Children's home run by The Together Trust in Stockport

Inspection report for children’s home: SC025713 1 SC025713 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

The home is registered to provide care for up to three children who may experience social and emotional difficulties and/or have a special educational need and/or disabilities. The home is privately owned and managed.

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Information about this children’s home

At the time of the inspection, there were three children living in the home.

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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: 10 January 2023

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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: SC025713 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

10/01/2023 Full Good 15/03/2022 Full Outstanding 16/10/2019 Full Good 19/12/2018 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: SC025713 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children’s needs are carefully considered by the manager before they move into the home. This ensures that the manager is confident that staff can meet the children’s needs and prevent moves from the home. One child has experienced a high number of moves and changes but is developing a sense of security and trust in staff. When children struggle to settle into the home, staff listen to them and work hard to build relationships.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The home is furnished to meet the children’s needs and their photos can be seen around the home. Children’s bedrooms are personalised. However, there are some areas of the home that would benefit from being repainted.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

All children attend education. When they find attendance difficult, staff work with them to identify barriers and offer encouragement and incentives to promote their learning. When children need additional support, staff advocate strongly for this to be implemented.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are sensitively supported to improve their health. All children are registered with local health services and have regular routine check-ups. Since moving into the home, one child has achieved a healthy weight and their emotional reliance on food has reduced.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children’s time with their family is supported, which gives them all a sense of identity. Staff understand the impact that family time can have on the children and they ensure that support is available before and after family time.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children have access to a range of activities of their choice. All children regularly attend a group activity. This helps children to make friends, which in turn increases their confidence and self-esteem. These experiences and the children’s achievements are captured in hardbound memory books.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children contribute to their plans and understand their risk assessments. They are supported to develop their independence in line with their age and understanding.

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

Children can identify a trusted adult they can talk to about any worries or concerns. Children say that staff listen to them, take their concerns seriously and respond appropriately. One child’s parent said: ‘[Name of child] is happy and safe at the home.’

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

When children go missing from home, staff respond in line with children’s risk assessments. Staff work with other agencies to locate children and facilitate their safe return home. The manager reviews all incidents to consider how the number of Inspection report for children’s home: SC025713 4 incidents can be reduced. One social worker said: ‘Staff have been creative with strategies to minimise [name of child’s] going missing from home and incidents have reduced.’

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

Children complete direct work with staff which is focused on developing their understanding of how to keep themselves safe. Staff use online resources and cover subjects including online safety, consent, racism and homophobia.

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

Safer recruitment practice is not sufficiently robust. There are a number of new staff working at the home. The relevant checks for one staff member have not been completed. The organisation has taken action to reduce the risk this potentially poses.

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

Risk assessments are clear and succinct and are understood by staff. Staff work proactively with the police to prevent children from becoming involved in the criminal justice system.

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

Staff have completed all mandatory training and training specific to the needs of the children in their care. However, staff have not completed training to ensure that they are equipped to respond to the risks that some children face.

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

When children need to be held, this is used as a last resort after de-escalation techniques have failed. Incidents are recorded and reviewed by the manager and the children and staff involved have the opportunity to discuss and reflect on incidents.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The home is managed by a permanent, experienced and qualified registered manager who is supported by the home’s management team. The managers know children well and have a good understanding of their life experiences and how these impact on them.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

There are sufficient staffing levels at the home and the manager is aware of the developmental needs of each staff member. There is always a member of the management team in the home, which ensures that there is good oversight of practice.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager has systems in place for reviewing staff practice. All incidents are reviewed to identify learning for staff. This has identified additional training for the staff team in a number of areas, including the updating of risk assessments. Management audits are not sufficiently robust to identify when local authority documentation is missing, which prevents this from being pursued with placing authorities.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Supervision takes place in line with the home’s statement of purpose. Supervision follows an agenda which considers children’s progress and staff practice and Inspection report for children’s home: SC025713 5 development. It is an opportunity for staff to receive feedback from colleagues and children. One member of staff said: ‘It’s a chance to find out what I am doing well and what I need to improve on.’

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager uses team meetings as an opportunity for staff learning; this includes personal behaviour support plans and autism training. Meetings are also used as an opportunity to strengthen the team and so staff have a shared vision. Inspection report for children’s home: SC025713 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 care planning standard is that children—

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Requirement Due date

receive effectively planned care in or through the children’s home;

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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

plan for, and help, each child to prepare to leave the home or to move into adult care in a way that is consistent with arrangements agreed with the child’s placing authority;

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Requirement Due date

that each child’s relevant plans are followed. (Regulation 14 (1)(a) (2)(b)(iii)(c))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person must ensure that they receive all local authority documentation and plans. 31 March 2024

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must recruit staff using recruitment procedures that are designed to ensure children’s safety.

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Requirement Due date

employ an individual to work at the children’s home; or

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Requirement Due date

if an individual is employed by a person other than the registered person to work at the home in a position in which the individual may have regular contact with children, allow that individual to work at the home,

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Requirement Due date

if the individual satisfies the requirements in paragraph (3).

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Requirement Due date

The requirements are that— 21 February 2024 Inspection report for children’s home: SC025713 7 full and satisfactory information is available in relation to the individual in respect of each of the matters in Schedule 2.

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Requirement Due date

The registered person may permit an individual to start work at the home despite the fact that the requirement in paragraph (3)(d) has not been met if—

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Requirement Due date

the registered person ensures that the individual is appropriately supervised while carrying out the individual’s duties, pending receipt of any outstanding information on the matters in paragraphs 3 to 6 of Schedule 2, which is then considered satisfactory by the registered person. (Regulation 32 (1) (2)(a)(b) (3)(d) (7)(d))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person must ensure that all relevant checks, including international checks, are undertaken for all staff working in the home.

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that staff undertake training specific to children’s needs. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 53, paragraph 10.11)  The registered person should ensure that the home maintains a clean and well- kept environment which supports children’s physical, mental and emotional health. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 33, paragraph 7.3)

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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: SC025713 8

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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

Sarah Jackson, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: SC025713 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 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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