Children's Home run by Social Care Services (Clayton) Limited in Stockport

Inspection report for children’s home: 1263425 1 Registered provider: Social Care Services Limited

p.1

Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

p.1

Information about this children’s home

This home is owned by a private company. It is registered to provide care for two children who may experience social and/or emotional difficulties.

p.1

Information about this children’s home

There were two children living at the home at the time of inspection. The inspector was able to speak with one child about their experience of living in the home.

p.1

Information about this children’s home

The manager has been registered with Ofsted since October 2023.

p.1

Overall experiences and progress of

children and young people, taking into account

p.1

good

How well children and young people are helped and protected good

p.1

good

The effectiveness of leaders and managers good

p.1

good

The children’s home provides effective services that meet the requirements for good.

p.1

good

Overall judgement at last inspection: requires improvement to be good

p.1

good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children’s home: 1263425 2

p.1

Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

02/05/2023 Full Requires improvement to be good 16/06/2022 Full Requires improvement to be good 30/06/2021 Full Good 04/11/2019 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: 1263425 3

p.2

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Both children moved into the home in a positive, planned way that was tailored to meet their individual needs. They benefit from stable, nurturing care delivered by the staff team.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children say they like living at the home and take pride in keeping it clean and tidy. Photos of children and staff are proudly on display throughout the home. There are comfortable communal spaces for children to play games or relax and watch television. Children’s bedrooms are personalised to reflect their interests and identities. This helps children to develop a sense of belonging and to settle in the home.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Both children attend education, and staff encourage them to talk about their aspirations for their futures. When children have struggled with certain subject areas, there has been extra support from staff and externally from tutors to help children to overcome barriers to their learning. Education professionals are positive about the communication from the team and how children are supported to achieve their educational potential.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are listened to, and their views are captured by staff in a variety of ways. Children have monthly meetings with staff where they talk about their experiences of living in the home and whether they want to see any changes. These meetings allowed the children to ask for some pet rabbits, and this was agreed. The children take care of these pets, which gives them a sense of responsibility.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff support children to attend health appointments. When required, referrals are made to specialist health services. Both children vape and there are clear boundaries in place to prevent smoking in the home. Staff actively encourage and support children to access smoking-cessation services and enable them to better understand the impact of vaping on their health.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff understand that it is important for children to maintain relationships with the people who are important to them. Staff support and arrange for children to spend time with their family when it is safe to do so. Staff also take time to get to know children’s friends and their families to ensure that children are developing positive peer relationships.

p.3

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

Children say that they feel safe living in the home. Staff invest quality time in building positive relationships and developing a sense of security and trust with the children. As a result, children say that they feel comfortable and confident in discussing issues that are important to them with the staff. Inspection report for children’s home: 1263425 4 Monthly planners are in place to help staff undertake high-quality, meaningful and direct work that is aligned to children’s care plans. This includes having detailed conversations on sensitive topics such as sexual health, mental health, and self- esteem. Children take part in these sessions and say that they help them to make safer choices.

p.3

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

Children have individualised missing-from-home risk plans that clearly outline the actions staff should take to keep children safe. Staff know what to do when children go missing from the home. They clearly record their actions and appropriately share concerns with external professionals. This ensures that staff consistently take proactive measures to monitor children’s whereabouts, and promotes a strong safeguarding culture. Managers have clear oversight of incidents and evaluate them. Any learning is used to develop practice in the home.

p.4

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

The manager and staff have access to all relevant statutory documents, which provide them with the information they need to help and care for children. Staff read and sign to say they understand these plans. However, on one occasion, a child’s plans were not followed and they were left unsupervised for a period of time when they were on holiday. This does not ensure that children receive consistent responses, or that their risks are managed effectively. This is something that the manager has taken action to address.

p.4

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

Safer recruitment practices are robust. All necessary checks are completed to ensure that only people who work at the home are safe to do so.

