Children's home run by The Partnership of Care Today

Inspection report for 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

A private company owns this home. 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 current registered manager holds a level 5 qualification. Another manager in the organisation has applied to be registered.

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Information about this children’s home

The home is situated in a remote area. There is a school in 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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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: inadequate

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Enforcement action since last inspection:

Following the monitoring inspection on 27 June 2024, Ofsted imposed a compliance notice in relation to regulation 13, the leadership and management standard. Inspection report for children’s home: SC044745 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

14/05/2024 Full Inadequate 18/04/2023 Full Good 05/07/2022 Full Good 04/05/2021 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: SC044745 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

One child continues to live in the home. Staff support them to attend a local school that is part of the same organisation. The child is motivated to work towards completing their GCSE exams.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Health is promoted well by staff. Staff speak to the child about the importance of maintaining daily personal hygiene routines. As a result, the child’s oral health is improving. The child is up to date with routine health checks and receives support with their emotional well-being from an external therapist. Managers have requested an annual health review to be arranged.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Managers and staff understand who is important in the child’s life. They ensure that the child is supported to keep in touch with their brother by arranging activities they both enjoy. Meaningful family time promotes their identity and sense of belonging.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children’s views and wishes are listened to. The child requested to go camping and this was arranged. The child spoke about enjoying the experience and spending time with staff doing activities such as bike rides, table tennis and pool. However, the child no longer attends cadets, which means that their interactions are mostly with staff, teachers and a small number of peers who attend the same school.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Managers have made some improvements to the home by adding items that make spaces feel more welcoming.

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

The child feels safe. Risks identified are now individual to the child and are managed well by staff. Managers and staff speak to the child about online safety. On one occasion the child accessed harmful material when accessing Wi-Fi in the community. Staff spent time listening to the child about why they accessed the content. This practice helps them to understand and reduce reoccurring risks and enables them to support the child to safely explore and develop their understanding of the world around them.

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

Safe recruitment systems are in place, which reduces the risk of children being cared for by unsuitable individuals.

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

Since the last inspection, there have been no occasions when restraint has been used. It is not clear if all staff have received physical intervention refresher training in line with the organisation’s expectations as the policy is not clear.

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

Rewards and consequences are used to promote positive behaviours. On most occasions these are applied sensibly and help children to develop socially acceptable behaviours. Inspection report for children’s home: SC044745 4 On one occasion, the manager did not identify a consequence that was not proportionate or restorative in nature.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The area manager has taken an active role in the home by supporting the registered manager with overseeing the day-to-day arrangements and monitoring of the home. As a result, information is now more organised, and easily accessible.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Senior managers have now reviewed and reflected on concerns that Ofsted raised during the last full inspection. Learning has been shared with managers and staff to support their development to ensure that the child receives care that is consistent with the home’s statement of purpose.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Managers use team meetings to review the child’s care arrangements and develop staff’s knowledge of safeguarding procedures. Workshops on closed cultures, behaviour management and whistle-blowing have been topics covered in recent meetings. This helps staff to identify and be confident in raising safeguarding concerns.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff feel supported. They have their performances appraised annually. Managers now ensure that staff receive regular supervision and records of discussions are recorded and stored securely. These meetings provide opportunities for managers and staff to reflect on practice and learning from the training completed.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The effectiveness of monitoring is mixed. Incidents involving the child are reviewed and appropriate action is taken. However, on some occasions managers have not identified recording errors in the child’s records. The system for monitoring staff training is not kept under review. This means some staff have not completed training updates within required timescales. Inspection report for children’s home: SC044745 5

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Recommendation

 The registered person should actively seek independent scrutiny of the home and make best use of information from independent and internal monitoring. In particular, ensure that staff training is current and behaviour management systems are proportionate. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 55, paragraph 10.24)

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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: SC044745 6

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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 for children’s home: SC044745 7 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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Inspectors

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