Children's home run by The Together Trust in Stockport

Inspection report for children’s home: SC025714 1 SC025714 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 privately operated home provides care for children with social and emotional difficulties and/or learning disabilities.

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Information about this children’s home

The home is registered to care for up to five children.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager has been registered with Ofsted since June 2017.

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Information about this children’s home

Four children were living in the home at the time of this 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

Overall judgement at last inspection: good

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children’s home: SC025714 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

04/01/2023 Full Good 08/03/2022 Full Good 10/10/2019 Full Good 28/11/2018 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: SC025714 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children live in a home that is warm and welcoming. Children personalise their bedrooms and work with staff to decorate or change the decor in the home. One child said that they enjoy their own personal space and staff respect their privacy. Children are consulted about their views on the home and this is reflected in their feedback.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children have good transitions into and out of the home. Children receive information about the home prior to moving in and have opportunities to visit. Where planned transitions are not possible, staff ensure that children are provided with information via the children’s guide. This helps to give children an overview of the support they will receive.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

One child is making significant progress in their life. They have transitioned from a role as a community volunteer to part-time paid employee. Staff have worked well to support this child’s strengths and interest. This has included support to compete in local and national BMX competitions.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

One child has recently moved into semi-independence. This was managed in a timely and effective manner. This child has remained in touch with staff and another child living at the home. The child has offered advice and guidance to another child at the home about how to stay safe in the community. This demonstrates that, when children move on, they retain knowledge of keeping themselves and others safe in the community.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

External professionals said that staff and managers know their children well. One community worker said that one child has made significant progress in building their confidence. They said that when this child first started to use their service, they were shy and reclusive and struggled to have their needs understood. Now, this child is open and confident and will challenge staff if they feel change is required. This progress is a real strength and will contribute to the child moving towards independence.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

One headteacher said that the child in their school is making good progress in relation to their emotional health needs. When this child found school difficult or had a difficult start to the day, the home’s staff ensured that school staff were kept updated most of the time. Another school leader said that staff and managers remain in regular communication with them. This means that the transition from school to home is, in the most part, seamless.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

When children attend education, they are supported with plans that mostly meet their needs. Bespoke packages are considered and implemented where appropriate. However, some children are not attending full-time education and there is limited informal learning in these cases. This is a missed opportunity. Inspection report for children’s home: SC025714 4

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

Children do not go missing from home frequently. When they do go missing, staff manage this with a robust and strength-based approach. Staff actively search for children and keep a detailed log of attempts to contact them and any other relevant information. This record-keeping is helpful to evaluate and inform any future events. This also means that antecedents can be considered and used to assess future planning. In one case, a child wished to spend more time with their birth family, which staff felt they could accommodate. The risk assessment was updated in collaboration with the placing authority and child. The subsequent amendment of the family-time plan meant that this child could spend more time with their family in a safe and managed way.

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

Physical interventions are rare. When they are needed, they are proportionate and limited in length and any holds used are safe. The records of incidents use positive language and do not seek to add blame or guilt for the behaviours. De-escalation techniques are used to good effect. This is backed by positive and clear behavioural support plans, which are accompanied by a child-friendly version. Children are involved in this planning and give staff areas to consider when working alongside them.

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

Staff supervision is held regularly and staff said that they benefit from this formally and informally. However, supervision and appraisals do not always take all the children’s needs into account. This is a missed opportunity to understand key relationships and how behaviour can impact on staff and child dynamics. Appraisals do not consider wider stakeholder feedback, which is a missed opportunity to share the positive feedback available to staff and identify any learning and development needs.

