Children's Home run by The Together Trust in Stockport

Inspection report for children’s home: SC025739 1 SC025739 Registered provider: The Together Trust

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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 charitable organisation. It is registered to provide care for up to 4 children who may have social and emotional difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager has been registered with Ofsted since May 2026.

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Information about this children’s home

Three children were living at the home at the time of the inspection. The inspector spoke with all of the children about their experiences living at the home.

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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 requires improvement to be 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: good

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children’s home: SC025739 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

17/07/2025 Full Good 10/07/2024 Full Good 21/11/2023 Full Good 21/03/2023 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: SC025739 3

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Summary of findings

There has been a change in the management structure of this home. This has not affected the support provided to children or staff.

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Summary of findings

Children live at the home for extended periods, which provides them with stability and continuity of care. When children move on from this home, their moves are planned. Children typically progress to semi-independent living, foster care or return to the care of their families.

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Summary of findings

Staff do not follow the children’s missing-from-home protocols. They do not actively look for them in the community or familiar locations, even when they know where a child may be. This places unnecessary demand on police services to locate children and results in delays in children returning home.

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Summary of findings

The children enjoy living at the home. Staff have built positive, supportive relationships with the children and enjoy caring for them.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are cared for by an experienced team of staff who know them well. Children live at this home for a long time, providing them with stability and consistency. When children move on from this home, staff plan their moves carefully. Children typically progress to semi-independent living, foster care or return to the care of their family.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff promote children’s education. Children are supported to attend their educational settings and after-school clubs. When one child experienced difficulties in their educational setting, the manager secured a place in an alternative provision, where they gained functional skills in maths and English and developed employability skills. When children struggle with aspects of education, the staff provide additional support in the home, completing workbooks and reading activities. This is significantly helping one child improve their reading age and build confidence in their learning. Staff also create a detailed information board to raise awareness and recognition of cultural and seasonal events with children.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children’s moves in and out of the home are well planned and positive. The manager works closely with children’s networks and collaborates with professionals to plan moves that meet children’s needs. This includes meeting children and arranging visits to the home before they move in. This helps children become familiar with the home and staff before moving in. However, risk assessments do not reflect that the manager fully considers the needs of the children moving in, alongside the skills and experience of the staff team and the needs of children already living at the home. This does not ensure that children are compatible or that staff can meet the needs of all children. Inspection report for children’s home: SC025739 4 When children move on from the home, staff work with professionals, parents and foster carers to ensure that their moves are well planned and structured before, during and after moving. This helps to ensure that children, parents and foster carers receive the

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

support they need and can progress at a pace that is right for them.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

One child’s move to semi-independent living was well planned. Staff helped the child prepare for increased independence by developing their skills in budgeting, cooking, travelling and household chores. This ensured that the child felt confident and equipped to live independently. Staff celebrate children’s time in the home through shared activities, meals and thoughtful gifts.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff create a warm and homely environment for children, which enables them to feel relaxed in their home. The home is child centred, with designated play areas in the garden and books, games and toys available for children to use. However, damage to the home is not always repaired promptly. The downstairs shower room has broken tiles, the downstairs toilet door is broken and the phone socket in the dining room does not have a cover.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff routinely capture children’s views through daily conversations. The manager ensures that children have an independent advocate. Children are encouraged to share their views about their home, activities and meals in monthly meetings. However, one child is still waiting for their bedroom to be painted as requested. Children also complete feedback forms, which provide them with opportunities to raise concerns and influence decisions about their care.

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improvement to be good

Children identify staff as trusted adults and approach them with their concerns. Staff respond to children’s concerns warmly and sensitively. Professionals say that the staff team’s strength is providing nurturing and therapeutic care to children, providing them with stability and consistency.

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improvement to be good

Children know how to make complaints. Managers take children’s complaints seriously and investigate them thoroughly. They speak with children about their concerns and any actions taken to improve matters. Managers share outcomes with children and hold meetings with those involved to help repair relationships.

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improvement to be good

Staff take children’s comments seriously when they could be perceived as allegations. The manager is cautious and carries out thorough investigations in partnership with relevant professionals. This helps to reassure children that their comments about safety are taken seriously and acted on.

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improvement to be good

Staff understand children’s individual risks and the strategies needed to support them. They use de-escalation techniques effectively to help children regulate their emotions and re-engage with their daily routines. However, risk assessments do not always Inspection report for children’s home: SC025739 5 accurately reflect children’s current risks and vulnerabilities or provide clear guidance for staff during periods of increased risk. This creates the potential for inconsistent practice. Staff encourage positive peer relationships through shared activities and, when needed, separate activities. When minor disagreements occur between children, staff intervene swiftly and redirect children into their individual routines.

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improvement to be good

Staff receive training in physical intervention. Since the last inspection, there have been 2 low-level physical interventions used to prevent a child from harming themselves and others. When physical intervention is used, staff offer children opportunities to reflect on what happened and explore the reasons for the behaviour. This helps to reduce the likelihood of similar incidents occurring. The manager also provides staff with opportunities to debrief following challenging incidents.

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improvement to be good

Staff do not follow the home’s missing-from-home procedures. While they maintain contact with children and encourage them to return home, they do not actively search for them in the community or in known locations, even when they have information about where a child may be. This places unnecessary demand on police services and delays children’s safe return to the home. The management oversight does not identify gaps in staff responses.

