Children's Home run by The Partnership of Care Today in Staffordshire

Inspection report children’s home: SC005040 1 SC005040 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 large provider of children’s services operates this home. The home provides care for up to four children who have experienced childhood instability, resulting in trauma and associated complex behaviours.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager registered with Ofsted in June 2023.

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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 children’s home: SC005040 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

04/03/2024 Full Good 28/03/2023 Full Good 08/09/2021 Full Good 12/09/2019 Full Good Inspection report children’s home: SC005040 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children receive good-quality care while living at the home. Staff are enthusiastic about children having positive experiences. This has contributed to the children forming strong relationships with the adults that look after them.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

There are three children living in the home, one of whom moved in recently. No children have moved out since the last inspection. Plans for children moving into the home are well organised and take place at the child’s pace. The manager considers all the children’s needs, highlighting the strengths and vulnerabilities of the children living together and planning for this. As a result, children living together get on well and there are very few incidents.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

All children are in educational placements suited to their needs. In addition, staff support children with their learning through bespoke plans and, when needed, assist children with their home studying. As a result, all the children who previously found learning challenging are now accessing education daily.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children live in a welcoming and well-presented home. The atmosphere is calm and relaxed. Throughout the home, there are photographs displaying the children enjoying various activities. Each of the children’s bedrooms capture the child’s individual personalities and likes.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

All three children spoke with the inspector. They all reported to be happy living at the home and feel that staff care about them. All the children felt confident they would know how to complain but have never felt the need to.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff regularly offer the children activities that they enjoy, and are considering how they can increase outdoor activities in response to the children’s requests.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff build positive relationships with people who are important to the children. They understand the significance of maintaining family time and support this, even when faced with challenges. The family members that spoke with the inspector felt that staff communication was good. Additionally, they felt that staff practice has contributed to the positive quality of family time.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are in good health and staff support their individual health needs. They ensure that children have balanced and varied diets. Staff help children to learn to manage their health conditions independently. This enables children to be able to meet their own health needs when they move on and live alone.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff provide children with structure and routine and implement consistent boundaries. This helps children to feel safe and secure. When needed, staff have used imaginative strategies to help children settle into the home and develop a routine. Staff have helped Inspection report children’s home: SC005040 4 prepare the children for adulthood by assisting them to develop independence skills. This includes cooking, budgeting and cleaning.

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

All the children’s vulnerabilities are understood by staff. Staff work well with external agencies to ensure that responses to children’s risks are well coordinated and that strategies to manage risks are reviewed and remain effective. As a result, children’s risks are reducing.

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

The risks to children when online are well understood by staff. There are monitoring systems in place and staff complete education work with children to increase their awareness of online dangers and how to keep themselves safe. In addition, staff have meaningful conversations with the children to discuss other concerns such as smoking, vaping and bullying and the steps children can take to increase their safety.

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

There have been no complaints since the last inspection. Any issues raised by the children during weekly meetings are addressed. Children feel that their voice is heard and they are listened to.

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

Children are rewarded for positive behaviour and their achievements. When needed, staff implement consequences to help children learn from their actions. Consequences are proportionate in response to the behaviour the child has displayed.

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

Significant incidents are well managed and recorded by staff. Staff successfully use de- escalation strategies to prevent incidents from escalating. This has prevented the use of physical restraint and missing-from-home incidents occurring.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager is suitably experienced and is in the process of completing their qualification. They are committed to helping the children achieve the best possible outcomes. The manager is an excellent advocate for the children. They relentlessly challenged for a child to have a more suitable educational placement and was successful in achieving this for the child.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager is keen to develop the staff and is supportive of their progression. Staff receive supervision sessions regularly. These review the children’s experiences and staff’s well-being and development. However, records of annual appraisals are limited in detail and not always reflective of the development plans in place for staff. Staff feel that the manager is approachable and supportive. One staff member described the team and children together as ‘one big family’.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The home is sufficiently staffed. The manager will work shifts to avoid the use of unfamiliar people working with the children. New members of staff are safely recruited. Their induction is thorough, and they are closely supported through fortnightly Inspection report children’s home: SC005040 5 supervision sessions. Staff have undertaken the organisation’s mandatory training, and some additional training has been completed to enhance staff responses to the children’s individual needs.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager completes monthly file audits to review records and address any gaps. Some of the language used in reports is not child friendly and can be stigmatising. The manager’s six-monthly review of the quality of care did not consider incidents and feedback from the children and external professionals. This impacts the quality of the review and action plans that are implemented to develop staff practice. Inspection report children’s home: SC005040 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 complete a review of the quality of care provided for children (“a quality of care review”) at least once every 6 months.

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Requirement Due date

In order to complete a quality of care review the registered person must establish and maintain a system for monitoring, reviewing and evaluating—

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Requirement Due date

the quality of care provided for children;

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Requirement Due date

the feedback and opinions of children about the children’s home, its facilities and the quality of care they receive in it; and

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Requirement Due date

any actions that the registered person considers necessary in order to improve or maintain the quality of care provided for children.

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Requirement Due date

After completing a quality of care review, the registered person must produce a written report about the quality of care review and the actions which the registered person intends to take as a result of the quality of care review (“the quality of care review report”).

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Requirement Due date

supply to HMCI a copy of the quality of care review report within 28 days of the date on which the quality of care review is completed; and

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Requirement Due date

make a copy of the quality of care review report available on request to a placing authority, if the placing authority is not the parent of a child accommodated in the home. 14 May 2025 Inspection report children’s home: SC005040 7 The system referred to in paragraph (2) must provide for ascertaining and considering the opinions of children, their parents, placing authorities and staff. (Regulation 45 (1) (2)(a)(b)(c) (3) (4)(a)(b) (5))

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Requirement Due date

This particularly refers to ensuring that there is a suitable monitoring system in place and that reports are completed at least every six months and sent to HMCI within 28 days.

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Recommendation

 The registered person should ensure that staff are familiar with the home’s policies on record-keeping, and understand the importance of careful, objective and clear recording. Staff should record information on individual children in a non-stigmatising way that distinguishes between fact, opinion and third-party information. Information about the child must always be recorded in a way that will be helpful to the child. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards,’ page 62, paragraph 14.4)

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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 children’s home: SC005040 8

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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

Latoya Morgan, Social Care Inspector Inspection report children’s home: SC005040 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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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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