Children's Home run by The Partnership of Care Today in Staffordshire

Inspection report for children’s home: SC005045 1 SC005045 Registered provider: The Partnership Of Care Today Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

A large private provider operates this home. The home offers care for up to three children who have experienced childhood instability, resulting in trauma and associated complex behaviours.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager registered with Ofsted in November 2014 and holds a level 4 qualification in leadership and management.

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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

Date of last inspection: 23 November 2022

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good

Overall judgement at last inspection: requires improvement to be good

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children’s home: SC005045 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

23/11/2022 Full Requires improvement to be good 16/03/2022 Interim Improved effectiveness 15/11/2021 Full Requires improvement to be good 05/12/2019 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: SC005045 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children make good progress because of the care they receive in this home. Staff know them well and build meaningful and positive relationships. In addition, staff provide individualised and consistent support. Staff understand children’s starting points and celebrate their progress and achievements. As a result, children feel valued, respected and thrive in this home.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children benefit from the support they receive from an experienced and consistent staff team. Staff create memory books for children to celebrate their time living in the home. The feedback children gave to the inspectors was overwhelmingly positive. For example, one child said that they ‘rated the home 10 out of 10’ and that ‘staff were mint’. Another child said that they ‘felt safe’ and the home was ‘the best home they had ever lived in’.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff ensure that children’s views, wishes and feelings contribute to the care that children receive. Children’s views are captured by staff through direct work, one-to- one conversation and well-planned meetings. This ensures that children can participate in the day-to-day decisions that impact on their lives. Consequently, they feel listened to and engage positively in the home.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The management team ensures that children’s transitions into the home are carefully and sensitively planned. Since the last full inspection, two children have moved into the home. Both children were able to visit and meet the staff before they moved in. In addition, transitions are planned at the children’s pace. This approach allows children to feel reassured and to settle into the home well.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff support children’s education needs effectively. Staff have helped all three children to attend education regularly and make progress. One child aspires to join the army and another child has recently completed their GCSE examinations. Staff’s support means that children achieve and aspire to move on to further education and training.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff provide children with opportunities to take part in a range of activities. One child plays football for a local team and enjoys spending time with his team mates outside of the home. Another child accesses free time and actively takes part in challenges and boxing. A further child is part of the army cadets and attends regular sessions. As a result, children feel part of the community and grow in confidence.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff work hard to keep children connected to those people important in their lives. Children spend time regularly with their friends and family. For one child, staff continued to support the child’s grandmother when the child was reluctant to engage with family time. This helped to maintain the relationship and the child is now spending time with their family. The grandparent told the inspectors that ‘staff Inspection report for children’s home: SC005045 4 support [the child] well’ and family time has been ‘brilliant’ because they ‘get on well with staff’.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Since the last inspection, the registered manager has made improvements to the home’s decor. For example, a new bathroom has been fitted and staff have made improvements to the garden area of the home. In addition, children’s bedrooms are personalised and maintained well. However, there were locks fitted to the internal doors, which potentially meant that staff could restrict children’s access to some areas of the home. These locks create an institutionalised feeling and have the potential to devalue the ethos of the home.

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

Children are settled in the home and significant incidents are rare. For example, there have not been any incidents requiring the use of physical restraint since the last inspection. Evidence of one-to-one work completed by staff with children is strong following incidents, and consequences are used restoratively. The quality of this work helps children to learn from their experiences and become safer.

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

Staff and leaders work well with professionals to safeguard children at risk of radicalisation. Staff and the registered manager attend regular multi-agency meetings. They ensure that all actions and safeguarding strategies recommended in these meetings are followed. In addition, a police officer has delivered specialised radicalisation training to the staff team at a team meeting. These actions help to develop staff knowledge and promote children’s safety and well-being.

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

Internal systems for managing children’s use of the internet are good. For example, a system is in place which allows parental controls to be implemented to ensure that children access age-appropriate material. In addition, staff carry out checks of children’s devices if they have any concerns for children’s welfare. These actions help children to access the internet and networks to communicate with their friends in a safe manner.

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

Children benefit from clear boundaries and routines in the home. These are well understood and accepted by the children. Staff know the children well and were able to describe the strategies they use to keep children safe. Consequently, children feel safe and secure. However, the registered manager does not always ensure that children’s risk assessments and support plans reflect the strategies that staff described. In some cases, known risks of substance misuse were not recorded in a child’s risk assessment.

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

Since the last inspection, there have been no incidents of children going missing from the home. When children enjoy free time with their friends in the community, staff complete welfare checks and make efforts to establish relationships with the children’s friends. Staff were able to explain to inspectors the actions they take if children do not return to the home on time and what they would do should children go missing from the home. These actions reassure children that staff care about their safety. However, the registered manager had failed to ensure that specific and Inspection report for children’s home: SC005045 5 individual protocols and risk assessments were in place for each child. In addition, the home had not shared any information with the local police about any of the children living in the home. These shortfalls have the potential to leave children vulnerable should a child go missing from the home.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager is suitably experienced and qualified, and leads the home effectively. She advocates well for children and ensures that children are supported to make progress in their lives. She is supported by an organised deputy manager who is keen to learn and develop. This ensures that children receive good care.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The home is sufficiently staffed to meet the needs of the children. Staff are suitably qualified and experienced and only one member of staff is currently not qualified. However, this member of staff is within timeframes and completing their qualification. As a result, a consistent and experienced staff team provides predictable and continuous care to children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager ensures that staff receive regular supervision and appraisal. These sessions are reflective and help staff to identify opportunities to develop their practice. For example, the registered manager is currently doing a degree in social work and two senior staff are doing counselling courses. Consequently, staff feel valued and are motivated to improve the care that children receive.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff are suitably equipped to meet children’s individual needs. This is because they are well trained, and training is specific to the children’s needs. The registered manager also delivers upskilling opportunities and focused workshops in team meetings. These effective training systems develop staff practice and enhance their knowledge.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Since the last inspection, the registered manager has made improvements to the monitoring systems used in the home. She uses progress trackers to track children’s progress. External monitoring of the home by the home’s independent person also identifies areas for improvement. Overall, these improvements in systems have helped to improve the quality of care for children. However, these systems have not always identified gaps in children’s risk assessments and several recording errors in children’s records. Inspection report for children’s home: SC005045 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))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered manager should assess risks effectively and put in place plans to reduce risks to children. This includes risks relating to substance misuse and children going missing from the home. 31 August 2023

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that the children’s home is a nurturing and supportive environment that meets the needs of its children. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 15, paragraph 3.9)  The registered person should ensure that staff are familiar with the home’s policies on record-keeping and understand the importance of careful, objective and clear recording. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 62, paragraph 14.4)

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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) Inspection report for children’s home: SC005045 7 Regulations 2015 and the ‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’. Inspection report for children’s home: SC005045 8

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: The Partnership Of Care Today

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: The Partnership Of Care Today, 2nd Floor, Lansdowne House, 85 Buxton Road, Stockport, Cheshire SK2 6LR

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Inspectors

Dean Wilton, Social Care Inspector Jas Nahar, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: SC005045 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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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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