Children's home run by Social Care Services Limited in Stockport

Inspection report for children’s home: SC400355 1 SC400355 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 provider. It provides care for up to three children who may have social and emotional difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

There were two children living in the home at the time of the inspection. One child spoke to the inspector about their experience of living in the home.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager registered with Ofsted on 14 November 2017.

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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 requires improvement to be 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: requires improvement to be good

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children’s home: SC400355 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

20/08/2024 Full Requires improvement to be good 21/06/2023 Full Good 09/08/2022 Full Requires improvement to be good 15/03/2022 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: SC400355 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Two children have lived in the home since the last inspection. They have been supported to develop positive relationships with staff. One child spoke of being happy in the home and not wanting to leave.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Education continues to be a challenge for children. Staff have remained consistent to support children, and there has been some improvement in attendance. One child has now completed their GCSE exams and has secured a place at a local college.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff use positive praise to reinforce children’s behaviour, and their achievements are celebrated.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children’s health needs are well met. There is evidence of positive multi-agency working to support children with their emotional well-being, and both children are up to date with medical appointments.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are encouraged to engage in activities, join groups and develop hobbies and interests. The staff encourage activities as a ‘family’, and children have enjoyed hikes, pamper nights and pool tournaments together.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are supported to spend time with people who are important to them. Staff work hard to maintain relationships with family members who are opposed to professionals.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The home is in need of modernising and is not a homely space for children. The kitchen is in need of refurbishment, and children felt overall that their home was dull and lacked personalisation.

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

Children said they feel listened to and are confident to raise worries and concerns. There has been one complaint since the last inspection; the manager has addressed this and included the child in the process.

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

Incidents of children going missing from home do not occur frequently. When children do go missing from home, staff respond appropriately and follow each child’s missing-from-home plan. Following their safe return, children are encouraged and supported to speak with external professionals.

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

Children are helped to understand how to keep safe. Direct work sessions and informal chats are undertaken with children regularly about important topics specific to their individual needs and following incidents. Inspection report for children’s home: SC400355 4 Children’s risk plans are regularly updated and reviewed; however, they do not always accurately reflect the risks and vulnerabilities for children or provide clear guidance for staff to follow to keep children safe. This was a requirement at the last inspection and has been restated.

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

Behaviour management is positive, and children are supported to develop strategies to manage their feelings and emotions. Consequently, there has not been a need to hold children to keep them safe.

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

Consequences issued to children in response to behaviour are not always clear or recorded as required by regulation. Consequently, repeated consequences lack management scrutiny and have not been evaluated for their effectiveness.

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

When significant incidents have occurred in the home, the manager has not reported these as required by regulation. This limits the regulator’s oversight of practice in the home. A requirement has been given regarding this.

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good

The home is led by an experienced and qualified manager who is committed to improving outcomes for children.

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good

Professionals speak highly of the care that children receive and the progress that they have made.

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good

The manager’s monitoring and review systems are not effective. The manager’s oversight does not always identify gaps in recording or act on shortfalls that will improve staff practice and the support provided to children.

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good

Some children’s records do not include their most recent statutory documents, including care plans, looked-after children medical reports and education, health and care plans. Leaders and managers had not identified that some plans were missing and had not escalated requests for other documents in a timely way.

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good

Leaders and managers do not always advocate for children. A decision had been made for one child to move out of the home into semi-independent living. The child had shared she did not wish to leave; however, the manager was unable to demonstrate that he had challenged the decision or advocated on the child’s behalf.

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good

Staff are supported through regular supervision and team meetings and spoke positively about the support they receive from the manager.

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good

Not all staff are up to date with training, and the manager has not ensured that staff have completed training specific to children’s individual needs, such as LGBTQ and fire awareness training. Inspection report for children’s home: SC400355 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

assess whether each child is at risk of harm, taking into account information in the child’s relevant plans, and, if necessary, make arrangements to reduce the risk of any harm to the child. (Regulation 12 (1) (2)(a)(i))

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Requirement Due date

Specifically, the registered person must ensure that children’s risk plans provide staff with clear guidance to keep children safe.

