Children's Home run by Your Chapter Limited in Cheshire West and Chester

Inspection report children’s home: 1027164 1 Registered provider: Care 4 Children Residential Services Limited

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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 home is privately owned and provides medium to long-term therapeutic care and support for up to five young people who present with harmful sexual behaviors. The children and young people may also have social, emotional and/or behavioural difficulties. The registered manager has been in post since March 2017.

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Overall experiences and progress of

children and young people, taking into account

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Outstanding

How well children and young people are helped and protected Outstanding

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Outstanding

The effectiveness of leaders and managers Outstanding

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Outstanding

The children’s home provides highly effective services that consistently exceed the standards of good. The actions of the children’s home contribute to significantly improved outcomes and positive experiences for children and young people who need help, protection and care.

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Outstanding

Overall judgement at last inspection: outstanding

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Outstanding

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report children’s home: 1027164 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

30/08/2017 Full Outstanding 31/01/2017 Full Good 22/06/2016 Interim Sustained effectiveness 10/02/2016 Full Outstanding Inspection report children’s home: 1027164 3

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Recommendations

 The registered person must ensure that all young people’s case records are kept up to date and signed and dated by the author of each entry. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 62, paragraph 14.3)  Ensure that the home is a homely, domestic environment. This is specifically in relation to ensuring that repairs to the home are carried out in a timely manner. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations and quality standards’, page 15 paragraph 3.9)

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

The provider has developed an excellent wraparound service, which includes care, therapy and education to ensure that all young people, without exception, have made vast progress from their starting points. Young people who have complex needs are achieving excellent outcomes in their education, health, positive relationships with adults and peers, and in reducing their risk. For one young person, this has resulted in him securing outstanding results in passing nine GCSEs, including five As and one A star. Two other young people have completed their therapeutic programme and have moved successfully on to independent living, and both are now in college. Young people receive an exceptional quality of care and feel cherished in this home. Their safety and well-being have significantly improved as a result of the outstanding care that they receive. The therapeutic model of care, outlined in the home’s statement

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

of purpose, is well embedded into practice. Part of this model includes individual risk assessments for time spent in the community. The staff are not risk averse and put a great deal of planning into measured, safe strategies to enable and support young people to access the community. This is exemplified by the tremendous progress made by one young person, who now travels a significant distance on his own, taking three trains to travel independently to his family contact. Relationships between young people and staff are particularly strong, as evidenced through positive comments from social workers, parents and the young people themselves. A social worker commented, ’The dedication of the staff team is beyond question, they go that extra mile to make sure that he can experience a normal teenage life while managing the risks that this brings.’ Adults listen to young people unfailingly, especially during key working and home

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

meetings. These meetings are popular with young people and offer the opportunity for them to put their ideas and suggestions forward. The young people report that they feel included in their home, receive feedback and always feel listened to. Inspection report children’s home: 1027164 4 Contact arrangements are complex, and staff work flexibly to support and facilitate these arrangements. Social workers and parents acknowledge this commitment. A social worker commented, ‘Staff go out their way to make contact pleasant and enjoyable for the whole family, like organising picnics.’ Young people’s inclusion in community life is outstanding. Young people enjoy an excellent range of well-considered activities and experiences, which are thoroughly risk assessed in line with individual plans. Activities follow the interests of the young people and are integral to developing their self-confidence. For example, young people have

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

become members of the local badminton club and they enjoy fishing and running. The home presents as a lived-in family home. It is warm, welcoming and comfortable. However, some minor improvements are required to address maintenance in the home to ensure that repairs are carried out promptly. The manager acknowledges this and has committed to addressing the shortfalls imminently.

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

Young people receive exceptionally high-quality and consistent care. They say that they feel safe living at the home. One young person said, ‘This is the safest I’ve felt in all my life.’ Young people’s confidence stems from their knowledge that staff know them very well and respond to their specific needs. The staff give young people’s safety the highest priority, and they are very well trained in safeguarding matters. They recognise the signs and symptoms of abuse and risks relating to harmful sexualised behaviour, criminality and child sexual exploitation. Staff know exactly what they need to do when they have concerns about young people and take decisive action to safeguard all young people in their care. The staff work in conjunction with the education and therapy teams to ensure that comprehensive risk assessments and safety plans are in place for all individual young people. They effectively balance the need for protection with enabling the young people

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

to take reasonable risks, as part of their growth and development. Young people’s behaviour is usually excellent and has significantly improved over time. Young people get on very well with staff and each other. They benefit from a nurturing and structured environment where positive behaviour is actively promoted through praise and rewards. Young people said that they felt fairly treated and reported that they can openly discuss any concerns that they may have. There are some occasions when young people go missing from home. Clear protocols are in place for such events, and these are precisely followed by staff to safeguard young people as swiftly as possible. Staff practice includes searching for young people as any good parent would. Follow-up return interviews help to ensure that the reasons for any occasion of going missing are fully explored and understood. Admissions to the home are well organised, and a high level of consideration is given to

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

the appropriate mix of young people. Risk assessments and preplacement meetings ensure that admission decisions are carefully considered. This includes consideration of both the current young person and the new young person, and demonstrates that Inspection report children’s home: 1027164 5 compatibility and individual needs are considered of high importance. As a result, young people benefit from good placement stability.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

Young people and staff are fully supported by a proactive, strong and dedicated registered manager. She leads by example and ensures that the team is stable, exceptionally well supported and competently trained. She demonstrates eagerness and a capacity for continued development of the service. An experienced, stable and committed staff team cares for young people. All the staff have worked together for some time. This continuity of staffing has been pivotal in promoting young people’s attachments. The skills in the staff team match young people’s needs exceptionally well. The manager provides staff with regular and very effective supervision. This is in addition to monthly staff team meetings and weekly multidisciplinary meetings, where the manager recognises the positive work of the staff. As a result, staff feel supported, valued and highly motivated. Young people are also encouraged to contribute to these

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

meetings. The multidisciplinary team uses an appropriate array of research to continually develop and improve the service for young people. The team is in the process of devising its therapeutic model to ensure that team members constantly strive to positively influence the lives of the young people living in the home. Young people’s written records provide a very detailed picture of their experiences and progress. The records include a narrative of young people’s daily lives, staff observations of young people’s mood and behaviour, and a detailed analysis of their development. These comprehensive records provide an excellent insight and understanding of young people’s lives and contribute significantly to the planning for their futures. However, some records were not signed or dated by the authors. The staff and the manager have established excellent working relationships with a range of agencies and professionals who are involved in young people’s care. Staff work closely

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

with schools, colleges, social workers, health professionals and leading child protection agencies. Feedback from all stakeholders is exceptionally positive, praising staff’s commitment, young people’s progress and the effective communication that the manager and her team have with stakeholders. Monitoring arrangements for the home are highly effective. Issues arising from the manager’s and the external person’s monitoring ensure that the manager has a very good understanding of the strengths and areas for development for the home. She is quick to address issues that arise.

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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 differences made to the lives of children and young people. They watched how professional staff work with children Inspection report children’s home: 1027164 6 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 whom 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: 1027164 7

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Care 4 Children Residential Services Ltd

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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

Elaine Allison, social care inspector Inspection report children’s home: 1027164 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.

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Inspector

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Inspector

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Inspector

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