Children's home run by The Partnership of Care Today

Inspection report children's home: SC044745 1 SC044745 Registered provider: The Partnership of Care Today

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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 up to six 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 registered manager holds a level 5 qualification.

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Information about this children’s home

There is a school on the same grounds as the home. The inspector only inspected the social care provision.

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Overall experiences and progress of

children and young people, taking into account

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inadequate

How well children and young people are helped and protected inadequate

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inadequate

The effectiveness of leaders and managers inadequate

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inadequate

There are serious failures that mean children and young people are not protected or their welfare is not promoted or safeguarded, and the care and experiences of children and young people are poor and they are not making progress.

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inadequate

Overall judgement at last inspection: good

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inadequate

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report children's home: SC044745 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

18/04/2023 Full Good 05/07/2022 Full Good 04/05/2021 Full Good 18/09/2019 Full Good Inspection report children's home: SC044745 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: inadequate

A serious failure in how managers have responded to a safeguarding concern raised by two children and some staff, has contributed to the inadequate judgement in help and protect and leadership and management.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: inadequate

Six children have lived in the home since the last inspection, with three children moving into the home and five children moving on. There is currently one child living in the home. This child has settled in well. They are developing some positive relationships with staff and said that they are happy living at the home.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: inadequate

Children’s views on wanting to move from the home are listened to and have resulted in three children having planned moves from the home. These include moves to foster care and moving closer to their home areas. Planned moves enable the children to have a positive experience of moving on from the home. One child refused to return to the home following time with family but agreed to move to another home within the same organisation, which is not as remotely located. Another child who was reported missing from home soon after moving to the home refused to return and remained with family.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: inadequate

Children attend a school that is part of the same organisation as the home. Some staff work across the school and the home. Their experience of education and care is mixed.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: inadequate

Children’s attendance at school improves and they make some progress with their learning. However, some children have not always had positive experiences. This is because on occasions they did not receive care at school and at home which promoted their self-esteem and confidence, nor did it help them to feel valued and protected.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: inadequate

Plans for children are not individualised and do not consider children’s specific needs. For example, wording in some plans relating to different children is identical. This does not help staff to understand each child’s needs and provide personalised care that takes account of their childhood experiences.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: inadequate

The home is situated in a remote location. It is appropriately furnished and decorated. However, the home would benefit from some personalisation to create a more homely feel for children. Some bedroom doors and external doors require repair due to being damaged.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: inadequate

Children’s health needs are met well by staff. They ensure that children are registered with local health services and attend routine health appointments.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: inadequate

Children enjoy spending time with people who are important to them. Family time is encouraged and well supported. Children can access a wide range of activities in the community. One child has become a member of the local cadets, which will help them to gain experience specific to their career aspirations. Children are able to access the Inspection report children's home: SC044745 4 internet and there are restrictions in place to prevent them accessing inappropriate content. Children are supported by staff to strike a good balance between screen time and participating in other activities.

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

Leaders and managers failed to respond effectively to a safeguarding concern about a person who worked in the home and school. Important information was not shared with the local authority designated officer (LADO) to enable them to make an informed decision about what action needed to be taken. Leaders and managers are also unable to demonstrate that children’s social workers were made aware of the full context of the concerns and that children were spoken to by a person independent of the organisation. The provider has been asked to share information with the host and placing authorities retrospectively.

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

Some leaders and managers do not recognise the shortfalls in their response to the serious concerns raised by children and staff. This raises questions about the safeguarding culture at the home and their willingness to work openly with others to promote children’s safety and welfare. Some staff are not confident in knowing what to do should they need to raise concerns with someone outside of the organisation. In addition, three staff have not completed refresher training in safeguarding children in line with the organisation’s timescales. These shortfalls create risk and vulnerability for children.

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

Children’s assessments identify known risks. However, strategies for managing these are not personalised to the child and do not provide staff with clear guidance on effective ways to support the child. This means that on occasions, staff have been unable to de- escalate potentially difficult and challenging situations. For example, one staff member removed a child’s television from their bedroom while the child was struggling to regulate their emotions following an argument with a peer. This heightened the child rather than help them to calm down. On another occasion, staff left children who were displaying heightened behaviours alone. As a result, a physical altercation between the children took place, which required staff to intervene and separate them. This may have been avoided if staff had remained with them to supervise and support them.

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

Sometimes staff restrain children to prevent them from harming themselves or others or damaging property. Records do not always show measures staff take to de-escalate situations and descriptions of how staff ‘lower’ children to the floor are vague. Children refuse to speak to the manager or authorised person about occasions when they have been held and it is not clear what work is being done to understand why this is and whether any alternative arrangements need to be or could be made.

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

On most occasions staff involved in using restraint do have an opportunity to reflect on the incident. However, these discussions do not help to develop practice and inform children’s care planning arrangements. Management oversight of incidents involving restraint lacks professional curiosity. It has not identified a pattern of children falling/stumbling over during restraints. This means ineffective holds or environmental Inspection report children's home: SC044745 5 factors that impact on staff’s ability to keep children safe during restraints are not considered to mitigate potential risk in future incidents.

