Children's Home run by The Together Trust in Stockport

Inspection report for children's home: SC025739 1 SC025739 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 run and managed by a charitable organisation. It is registered to provide care for four children who may have social and emotional difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager has been registered with Ofsted since September 2009.

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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: outstanding

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children's home: SC025739 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

15/03/2022 Full Outstanding 10/09/2019 Full Outstanding 27/11/2018 Full Good 20/11/2017 Full Outstanding Inspection report for children's home: SC025739 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Two children are currently living in the home. The children live in a comfortable, clean house. Photos of the children having fun with staff are displayed on the walls, and bedrooms are personalised. Staff arranged for one child to have a surprise bedroom makeover while she was away for a few days. She said, ‘I was so happy, I cried.’

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff know the children very well and have built secure relationships with them. Training is provided so that the staff can meet children’s specific needs.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children spend time with their families, who come to the home to visit them. A parent said, ‘They invite me to the home and make us food.’ Keeping in touch with their families and visiting their home area are important to the children’s sense of identity.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Not all children attend school on a regular basis. Staff support children who are not in school. However, the child is missing out on opportunities to build healthy routines, learn new skills and make friends outside of the home.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

There are locks on internal doors that lead to the communal areas of the home, and the kitchen and the games room are locked at night. This means that children do not have access to all communal areas of their home.

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

Children’s risk assessments are clear, individualised and cover all the children’s known risks. They are reviewed and updated regularly so that staff remain aware of all risks. This helps to keep children safe.

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

There have been no incidents of children going missing from the home. Staff are clear on what procedures they should follow should a child go missing from care. Staff know the procedures for safeguarding the children should they need to.

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

Staff have a detailed knowledge of online safety. They support children to understand the risks they may face online and help them to keep safe.

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

On occasion, physical intervention has been used. Children have been offered the opportunity to have a debrief with a manager or their key worker after the incident. However, staff have not had the same opportunity. This means that staff are missing the opportunity to reflect and learn from these incidents. Inspection report for children's home: SC025739 4

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager was on planned leave during the inspection, and so the inspection was supported by a senior member of staff. Managers know the children very well and understand the progress they have made. The registered manager uses effective monitoring systems to identify when change or improvement is needed.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff have access to regular reflective supervision with the manager or senior staff members. They also have annual appraisals to support them to identify any learning needs or development opportunities. Staff describe their manager as ‘very supportive’. They are motivated and enthusiastic about their role.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Professionals from partner agencies are pleased with the communication they receive from the manager and staff. They feel fully informed on how the child they are working with is progressing. This collaborative working helps to ensure that everyone working with the child can meet their needs. Inspection report for children's home: SC025739 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

within 24 hours of the use of a measure of control, discipline or restraint in relation to a child in the home, a record is made which includes—

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Requirement Due date

details of the child’s behaviour leading to the use of the measure;

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Requirement Due date

the date, time and location of the use of the measure;

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Requirement Due date

a description of the measure and its duration;

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Requirement Due date

details of any methods used or steps taken to avoid the need to use the measure;

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Requirement Due date

the name of the person who used the measure (“the user”), and of any other person present when the measure was used;

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Requirement Due date

the effectiveness and any consequences of the use of the measure; and

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Requirement Due date

a description of any injury to the child or any other person, and any medical treatment administered, as a result of the measure;

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Requirement Due date

within 48 hours of the use of the measure, the registered person, or a person who is authorised by the registered person to do so (“the authorised person”)—

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Requirement Due date

has spoken to the user about the measure; and

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Requirement Due date

has signed the record to confirm it is accurate; and 20 April 2023 Inspection report for children's home: SC025739 6 within 5 days of the use of the measure, the registered person or the authorised person adds to the record confirmation that they have spoken to the child about the measure. (Regulation 35 (3)(a)(i)(ii)(iii)(iv)(v)(vi)(vii)(viii)(b)(i) (ii)(c))

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Requirement Due date

This relates to the registered person ensuring that staff who are involved in the physical hold of a child have a debrief of the intervention.

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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;

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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

meet the needs of each child. (Regulation 6 (1)(a)(b) (2)(c)(i))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, this includes removing or disabling locks on internal doors that could prevent children from accessing communal areas of their home. 20 April 2023

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Recommendation

 The registered person should ensure that children are supported and encouraged to attend education or training until they reach the age of 18 and that they are encouraged to develop healthy routines. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 53, paragraph 10.8) Inspection report for children's home: SC025739 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: SC025739 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

Cathy Wilkins, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children's home: SC025739 9 regulates and inspects 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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