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

Inspection report for children’s home: SC021679 1 SC021679

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Registered provider: The Partnership of Care Today 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 home provides care for up to four children with social and emotional difficulties and learning disabilities. Three children were living in the home at the time of the inspection.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager registered with Ofsted in April 2010.

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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 Inspection report for children’s home: SC021679 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

20/03/2024 Full Good 06/12/2022 Full Good 29/06/2021 Full Good 20/06/2019 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: SC021679 3

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Inspection judgements

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good .

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Inspection judgements

Children speak positively about their experiences of living in the home. One child said, ‘They put my head back on my shoulders.’ Children are listened to, and their views and feelings are considered as part of decision-making. For instance, children choose how their bedrooms are decorated, the food they eat and the activities they take part in.

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Inspection judgements

The manager and staff support children to attend education. Staff ensure that they have individual education plans in place to meet their needs. Two children are attending eductation while one is currently receiving tutor support in the home. One of the children who has now moved out of the home has started a college course of her choice.

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Inspection judgements

Staff have a good understanding of children’s health needs. Staff work in partnership with other professionals to help children understand and manage past traumas that effect their emotional well-being.

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Inspection judgements

Two children have moved out of the home since the last inspection. These moves were managed well by staff, who ensured that the children were well prepared and supported with the move.

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Inspection judgements

Staff maintain regular communication with the children’s social workers and family members. They support and facilitate the children’s visits to family members. This promotes the children’s sense of identity and enables them to retain positive links with the people who are important to them.

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Inspection judgements

Children are supported to develop life skills in readiness for adulthood. They are provided with opportunities to develop new skills, such as cooking and personal care, with good support and encouragement from staff. This helps children to learn the necessary skills that will enable them to move successfully into adulthood.

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

Staff regularly update risk assessments to address emerging risks. Staff manage challenging situations calmly and thoughtfully. They maintain a good balance between managing risks and ensuring children’s safety, showing a clear understanding of the importance of allowing children to take suitable risks.

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

Staff are calm and caring in their approach. They use preventative behaviour management techniques and positve relationships when helping children to manage their anxieties and frustrations. Overall, children respond positively to this approach.

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

When children go missing from home, staff follow missing-from-home protocols to ensure that they are located quickly. Staff are aware of the key people in the children’s Inspection report for children’s home: SC021679 4 lives and can quickly contact them during any missing episodes to ensure the child’s safety.

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

Staff spend time with children, discussing topics like keeping themselves safe, which helps them understand how to manage risks. This approach supports the children’s growth in a safe and nurturing environment. It highlights the staff’s professionalism and commitment to the children’s well-being.

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

Staff have consistent boundaries with children. They put in place contracts with children to ensure that expectations are clear, such as the use of their mobile phone or online resources. Staff use incentives to encourage children’s positive behaviour. Children know the expectations on their behaviour and experience consistency of care. Staff work with the children on issues related to online safety, particularly risks of sharing personal communications. This included targeted support for one child.

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

When staff give consequences to children, they are fair, proportionate and linked to the behaviour shown. Consequences are restorative and give the child the opportunity to fix the issue. Children are helped to understand the impact of their behaviour on themselves and others.

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

Staff are proactive in supporting children when they feel overwhelmed by their feelings. Individual sessions support children to feel safe and explore behaviours in relation to self-harm and going missing from the home. Children are helped to manage distressing emotions and are encouraged to learn from incidents.

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

Complaints are rare. When children do make a complaint, they are taken seriously by the manager, who ensures that children receive the outcome of their complaint. This helps children to know they are listened to, and their concerns can be resolved.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The team is led by a qualified, dedicated, child-centred and experienced registered manager. The manager knows the children well and has a good understanding of their needs and behaviours.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager and staff team are committed to ensuring that children enjoy a good standard of care and have a memorable experience of living at this home. They are proud to work at this home and know that they make a difference to children’s lives.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff do not always receive regular supervision. Most supervision is informal, with many unscheduled conversations and practice discussions, but these are not always recorded. Appraisals lack structured feedback, so staff may not get clear guidance on their performance or development. While these informal talks are helpful, the lack of consistent practice discussions means staff may not always have the support they need to meet the children’s changing needs, which could affect the quality of care. Inspection report for children’s home: SC021679 5 Staff morale is good. The team is committed to providing high-quality care and is motivated. Staff find the manager personable and approachable. They say they benefit from his ongoing support and determination to achieve positive outcomes, which helps improve the lives of the children

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Team meetings take place regularly and offer a good balance of practical discussions about routines in the home and opportunities for staff to discuss how they feel. Staff say they feel well supported. Training for staff is suitably comprehensive to inform staff practice. Specialist training is obtained if necessary to meet the needs of the children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager and staff have established good working relationships with other professionals, such as teachers and social workers. Effective communication ensures that information is shared quickly, which helps to keep children safe. Inspection report for children’s home: SC021679 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 ensure that all employees—

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Requirement Due date

receive practice-related supervision by a person with appropriate experience. (Regulation 33 (4)(b))

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Requirement Due date

This relates specifically to all employees receiving regular practice-related supervision in line with what is stipulated in supervision agreements. 1 May 2025

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Recommendations

 All staff must have their performance and fitness to carry out their role formally appraised at least once annually. This appraisal should consider, where 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. This also needs to be practice related with SMART goals for the forthcoming year. (‘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: SC021679 7

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: The Partnership of Care Today Limited

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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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Inspector

Mathew Morris-Jones, Social Care Inspector Sarah Billett, Regulatory Inspection Manager Inspection report for children’s home: SC021679 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 looked-after children, safeguarding and child protection.

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Inspector

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Inspector

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