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

On the rare occasions when children go missing from home, managers and staff respond well. They actively search for children and try to maintain contact with them. They work well with professionals to ensure that children are quickly located.

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

New staff have started working in the home. There are effective recruitments systems in place to reduce the risk of children being cared for by unsuitable individuals.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

When concerns are raised, leaders and managers do not always keep a clear audit of concerns, and information gathered is poorly organised. Managers do not maintain accurate records of discussions, held with staff when they have addressed concerns about their performance. This calls into question the validity and integrity of these records.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

Since the last inspection, five experienced staff have left and six staff who have not previously worked in children’s residential care have joined the team. While leaders have taken steps to reduce the number of children living at the home for a period of time, high staff turnover does not provide stability and consistency for children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

Leaders and managers allow new staff who have not yet been assessed through the organisation’s probation period to be left in sole charge of children. This does not adequately provide new staff with sufficient support that enables them to develop their knowledge and skills for caring for children whose behaviours are complex.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

Half of the workforce hold a relevant qualification in residential child care. Most staff complete training in mandatory subjects; however, sometimes training is not refreshed within the organisation’s required timescales.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

The manager does not have effective systems in place for monitoring the quality of care that children receive. Some incident records contain language that is not in keeping with the therapeutic approach outlined in the home’s statement of purpose. In addition, on one occasion a staff member reminded a child of plans for family time and that their behaviour may impact on these plans. Managers have not picked up and addressed these issues with staff to ensure that children are always responded to, and written about, with sensitivity and care.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

The manager does not keep a record of staff rosters. This means it is not clear who has worked in the home and times they worked. Should this information be needed in future, it is not going to be easily available, if at all. Inspection report children's home: SC044745 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 leadership and management standard is that the registered person enables, inspires and leads a culture in relation to the children's home that—

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Requirement Due date

helps children aspire to fulfil their potential; and promotes their welfare.

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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

understand the impact that the quality of care provided in the home is having on the progress and experiences of each child and use this understanding to inform the development of the quality of care provided in the home.

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Requirement Due date

demonstrate that practice in the home is informed and improved by taking into account and acting on—

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Requirement Due date

feedback on the experiences of children, including complaints received.

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Requirement Due date

use monitoring and review systems to make continuous improvements in the quality of care provided in the home. (Regulation 13 (1)(a)(b)(2)(f)(g)(ii)(h))

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Requirement Due date

This requirement was raised at the last two full inspections and is subject to a compliance notice. 23 June 2024

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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— that staff—

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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; 23 June 2024 Inspection report children's home: SC044745 7 have the skills to identify and act upon signs that a child is at risk of harm;

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Requirement Due date

understand the roles and responsibilities in relation to protecting children that are assigned to them by the registered person.; take effective action whenever there is a serious concern about a child's welfare; and

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Requirement Due date

are familiar with, and act in accordance with, the home's child protection policies. (Regulation 12 (1)(2)(a)(i)(iii)(v)(vi)(vii)) The registered person must ensure that—

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Requirement Due date

within 24 hours of the use of a measure of control, discipline, or restraint in relation to a child in the home, a record is made which includes—

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Requirement Due date

a description of the measure and its duration.

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Requirement Due date

details of any methods used or steps taken to avoid the need to use the measure.

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Requirement Due date

the effectiveness and any consequences of the use of the measure; and

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Requirement Due date

within 48 hours of the use of the measure, the registered person, or a person who is authorised by the registered person to do so ("the authorised person") has spoken to the user about the measure. (Regulation 35 (3)(a)(v)(vii)(b)(i)(ii)) 23 June 2024

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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

understand and apply the home's statement of purpose.

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Requirement Due date

understand and apply the home's statement of purpose. 23 June 2024 Inspection report children's home: SC044745 8 protect and promote each child's welfare.

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Requirement Due date

treat each child with dignity and respect.

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Requirement Due date

provide personalised care that meets each child's needs, as recorded in the child's relevant plans, taking account of the child's background. (Regulation 6 (1)(a)(b)(2)(a)(b)(i)(ii)(iii)(iv))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered manager should ensure that plans for children are individual to their needs. Staff practice should take into account children's lived experiences and they should understand how trauma may present through behaviours and that these are responded to and recorded with sensitivity and care. 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.

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Requirement Due date

ensure that the records are kept up to date; and

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Requirement Due date

retain the records for at least 15 years from the date of the last entry. (Regulation 37 (1)(2)(a)(b)(c))

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Requirement Due date

This is specific to retaining staff rosters. 23 June 2024

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Requirement Due date

* This requirement is subject to a compliance notice.

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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: SC044745 9

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: The Partnership of Care Today

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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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Inspectors

Helen Dunn, Social Care Inspector Joanne Hawkins Social Care Inspector Inspection report children's home: SC044745 10 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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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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