Children's home run by Your Chapter Limited

Inspection report children's home: 1240884 1 Registered provider: Care 4 Children

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Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children's home

The children's home is one of a number of homes operated by a private organisation. It is registered to provide care and accommodation for up to two young people who have emotional and/or behavioural difficulties

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Overall experiences and progress of

children and young people, taking into account good

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Overall experiences and progress of

How well children and young people are helped and protected good

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Overall experiences and progress of

The effectiveness of leaders and managers good

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Overall experiences and progress of

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

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Overall experiences and progress of

Overall judgement at last inspection: Not applicable

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Key findings from this inspection

 Children make good progress from their starting point. They are attending school for the first time in many years and gaining vocational qualifications. Inspection report children's home: 1240884 2  Management arrangements are effective and ensure the quality of care that is provided to children.

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Key findings from this inspection

 Children enjoy new activities and hobbies, such as fishing, going to the gym and snooker.

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Key findings from this inspection

 There is a stable team of staff in place who provide continuity and predictability for children who have experienced multiple disruptions in their lives.

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Key findings from this inspection

 Due to effective support from the staff, children are learning to manage their behaviour and emotions. Consequently, physical interventions are reducing significantly.

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Key findings from this inspection

 The staff work very well with children and their parents to develop contact arrangements. This has led to children seeing those who are important to them more frequently.

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Key findings from this inspection

 There are good relationships between staff and children. Children identify staff who they feel very comfortable with to share their thoughts and worries with.

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Key findings from this inspection

The children's home's areas for development

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Key findings from this inspection

 Staff probation reviews require objectives to be set that develop their care practice further.

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

Not applicable. Inspection report children's home: 1240884 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children living at this home are cared for by a committed and stable staff team who provide continuity and predictability to them. The staff place the well-being of individual children at the centre of their care practice, irrespective of the very challenging behaviour presented. Children said that they like living here and that they like the staff. A young person commented, ‘I would give this home nine out of 10.’

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are making good progress since coming to live at the home. They are attending school for the first time in many years and achieving vocational qualifications, such as in motor mechanics and maintenance. They also enjoy a range of recreational activities, including army cadets, fishing, going to the gym and snooker. One young person said that he ‘loves’ fishing and is looking forward to a fishing holiday with the staff. These are new and positive experiences that will enable children to grow further.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children’s health needs are well met. They are registered with appropriate health care services and receive in-house therapy from qualified therapists. Medication is administered safely, and no errors have occurred. The staff continue to encourage young people to learn self-care skills and to take care of their appearance. This is steadily improving and demonstrates their growing confidence and self-worth.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children know how to make a complaint through an easily accessible, child-focused procedure which is displayed in the home. Moreover, they have weekly meetings in which to raise their views and opinions, such as on activities that they would like to do. They also have key-working discussions to help them to make sense of their feelings and emotions.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff fully support children to stay in touch with their family and they have a good understanding of their background history and relationships. They work proactively with parents and partner agencies to ensure that contact is safe and enjoyable. Notably, staff have worked successfully with partner agencies to champion children’s views to enable them to see their family members and friends more regularly.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children’s care is supported by detailed care planning in partnership with them, their families and partner agencies. They are treated with dignity, and their family history and ethnicity is promoted. Memory books are being collated by the staff with children so that they can look back on their care journey and experience.

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

Children said that they feel safe and protected by the staff. Moreover, effective planning with partner agencies helps to minimise risks and vulnerabilities of children. All incidents of them going missing from home are robustly managed, and protocols with partner agencies are in place. These incidents have significantly reduced since young people Inspection report children's home: 1240884 4 have come to live in the home, making them safer.

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

The staff have regular training in safeguarding and have a good understanding of how to protect children. Organisational policies and procedures are in place to guide staff practice. These measures complement the culture of safety and protection in the home.

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

An incentive system, known by children as the BMS, is in place, whereby the young people can earn points that translate into monies for keeping to routines, such as going to school or cleaning their teeth. This strategy is successful, and behaviour is well managed. Furthermore, physical interventions with children are significantly reducing. Any physical interventions are fully reviewed by the registered manager for their appropriateness. The staff are also trained in a certified method of physical intervention enable them to safely care for children.

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

The staff work with children to educate them in keeping themselves safe. For example, young people receive guidance from staff on using the internet and social media safely and the dangers of smoking and substance misuse. Local agencies attend the home to educate young people on sexual health matters to help them make informed choices. The local police community support officer visits the home regularly, which provides further reassurance and safety to children.

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

The staff are recruited and selected through a process that takes account of safer recruitment practice to promote the safety of children. This includes checks with the Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) and references from previous employers to guard against unsafe adults working at the home.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager has been in position since September 2016 and registered with Ofsted in December 2017. He is suitably qualified and experienced in working with children who have emotional and behavioural needs. He is supported by a senior worker, and together they set the ethos of high standards of care to children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Quality audit systems are in place and provide an overview of care practice. The registered manager has systems in place to monitor the care provided and is fully aware of the strengths and areas for development in the service. For example, the refurbishment of the home and replacing garden furniture are highlighted as areas for improvement. Independent monitoring also provides further scrutiny, and actions set are welcomed by the staff so that they can learn and improve further. Significant incidents are reported to the appropriate authorities to ensure that information is shared to help protect children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff spoken to during the inspection said that they enjoy their work, and they are highly complimentary of the manager and their team members. They have guidance, policies and procedures to support their care practice. They also have regular training, supervisions, appraisals and team meetings to keep them up to date on emerging information. Although probation reviews are completed, these are not sufficiently Inspection report children's home: 1240884 5 challenging to identify areas of development for the staff to further enhance their competence in delivering a high standard of care. The staff are suitably qualified or working towards this. There are sufficient numbers of staff members working at the home consistently to provide stability for children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Records reflect the needs of children and ways in which the staff are meeting them. The records give a clear impression of how children are doing on a daily basis. This reflects the manager’s commitment to promoting their success.

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Information about this inspection

Inspectors have looked closely at the experiences and progress of children and young people. Inspectors considered the quality of work and the difference made to the lives of children and young people. They watched how professional staff work with children and young people and each other and discussed the effectiveness of help and care provided. Wherever possible, they talked to children and 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.

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Information about this inspection

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 children's home: 1240884 6

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Children's home details

Registered provider address: Care 4 Children, 1 Stuart Road, Bredbury Park Industrial Estate, Bredbury, Stockport SK6 2SR

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Inspector(s)

Caroline Jones, social care inspector Inspection report children's home: 1240884 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(s)

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Inspector(s)

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Inspector(s)

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

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