Children's home run by Social Care Services (Clayton) Limited

Inspection report for children’s home: 2597738 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

The home is owned and managed by a private company. It is registered to provide care and support for one child who may have social and emotional difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

At the time of the inspection, one child was living in the home. The child spoke to the inspector about their experiences living in the home.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager was registered with Ofsted in December 2021.

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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: 2597738 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

21/06/2022 Full Good 17/02/2022 Full Requires improvement to be good Inspection report for children’s home: 2597738 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The home is a warm and welcoming environment. It has a homely feel and meets the needs of the child living in the home. The child has lived in the home for two years. They are continuing to make good progress in all areas of their life.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The manager and staff know the child well and understand the child’s individual needs. Staff provide nurturing care and promote positive experiences for the child. The child has been supported to build trusting relationships with the staff team. The child’s social worker said that there is a ‘strength in the relationships the child has developed that will help them as they prepare for adult life’.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The child is supported to engage in a range of hobbies and interests, such as going boxing, going on walks and going on regular camping trips with staff away from the home. These positive experiences increase the child’s self-esteem and help them to develop their skills in self-regulating their emotions.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The manager and staff support the child to attend their education provision. The child is currently completing their GCSE’s and exploring further education as they would like to have a career in animal care. Staff encourage additional learning in animal care as the child has helped to care for the home’s therapy dog.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff support the child to keep in touch with people who are important to them. They encourage family time in the home and in the community. The staff have developed good relationships with the child’s family. This helps the child to have stable support networks around them as they prepare for their transition into adulthood. Staff have compiled professional photobooks of the child’s family members, which has helped the child to develop their sense of identity.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The manager and staff listen to the child’s views, wishes and feelings. However, opportunities to capture and record the child’s progress have been missed.

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

The child’s risk management plan is clear and updated regularly to include any new or emerging risks. Additional actions are agreed by staff in consultation with the child’s social worker and other professionals to help keep the child safe.

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

Staff help the child to manage their behaviours well with an individualised incentive plan. This allows the child to be rewarded with extra activities for positive behaviour. When incidents do occur, staff use effective strategies to manage situations and consistently reinforce boundaries.

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

The positive relationships between the staff and child mean that there have not been any incidents of the staff needing to hold the child to keep them safe. Staff Inspection report for children’s home: 2597738 4 continue to help the child to regulate their emotions and use strategies to help them to stay calm when they feel distressed.

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

Incidents of the child going missing from the home are dealt with appropriately by staff. New procedures have been put into place in agreement with the child’s social worker that are responsive to the child’s emerging needs.

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

When safeguarding incidents have occurred, appropriate action is taken to keep the child safe. Key conversations take place with the child to support them to understand their behaviours. However, the manager did not notify Ofsted of a serious incident that occurred despite the manager deeming the incident as serious. This limits the regulator’s oversight of practice in the home.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager is child-focused, skilled and committed to improving outcomes for children. She is held in high regard by the external professionals and the staff team. The child’s social worker said, ‘She goes above and beyond to care for the child’.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff say they feel well supported by the manager and that morale is good. They like working at the home and enjoy working with the child. One member of staff said, ‘It feels like a real family home.’

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The staff team is stable, and the new staff have been introduced in a measured way to promote the development of positive relationships with the child. Their induction is well structured, and safer recruitment processes are followed.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff attend regular team meetings, and there is a regular senior leadership meeting. These meetings help all staff to reflect on how the care in the home is helping the child to make progress. However, supervision sessions are not recorded in a way that are reflective, and appraisals have not taken place annually. This reduces opportunities for staff to develop and reflect on their practice.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Due to competing demands placed on the manager, her capacity to complete some management tasks has been affected. The statement of purpose and location risk assessment do not contain up-to-date information. The most recent review of the quality of care provided in the home was not completed within required timescales and did not include children’s or stakeholders’ views. This reduces opportunities for learning, reflection and development in the home. Inspection report for children’s home: 2597738 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 ensure that all employees—

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Requirement Due date

undertake appropriate continuing professional development; receive practice-related supervision by a person with appropriate experience; and

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Requirement Due date

have their performance and fitness to perform their roles appraised at least once every year.

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Requirement Due date

(Regulation 33 (4)(b)(c)) This specifically relates to the registered person ensuring that staff are supervised in line with the organisation’s supervision policy and that all staff receive an appraisal at least annually. 11 August 2023

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Requirement Due date

For the purposes of paragraph (3)(b), an individual who works in the home in a care role has the appropriate qualification if, by the relevant date, the individual has attained—

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Requirement Due date

the Level 3 Diploma for Residential Childcare (England) ("the Level 3 Diploma"); or

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Requirement Due date

a qualification which the registered person considers to be equivalent to the Level 3 Diploma.

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Requirement Due date

in the case of an individual who starts working in a care role in a home after 1st April 2014, the date which falls 2 years after the date on which the individual started working in a care role in a home; or

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Requirement Due date

in the case of an individual who was working in a care role in a home on 1st April 2014, 1st April 2016.

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Requirement Due date

The registered person may defer the relevant date if the individual— 11 August 2023 Inspection report for children’s home: 2597738 6 does not work, or has not worked, in a care role in a home for a prolonged period; or

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Requirement Due date

works, or has worked, in a care role in a home on a part- time basis. (Regulation 32 (4)(a)(b) (5)(a)(b) (6)(a)(b))

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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

After completing a quality of care review, the registered person must produce a written report about the quality of care review and the actions which the registered person intends to take as a result of the quality of care review (""the quality of care review report"").

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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; and

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Requirement Due date

make a copy of the quality of care review report available on request to a placing authority, if the placing authority is not the parent of a child accommodated in the home. (Regulation 45 (1) (3) (4)(a)(b)) 11 August 2023

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must review the appropriateness and suitability of the location of the premises used for the purposes of the children’s home at least once in each calendar year taking into account the requirement in regulation 12(2)(c) (the protection of children standard).

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Requirement Due date

When conducting the review, the registered person must consult, and take into account the views of, each relevant person. (Regulation 46 (1) (2)) 11 August 2023

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Requirement Due date

keep the statement of purpose under review and, where appropriate, revise it; and

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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)(a)(b)) 11 August 2023 Inspection report for children’s home: 2597738 7

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Recommendation

 The registered person should ensure that their approach to judging whether an incident is sufficiently serious to make formal notifications is consistent and not based solely on the outcome of the incident. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 64, paragraph 14.17)

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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: 2597738 8

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Social Care Services (Clayton) Ltd

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Social Care Services Group, 31 Shaw Road, Stockport SK4 4AG

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Inspector

Colin Jones, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2597738 9 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. If you would like a copy of this document in a different format, such as large print or Braille, please telephone 0300 123 1231, or email enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk. You may reuse this information (not including logos) free of charge in any format or medium,

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Inspector

under the terms of the Open Government Licence. To view this licence, visit www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence, write to the Information Policy Team, The National Archives, Kew, London TW9 4DU, or email: psi@nationalarchives.gsi.gov.uk.

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Inspector

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Inspector

T: 0300 123 1231 Textphone: 0161 618 8524 E: enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk W: www.gov.uk/ofsted

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