Children's home run by Prestige Adolescent Care and Education Limited in Stoke-on-Trent

Inspection report for children’s home: SC463188 1 SC463188 Registered provider: Prestige Adolescent Care And Education Limited Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

The home is run by a private organisation and is registered to provide care for up to four children who may experience social and emotional difficulties. At the time of the inspection, there were three children living at the home.

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Information about this children’s home

The registered manager has been in post since 24 March 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: SC463188 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

14/03/2023 Full Good 26/01/2022 Full Good 03/12/2019 Full Outstanding 14/11/2018 Full Outstanding Inspection report for children’s home: SC463188 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children live in a home where adults spend time getting to know them and want to learn about their interests. This provides children with opportunities to build trusting relationships with the people who care for them.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Leaders, managers and staff work in partnership with family members and professionals to provide children with opportunities to remain connected to people who are important to them. They consider advice from the children’s social workers concerning risks to children, and follow plans aimed at protecting children from emotional and physical harm.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children’s academic success is important to leaders, managers and staff. Children receive support and encouragement to attend their academic provision. Staff attend meetings concerning children’s education and work closely with teaching staff to make sure children are given opportunities to meet their full potential. A teacher said, ‘Communication is consistent and very positive. [Name of home] will contact me with updates regarding [name of child] and are always available to take calls and attend meetings on request.’

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff support children to maintain a good standard of health. Routine health appointments are recorded and checked regularly by staff, so that these are not missed. In addition, leaders and managers seek advice and training from health specialists in response to children’s specific health needs, so that the care children receive is beneficial.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are given opportunities to share their views about the care they receive through their involvement in monthly consultations and children’s meetings. Staff regularly act on children’s requests, which demonstrates to children that their views are important.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The home is nicely decorated and well presented, with photos of the children and staff throughout. Staff make every effort to support children to decorate their rooms in a way that reflects their interests. However, the outhouse which is used as a games room has been poorly maintained. There is no lighting and the window is damaged, which means the room cannot be used safely by the children.

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

Children say they feel safe, and this is supported by professionals who are confident that staff prioritise children’s welfare. Children can identify someone they can speak to if they are unhappy.

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

Staff understand children’s vulnerabilities and associated risks. Children’s plans are individualised and up to date. They clearly identify strategies to ensure that Inspection report for children’s home: SC463188 4 children’s welfare is promoted. Staff understand their role and responsibilities to safeguard children and consistently put plans into practice to reduce the risk of children experiencing harm.

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

There have been a high number of restraints during the inspection period. Records demonstrate that leaders, managers and staff use physical restraint as a last resort, in accordance with regulation. Records contain a detailed account of the incident, consultation with the child and an evaluation of the effectiveness of the restraint. This process of evaluation provides an opportunity for staff to reflect on their practice and learn alternative methods to keep children safe.

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

Staff support children’s progress to independence in line with their age and ability. They balance the need for children to be protected, with enabling them to take reasonable risks as part of their growth and development. For example, a child who struggled in social situations was encouraged and supported to take the bus on their own. Staff initially supervised the child travelling on the bus and taught them about bus routes and times. The child can now travel on the bus without adult supervision.

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

The approach to behaviour management is consistent. Staff encourage children to adopt behaviour that meets societal expectations by using positive praise and reward charts. However, behavioural expectations set by leaders and managers are not always realistic and achievable, when considering children’s age and ability. In addition, when children do not meet the requirements in their reward chart, the reasons for this are not always made clear to them so that they have the opportunity to learn.

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

Furthermore, children are not always given the opportunity to demonstrate that they can be trusted to behave positively. For example, staff routinely remove a child’s television from their bedroom, to prevent them watching it during the night. However, there is no evidence to suggest that the child has or would do this.

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

Leaders and managers demonstrate that they understand the importance of safer recruitment and have demonstrated that this process is followed when employing new staff members. However, for one potential candidate, leaders and managers failed to consider all gaps in their employment.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager is qualified and has relevant management experience. She is described as supportive by the staff team and demonstrates good knowledge and understanding of the children and their individual needs.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff support systems are effective. Staff receive practice-related supervision that focuses on ensuring that staff can successfully meet the children’s needs. Leaders and managers identify limitations in staff practice and put strategies in place, such as additional peer support, to help staff develop. Inspection report for children’s home: SC463188 5 Staff practice is improved through access to mandatory and needs-led training. This helps staff carry out their role confidently and means they can improve on the support they give to children. Team meetings routinely take place and are well attended. They are used by leaders and managers to provide an environment for further learning to develop staff skills and knowledge.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staffing arrangements are good. Leaders and managers understand the importance of children receiving consistent care. Consequently, non-permanent staff members are rarely used to address staff absence. Instead, permanent team members, including the managers, work together to cover shifts and provide children with stability, which enables them to feel safe and secure.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Partnership working is promoted by leaders and managers. They and the staff team regularly consult with partners such as the children’s schools and the therapist to reflect on children’s progress and consider any additional support needs. The organisation’s therapist said, ‘Communication is good. They send me weekly reports and invite me to team meetings. They also ask for my input into risk assessments. It is about us all working together for the children.’

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Leaders and managers have sufficient monitoring systems in place. Weekly and monthly audits are used to monitor the quality of care provided to children and help to improve staff practice. Inspection report for children’s home: SC463188 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 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

protect and promote each child’s welfare;

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Requirement Due date

provide to children living in the home the physical necessities they need in order to live there comfortably;

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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

enable each child to participate in the daily life of the home. (Regulation 6 (1)(a)(b) (2)(b)(ii)(vii)(c)(i)(ii))

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Requirement Due date

This relates to leaders and managers ensuring that the games room located outside is repaired so that the area can be used safely by the children. Specifically, the windows and lighting should be repaired. 14 February 2024

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Requirement Due date

The positive relationships standard is that children are helped to develop, and to benefit from, relationships based on—

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Requirement Due date

an understanding about acceptable behaviour; and 14 February 2024 Inspection report for children’s home: SC463188 7 positive responses to other children and adults.

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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

help each child to develop socially aware behaviour;

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Requirement Due date

encourage each child to take responsibility for the child’s behaviour, in accordance with the child’s age and understanding;

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Requirement Due date

communicate to each child expectations about the child’s behaviour and ensure that the child understands those expectations in accordance with the child’s age and understanding. (Regulation 11(a)(b)(c) (2)(a)(ii)(iii)(v))

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Requirement Due date

This relates to leaders and managers ensuring that behavioural expectations within children’s reward charts are achievable, taking into consideration children’s age and ability.

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Requirement Due date

In addition, when children have not met these requirements, leaders, managers and staff should support children to understand why have not been met.

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Requirement Due date

Furthermore, leaders and managers must ensure that children are given opportunities to demonstrate that they can be trusted to behave positively.

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Recommendations

 The registered person must ensure that every effort is made to verify gaps in previous education and employment for potential candidates, prior to an offer of employment being made. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 61, paragraph 13.1) Inspection report for children’s home: SC463188 8

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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: SC463188 9

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Prestige Adolescent Care And Education Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: 90 King Street, Newcastle-under-Lyme, Staffordshire ST5 1JB

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Inspector

Chibuzo Otache, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: SC463188 10 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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