Children's home run by Care Today (Childrens Services) Ltd

Inspection report for children's home: 2615395 1 Registered provider: Care Today (Children's Services) Ltd

p.1

Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

p.1

Information about this children's home

The home is owned and managed by a private provider. The home provides care for up to 2 children who may experience emotional and/or social difficulties.

p.1

Information about this children's home

The manager registered with Ofsted in May 2024.

p.1

Information about this children's home

At the time of this inspection, 2 children were living at the home and were spoken to as part of the inspection process.

p.1

Overall experiences and progress of

children and young people, taking into account

p.1

good

How well children and young people are helped and protected good

p.1

good

The effectiveness of leaders and managers good

p.1

good

The children's home provides effective services that meet the requirements for good.

p.1

good

Date of last inspection: 27 November 2024

p.1

good

Overall judgement at last inspection: good

p.1

good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children's home: 2615395 2

p.1

Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

27/11/2024 Full Good 04/03/2024 Full Good 11/05/2022 Full Good 20/04/2021 Full Good Inspection report for children's home: 2615395 3

p.2

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The home is warm and welcoming, with a homely feel. It is nicely decorated throughout and is clean and tidy, with soft furnishings. The children's bedrooms are personalised with their belongings. In the kitchen, a cupboard door is missing. The manager has planned for this to be replaced. There are chimes on the children's bedroom doors, which monitor the children's movements. However, consent to apply this level of monitoring has not been approved by the children's social workers.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff ensure that children have access to relevant health services, including a GP, dentist and opticians. They communicate with specialist health services, such as child and adolescent mental health services, as and when necessary. When there are challenges to children attending routine health appointments, staff work with parents and health services to encourage the child to attend. However, one child's inhaler is locked in the medication cupboard, preventing the child having direct access as and when required. This may have a detrimental impact on the child's health.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are enrolled and engaged in education provision. Staff take suitable action to ensure that any issues are quickly resolved, and they work together with education services to promote attendance and engagement in core curriculum subjects. Staff encourage and support the children to understand the importance of education through direct work sessions.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff regularly communicate with children. They use a variety of ways to ensure that the children's views and wishes are gathered and shared. Staff use child-friendly methods to engage children in communication, including the use of humour and engaging them in contributing to their written plans.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children have access to a wide range of activities both inside and outside of the home. Staff take the children to visit museums and cafes and support them with independence tasks, such as cooking and other age-appropriate independence skills. Children enjoy activities such as playing pool and free time with friends. One child is a member of the children in care council and attends weekly meetings to share their experiences and participate in fun activities.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff ensure that children have regular direct and indirect contact with their families and friends. Children are encouraged to maintain friendships and enjoy free time with their friends as part of building their independence skills. Parents speak positively about their relationships and the communication they have with staff.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

When one child moved out of the home with little time to prepare, this was challenged and outreach intervention secured to support and streamline the transition. This ensured consistent support, offering both practical and emotional support to the child during the move. Inspection report for children's home: 2615395 4

p.3

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

Staff ensure that the children living at the home feel safe and they take appropriate action to reduce risks. Children's risk assessments are colour coded and clearly outline the category and nature of each risk. Risk assessments are reviewed following every significant event and include a timeline that reflects any decrease or increase in risk. Each risk assessment sets out the specific actions that staff should take to manage and mitigate these risks.

p.4

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

When children are missing from home, staff take swift and effective action to reduce risks. They contact parents, friends, relevant professionals and the police without delay. Staff are proactive in searching for children and visit places that the children are known to frequent. This proactive approach helps children to feel safe and supports their sense of belonging.

p.4

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

Staff use physical intervention only as a last resort to keep children and others safe. Physical interventions are proportionate and used fairly in response to assessed risks. The manager reviews all physical interventions and uses a reflective model of intervention to support staff learning. The manager or other leaders complete debriefs with staff following each intervention, again using a reflective approach. Children are also offered debriefs following every intervention, supported by child-friendly recording tools that help them to express their views. These processes help children to understand the reason for the intervention and reflect on their behaviours.

