Children's Home run by The Partnership of Care Today Children's Services in Stockport

Inspection report for children's home: SC008486 1 SC008486 Registered provider: The Partnership of Care Today Children's Services Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children's home

This children's home is registered to provide care for up to 6 children who may have social and emotional difficulties or learning disabilities.

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Information about this children's home

At the time of this inspection, there were 4 children being cared for at the home. The inspector spoke to all children during the inspection.

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Information about this children's home

The manager has been registered since July 2022.

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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: SC008486 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

26/08/2025 Full Good 16/07/2024 Full Good 21/11/2023 Full Good 14/03/2023 Full Good Inspection report for children's home: SC008486 3

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Summary of findings

Four children live at the home. They feel safe and happy. They enjoy positive experiences and are making good progress. They have respectful relationships with staff. Children's needs are understood, and there is appropriate response to changing risks, which ensures that they are protected from harm.

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Summary of findings

There is an experienced registered manager leading the home.

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Summary of findings

A number of shortfalls were identified. Wear and tear is evident throughout the home and grounds, including damaged bedroom furniture. Children do not have independent access to laundry facilities, and the laundry area is cluttered with items awaiting disposal. Management monitoring is not sufficiently robust, as records of restraints and consequences lack adequate scrutiny to ensure that they are detailed, signed and dated. Risk management plans are not consistently updated with current strategies. Development plans lack clear and measurable objectives, and significant events are not always notified to Ofsted in a timely and consistent manner.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children said that they are happy living in the home and enjoy positive, nurturing relationships with staff. Staff know the children well and provide care that is tailored to their individual needs. Children are supported to express their views, wishes and feelings, and their opinions are considered in decisions that affect their lives.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

When children move into the home, managers complete comprehensive assessments based on the information available at the time of referral. Staff work proactively with professionals and families to ensure that transitions into the home are planned as well as possible within the timescales available. When there are plans for children to move on from the home, decisions are made in their best interests. For some children, assessments are progressing to explore opportunities to return to family care.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are making good progress from their starting points, including improvements in education attendance, engagement with health services, emotional regulation and relationships with others. For some children, risks have reduced significantly, including incidents of going missing from home. Children's progress is monitored through individual star charts, which are overseen by the home's therapist and inform future key work with children.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff complete meaningful key work with children. This is, often, planned proactively and also in response to significant events in children's lives. These conversations are individualised and relevant and help children to understand their experiences and express their feelings. Inspection report for children's home: SC008486 4 Children are supported to maintain relationships with people who are important to them. Staff work effectively with families and professionals to promote positive family time and strengthen relationships where this is in line with children's plans.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff place a strong emphasis on supporting children's education. They work closely with schools, colleges and virtual school professionals to address barriers to learning and advocate for appropriate educational provision. Some children benefit from additional private tuition. This means children have made progress in their education.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children's health needs are well supported. Staff ensure that children attend routine and specialist health appointments and provide consistent support to promote both physical and emotional wellbeing. Children benefit from access to therapeutic support, including individual sessions with the home's therapist, who also provides guidance and training to staff to help them meet children's emotional needs.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children enjoy a wide range of activities and experiences that reflect their interests and aspirations, including visits to football stadiums, supercar experiences and arcade clubs. Staff also support children to develop age-appropriate independence skills, including independent travel, personal hygiene and daily living tasks.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The home is warm and welcoming and has recently undergone some redecoration. However, there are signs of wear and tear, including damaged bedroom furniture and unsightly external paintwork. Children do not have independent access to laundry facilities due to the basement being locked, limiting opportunities to develop practical independence skills. In addition, broken equipment stored in walkways and a deadbolt fitted to the fire escape door present health and safety concerns that require prompt action.

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

Children feel safe and are generally settled living in the home. When children go missing from home, staff take prompt and appropriate action to locate them and ensure their safety. Staff complete meaningful follow-up work that explores children's experiences, views and wishes, while helping them understand the risks associated with going missing. Staff work effectively with external agencies, including the police, missing-from- home services and the complex safeguarding team, to support children and reduce future risks.

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

Staff respond promptly to concerns regarding substance misuse and make referrals for specialist support when required. They manage incidents consistently through welfare checks, room searches, direct work and liaison with relevant professionals. These interventions are undertaken sensitively, ensuring that children's dignity is respected and they give their consent where possible. Key-work sessions are of good quality and help children to understand risks, identify triggers and develop coping strategies. However, some risk management plans are undated, and strategies relating to cannabis misuse are not always specific. Inspection report for children's home: SC008486 5 Staff know children well and understand their individual risks and triggers. Staff adopt a therapeutic approach to their care and prioritise de-escalation. Physical intervention is only used when necessary to protect children or others from harm. Managers review

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

incidents and seek the views of children and staff. However, some restraint records contain omissions, including missing dates, names and signatures to show they have been reviewed within regulatory timescales.

