Children's home run by Social Care Services Limited

Inspection report for children’s home: 2553543 1 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

This children’s home is operated by a private organisation. The home provides care for up to three children who may experience social and emotional difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

At the time of the inspection, three children were living in the home.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager was registered with Ofsted in April 2020.

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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: good

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children’s home: 2553543 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

19/07/2023 Full Good 02/08/2022 Full Good 08/02/2022 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: 2553543 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Planning for children’s care is good. Children’s permanency plans are in place and help to guide staff in their work with them. However, individual targets for some children are not always clear or consistently shared with the child. This means that the views of the children in assessing their progress are not consistently captured.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff encourage positive relationships and support children to have planned time with families and friends. Staff take steps to build relationships with all families. As a result, families frequently join in activities and visit the home to spend time with their child.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are provided with information about how to make a complaint, including external telephone numbers and support services. There have been no complaints received by the home. However, processes are in place to ensure that the manager responds swiftly to investigate and manage any concerns raised by children or external bodies.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are consulted on matters including the weekly menu, activities, decor and special events. Regular children’s meetings take place, and children are provided with the ‘you said, we did’ forms that detail the actions taken to address their wishes. This opportunity means that children’s views are encouraged and welcomed in the home.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Overall, children’s bedrooms are suitable and contain appropriate furnishings. However, although there is evidence that the manager and staff continue to address the standards of hygiene for one child’s bedroom, this continues to be an area for further development. A child said, ‘I will never ever use bedding. My room is messy because it makes me feel at home.’

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff are assisted to understand and manage children’s behaviour through bespoke plans. Behaviour management strategies are built around the child and assist staff in the positive management of unwanted behaviours. Overall, consequences are minimal. This is because staff work with children to recognise the impact of their behaviour on themselves and others.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Educational attendance is encouraged and supported. Overall, children’s attendance is good and positive progress is achieved. One child has clear aspirations for their future and is on target to achieve in his college course, with a view to attending university.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children’s health needs are met. They are registered with health professionals and appointments are made as necessary. Children’s emotional health is supported through regular consultation with the child and adolescent mental health services. This service provides support for the child and guidance for the staff caring for them. Inspection report for children’s home: 2553543 4 Children are supported to lead healthy lifestyles and have healthy diets. Some children participate in planning, shopping for and preparing meals to provide them with skills in budgeting and planning for living independently.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are encouraged to take part in activities and leisure pursuits. Children visit places of interest and theme parks, go ice skating and enjoy attending the cinema with families, staff and friends.

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

Children’s safety is prioritised. Staff understand each child’s individual risks and the strategies in place to reduce these. Assessments to manage risk are routinely reviewed and amended to ensure that they reflect children’s current and emerging risks.

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

There has been one occasion where staff have needed to hold a child to keep them safe. In this instance, the intervention was brief, fully recorded and shared with the parents and local authority.

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

Overall, children’s routines and boundaries are implemented in the home. The children receive praise and recognition for their achievements, and this is supported by individual incentive charts.

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

Since the last inspection, there have been two occasions where a child has been reported as missing from home. The staff took swift action in accordance with the home’s protocols to ensure that the child was located and returned quickly and safely to the home.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

An experienced registered manager manages the home. The manager is supported by a committed staff team.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff receive consistent training opportunities from internal and external training professionals. Likewise, team meetings incorporate research practice sessions that are led by team members. As a result, staff share information across the team to jointly develop skills and knowledge to enhance their work with the children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff receive regular supervision. Records identify some areas for progress and support and illustrate the overall development of staff. However, some supervisions do not consistently reflect on the individual targets for the children or the progress being made. As a result, opportunities to strengthen targets and the work required to meet them are missed.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Most staff working in the home have relevant residential childcare experience, and over half are qualified at level 3 and 4 of the children’s workforce and development taskforce. Inspection report for children’s home: 2553543 5 This means that staff have the experience and skills to work effectively with the children they care for.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager and staff know the children very well. The manager challenges authorities effectively when care or education arrangements are not in the best interest of the child. This approach ensures that children are provided with bespoke care and education arrangements that are suitable to children’s needs and understanding.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager completes regular audits of the work undertaken with children and the arrangements in place to protect them from harm. The manager and staff have formed close working relationships with external support agencies that regularly visit children in their home.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The independent visitor undertakes regular visits to the home and provides suitable reports to reflect the home’s practice. Reports provide a measured overview of the care children receive and progress towards individual plans and address any areas for development. Furthermore, the independent visitor provides additional support through bespoke training sessions relating to the specific individual needs of children. This has served to enhance the knowledge and understanding of the staff team, particularly in planning for children’s care. Inspection report for children’s home: 2553543 6

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that children’s wishes in regard to the design and upkeep of their bedroom are balanced against good childcare practice. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 22, paragraph 4.9)  The registered person should ensure that all supervisions include a review of the needs of individual children, their progress and any challenges they face. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 61, paragraph 13.2)  The registered person should ensure that children are aware of their individual placement targets and contribute to the review of the progress they make in meeting these targets. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 58, paragraph 11.19)

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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: 2553543 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 SK4 4AG

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Inspector

Maria McGranaghan, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2553543 8 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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