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improvement to be good

Following missing-from-home episodes, the manager works with the children and their network to review and update their plans and implement support tailored to the child’s age and future plans. This has helped reduce missing-from-home episodes.

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improvement to be good

Follow-up work after incidents is inconsistent and does not always clearly identify staff concerns or explore associated risks and potential harm. This limits the children’s ability to reflect on their experiences, understand consequences and develop strategies to keep themselves safe.

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improvement to be good

The manager and staff work in partnership with specialist agencies and professionals, such as the complex safeguarding team, the youth offending service, and child and adolescent mental health services. Staff also encouraged one child to engage with substance misuse support agencies. As a result, the children have access to the support they need.

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

The home’s previous assistant manager registered as the manager following the previous manager’s retirement. These changes reflect planned progression in an established management structure and provide continuity and stability for the child, staff and professionals.

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

The home benefits from a well-established and stable staff team. Although there have been some changes in the staff team in the last year, staff have transitioned into the home from other homes in the organisation to support career development in senior Inspection report for children’s home: SC025739 6 roles. However, not all long-term staff have completed the relevant residential childcare qualification.

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

Oversight of missing-from-home episodes is inconsistent. The management oversight of missing-from-home episodes lacks effective evaluation, resulting in missed opportunities to identify gaps in staff responses to episodes of children going missing, improve staff practice and strengthen the safety and welfare of children.

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

The manager does not ensure that staff have completed training that is specific to children’s individual needs, including substance misuse and child criminal exploitation. As a result, leaders cannot be assured that staff have the necessary knowledge to identify and respond effectively to these risks.

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

Staff receive regular supervision, which provides opportunities to reflect on practice and plan effectively for children. Annual appraisals focus on supporting individual development and professional growth. The manager has a good understanding of the staff team, their individual strengths and areas for development. Staff say they enjoy working at the home and are supported by the management team.

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

Team meetings take place every 2 weeks and are used to discuss expectations of the role, the children and strategies of support, and to plan transitions for children and team consistency. Meetings also provide opportunities for group reflection. This helps promote working together and team cohesion.

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

The manager and staff have built positive relationships with all professionals involved in the care of the children. Professionals report that the manager and staff communicate well and know the children well.

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

The manager and staff are committed to the care and support they provide children and strive for positive outcomes. Inspection report for children’s home: SC025739 7

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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

help each child to understand how to keep safe;

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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

that the premises used for the purposes of the home are designed, furnished and maintained so as to protect each child from avoidable hazards to the child’s health. (Regulation 12 (1) (2)(a)(i)(ii)(iii)(v)(vi)(d))

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Requirement Due date

Specifically, the registered person must ensure that action is taken to safeguard children and effectively manage incidents of children going missing from the home.

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Requirement Due date

In addition, the registered person must ensure that risk assessments provide an accurate and up-to-date reflection of children’s current risks and vulnerabilities. Staff must understand what they need to do to keep children safe. 6 August 2026 Inspection report for children’s home: SC025739 8 Additionally, leaders and managers must ensure that follow-up work is completed with the children following incidents.

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Requirement Due date

Managers must ensure that repairs to damages in the home are completed to a good standard and that children’s bedrooms are personalised.

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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; and

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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 and use this understanding to inform the development of the quality of care provided in the home; (Regulation 13 (1)(a)(b) (2)(c)(f))

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Requirement Due date

Specifically, the registered person must ensure that staff receive training to meet the specific needs and vulnerabilities of the children they care for. Leaders and managers must continually and actively assess the risks to the children and the arrangements in place to protect them. 6 August 2026

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Requirement Due date

The care planning standard is that children—

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Requirement Due date

receive effectively planned care in or through the children’s home.

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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

that children are admitted to the home only if their needs are within the range of needs of children for whom it is intended that the home is to provide care and accommodation, as set out in the home’s statement of purpose. (Regulation 14 (1)(a) (2)(a)) 6 August 2026 Inspection report for children’s home: SC025739 9 Specifically, the registered person must ensure that they consider staff experience and training alongside the identified needs of children already living in the home when considering new children moving into the home. Leaders and managers must ensure that they are fully assured that staff can meet the needs of all children.

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must recruit staff using recruitment procedures that are designed to ensure children’s safety.

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Requirement Due date

the individual has the appropriate experience, qualification and skills for the work that the individual is to perform.

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Requirement Due date

For the purposes of paragraph (3)(b), an individual who works in the home in a care role has the appropriate qualification if, by the relevant date, the individual has attained—

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Requirement Due date

the Level 3 Diploma for Residential Childcare (England) (“the Level 3 Diploma”); or

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Requirement Due date

a qualification which the registered person considers to be equivalent to the Level 3 Diploma.

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Requirement Due date

in the case of an individual who starts working in a care role in a home after 1st April 2014, the date which falls 2 years after the date on which the individual started working in a care role in a home; or

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Requirement Due date

in the case of an individual who was working in a care role in a home on 1st April 2014,1st April 2016. (Regulation 32 (1) (3)(b) (4)(a)(b) (5)(a)(b)) 6 August 2026

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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: SC025739 10

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Together Trust Centre, Schools Hill, Cheadle, Cheshire SK8 1JE

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Inspector

Renée Sims, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: SC025739 11 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.

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Inspector

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Inspector

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