p.4

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager is suitably skilled and experienced. He has taken learning from the previous inspections to embed changes in the way the home operates. He is supported by a dedicated deputy manager and, together, they provide a positive, welcoming environment for children.

p.4

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Positive working relationships exist between the manager and other agencies. Children’s social workers highlight the effective communication from the team. Other professionals are also positive about the care that children receive and the impact of this on the progress that they make.

p.4

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff say that they feel supported by the manager and that he is available for advice and support. However, supervision is not always used effectively by the manager, or completed as frequently as identified in the organisation’s supervision policy. This means that not all staff are receiving support and guidance to review and reflect on their practice.

p.4

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Since the last inspection, the manager’s oversight of practice in the home has improved. Internal and external monitoring systems are used more effectively, and the manager has completed the home’s quality of care report to review children’s experiences. However, this is not written in line with the regulation, and the Inspection report for children’s home: 1263425 5 manager’s evaluation of the home is limited. This was a requirement at the last inspection and is restated.

p.4

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Seven requirements and one recommendation made at the previous inspection have been met. One requirement has not been met and is restated. Inspection report for children’s home: 1263425 6

p.5

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.

p.6

Requirements Due date

The care planning standard is that children—

p.6

Requirements Due date

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

p.6

Requirements Due date

have a positive experience of arriving at or moving on from the home.

p.6

Requirements Due date

In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to ensure—

p.6

Requirements Due date

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

p.6

Requirements Due date

Specifically, the registered person must ensure that staff provide supervision to children, in line with their plans. 21 August 2024

p.6

Requirements Due date

The registered person must complete a review of the quality of care provided for children (“a quality of care review”) at least once every 6 months.

p.6

Requirements Due date

In order to complete a quality of care review the registered person must establish and maintain a system for monitoring, reviewing and evaluating—

p.6

Requirements Due date

the quality of care provided for children;

p.6

Requirements Due date

the feedback and opinions of children about the children’s home, its facilities and the quality of care they receive in it;

p.6

Requirements Due date

any actions that the registered person considers necessary in order to improve or maintain the quality of care provided for children.

p.6

Requirements Due date

The registered person must— 21 August 2024 Inspection report for children’s home: 1263425 7 supply to HMCI a copy of the quality of care review report within 28 days of the date on which the quality of care review is completed; and

p.6

Requirements Due date

make a copy of the quality of care review report available on request to a placing authority, if the placing authority is not the parent of a child accommodated in the home. (Regulation 45 (1) (2)(a)(b)(c)(4)(a)(b))

p.7

Requirements Due date

In particular, the registered person must ensure that the report is sent to the regulator within 28 days of completion.

p.7

Requirements Due date

This requirement was made at the last inspection and is restated.

p.7

Recommendation

 The registered person should ensure that systems are in place to ensure that all staff, including the manager, receive supervision of their practice from an appropriately qualified and experienced professional, which allows them to reflect on their practice and the needs of the children assigned to their care. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 61, paragraph 13.2)

p.7

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: 1263425 8

p.7

Children’s home details

Registered provider: Social Care Services Limited

p.8

Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Social Care Services Group, 31 Shaw Road, Stockport SK4 4AG

p.8

Children’s home details

Responsible individual: Annabella Foulkes

p.8

Inspector

Colin Jones, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 1263425 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.

p.8

Inspector

If you would like a copy of this document in a different format, such as large print or Braille, please telephone 0300 123 1231, or email enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk. You may reuse this information (not including logos) free of charge in any format or medium, under the terms of the Open Government Licence. To view this licence, visit www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence, write to the Information Policy Team, The National Archives, Kew, London TW9 4DU, or email: psi@nationalarchives.gsi.gov.uk.

p.9

Inspector

Interested in our work? You can subscribe to our monthly newsletter for more information and updates: http://eepurl.com/iTrDn.

p.9

Inspector

T: 0300 123 1231 Textphone: 0161 618 8524 E: enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk W: www.gov.uk/ofsted

p.9