Children's Home run by Your Chapter Limited in Lancashire

children and young people since the most recent full inspection

This home was judged good at the full inspection. At this interim inspection Ofsted judge that it has sustained effectiveness .

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

Some young people make good progress within the home. For example, a young person’s achievements at GCSE level in Spring 2016 were highly commendable, after a previous pattern of school non-attendance. The individual is rightly proud of their achievements and puts this down to the support and aspirational encouragement from both the home and school staff. This has enabled the individual to attend college and pursue a course of their choice with their peers.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

A second young person has developed more self-regulation with behavioural outbursts and is progressing well though their personal therapeutic programme. Young people are very clear about their development and progress through the home’s three stage programme, which helps them to complete their aims and to understand what they need to do to achieve further. For the third young person, the placement is in the very early stages, so it is too early to comment on progress.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

In-placement progress for three young people who have now left the home, has been mixed. For one young person there is evidence of successful end-to-end completion of the therapeutic programme, which contributed well towards their positive transition to a new placement. However, two young people had abrupt endings to their placements after a peak of risk-taking behaviour and Police involvement through the summer and early autumn of 2016. In one case, there is evidence of joint planning through disruption meeting forums and some transitional work being completed, before a critical risk taking episode meant that the placement was disrupted. In a second case, the placement broke down at 11 weeks after a sharp increase in missing episodes and high levels of risk taking behaviour. There is no evidence that this episode has been subject to reflection or review by leaders and managers, to try and ascertain why the placement broke

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

down. That said, it is only fair to comment that the acting manager has only recently come into post after the registered manager left suddenly.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

While restraints are recorded, the completion and quality of participants’ de- briefing is below standard. This was the subject of a recommendation at the last inspection and with only slight progress noted, the issue is now subject to a requirement. The majority of restraint records do include a de-briefing account for staff and children, with only one account missing. However, the quality of each de- briefing record is poor, as the report simply accounts for the incident by a different author, with no reflection on whether actions could have been different and how the restraint might have been avoided.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

There is evidence that allegations by young people have been suitably addressed by the staff and referred to the appropriate statutory agency, in line with policy which helps to keep young people safe. The home’s records do not sufficiently distinguish between allegations and complaints made by young people. Both incidences are recorded in the same records, even though different policies and protocols apply to each. Although a recording issue, with no impact on young people’s safety to date, there is a risk with this dual-recording, that an allegation could be treated as a complaint and not escalated appropriately.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

The registered manager left their post suddenly and the service has appointed an interim manager whilst a new manager is recruited and appointed. Young people and staff engage readily with the acting manager and find her approachable and visible in the home. This arrangement provides a consistent level of management, from which young people and staff all benefit.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

There is a gap in the home’s statement of purpose, as it doesn’t indicate the qualifications and experience of the lead therapist who provides clinical supervision to the therapist practising within the home. This is a recording shortfall, but needs attention to ensure that all relevant parties are fully informed of the clinical supervision structure for the in-house therapy.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

The home has suitably addressed the requirement made at the last inspection. The internal bedroom door alarm system is fully operational and linked to the occupant’s level of safety assessed via the therapeutic programme. This means that the implemented system is individual and not a blanket approach. The young people and their social workers are aware of the alarms and the reason for their use.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

There were five recommendations from the last inspection. One relating to restraint de-briefing has already been reported upon above. The second recommendation was linked to the level of private space provided for young people to meet their professional visitors. The home has addressed this issue with the re-development of the education room into a private meeting/chill out room. This development is not due for completion until April 2017, therefore this recommendation is repeated.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

The remaining three recommendations from the last inspection, were linked to internal and external monitoring of the home. The acting manager has picked up the internal monitoring system to reasonable effect with improved record analysis and the plotting of developments for the immediate future. While there is still some way to go with the quality of reflection and analysis, the two recommendations linked to this issue are met. The recommendation from last inspection linked to the inclusion of young people’s views within quality monitoring has been partially addressed. The regulation 45 report does refer to the home’s methods for collating young people’s views, however it doesn’t actually state what the young people say about the quality of care provided to them. Therefore this issue is raised as a requirement at this inspection.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

Since the last inspection, there have been some gaps in the home’s return of the regulation 44 report to Ofsted. The home is not consistently providing copies of the report to the regulator as required, which reduces Ofsted’s level of oversight of the home’s practice. While practice in this area has more recently improved, there is a requirement raised to ensure the consistent return of the report to Ofsted.

