Children's home run by Time-Out Children’s Homes Limited in Stockport

Inspection report for children’s home: SC416267 1 SC416267 Registered provider: Time-Out Children’s Homes 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 is owned by a private provider and offers care for up to two children who may experience social and/or emotional difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

A new manager has been appointed. They have applied to register with Ofsted.

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Information about this children’s home

At the time of this inspection, two children were living in the home. One child was spoken to, and one child did not wish to speak to the inspector.

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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: 17 September 2024

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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: SC416267 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

17/09/2024 Full Good 08/08/2023 Full Good 04/01/2023 Full Good 15/12/2021 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: SC416267 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Both children have lived in the home since the last inspection. There are photos of the children around the home and their bedrooms are personalised to their own tastes.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children say they are happy and are helped to build trusted relationships with the manager and staff. Staff are playful with children and participate in games and activities in the home. This creates a warm, comfortable environment which enables children to develop a sense of belonging.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are offered opportunities to attend a range of clubs, and they enjoy activities such as horse riding and fishing. This supports children to develop new skills and build their confidence in social situations.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Professionals and parents are happy with the care that children receive in this home. One parent said, ‘I couldn’t ask for [Name of child] to be anywhere else, or with better carers.’ The manager and staff communicate well with professionals and parents to ensure that children maintain relationships with people who are important to them.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are attending educational settings. One child attends school full time and another child attends school on a reduced timetable. Staff are supporting children with upcoming transitions to new schools, in a child-centred way. However, when children are not at school full time, staff are not providing consistent structure or routine to support children’s learning in the home. This does not prepare children for their return to full- time education and means that opportunities are missed for informal and creative learning.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The home is spacious and welcoming. However, maintenance issues, including damage to the garden fence, damage to a bedroom wall and loose blind cords, were not escalated by the manager until raised by the inspector during the inspection. This does not ensure that the home is maintained to a high standard throughout. The inspector identified that staff had not ensured that the home was left secure when vacant, and children’s sensitive information and personal belongings were easily accessible and a garden tool had been left on the drive. This compromises children’s safety and 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 have a good understanding of children’s needs and take steps to keep them safe. Risk management plans are individualised to each child and are updated regularly.

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

Children know how to complain. Complaints are managed effectively and promptly, and children are kept informed in a child-friendly manner. This shows children that their views are important and will be listened to. Inspection report for children’s home: SC416267 4 Incidents in the home are infrequent. When incidents occur, the manager has clear oversight, and children are always spoken to. This ensures that their well-being is being prioritised.

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

On one occasion, there was a breakdown of a relationship between a staff member and child. There had been limited time spent repairing the relationship, and an incident might have been managed differently had this been addressed in a timely way.

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

Children’s important documents have not been received in a timely manner and the manager has not escalated this promptly. This has not impacted on the children, but documents should be available to ensure that care is tailored to their changing needs.

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

Safer recruitment practices are in place. All necessary checks are carried out to ensure that only safe adults are employed to work at the home.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager is new to the role but understands the needs and personalities of the children very well. Children like spending time with the manager and relationships are positive.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff feel supported by the manager and are positive about the changes she is making. The manager has clear plans for improvements in the home and is starting to implement these. Staff feel optimistic about the changes.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager is present in the home and ensures that she spends time with both staff and children. This means that she has a good understanding of daily activities, events and incidents.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

There is now a full and stable staff team in place that meets the children’s needs. This ensures that children are being cared for by people who are familiar to them.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Supervision sessions and team meetings take place regularly and the manager provides oversight on all incidents. However, the manager’s evaluations do not always capture the reflections that have taken place with staff around learning and development. This is a missed opportunity for further professional development and to identify areas for improvement in staff practice.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager records which staff are in the home and the hours they are there. However, rotas do not include the hours that the manager has worked. Inspection report for children’s home: SC416267 5

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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 protection of children standard is that children are protected from harm and enabled to keep themselves safe.

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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 the premises used for the purposes of the home are designed, furnished and maintained so as to protect each child from avoidable hazards to the child’s health. (Regulation 12 (1) (2)(d))

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Requirement Due date

Specifically, the manager must ensure that the home is secured when vacant and that hazards are identified and removed quickly. Maintenance on the home must be identified and repair work undertaken in a timely manner. 29 August 2025

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Requirement Due date

The education standard is that children make measurable progress towards achieving their educational potential and are helped to do so.

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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

support each child’s learning and development, including helping the child to develop independent study skills and, where appropriate, helping the child to complete independent study;

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Requirement Due date

help each child to understand the importance and value of education, learning, training and employment;

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Requirement Due date

promote opportunities for each child to learn informally;

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Requirement Due date

help a child who is excluded from school, or who is of compulsory school age but not attending school, to access 29 August 2025 Inspection report for children’s home: SC416267 6 educational and training support throughout the period of exclusion or non-attendance and to return to school as soon as possible. (Regulation 8 (1) (2)(a)(ii)(iv)(v)(viii))

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Requirement Due date

Specifically, that when children struggle to access formal education, staff provide clear and consistent opportunities and routines to support their learning.

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must maintain records (“case records”) for each child which—

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Requirement Due date

include the information and documents listed in Schedule 3 in relation to each child;

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Requirement Due date

are kept up to date. (Regulation 36 (1)(a)(b))

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Requirement Due date

Specifically, that each child’s records are completed and maintained. 29 August 2025

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that staff have opportunities to build constructive, warm relationships with children that actively promote positive behaviour. Any reparation work around relationships between staff and children should be prioritised. This will provide the foundations for managing any negative behaviour and support staff to have the skills to respond to each child’s individual behaviour, to de-escalate situations and react appropriately if challenged by a child in their care. (‘Guide to The Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’ page 39, paragraph 8.14)  The registered person should ensure that the home’s rota accurately reflects the hours worked by all staff, including the manager. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 52, paragraph 10.7)

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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: SC416267 7

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Time-Out Children’s Homes Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Unit 2, Ripponden Mill, Mill Fold, Ripponden, Sowerby Bridge, West Yorkshire HX6 4DH

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Inspector

Danielle Allen, Social Care Regulatory Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: SC416267 8 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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