Children's home run by The Together Trust in Stockport

Inspection report for children’s home: SC025740 1 SC025740 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 operated by a charity. It is registered to provide care for up to six children. The provider states in its statement of purpose that it provides care for children with social and emotional difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager registered with Ofsted in May 2019.

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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: SC025740 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

08/03/2022 Full Good 09/03/2020 Interim Sustained effectiveness 04/06/2019 Full Good 24/07/2018 Full Requires improvement to be good Inspection report for children’s home: SC025740 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children make good progress and are happy and settled at the home. They benefit from well-planned, highly individualised care that promotes their needs effectively and contributes to change and improvement in their lives. Children enjoy good relationships with staff and sustain their positive attachments. They have consistency and stability in their lives. One child said, ‘It’s good and it’s fun. If I need to talk to staff, they always listen.’ Staff are supportive of children’s family time. As a result, children sustain their close relationships with the people who are most important to them. Children enjoy good health and have access to the health services they need to stay healthy. Medical consent is in place and staff are familiar with the types of health decisions that are delegated to them. Children attend education regularly with help and encouragement from staff. Most children attend local schools. However, one child is temporarily being home-tutored.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The manager is identifying a suitable school for the child to attend after the Easter holiday. Staff work closely with the providers of children’s education to promote their educational achievements. Children enjoy extra-curricular activities, such as drama and choir. Staff provide children with enjoyable activities and encourage their interests and hobbies. For example, children enjoy going to the cinema, dance, Girl Guides, waterboarding, horse riding and cheerleading. As a result, children have positive pastimes and develop their social skills and self-confidence. Children said, ‘The best thing about the home is the activities.’ Health and safety matters are managed effectively. The accommodation provided for children is physically safe and appropriately secure. Children benefit from a warm, comfortable and homely living environment.

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

The safety of children is consistently at the centre of staff’s practice. Children are kept safe and feel safe living at the home. Risks associated with children are managed safely and effectively by staff. The use of safe working practices and effective risk-management plans promotes the safety of children at the home. Children enjoy good relationships with staff and each other. There are no issues with bullying in the home. Staff encourage positive behaviour and maintain consistent rules and boundaries for children’s safety. One child said, ‘My relationships with staff are good and staff talk to you and try to help you.’ Inspection report for children’s home: SC025740 4 Staff are familiar with the procedures to be followed if a child were to go missing from the home. However, there have been no missing-from-home episodes. Restraint is used only as a last resort to protect children from harm. Only one child

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

has required physical intervention to keep them safe from harm. The registered manager routinely monitors the use of restraint to ensure that staff practice is safe and effective. The use of consequences to address unacceptable behaviour is kept to an absolute minimum. When consequences are used, they are fair and proportionate. Children know how to make a complaint and their rights are promoted effectively. There have been no complaints since the last inspection.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The home employs an experienced and qualified registered manager who demonstrates effective leadership of the home. Children benefit from a home that is managed efficiently and effectively. Staff meet the aims and objectives as set out in the home’s statement of purpose. They maintain highly effective partnerships with the home’s clinical psychologist, schools, health professionals and social workers to ensure that children benefit from effective help and the best possible all-round support. The home’s psychologist said, ‘Staff are one of the most therapeutically informed teams that I have ever worked with.’ The majority of staff are suitably qualified and those not qualified are being trained. The training needs of staff are identified and met effectively. Staff benefit from good-quality training that enables them to meet the specific needs of the children. Staff benefit from regular team meetings and practice-related supervision.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Significant incidents are rare. When a significant event occurs, the manager reports serious incidents to the appropriate authorities to support children and keep them safe from harm. However, an incident in which a previous child living at the home sustained a head injury and required hospital treatment was not reported to Ofsted to ensure that the regulator was kept informed. Staff are recruited and vetted carefully. This ensures that children are protected from unsafe or unsuitable people working at the home. The home is visited monthly by an independent professional who scrutinises the quality of children’s care. The manager makes good use of the home’s internal and external monitoring activities to address shortfalls and secure continuing improvement. The manager has met all the requirements from the last inspection. Inspection report for children’s home: SC025740 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 registered person must notify HMCI and each other relevant person without delay if—

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Requirement Due date

a child is involved in or subject to, or is suspected of being involved in or subject to, sexual exploitation;

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Requirement Due date

an incident requiring police involvement occurs in relation to a child which the registered person considers to be serious;

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Requirement Due date

there is an allegation of abuse against the home or a person working there;

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Requirement Due date

a child protection enquiry involving a child—

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Requirement Due date

concludes (in which case, the notification must include the outcome of the child protection enquiry); or

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Requirement Due date

there is any other incident relating to a child which the registered person considers to be serious. (Regulation 40 (4)(a)(b)(c)(d)(i)(ii)(e)) 1 May 2023

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Recommendation

 The registered person should ensure that they work closely with the placing authority so that a child is supported to attend a suitable education provision. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 28, paragraph 5.15)

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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: SC025740 6

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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

Anthony Kyem, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: SC025740 7 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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