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

Children said that they feel safe and settled. Two children have been living in the home for a number of years and this is testament to how secure they feel. One social worker feels that staff and leaders do not give up on children. Even if the needs of the children are complex and unpredictable, staff and leaders continue to support and help children to progress. Feedback from social workers is overwhelmingly positive about the good care and support provided by staff and managers.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The home is managed by an experienced, compassionate and dedicated leadership team. This ethos cascades to staff, who replicate these principles. There is a stable and consistent staff team. The consistent and strong relationships between children and staff help children to remain settled.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Theoretical and trauma-informed approaches are embedded in staff practice. Staff are aware of the models of care and how to apply them in practice. This means that Inspection report for children’s home: SC025714 5 children’s needs are met in a well-considered, empathic and supportive manner. Children’s past trauma is considered key to their communication and behaviour.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The staff recruitment process is clear and robust and children are supported by staff who are safe. Staff are put through a well-considered induction process with a focus on therapeutic practice. Leaders and managers are happy to offer flexibility to some staff if they experience any challenges in the shift patterns.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Children’s records are usually kept up to date and there is evidence of challenge when they are not received. However, records and plans are not routinely signed or dated by staff. This means that records are not viewed in the context of wider care- planning needs.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Children’s wishes and feelings are considered as part of the planning and decisions made about the home. However, when feedback from children is negative, this is not always followed up by managers. This means that the needs of some children are not fully considered in care-planning and the cause of any issues is left unclear. Inspection report for children’s home: SC025714 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 education standard is that children make measurable progress towards achieving their educational potential and are helped to do so.

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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 achieve the child’s education and training targets, as recorded in the child’s relevant plans;

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Requirement Due date

support each child’s learning and development, including helping the child to develop independent study skills and, where appropriate, helping the child to complete independent study;

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Requirement Due date

understand the barriers to learning that each child may face and take appropriate action to help the child to overcome any such barriers;

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Requirement Due date

promote opportunities for each child to learn informally;

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Requirement Due date

maintain regular contact with each child’s education and training provider, including engaging with the provider and the placing authority to support the child’s education and training and to maximise the child’s achievement;

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Requirement Due date

help a child who is excluded from school, or who is of compulsory school age but not attending school, to access educational and training support throughout the period of exclusion or non-attendance and to return to school as soon as possible;

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Requirement Due date

help each child to attend education or training in accordance with the expectations in the child’s relevant plans. (Regulation 8 (1) (2)(a)(i)(ii)(iii)(v)(vi)(viii)(x)(b)) 7 March 2024 Inspection report for children’s home: SC025714 7 In particular, the registered person must ensure that staff help children to engage in education as part of a daily structured routine and in accordance with children’s relevant plans.

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must maintain records ("case records") for each child which—

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Requirement Due date

include the information and documents listed in Schedule 3 in relation to each child;

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Requirement Due date

are signed and dated by the author of each entry.

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Requirement Due date

if the child dies before attaining the age of 18, for 15 years from the date of the child’s death;

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Requirement Due date

in cases not falling within sub-paragraph (a), for 75 years from the child’s date of birth;

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Requirement Due date

securely in the children’s home during the period when the child to whom the case records relate is accommodated there; and

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Requirement Due date

in a secure place after the child has ceased to be accommodated in the home. (Regulation 36 (1)(a)(b)(c) (2)(a)(b)(c)(d))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person must ensure that records relating to the care of children are signed and dated by the author. 7 March 2024

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that appraisals consider, where reasonable and practical, the views of other professionals who have worked with the staff member over the year and children in the home’s care. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 61, paragraph 13.5)  The registered person should ensure that children are consulted regularly on their views about the home’s care, to inform and support continued improvement in the quality of care provided. Due consideration should be given to the child’s cognitive ability in the development and implementation of any consultation processes. Children should be able to see the results of their views being listened Inspection report for children’s home: SC025714 8 to and acted on. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 22, paragraph 4.11)  The registered person should ensure that staff supervision enables staff to reflect

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Recommendations

and act on how their own feelings and behaviour may be affected by the behaviour of the children they care for. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 39, paragraph 8.15)

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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: SC025714 9

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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

James Meeks, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: SC025714 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 looked after children, safeguarding and child protection.

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Inspector

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Inspector

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Inspector

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