Children's Home run by The Place Young People’s Company in Staffordshire

Inspection report for children’s home: 2747107 1 Registered provider: The Place Young People’s Company

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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 private company operates this home. The home is registered to provide care for up to three children who have experienced adverse childhood experiences that have led to associated trauma.

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Information about this children’s home

At the time of this inspection, three children were living in the home. They were all present and spoken to during the inspection.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager registered with Ofsted in November 2023. He is suitably qualified and experienced.

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Overall experiences and progress of

children and young people, taking into account

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outstanding

How well children and young people are helped and protected outstanding

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outstanding

The effectiveness of leaders and managers outstanding

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outstanding

The children’s home provides highly effective services that consistently exceed the standards of good. The actions of the children’s home contribute to significantly improved outcomes and positive experiences for children and young people who need help, protection and care.

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outstanding

Overall judgement at last inspection: good

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outstanding

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children’s home: 2747107 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

01/05/2024 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: 2747107 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

Children receive exceptional care that consistently exceeds the standard of good. Staff are nurturing, highly dedicated and know children extremely well. They provide children with a stable and loving home and speak about the children with genuine affection and enthusiasm. This is reciprocated by children, who all say that the best thing about the home is ‘the staff’. The manager and staff demonstrate unwavering commitment to them. As a result, children are thriving, and their experiences are excellent. They have all made sustained progress from their starting points.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

Children are supported by staff to be successful and make progress in their learning. Staff have high aspirations for children and ensure that they have access to education that is appropriate to meet their individual needs. As a result, one child returned to mainstream education after a prolonged period out of education. When children struggle to attend school, staff work hard to overcome children’s barriers to learning. The manager has used research to support staff to understand social anxiety and the impact this has on children’s education attendance. This supported one child to undertake their GCSEs which is a significant achievement. Staff have also supported children to secure further education placements that align with their future employment ambitions.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

Children enjoy a variety of experiences and learn new skills, for example horse riding, learning to drive and enjoying holidays with staff. These opportunities help children to have fun and make lifelong memories.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

Future planning and preparing children for adulthood is a huge strength of the staff. They enable children to be as independent as possible. Children are now able to take better care of themselves and have learned to do their own cooking, shopping, cleaning and doing their own laundry. Children are proud of their achievements and newfound independence. This has boosted their self-esteem and sense of self-worth.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

Children are in good health. Staff support children to have a healthy, balanced diet and take regular exercise. Children are registered with local health services and are supported to attend routine and specialist health appointments. Furthermore, staff work with children to understand the risks to their health. Staff have supported one child to give up smoking.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

Children’s rights are promoted, and their voices are strong. Staff ensure that children have opportunities to have their say and are empowered to be involved in the decisions that affect them. There is a culture of mutual respect and acceptance in the home. Staff foster excellent relationships through actively listening, being curious and showing empathy. As a result, children have grown in confidence and are able to influence their own care. Inspection report for children’s home: 2747107 4

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

Children said that they feel happy and safe living in this home. One child said: ‘This is the best home I have lived in.’ Another said: ‘I feel respected and listened to.’

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

Highly trained, knowledgeable and competent staff support children. They have a thorough understanding of the children’s risks and what they need to do to keep children safe. When incidents do occur, staff respond calmly and sensitively, without judgement or blame. This high level of support increases children’s resilience and awareness of their behaviours and risks. As a result, children are safer, and risks for children have significantly reduced since they moved into the home. There have been no complaints or incidents requiring physical intervention since the last inspection.

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

Incidents where children go missing from home are rare. When children are missing, the staff follow detailed missing-from-home protocols. They search for children and work closely with police to ensure that children are quickly found. When children return, they are warmly welcomed back, and they understand that staff care and worry for their safety. This means that children can talk to staff, without fear of reprisal, about what happened while they were missing and feel reassured.

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

Through research-informed practice, staff have been highly successful in reducing children’s risks of self-harm. The manager used research from specialist mental health organisations to gain a better understanding of how to manage risks of self-harm effectively. As a result, staff reviewed children’s safety plans, reducing any unnecessary restrictions. Consequently, the number of incidents has significantly reduced, and children felt more in control and safer.

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

The registered manager and staff understand the risks around internet safety for children. There are safeguards in place to keep children safe online, such as firewalls, parental controls, and if required monitoring applications are used to monitor children’s online activity. Children’s individual needs and risks are carefully considered to ensure that no unnecessary restrictions are in place. When children do not want restrictions, staff consider any associated risks and find alternative strategies to keep children safe. This creative approach allows children to feel a sense of control and privacy, while also keeping them safer.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

The registered manager is a confident and inspirational leader. He provides highly effective leadership of the home. He has created a culture of high aspiration and positivity that places children at the centre of practice. The manager goes out of his way to truly understand children, their history and future aspirations, and shapes staff practice to support children to achieve their hopes and dreams. This leadership inspires staff to provide exceptional care that changes and improves the lives of the children that they are care for. Inspection report for children’s home: 2747107 5 The registered manager uses highly effective monitoring systems to review the quality of care that children receive. He has robust oversight of children’s care and records through the online recording system. The manager completes regular audits to scrutinise staff performance and to monitor the children’s outcomes and progress. He understands the

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

home’s strengths and areas of development and has an abundance of comprehensive improvement plans, including a home and a workforce development plan, to continuously drive forward and develop the service.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

Leadership, management and staff cohesion are clear strengths of the home. This cohesion ensures the safety and welfare of children. The manager ensures that strategic reviews of incidents at the home provide constant evaluation of staff practice and highlight children’s changing needs. Staff supervision and focused team meetings are highly effective management tools and address areas for development to ensure high- quality, consistent staff practice.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

The registered manager ensures that children have a stable and skilled team of staff that can meet their needs. He supports the staff team extremely well, valuing the importance of staff development. Staff receive high-quality supervision and annual appraisal. Staff morale is high, and staff report they are well supported by management and happy in their work. One staff member said: ‘The registered manager’s insight fosters not only a deep understanding of the children’s individual needs, but also promotes healthy, supportive dynamics within the staff team. This has contributed significantly to a culture of mutual respect, empathy and collaboration.’

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

The manager is creative and regularly uses research to inform and develop staff practice. For example, he has developed workshops on resilience building for teenagers, social anxiety, barriers to education and self-harm. This has enabled staff to gain a deeper understanding of the children, their needs and how to better meet these. It has also developed their knowledge of trauma-informed care and the home’s therapeutic model of care, which is embedded into their everyday practice.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

The manager and staff have extremely effective working relationships with external agencies and schools. These relationships ensure the best possible care, experiences and futures for children. Social workers speak positively of the quality of care provided and the standards of communication maintained by staff. One professional said: ‘I am so pleased with how quickly my young person settled. [the child] is blossoming and is so much calmer and happier in a really short time.’

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

The strong leadership and remarkable quality of care have created a culture and environment where staff are proud to work and where children are happy to call their home.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

There were no requirements or recommendations raised at this inspection. Inspection report for children’s home: 2747107 6

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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: 2747107 7

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: The Place Young People’s Company

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: 2 Lymevale Court, Lyme Drive, Parklands, Stoke-on- Trent ST4 6NW

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Inspector

Sonia Sullivan, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2747107 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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