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Information about this children's home

The home is provided by an independent company and is registered for four young people who may have emotional and/or behavioural difficulties. The company provides a school on the same site, adjacent to the children’s home.

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Recent inspection history

Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement 19/01/2016 Full Good

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Statutory Requirements

This section sets out the actions which must be taken so that the registered person/s meets the Care Standards Act 2000, 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 with the given timescales.

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Requirement Due date

The independent person must provide a copy of the independent person's report to- (a) HMCI. (Regulation 44 (7) (a) ) 28/02/2017

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must compile in relation to the children's home a statement ("the statement of purpose") which covers the matters listed in Schedule 1. (Regulation 16 (1) ) 14/02/2017

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that within 48 hours of the use of the measure, they, or a person who is authorised by the registered person to do so- (i) has spoken to the user about the measure. (Regulation 35 (i) ) 14/02/2017

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must complete a review of the quality of care provided for children at least once every 6 months. (5) the system referred to above must provide for ascertaining and considering the opinions of children. (Regulation 45 (5) ) 14/02/2017

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Recommendations

To improve the quality and standards of care further the service should take account of the following recommendation(s):  Any allegation of harm or abuse must be addressed in line with the home’s child protection policy, paying special attention towards the separate recording of allegations and children’s complaints. (The Guide to the quality standards, pg 44 paragraph 9.17)  Staff should respect children’s privacy and support the other children living in the home to do the same, with particular reference to the provision of a private meeting place for children and their visitors. (The Guide to the quality standards pg 16, paragraph 3.17)  Each home must have clear arrangements in place to maintain effective management when the manager is absent, this is with particular reference to the acting manager addressing and implementing the home’s development plan including learning from placement disruptions and reviewing any trends from

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Recommendations

record checks. (The Guide to the quality standards pg 54, paragraph 10.20)

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What the inspection judgements mean

At the interim inspection we make a judgement on whether the home has improved in effectiveness, sustained effectiveness, or declined in effectiveness since the previous full inspection. This is in line with the Inspection of children's homes: framework for inspection.

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Information about this inspection

Inspectors have looked closely at the experiences and progress of children and young people living in the children's home. Inspectors considered the quality of work and the difference adults make to the lives of children and young people. They read case files, watched how professional staff work with children, young people and each other and discussed the effectiveness of help and care given to children and young people. Wherever possible, they talked to children, young people and their families. In addition the inspectors have tried to understand what the children's home knows about how well it is performing, how well it is doing and what difference it is making for the children and young people who it is trying to help, protect and look after. This inspection focused on the effectiveness of the home and the progress and experiences of children and young people since the most recent full inspection.

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Information about this inspection

This inspection was carried out under the Care Standards Act 2000 to assess the effectiveness of the service 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. the guidance raising concerns and making complaints about Ofsted, which is available from Ofsted's website: www.gov.uk/government/organisations/ofsted . If you would like Ofsted to send you a copy of the guidance, please telephone 0300123 4234, or email enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk .

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Information about this inspection

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, workbased learning and skills training, adult and community learning, and education and training in prisons and other secure establishments. It inspects services for looked after children and child protection. If you would like a copy of this document in a different format, such as large print or Braille, please telephone 0300 123 4234, 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,

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Information about this inspection

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Information about this inspection

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Information about this inspection

Store Street Manchester M1 2WD T: 0300 123 1231 Textphone: 0161 618 8524 E: enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk W: www.gov.uk/government/organisations/ofsted

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