Children's home run by The Partnership of Care Today in Stockport

Inspection report for children’s home: SC025417 1 SC025417 Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

The home registered with Ofsted on 29 June 2001 and is operated by a private organisation. It provides care for up to four children who may experience social and emotional difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager registered with Ofsted on 7 March 2023.

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Information about this children’s home

At the time of this inspection, four children were living at the home.

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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: 12 February 2024

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good

Overall judgement at last inspection: outstanding

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children’s home: SC025417 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

12/02/2024 Full Outstanding 31/08/2022 Full Good 30/03/2022 Interim Improved effectiveness 13/07/2021 Full Requires improvement to be good Inspection report for children’s home: SC025417 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Three children living at the home spoke with the inspectors.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children develop strong, trusting relationships with staff. They enjoy activities together, and these positive experiences are captured in photos. Children have opportunities to share their views about the care they receive, and these are responded to. The staff team adopts a nurturing approach, which helps children to feel safe and valued. One professional said, ‘Staff are empathic. Because the child’s had to be moved out of their previous home, staff had to try to build back up a level of trust with the child. This had to take priority, and they have done this well.’

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Since the last inspection, two children have moved out of the home. These planned moves were supported by safe and effective plans, developed with the children and multi-agency professionals. This supported children to successfully move on from the home.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff know who is important to children and understand their family dynamics. Children spend time with family members, and this is well planned. Staff have developed positive relationships with family members through regular communication. This means that children can spend time with people who are important to them.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children’s health and emotional well-being needs are understood well. They have access to specialist support, such as an external therapist, when needed. All children are receiving education. Staff promote the importance of children’s education through encouragement and rewards. When one child was waiting for an appropriate school to be identified, the manager sourced a tutor to enable education to continue in the home.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Individualised direct work takes place with all children. Staff keep detailed records of the sessions and record progress and measure the outcomes. This allows future direct work sessions to be proactively planned. However, some local authority documents, including review minutes, care plans and health assessments, are not recorded in children’s files. This means that direct work may not be addressing or linked to the children’s identified needs and vulnerabilities.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children live in a safe and warm environment. They have chosen how they would like some rooms to look and are involved in plans to redecorate some areas. However, the bars on the second-floor windows draw attention to the home and are unnecessary. Furthermore, the garden area requires attention to ensure that it is a safe, usable space for children.

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

The manager carefully considers and records risks and vulnerabilities for each Inspection report for children’s home: SC025417 4 child. The manager considers each child’s risks and vulnerabilities before any new children move into the home. However, the manager does not consider the review of premises report when considering a child moving into the home. This is a missed opportunity to identify whether the area is a safe place for the child to live.

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

Children’s risks and vulnerabilities are understood and acted on by the staff team. Staff regularly update risk management and support plans to reflect what action to take should a situation arise. This supports staff to understand the children’s needs and keep them safe.

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

Staff understand safeguarding procedures and have received training in a variety of safeguarding issues, such as self-harm, substance misuse and county lines. This guides the staff in what action to take when an incident occurs. Staff identify triggers and diffuse challenging situations when children become upset or angry. This is done in an effective and calm way. Therefore, the need to hold children to manage their behaviour is rare. However, when this has happened, holds have been necessary and proportionate to keep the children safe.

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

On two occasions, two children have gone missing from the home. Staff were proactive and consulted with the relevant professionals so that the children returned home safely. The children were offered an independent return home interview. This supported the manager to identify any potential triggers and implement new strategies to minimise the risk in the future.

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

The relationships between staff and the children are based on mutual respect and understanding. Staff use positive reinforcement, rewards and incentives to support children in making good choices. This leads to positive outcomes for the children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager is experienced and holds the relevant management qualification. The manager is supported by an experienced deputy manager. They are child focused and have high aspirations for the children in their care. Together, they make an effective management team.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff speak highly of the management team. One member of staff said:

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

‘In the time [name of manager] has been here, he has gained my trust and that is not something I give lightly. Me personally, I love my job, and I really mean that. I feel like I can help any of the children I look after with anything they ask of me. I want to be a good role model to them. I have been helped and given the opportunity to become a counsellor with the support of the home. In the 30 years I have worked in various industries, I think with the team I am with and the company, I have found my home, my calling.’

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The management team knows the children well and is fully involved in their lives and Inspection report for children’s home: SC025417 5 plans. The team understands children’s starting points, the progress they have made since living in the home and the goals they hope to achieve.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

A stable staff team provides consistency and stability to the children. Staff receive regular supervision and attend team meetings to reflect on their practice. Staff have received an annual appraisal of their performance. However, the appraisal does not include feedback from professionals or the children living in the home. This is a missed opportunity for leaders to further reflect on their practice.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager uses internal reviewing and monitoring systems and makes good use of independent monitoring to ensure that staff provide consistently good care to children. This oversight promotes children’s safety and well-being. Inspection report for children’s home: SC025417 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 quality and purpose of care standard is that children receive care from staff.

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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

ensure that the premises used for the purposes of the home are designed and furnished so as to—

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Requirement Due date

enable each child to participate in the daily life of the home. (Regulation 6 (1) (2)(c)(ii))

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Requirement Due date

Specifically, the registered person must ensure that: the yard area is clean, tidy and free of moss; the wall in the back yard is secure and painted to make this a more inviting space for the children to use; the bars to the outside of the windows are removed to prevent the home from looking institutionalised. 2 March 2025

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Requirement Due date

The care planning standard is that children—

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Requirement Due date

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

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Requirement Due date

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

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Requirement Due date

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

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Requirement Due date

Specifically, the registered person must ensure that they have all the local authority care planning documents and minutes in a timely manner for staff to follow. 2 March 2025 Inspection report for children’s home: SC025417 7

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that they take the review of premises report into consideration before accepting placements for children. This will ensure that the child’s assessed needs, risks and vulnerabilities can be met in the local area. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 56, paragraph 11.4)  The registered person should ensure that staff appraisals consider, were reasonable and practical, the views of other professionals who have worked with the staff member over the year and children in the home’s care. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 61, paragraph 13.5)

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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: SC025417 8

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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

Julie Elder, Social Care Inspector Anna Belshaw, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: SC025417 9 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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