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

Inspection report children's home: SC005050 1 SC005050 Registered provider: The Partnership of Care Today Children’s Services Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children's home

This home is owned by a private company. It is registered to provide care for five children who may 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 2009 and holds a level 5 qualification in leadership and management for residential care services for children.

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Information about this children's home

Education is available on site as the home is also a registered school.

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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 children's home: SC005050 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

05/10/2022 Full Good 27/07/2021 Full Good 11/03/2020 Full Good 13/03/2019 Full Good Inspection report children's home: SC005050 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

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

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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. They have developed good relationships with staff, which helps them to share their wishes and feelings. The important people involved in children’s lives feel that children are safeguarded and settled in the home.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children move in and out of the home in a supported way that considers their needs and preferences. Children’s moves into the home are planned well and the registered manager assesses their needs effectively. Staff provide children with photo albums to take with them when they move on, which captures their memories of living in the home.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children receive on-site education that is tailored to meet their individual learning needs. Staff understand goals and targets, and work with teaching staff to make sure that progress continues outside of the education day. In addition, staff work hard to support the children to understand the importance of their education. As a result, children make progress from their starting points.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff help children to attend routine health appointments. Children enjoy a balanced diet and take part in a range of leisure activities. They make the most of local facilities and those further afield. Medication administration systems promote good health, and all prescribed medication is given as directed by health professionals.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children's family time and the quality of the time they spend with loved ones significantly improves for children. This is because staff have good relationships with children’s family members, and they promote the importance of family time. This is particularly important for children, whose families live some distance away. One grandparent said that ‘they have done a magnificent job, [the child] is thriving, the structure they are providing works wonders.’

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Overall, the home's environment is maintained reasonably well. There are areas that are personalised and there are photos of children around the home. Outside areas have been improved to make the environment safe. However, there are some areas of the home that require improvement and refurbishment. Some children's bedrooms would benefit from redecoration.

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

The registered manager ensures that safeguarding incidents and allegations have been managed appropriately to safeguard children. Follow-up key-work sessions with children help them to understand decisions made, the safeguarding process Inspection report children's home: SC005050 4 and the outcome of investigations. These actions reassure children and promote their well-being.

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

Incidents of going missing from the home significantly reduce for children. For example, before moving into the home, incidents for some children were very high and regular. However, the number of incidents has substantially reduced for these children since living in the home. This shows that children feel safe and secure. When children have gone missing, staff are proactive in trying to return children home safely.

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

The use of physical restraint is low. This is because staff use effective de-escalation strategies with children and restraint is only used as a last resort. The registered manager ensures that children and staff are spoken to about the incident. In addition, he evaluates the suitability of the restraint, and provides staff and children with opportunities to learn from their experiences.

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

Children become safer because of the support they receive in the home. Staff provide children with a good structure and clear boundaries. There have been some bullying incidents between children, which staff have managed well and successfully de-escalated. In addition, staff work with children to educate them about bullying, risk and making safer choices. This work helps to reduce children’s risks and keep children safe.

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

However, there have been some incidents where staff have not always supervised children or identified situations where children’s risks and vulnerabilities have increased. Consequently, a lack of supervision and observation has led to some incidents with children which could have been avoided. Failing to implement safeguarding strategies or recognise that children’s risks have increased has the potential to leave children vulnerable.

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

Overall, staff adopt a positive approach to supporting children. They use verbal praise, rewards, and incentives to encourage children to be respectful and engage positively in the home. When staff issue negative consequences, they discuss these with children and ensure that children understand what is expected of them. However, some consequences used are not restorative in nature and are not always relevant to the child’s actions or behaviour.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The home is led by a very good registered manager, who shows strong leadership, is sufficiently qualified and has a range of experience. He has a detailed understanding of children’s progress, experiences, and advocates well on their behalf. He is supported by an experienced deputy manager. Together, they ensure that children receive good care.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

A significant strength of the home is the suitably qualified, experienced, and committed staff team. All staff are qualified and have achieved the level 3 diploma in residential childcare. Staff feel valued and described how the management team Inspection report children's home: SC005050 5 support them in their work and personal lives. As a result, children have positive experiences of being cared for by staff who feel secure in their roles.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff undertake a varied and comprehensive range of training and development courses. For example, the registered manager has completed a degree in social work and two senior staff are completing counselling courses. In addition, staff receive training which is relevant to the needs of the children. These systems ensure that staff and leaders are suitably skilled to meet the children’s needs.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager’s oversight of the home is robust. There is ongoing monitoring of the care provided and frequent reflective discussions in team meetings, supervision sessions and appraisals. There are safe recruitment practices in place. When new staff join the team, there is a thorough and well-supported induction programme.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager works effectively in partnership with a range of professionals. Professionals are positive about the care and support children receive and the communication they have with the manager and staff. They see that children’s confidence and engagement grow and that they make progress from their starting points. Inspection report children's home: SC005050 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, 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 ensure that staff assess risks effectively and implement strategies to reduce risks to children. This includes the monitoring and supervision of children, who are at risk of bullying, and missing from care. 3 April 2024

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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)

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that any consequences used to address children's behaviour should be restorative in nature, to help children recognise the impact of their behaviour on themselves, other children, the staff caring for them and the wider community. ('Guide to the Children's Homes Regulations, including the quality standards', page 46, paragraph 9.38) Inspection report children's home: SC005050 7

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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 children's home: SC005050 8

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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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Inspector

Dean Wilton, Social Care Inspector Inspection report children's home: SC005050 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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Inspector

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Inspector

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Inspector

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