Children's home run by Stockport Supported Accommodation Service in Stockport

Inspection report for children’s home: SC039070 1 SC039070

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Registered provider: Stockport Supported Accommodation Service

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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 and managed by a local authority. It provides care for up to five children who may experience social and emotional difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

At the time of the inspection, five children were living in the home. Three children were spoken to by the inspector.

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Information about this children’s home

The home has not had a registered manager since May 2025. An acting manager is in place, who has applied to register with Ofsted.

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Overall experiences and progress of

children and young people, taking into account

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requires improvement to be good

How well children and young people are helped and protected requires improvement to be good

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requires improvement to be good

The effectiveness of leaders and managers requires improvement to be good

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requires improvement to be good

The children’s home is not yet delivering good help and care for children and young people. However, there are no serious or widespread failures that result in their welfare not being safeguarded or promoted.

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requires improvement to be good

Date of last inspection: 3 February 2025

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requires improvement to be good

Overall judgement at last inspection: good

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requires improvement to be good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children’s home: SC039070 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

03/02/2025 Full Good 27/02/2024 Full Good 14/03/2023 Full Good 14/02/2022 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: SC039070 3

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improvement to be good

Since the last inspection, four children have left the home. For one child, this was a planned move, but three children had to leave the home because of poor compatibility and behaviours that staff were unable to manage. This means that children have experienced preventable disruptive changes in their lives.

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improvement to be good

The physical environment of the home does not convey a homely impression. Internal doors are fitted with locks, and the home has unnecessary signage. The upstairs rooms have been recently decorated, the woodwork remains unfinished, with cracks and holes visible. The downstairs rooms have yet to be painted, and damage is evident, with filler visible where decoration is pending.

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improvement to be good

Most of the children are engaging with education and feedback from school staff indicates that those children who are in school are making good progress. One child has not attended school regularly, and there is no routine or plans for them during the day if they do not attend school.

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improvement to be good

Staff support children to maintain family contact. Family members are welcomed into the home when this is part of the child’s care plan. Children are supported to maintain important links with family members, which helps them retain their sense of self and identity.

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improvement to be good

Staff plan activities with children that align with children’s interests. This includes horse riding dancing, baking, art, and crafts. One child said that they had made cakes for all their siblings when they had family time. Children can have fun, pursue their hobbies and make happy memories.

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improvement to be good

Staff have been using environmental controls, such as locking doors and turning off the gas supply, to manage children’s behaviour. Staff have been unable to manage children behaviour safely. Police have been called to the home to help staff manage children’s behaviour. This increases the risk of distress and criminalisation for the children involved.

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improvement to be good

Staff have a good understanding of children’s risks, and there are appropriate and detailed risk assessments. Staff work in conjunction with partner agencies to keep children safe. At times, staff have been unable to adhere to the risk assessments as there have not been enough staff on duty. This has led to children going missing from home when this was preventable. Children who are missing from home are at risk of significant harm. Inspection report for children’s home: SC039070 4 There have been a small number of occasions where staff have physically restrained children. Restraints are managed well, with clear documentation and managerial oversight of each incident. Children’s views are listened to and practice adjusted appropriately to meet their needs.

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improvement to be good

Children know how to make complaints. When they complain, their views are taken seriously by the management team and by staff. Staff help to repair relationships and resolve the issue that the chid is worried about.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

The members of the leadership and management team have conducted a thorough review of the issues faced by children and staff in the home over the summer months. There is recognition that there have been shortfalls in oversight of the children and staff team. While steps are being taken to address these issues. Many of the new systems have not yet been embedded and some children continue to remain at risk.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

Staff supervision is inconsistent with staff having long gaps in between supervision sessions. There is no clear system in place to ensure that all staff receive regular supervision. This lack of oversight means that staff are missing the opportunity to reflect on their work with the children, which can lead to inconsistent practice.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

Not all staff have had appraisals of their work, and there is no workforce development planning. The manager is unable to show that staff have received appropriate training to meet the children’s individual needs. Staff are unable to develop and build on the skills that will help them care safely for the children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

A new acting manager is now in place. Team meetings show positive engagement with the staff team. The manager has a therapeutic style of practice and is proactively working on influencing positive change for the children and staff group.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

Professionals report effective communication, collaboration and a child-centred approach from the staff. Staff are described as caring, proactive and responsive to individual needs. Inspection report for children’s home: SC039070 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;

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Requirement Due date

have the skills to identify and act upon signs that a child is at risk of harm;

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Requirement Due date

understand the roles and responsibilities in relation to protecting children that are assigned to them by the registered person;

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Requirement Due date

take effective action whenever there is a serious concern about a child’s welfare; and

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Requirement Due date

are familiar with, and act in accordance with, the home’s child protection policies. (Regulation 12 (1) (2)(a)(i)(iii)(v)(vi)(vii))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person must ensure that managers and staff follow safeguarding procedures to prevent children going missing from home. 30 October 2025

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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

promotes their welfare. 30 October 2025 Inspection report for children’s home: SC039070 6 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

use monitoring and review systems to make continuous improvements in the quality of care provided in the home.

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person must ensure that all staff have access to regular training that relates to the individual needs of the children, particularly with regard to strengthening staff knowledge and skills to support them to manage children’s behaviour.

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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

maintain regular contact with each child’s education and training provider, including engaging with the provider and the placing authority to support the child’s education and training and to maximise the child’s achievement;

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Requirement Due date

raise any need for further assessment or specialist provision in relation to a child with the child’s education or training provider and the child’s placing authority;

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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 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)(vi)(vii)(viii))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person must ensure that educational activities are provided for children who are not regularly attending school. 30 October 2025

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that— 30 October 2025 Inspection report for children’s home: SC039070 7 children can access all appropriate areas of the children’s home’s premises;

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Requirement Due date

and any limitation placed on a child’s privacy or access to any area of the home’s premises—

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Requirement Due date

is intended to safeguard each child accommodated in the home; is necessary and proportionate;

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Requirement Due date

is kept under review and, if necessary, revised; and allows children as much freedom as is possible when balanced against the need to protect them and keep them safe. (Regulation 21 (b)(c)(i)(ii)(iii)(iv))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person must ensure that internal locks are removed on the communal doors.

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that all employees—

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Requirement Due date

receive practice-related supervision by a person with appropriate experience. (Regulation 33 (4)(b))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, leaders and managers must ensure that staff receive regular supervision. 30 October 2025

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that when the statement of purpose has been reviewed, a copy of this is shared with the regulating body. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards,’ page 14, paragraph 3.5)  The registered person should ensure that all staff are up to date with their training, including the completion of refresher training within recommended timescales. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards,’ page 53, paragraph 10.11)  The registered person should have a workforce plan which can fulfil the workforce- related requirements of regulation 16, schedule 1 paragraphs 19 and 20. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 53, paragraph 10.8)  The registered person must ensure that children are able to experience living in a home that is homely and that unnecessary signage, such as excessive fire safety

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Recommendations

signs, are removed from the home environment. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards,’ page 15, paragraph 3.9) Inspection report for children’s home: SC039070 8

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Information about this inspection

The inspector has 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: SC039070 9

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Fred Perry House, 10 Edward Street, Stockport SK1 3XE

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Inspector

Cathy Wilkins, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: SC039070 10 regulates 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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