Children's home run by The Together Trust in Stockport

Inspection report for children’s home: SC025714 1 SC025714

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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 privately operated home provides care for children who may have social and emotional difficulties and/or learning disabilities.

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Information about this children’s home

The home is registered to care for up to five children.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager registered with Ofsted in June 2017.

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Information about this children’s home

Three children were living in the home at the time of this inspection.

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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 February 2024

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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: SC025714 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

06/02/2024 Full Good 04/01/2023 Full Good 08/03/2022 Full Good 10/10/2019 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: SC025714 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff know the children well and show compassion and nurture towards them. There are lots of conversations filled with warmth and laughter. Children feel happy and settled, with one child saying he will stay until he is 18 years old and beyond.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff provide children with an exceptional quality of care, taking into consideration their individual needs. Staff are committed to ensuring that children are actively involved in taking part in their care planning. Staff have been creative in supporting children to explore interests and hobbies. This enables the children to have a range of experiences and have their likes and needs met. Through staff being creative, one child has secured a part-time job. This is a result of his increasing self-belief.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The home provides a nurturing and warm environment with an abundance of memories and games. Children’s bedrooms are personalised to their individual tastes. This allows the children to develop their sense of identity, belonging and pride.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children moving into independent living are supported to their next stage in a sensitive and needs-led manner. Children’s views are taken seriously to ensure smoother transitions. Staff keep in touch with the children, offering them a sense of security.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Feedback from professionals is consistent and positive about the staff’s ability to prioritise the children’s needs and provide them with safety and stability. Staff treat children as individuals and adapt their approaches accordingly.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Managers and staff advocate strongly for children to receive education that is in line with their individual needs. Most children attend school or college and have high levels of attendance; they are achieving and making exceptional progress from their starting points. For one child, staff have worked creatively to engage them by creating a bespoke package that includes education, learning and social interaction. This has boosted the child’s self-esteem and sense of pride. When children are not in education or training, staff have extensively advocated and escalated concerns to ensure that the child’s opportunity to learn is kept a priority.

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

The manager and staff know and understand children’s risks. Together, they identify and assess any new risks. The manager ensures that behaviour management plans are relevant to the child’s presenting needs. They are clear and directive and include children’s contributions. This helps children to experience consistency and stability.

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

Allegations are taken seriously and investigated thoroughly. The management team responds to children in a timely manner, providing them with a clear explanation of Inspection report for children’s home: SC025714 4 the allegation outcome. Learning is shared across the team, and care practice is reviewed. Restorative work is undertaken to promote relationships.

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

Physical restraints are rarely used. They are only used as a last resort to stop the child from hurting themselves or others. Staff are debriefed to help reflect on alternative ways to support children to manage their emotions. However, discussions with the child are not always recorded. This fails to provide an account of the child’s views.

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

Children rarely go missing from the home. On the one occasion that this occurred, the staff response was highly effective. Staff have open and honest conversations with children. This enables staff to understand why children have left the home without permission. Consequently, staff have been able to prevent further incidents.

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

Staff use measured and creative approaches in line with children’s development to support their increasing independence, including time away from the home to nurture important family relationships. For example, when one child has gone to their family’s home without permission, staff have not reported them as missing to the police, but have informed the local authority out-of-hours service. This has allowed staff to develop effective communication with the child’s wider family. The child is now able to work with his plan and return home at agreed times.

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

Staff prioritise the children’s emotional health through their individual care approach. For one child, where there has been a history of self-injurious behaviour, this has not occurred within the home. Staff have built trusting relationships with the child, which has meant that the child feels safe.

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

Leaders ensure that safer recruitment procedures are followed. If there have been delays in obtaining relevant checks, the manager ensures that a risk assessment is in place. This provides assurance that staff have been appropriately vetted before they provide care to children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager and deputy manager are experienced. Together, their management styles complement one another and they provide inspirational leadership, with both having high aspirations for children living at the home. Staff reflect this ethos in the quality of care they provide to children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff morale is high. There is a core staff team that has worked in the home for a number of years. New staff are welcomed and supported with an open culture of reflection and learning. Staff are happy and enjoy coming to work. Staff feel valued, respected and fully supported. One staff member said they love being a part of the home.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager ensures that supervisions and appraisals take place in line with the home’s statement of purpose. Supervision allows for constructive reflection on the Inspection report for children’s home: SC025714 5 quality of care provided to the children and of individual practice. Appraisals have enabled staff to consider their individual needs and agree set targets to promote their development. For one worker, this has put in place the support they require to develop their confidence to reach a more senior level.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Regular team meetings are prioritised by the team. These are well planned and structured, allowing for constructive reflection on practice. Children’s experiences are a priority.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The management team uses internal and external monitoring systems to promote service development. However, the scrutiny from external sources is impacted on by the lack of children’s views and analytical scrutiny from external stakeholders being present. Inspection report for children’s home: SC025714 6

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Statutory requirement

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

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”)—

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Requirement Due date

has spoken to the user about the measure; and

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Requirement Due date

has signed the record to confirm it is accurate; and

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Requirement Due date

within 5 days of the use of the measure, the registered person or the authorised person adds to the record confirmation that they have spoken to the child about the measure. (Regulation 35 (3)(b)(i)(ii)(c))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered provider must ensure that when children have been spoken to following the use of restraint, this is clearly evidenced in the records. 13 November

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Recommendation

 The registered person should make best use of internal and external monitoring systems to secure continuous improvement. This relates specifically to ensuring that there is independent scrutiny that includes contribution and participation from children, stakeholders and family members to enable critical analysis. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 55, paragraph 10.24) Inspection report for children’s home: SC025714 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 for children’s home: SC025714 8

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: The Together Trust Centre, Schools Hill, Cheadle SK8 1JE

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Inspector

Angeline Clarke, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: SC025714 9 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 looked after children, safeguarding and child protection.

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Inspector

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Inspector

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Inspector

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