Children's home run by Parallel Parents Ltd

Inspection report for children’s home: 2765175 1 Registered provider: Parallel Parents Ltd

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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 large national provider of children’s services operates this home, which is situated in a rural location. The home provides care for up to 5 children who have experienced trauma. There were 3 children living in the home at the time of this inspection and all children spoke with the inspector.

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Information about this children’s home

The registered manager is experienced and holds a level 5 qualification in leadership and management for residential care.

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Information about this children’s home

There is a registered school attached to the home. This is registered separately and was not inspected as part of this inspection.

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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: 2765175 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

18/03/2025 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: 2765175 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children’s moves into and out of the home are managed sensitively and with care. Plans are individualised to meet the needs of each child. For example, staff supported one child to create a personalised, fun, visual moving plan. This ensured the child felt fully involved and understood their future care arrangements.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Interactions between staff and children are positive. Children are relaxed in staff’s presence, and there is shared laughter as they have fun together. One child said, ‘Staff are nice, they are always cheering for you when you do an activity.’ This helps to create trusting relationships, where children feel valued and supported.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children have access to a wide range of activities that reflect their interests. One child attends Jujitsu lessons, helping them to develop new skills and gain confidence. Staff also support children to create photo memory books, enabling them to capture and revisit special moments.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff speak proudly about children’s achievements and consistently offer praise. Individualised certificates and awards are used to celebrate success and promote self- esteem.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children’s health needs are understood by staff, who support them to attend routine appointments, and access specialist services when required. Staff provide consistent support, including facilitating and helping one child to complete their daily physiotherapy exercises. This practice promotes children’s emotional and physical wellbeing.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff help children to stay in contact with their families. They arrange video calls and provide practical help, such as transport. This enables children to maintain positive relationships with loved ones, promoting their emotional stability and sense of belonging.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The environment is warm and homely, there are good-quality furnishings and children have access to a wide range of toys and games. However, some children’s bedrooms require decoration due to chipped paintwork and one child’s floor is damaged. The manager has identified this, but the work is yet to be completed.

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

The manager ensures that staff understand their safeguarding responsibilities. Staff speak confidently about these and know how to escalate concerns should they need to. When children raise concerns, the manager takes effective action to escalate these, working closely with children’s social workers and safeguarding partners. Inspection report for children’s home: 2765175 4 Physical intervention is used as a last resort to keep children safe. The manager reviews each incident to determine the effectiveness of any holds and to ensure they are appropriate. Children are given opportunities to talk with staff following incidents and are supported to identify coping strategies. As a result, there has been a reduction in physical interventions for one child.

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

When incidents occur between children, staff act quickly to de-escalate these. They encourage children to talk with each other and use ‘kind hands’. This helps to restore relationships following incidents. Additionally, one child was supported to make an anti- bullying poster, this helped them to understand what bullying is and how it can affect others.

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

Restorative consequences focus on helping children to make safer decisions. Staff use creative resources, such as quizzes and word searches, to reinforce learning. As a result, children develop a better understanding about appropriate behaviour and how to keep themselves safe.

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

Children said they feel safe living in the home. They can confidently identify trusted adults they can go to if they have any worries.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager is passionate about providing good-quality care for children. She speaks confidently about the children and the progress they have made since living in the home. She advocates well for children and places an importance on ensuring children’s voices are heard. For example, children are encouraged to review their own progress and work towards personalised wish lists they have created.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff feel supported in their role, they receive good-quality supervision, which helps them to reflect on their practice and develop in key areas. They speak positively about the manager and feel included when decisions are made about the home.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Professionals and parents are overwhelmingly positive about the manager and staff and are pleased with the progress children are making. One social worker said, ‘I think they are brilliant, I work with a lot of homes and this one is lovely. [name of child] has made progress in all areas.’

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Training is specific to the children’s needs. Additionally, the manager delivers learning as part of team meetings. For example, she spoke to staff about professional curiosity and used helpful scenarios to test and develop staff knowledge.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager has good monitoring systems in place to help her review the quality of care children receive. Additionally, she has completed a lessons learnt piece of work following a serious safeguarding concern, which occurred and was reported on at the last inspection. She identified shortfalls in practice and has embedded changes as a result of this. Inspection report for children’s home: 2765175 5

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Recommendation

 The registered person should ensure that children are provided with a welcoming and homely domestic environment. This specifically relates to ensuring that paintwork in children’s bedrooms is of good quality and that flooring in children’s bedrooms is repaired when damaged. (‘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: 2765175 6

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Parallel Parents Ltd

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: 2nd, Floor Lansdowne House, 85 Buxton Road Heaviley, Buxton Road, Stockport, England SK2 6LR

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Inspector

Kirsty Truesdale, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2765175 7 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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Inspector

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