p.4

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

Staff understand the children's behaviours and support them to learn routines and boundaries. They use a variety of approaches with each child to quickly resolve situations, such as humour, distraction and calm communication. Staff support children to understand their behaviours and what is acceptable. Positive behaviour is regularly recognised and rewarded through financial incentives, opportunities to choose their favourite takeaways or money for free time and additional activities.

p.4

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

Managers and staff conduct regular fire evacuation drills at the home. Fire drills are carried out with new members of staff and children to ensure that they understand the evacuation procedures.

p.4

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager is suitably experienced and is supported by a deputy manager. They both have high ambitions for the home and the children they care for. The manager has introduced new ways of working and devised more streamlined and child-friendly documents, as well as effective monitoring systems.

p.4

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

There is a consistent staff team in place. Staff know the children well and positive relationships were observed between the children and staff. There is a flexible approach to managing staffing arrangements to ensure that any periods of sickness and staff holidays are covered. Staff from another home in the organisation provide cover when Inspection report for children's home: 2615395 5 needed to ensure consistency for children. This does not impact the support provided to the children and children's risks are appropriately managed.

p.4

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff complete the organisation's mandatory training and have access to a wide variety of training that is specific to the children's needs. However, training has not been provided to staff in response to children's experience of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder. The manager has a plan in place to ensure that staff undertake this training.

p.5

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Team meetings take place weekly and are practice focused. They provide staff with the opportunity to discuss the needs of each child and any concerns that may have arisen. Meetings cover a variety of topics, are used to share key updates and encourage staff to share any new ideas and reflect on what has worked well. Actions from previous meetings are reviewed and new actions are set at each meeting. The behaviour support worker is invited to attend each team meeting to provide updates to staff. This further enhances a streamlined approach to understanding the needs of the children in the home.

p.5

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff supervision takes place on a regular basis. Each session follows a reflective approach to staff practice and any significant incidents that have occurred. Targets are set and reviewed during supervision. However, newly appointed staff do not always receive supervision that is practice driven. The manager identified this shortfall prior to the inspection and plans to incorporate this into supervisions moving forward.

p.5

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff understand the procedure to follow in relation to allegations and have confidence in leaders and managers' management of these. However, not all staff understand the function of the local authority designated officer. Inspection report for children's home: 2615395 6

p.5

Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that consent is obtained from the children's social workers before door chimes are used in the home. ('Guide to the Children's Homes Regulations, including the quality standards', page 16, paragraph 3.16)

p.6

Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that children have access to inhalers and that children understand how to safely administer their inhaler. ('Guide to the Children's Homes Regulations, including the quality standards', page 34, paragraph 7.12)

p.6

Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that each staff member understands the role and functions of the local authority designated officer. ('Guide to the Children's Homes Regulations, including the quality standards', page 43, paragraph 9.14)

p.6

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: 2615395 7

p.6

Children's home details

Registered provider: Care Today (Children's Services) Limited

p.7

Children's home details

Registered provider address: 2nd, Floor Lansdowne House, 85 Buxton Road, STOCKPORT, Cheshire SK2 6LR

p.7

Children's home details

Responsible individual: Liam Fitzpatrick

p.7

Inspector

Vicky Byron, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children's home: 2615395 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 children looked after, safeguarding and child protection.

p.7

Inspector

If you would like a copy of this document in a different format, such as large print or Braille, please telephone 0300 123 1231, or email enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk . You may reuse this information (not including logos) free of charge in any format or medium, under the terms of the Open Government Licence. To view this licence, visit www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence , write to the Information Policy Team, The National Archives, Kew, London TW9 4DU, or email: psi@nationalarchives.gsi.gov.uk .

p.8

Inspector

Interested in our work? You can subscribe to our monthly newsletter for more information and updates: http://eepurl.com/iTrDn .

p.8

Inspector

T: 0300 123 1231 Textphone: 0161 618 8524 E: enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk W: www.gov.uk/ofsted

p.8