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Requirement Due date

This requirement was made at the last inspection and is restated. 2 September

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Requirement Due date

The leadership and management standard is that the registered person enables, inspires and leads a culture in relation to the children’s home that—

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Requirement Due date

helps children aspire to fulfil their potential; and

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to—

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Requirement Due date

ensure that staff have the experience, qualifications and skills to meet the needs of each child;

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Requirement Due date

understand the impact that the quality of care provided in the home is having on the progress and experiences of each child 2 September Inspection report for children’s home: SC400355 6 and use this understanding to inform the development of the quality of care provided in the home; and

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Requirement Due date

use monitoring and review systems to make continuous improvements in the quality of care provided in the home. (Regulation 13 (1)(a)(b) (2)(c)(f)(h))

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Requirement Due date

Specifically, the registered person must ensure that all staff have completed training specific to children’s individual needs.

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure they have oversight of all work being completed and that work is evaluated to establish patterns and trends and identify areas of learning in order to make continuous improvements.

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Requirement Due date

within 24 hours of the use of a measure of control, discipline or restraint in relation to a child in the home, a record is made which includes—

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Requirement Due date

details of the child’s behaviour leading to the use of the measure;

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Requirement Due date

the date, time and location of the use of the measure;

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Requirement Due date

a description of the measure and its duration;

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Requirement Due date

details of any methods used or steps taken to avoid the need to use the measure;

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Requirement Due date

the name of the person who used the measure (“the user”), and of any other person present when the measure was used;

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Requirement Due date

the effectiveness and any consequences of the use of the measure; and

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Requirement Due date

within 48 hours of the use of the measure, the registered person, or a person who is authorised by the registered person to do so (“the authorised person”)—

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Requirement Due date

has spoken to the user about the measure; and

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Requirement Due date

has signed the record to confirm it is accurate; and 2 September Inspection report for children’s home: SC400355 7 within 5 days of the use of the measure, the registered person or the authorised person adds to the record confirmation that they have spoken to the child about the measure. (Regulation 35 (a)(i)(ii)(iii)(iv)(v)(vi)(vii)(b)(i)(ii)(c))

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Requirement Due date

Specifically, the registered person must ensure that any consequences implemented to keep children safe or in response to their behaviour are clearly evaluated for effectiveness.

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Requirement Due date

In meeting the quality standards, the registered person must, and must ensure that staff—

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Requirement Due date

seek to involve each child’s placing authority effectively in the child’s care, in accordance with the child’s relevant plans;

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Requirement Due date

seek to secure the input and services required to meet each child’s needs;

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Requirement Due date

if the registered person considers, or staff consider, a placing authority’s or a relevant person’s performance or response to be inadequate in relation to their role, challenge the placing authority or the relevant person to seek to ensure that each child’s needs are met in accordance with the child’s relevant plans. (Regulation 5 (a)(b)(c))

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Requirement Due date

Specifically, the registered person must ensure that they advocate for children and that professionals are challenged when decisions are not made in the best interests of children. 2 September

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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 signed and dated by the author of each entry. (Regulation 36 (1)(a)(b)(c))

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Requirement Due date

Specifically, the registered person must ensure that children have the relevant statutory documentation to inform their care. 2 September

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must notify HMCI and each other relevant person without delay if— 2 September Inspection report for children’s home: SC400355 8 there is any other incident relating to a child which the registered person considers to be serious.

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Requirement Due date

A notification made under this regulation—

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Requirement Due date

the other persons, bodies or organisations (if any) who or which have been notified; and

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Requirement Due date

any actions taken by the registered person as a result of the matter;

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Requirement Due date

must be made or confirmed in writing. (Regulation 40 (4)(e) (5)(a)(i)(ii)(iii)(b))

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Recommendation

 The registered person should ensure that the home is maintained to a high standard to ensure that children are able to live in a warm and welcoming environment with a homely feel. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 15, paragraph 3.9)

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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: SC400355 9

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Social Care Services Ltd

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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

Kelly McCurdy, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: SC400355 10 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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