Children's Home run by Social Care Services (Clayton) Limited in Stockport

Inspection report for children’s home: 1263425 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

The home is owned by a private company. It is registered to provide care for two children who may experience social or emotional difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

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

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Information about this children’s home

The manager registered with Ofsted in October 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 for children’s home: 1263425 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

25/06/2024 Full Good 02/05/2023 Full Requires improvement to be good 16/06/2022 Full Requires improvement to be good 30/06/2021 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: 1263425 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Both children are settled in the home and are making good progress in many aspects of their lives. One child said, ‘There is nothing the staff could do more.’

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Since the last inspection, two children have moved into the home and two children have moved out. Children move into the home in a planned way. Prior to moving in, children’s needs are fully considered alongside the needs of children living in the home, to ensure that the needs of all children can be safely met. However, one child moved on from the home abruptly due to concerns that the child could not be kept safe. The child’s behaviours were not known prior to the child moving in.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff support children’s education. They work closely with education providers and strongly advocate for children to receive education that meets their needs. Both children are making progress and have aspirations. This ensures that children are supported to achieve their education goals.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff work in partnership with other professionals to ensure that children’s health needs are met. Children have access to routine and specialist advice and support to promote their physical and emotional well-being.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are supported to develop their independence skills. This means children gain confidence in areas such as shopping, budgeting and independent travel, helping them prepare for becoming more independent.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children have opportunities to go on holidays and spend time with staff on activities. This supports the children’s social development and helps them to develop their confidence and self-esteem.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are helped to spend time with people who are important to them. Families and friends are welcomed into the home. This enables children to maintain important relationships and increases their sense of identify and belonging.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The home is welcoming and physically safe. Children’s bedrooms are personalised to reflect their interests. There are photos of the children on display around the home. This helps children to develop a sense of belonging in the home.

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

Children say that they feel safe and are happy living in the home. They are helped to develop positive and trusting relationships with staff who care about them.

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

Children’s care and risk management plans are detailed and updated on a regular basis. Plans are child centred and individualised. Staff have a good understanding of the Inspection report for children’s home: 1263425 4 children’s needs and steps to follow to keep them safe. However, one new member of staff was unsure of the whistle-blowing process. This is something that the manager took swift action to address.

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

Staff know how to respond when children go missing from the home. There is strong partnership working with external professionals. Staff work successfully to support children to return home safely. However, sometimes, children have not been spoken to by an independent person on their return, and this has not been escalated by the manager. This reduces opportunities for the child to share their experiences and the team to identify different strategies to support the child, or any learning to improve practice in the home.

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

Incidents are well managed with clear oversight from the manager. On one occasion, the police were called to manage children’s behaviours. The manager completed a review of the incident to ensure that the police were not being called unnecessarily and to identify any learning. However, not all serious incidents have been notified to Ofsted as required by regulation. This limits the regulator’s oversight of practice in the home.

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

Staff hold important conversations with children about risks they may be exposed to. They discuss topics such as exploitation, substance misuse and the use of electronic cigarettes. This helps children have a clear understanding of risks.

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

Safer recruitment practices are in place to ensure that only adults who are safe to work with children are employed in the home.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager is experienced, enthusiastic and committed to improving outcomes for children. He has high expectations of staff and is committed to ensuring that the children receive the best possible care.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The team is supported to develop its knowledge through training, inductions and scenario-based discussions. However, the home’s workforce development plan and training matrix do not identify how often staff should undertake training and when this needs to be reviewed.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff are positive about the support they receive from the manager. They enjoy working at the home and spending time with the children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Team meetings take place regularly to give staff an opportunity to come together and reflect on their practice, children’s progress and to share their skills and knowledge. Learning and reflection is a strength of the home. These learning opportunities enable the team to better understand children’s different care needs and risks and how to support children, and to further develop staff’s skills. Inspection report for children’s home: 1263425 5 All staff, including the manager, receive regular reflective supervision. This offers them the opportunity to reflect on their practice and to identify any opportunities for further learning.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The team advocates effectively on behalf of children. Staff have developed positive professional relationships with external professionals to ensure that children benefit from consistent support. External professionals are positive about the care provided by the team. They say that they are kept well informed about their child’s care and progress.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Internal and external monitoring systems are in place. The manager understands the home’s strengths and areas for development and these are effective. The manager has completed a six-monthly quality of care review. However, the report lacks evaluation, and the opinions of children and staff are not considered. This requirement was made at the last inspection and is restated. Inspection report for children’s home: 1263425 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 notify HMCI and each other relevant person without delay if—

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Requirement Due date

There is any other incident relating to a child which the registered person considers to be serious. (Regulation 40 (4)(e)) 11 July 2025

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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;

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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

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;

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Requirement Due date

and 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. (Regulation 45 (1) (2)(a)(b)(c) (4)(a)(b)) 11 July 2025 Inspection report for children’s home: 1263425 7 This requirement was made at the last inspection and is restated.

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that when a child returns home after being missing from care, or away from home without permission, the responsible local authority provides an opportunity for the child to have an independent return home interview. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 45, paragraph 9.30)  The registered person should ensure that the home’s workforce plan and training matrix document the agreed timescales for staff training. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 53, paragraph 10.8)  The registered person should ensure that all staff are familiar with the home’s internal whistle-blowing procedures. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 53, paragraph 10.09)  The registered should ensure that all staff complete records in a way that is helpful to

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Recommendations

children and write in a non-stigmatising way. (‘Guide to 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 for children’s home: 1263425 8

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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: Social Care Services Group, 31 Shaw Road, Stockport SK4 4AG

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Children’s home details

Responsible individual: Annabella Foulkes

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Inspector

Michelle Snape, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 1263425 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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