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

Inspection report for children’s home: SC049189 1 SC049189 Registered provider: Care Today (Children’s Services) Limited Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

The provider states in its statement of purpose that this home provides care for up to three children with social and emotional difficulties and/or learning disabilities.

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Information about this children’s home

The home has two registered managers, who registered with Ofsted in April 2020 and April 2023.

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Information about this children’s home

There were three children living in the home at the time of the inspection.

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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: 6 September 2022

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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: SC049189 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

06/09/2022 Full Good 25/03/2022 Interim Improved effectiveness 16/11/2021 Full Requires improvement to be good 04/03/2020 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: SC049189 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

One child has moved into the home since the last inspection. Children’s plans for moving in and out of the home have been well thought out and children have been well prepared. This means that children’s experiences when moving have been positive.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Two children went on a holiday to Blackpool in the summer holidays. They took part in lots of activities and enjoyed themselves. Children also enjoy different activities with staff, including going to escape rooms and the cinema, playing pool and even climbing Mount Snowdon.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Two children are engaged in education and are making good progress. One child was awarded ‘student of the year’. For one child, attending education has been difficult. The staff have worked hard with the child and others to find a suitable education package. This has been unsuccessful. However, the staff team has supported the child to develop their independence skills and prepare them for their future as they prepare to move on from the home and into adulthood.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff provide a nurturing environment for children and are focused on supporting children to make progress and develop skills. One parent said, ‘[Name of child] has grown up a lot. It goes to show that, with the right support, anyone’s life can change.’ One child is now able to engage with therapy to support them with their emotional well-being, something that they were previously not ready for. This means that children are receiving effective support from the staff.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children’s bedrooms are personalised. Some areas of the home are warm and welcoming and there are photos of the children around the home. However, practice in relation to some aspects of the home is dated, including referring to bedrooms with numbers, the use of a noticeboard in the dining room and locks on doors.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are in good health and staff ensure that children attend the appointments they need to maintain this. However, one child who is prescribed glasses is not encouraged to wear these as they should.

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

There has been a significant reduction in episodes of children going missing from home. One child said that this is due to them being allowed to have overnight stays with friends. This means that children are listened to and staff advocate appropriately to reduce the risk.

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

When children are missing, staff actively look for them and work with others. They encourage children in a supportive way to return home. The staff team reviews Inspection report for children’s home: SC049189 4 incidents together. However, the managers do not evaluate records so that they can identify any issues with staff practice.

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

There has been one allegation made by a child. This allegation was managed appropriately and all professionals were informed. The staff understand the safeguarding procedures well. This means that children are kept safe.

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

There have been two complaints made by children. These have been addressed swiftly. Children are comfortable to raise any concerns that they have and feel assured that they are listened to.

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

There have been no restraints used by the staff and the use of consequences is rare. The staff prefer to use a positive approach to behaviour support, which is successful.

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

The managers follow safer recruitment processes, which means that only those suitable to work with children are doing so.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The home is managed by two experienced and suitably qualified managers. The managers are strong advocates for the children and are confident in escalating their concerns and challenging other professionals in the best interests of the children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The staff team is committed to the children and has remained consistent. Managers do not use agency staff. However, rotas do not identify the full names of staff and their hours worked, including the manager’s hours. This does not meet regulation.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The staff say they feel supported by the managers and that supervision and training are useful. Managers ensure that the staff have the training they need to meet the individual needs of the children and encourage staff to update others in the team on any relevant training they have attended.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Team meetings take place weekly. These are child-focused, which means that staff always have the most up-to-date information needed to care for the children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The managers have good professional relationships with other agencies and they understand their roles and responsibilities with regards to the children. However, the managers do not include feedback from professionals, children or other stakeholders in their review of the quality of care. This is a missed opportunity to reflect and make continued improvements. Inspection report for children’s home: SC049189 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, 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 privacy of children is appropriately protected;

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Requirement Due date

children can access all appropriate areas of the children’s home’s premises; and

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Requirement Due date

any limitation placed on a child’s privacy or access to any area of the home’s premises—

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Requirement Due date

is intended to safeguard each child accommodated in the home;

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Requirement Due date

is kept under review and, if necessary, revised; and

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Requirement Due date

allows children as much freedom as is possible when balanced against the need to protect them and keep them safe. (Regulation 21 (a)(b)(c)(i)(ii)(iii)(iv))

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Requirement Due date

This relates specifically to the removal of locks on external doors. 26 October 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;

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Requirement Due date

and any actions that the registered person considers necessary in order to improve or maintain the quality of care provided for children. (Regulation 45 (1) (2)(b)(c)) 26 October 2023 Inspection report for children’s home: SC049189 6 This specifically relates to the registered manager ensuring that the views of children, social workers and other stakeholders are considered in the review of the quality of care.

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Requirement Due date

Schedule 4 sets out the other information that the registered person must keep in relation to a children’s home.

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Requirement Due date

maintain in the home the records in Schedule 4. (Regulation 37 (1) (2)(a))

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Requirement Due date

The provider needs to ensure that the full names of all staff, including the manager, and their actual hours worked are recorded on the rota. 26 October 2023

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that the home is a homely, domestic environment. The home should seek as far as possible to maintain a domestic rather than institutional impression. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 15, paragraph 3.9)  The registered person should ensure that evaluations of incidents of children going missing should be undertaken to identify any gaps in training, skills or knowledge for staff or to record and retain evidence of what worked well. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 46, paragraph 9.31)  The registered person should ensure that staff encourage children to take a proactive role in looking after their day-to-day health and well-being. Where children have specific health needs or conditions, they should be supported to manage these, subject to their age and understanding. (‘Guide to the Children’s

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Recommendations

Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 34, paragraph 7.10)

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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: SC049189 7

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Care Today (Children’s Services) Limited

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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: Danielle Leacock and Stephen Abraham

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Inspector

Kerri Lynch, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: SC049189 8 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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