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

Staff celebrate children's achievements and promote positive behaviour through praise, rewards and personalised incentives. Consequences are proportionate, restorative and discussed with children. However, records relating to children contributing towards damage to property do not always clearly state the amount being repaid.

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

Safeguarding concerns and allegations are taken seriously and are reported to relevant agencies. The home has effective relationships with safeguarding professionals, and children's welfare remains central to practice. However, management oversight does not always clearly demonstrate the timeliness of referrals, and not all allegations against staff have been notified to Ofsted.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The home is led by an experienced registered manager who knows the children well and is proud of the progress they have made. She speaks warmly and affectionately about the children and is a strong advocate for them, particularly in securing positive outcomes in education. The manager has a clear vision for the home and practises critical reflection to continually improve practice.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager has effective monitoring and oversight systems in place, which are used to identify strengths, address shortfalls and drive improvement. Development plans are detailed but do not consistently contain specific and measurable actions to demonstrate progress towards set goals. There is good partnership working with the home's therapist, helping to promote reflective practice, staff development and therapeutic approaches to care.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

There is a stable staff team that works well together. Children are cared for by staff who know them well and provide consistent support that promotes their safety, emotional wellbeing and stability. Staff complete a wide range of training to meet children's needs, which is regularly refreshed.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff value the support they receive from managers and describe them as approachable and responsive. Supervision is regular, reflective and focused on practice. The recent introduction of therapeutic supervision has further strengthened the quality of support available to staff. Annual appraisals provide staff with opportunities to reflect on their performance and identify career development goals.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Team meetings are held regularly and are generally well attended. These meetings are used effectively to share information, review practice and consider developments within Inspection report for children's home: SC008486 6 the home, including discussions around consequences and the use of door sensors. Children's meetings are also held regularly and provide opportunities for children to influence menus, activities and other aspects of daily life. Inspection report for children's home: SC008486 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 quality and purpose of care standard is that children receive care from staff who—

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Requirement Due date

understand the children's home's overall aims and the outcomes it seeks to achieve for children;

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Requirement Due date

use this understanding to deliver care that meets children's needs and supports them to fulfil their potential.

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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

understand and apply the home's statement of purpose;

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Requirement Due date

provide to children living in the home the physical necessities they need in order to live there comfortably;

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Requirement Due date

ensure that the premises used for the purposes of the home are designed and furnished so as to—

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Requirement Due date

enable each child to participate in the daily life of the home. (Regulation 6 (1)(a)(b) (2)(a)(b)(vii)(c)(i)(ii))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person must ensure that when furniture and soft furnishings have been damaged, these are replaced as quickly as possible.

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Requirement Due date

In addition, the registered person must ensure that the home environment is homely, clean and well cared for and that any damage is repaired as quickly as possible. 25 September 2026 Inspection report for children's home: SC008486 8 In addition, the registered person must ensure that children have independent access to laundry facilities. This area must be kept free from hazards and clutter.

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that all incidents of control, discipline and restraint are subject to systems of regular scrutiny to ensure that their use is fair. Specifically, records of consequences should contain sufficient detail to clearly explain the rationale for their use. Records of restraint should be fully completed, signed and dated to demonstrate that they are accurate and have been reviewed within the required timescales. ('Guide to the Children's Homes Regulations, including the quality standards', page 46, paragraph 9.36)  The registered person should ensure that children's risk management plans reflect the current level of assessed risk and the arrangements in place to protect them. Risk management plans should be clearly dated to identify the current version and include specific guidance for staff on responding to concerns relating to substance misuse, including suspected cannabis misuse. ('Guide to the Children's Homes Regulations,

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Recommendations

including the quality standards', page 42, paragraph 9.5)  The registered person should notify Ofsted and all relevant parties, including the placing authority and the local authority designated officer, of any allegation of abuse against the home or a person working there. Notifications must be made without delay, and the home must provide timely updates as the situation progresses. ('Guide to the Children's Home Regulations, including the quality standards', page 63, paragraph 14.10)  The registered person should make the best use of information from internal monitoring, including the quality of care review. Development plans should contain all necessary information to support continuous improvement. Actions should be specific and measurable. ('Guide to the Children's Homes Regulations, including the quality standards', page 55, paragraph 10.24)

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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: SC008486 9

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Children's home details

Registered provider: The Partnership of Care Today Children's Services

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Children's home details

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

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Inspector

Samantha Cooper, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children's home: SC008486 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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Inspector

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