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: The Partnership of Care Today Children’s Services

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: 2nd Floor, Lansdowne House, 85 Buxton Road, Stockport, Cheshire SK2 6LR

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Children’s home details

Registered managers: Anthony Garmory and Justine Hogg

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Inspector

Jamie Richardson, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: SC021677 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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