Children's Home run by Social Care Services Limited in Manchester

Inspection report for children’s home: SC021684 1 SC021684

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Registered provider: Social Care Services Limited

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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 care for up to six children who may have learning disabilities and/or physical disabilities. At the time of this inspection, four children were living at the home.

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Information about this children’s home

There is an experienced manager in place, who was registered with Ofsted in August 2023.

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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: 6 December 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: SC021684 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

06/12/2023 Full Good 14/12/2022 Full Good 15/09/2021 Full Good 10/03/2020 Full Requires improvement to be good Inspection report for children’s home: SC021684 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

All the children have lived at the home for a number of years. Children are settled and consider this their home. Children flourish as a result of the nurturing and individualised care they experience.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children have warm and trusting relationships with the staff who care for them. Staff new to the home work alongside long standing team members to build up relationships with children and develop an understanding of their needs. As a result, children’s physical, social and emotional needs are met.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

One child has moved into, and left the home since the last inspection. This was a planned short-term measure pending the child moving to one of the provider’s other homes. The move between homes was well planned and the child was able to move along with a small group of staff he had built relationships with. The helped to lessen the child’s anxiety about the changes.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children’s education is supported through close working relationships between schools and staff at the home. One child, who is not in education, is supported by staff to complete a timetable of informal learning. The child’s social worker said, ‘I couldn’t ask more of them. They have gone above and beyond to support his education’.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

There are clear links between children’s education, health and care plans and the care the home provides. Purposeful one to one time is used to help children build new skills and have new experiences. Children all take part in a range of activities in the community and at home. This enriches children’s lives.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are helped to maintain relationships with the important people in their lives. Families are welcomed in to the home and staff support children to spend time with family members in the community. Parents receive weekly written updates about their children and are encouraged to be an active part of their child’s life. This helps to sustain these lifelong relationships for children.

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

Staff keep children safe. The detailed understanding staff have of children’s needs means that they can quickly identify any issues of concern and act to prevent or reduce risks. Staff understand children’s methods of communication and respond quickly and appropriately to lessen children’s distress or anxiety. This child centred practice is underpinned by clear written plans and assessments which inform children’s care. Inspection report for children’s home: SC021684 4 Children’s case records contain the required information from children’s social workers to help staff care for children. Some internal records contain professional jargon and acronyms. Some handwritten records are illegible. These are barriers to children and families having a full understanding of children’s care and the practice of staff.

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

Children are rarely restrained by staff. When this does happen, physical holds are used to protect children from harming themselves or others. These incidents are clearly recorded with timely oversight of practice from leaders and managers. Children, including those who are non-verbal, are given opportunities to express their feelings after these events and there is good consideration of their physical and emotional well-being.

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

There has been one occasion when police were called to respond to the behaviour of the child who was living at the home short term. This was a necessary and appropriate use to keep the child and others safe in the community. However, leaders and managers did not notify Ofsted of this incident as required by regulation. This limits the regulators oversight of safeguarding practice in the home.

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

A number of new staff have joined the team since the last inspection. Leaders and managers follow safer recruitment processes to ensure that staff are suitable to work with children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager and responsible individual provide clear leadership and guidance to the team. They both have extensive knowledge of the needs of disabled children and use this to provide children with good levels of care which support them to make progress.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

There are established frameworks in place for management oversight of practice. Regular audits are undertaken of children’s care records. The registered manager has a detailed understanding of the needs of each child and uses this to ensure that staff provide individualised care to children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Leaders and managers have high aspirations for the children in their care. This is embedded in the culture of the home and across the staff team.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff gain the skills and knowledge they need to undertake their roles through regular training, one to one supervision of their practice and group discussions in team meetings. Staff work well as a team. Staff new to the home have the opportunity to work alongside more experienced colleagues to build their skills and experience.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Leaders and managers make child-centred decisions about children coming to live at the home. The needs of the four children living in the home are paramount. As a result, the home operates below full capacity for lengthy periods of time. This Inspection report for children’s home: SC021684 5 ensures that the needs of all children are met and children have positive experiences of moving into and out of the home.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager has strong working relationships with children’s placing authorities. She is an effective advocate for children and seeks to ensure that children receive the services they are entitled to in a timely manner. Inspection report for children’s home: SC021684 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 registered person must notify HMCI and each other relevant person without delay if—

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Requirement Due date

an incident requiring police involvement occurs in relation to a child which the registered person considers to be serious;

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Requirement Due date

there is any other incident relating to a child which the registered person considers to be serious. (Regulation 40 (4)(b)(e)) 30 September

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Recommendation

 The registered person should ensure that children’s records are recorded in a way that is helpful to the child. The use of acronyms and professional jargon should be avoided. Handwritten records should be legible. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 62, paragraph 14.4)

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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: SC021684 7

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Social Care Services Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: 31 Shaw Road, Stockport, Cheshire SK4 4AG

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Children’s home details

Responsible individual: Annabella Foulkes

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Inspector

Dawn Parton, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: SC021684 8 regulates and inspects 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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