Children's home run by Choices Home for Children Limited in Cheshire East

Inspection report children’s home: SC436559 1 SC436559 Registered provider: Choices Home For Children Limited

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Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This is a privately owned and run children’s home. It is registered to provide care and accommodation to five children who may have emotional and/or behavioural difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager is suitably qualified and experienced and was registered to manage the home in July 2017.

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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 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 children’s home: SC436559 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

01/08/2017 Full Good 02/03/2017 Interim Sustained effectiveness 13/09/2016 Full Outstanding 25/01/2016 Interim Sustained effectiveness Inspection report children’s home: SC436559 3

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Statutory requirements

This section sets out the actions that the registered person must take to meet 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 must comply within the given timescales.

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Requirement Due date

The Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 applies to the home— the registered person must ensure that the requirements of the Order and any regulations made under it, are complied with in respect of the home. (Regulation 25 (2)(b)) This is with particular reference to the home following the fire safety risk assessment with regard to fire drills. 30/11/2018

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must maintain records (‘case records’) for each child which— include the information and documents listed in Schedule 3 in relation to a child; are kept up to date; and are signed and dated by the author of each entry. (Regulation 36 (1)(a)(b)(c)) 30/11/2018

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Requirement Due date

Subject to paragraph (6), the registered person must ensure that the home is at all times conducted in a manner which is consistent with its statement of purpose. (Regulation 16 (5)) This is with particular reference to the repair or replacement of the front gates, repair of outside lighting, repair or replacement of the telephone system, blinds or curtains to be fitted to young people’s bedrooms and attention to the damp problems in the downstairs rooms. 30/11/2018

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Requirement Due date

In meeting the quality standards, the registered person must, and must ensure that staff— if the registered person considers, or staff consider, a placing authority’s or a relevant person’s performance or response to be inadequate in relation to their role, challenge the placing authority or the relevant person to seek to ensure that each child’s needs are met in accordance with the child’s relevant plans. (Regulation 5 (c)) 30/11/2018

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that— within 48 hours of the use of the control measure, the registered person, or a person who is authorised by the registered person to do to (‘the authorised person’) has spoken to the user about the measure; and has signed the record to confirm it is accurate; and within 5 days of the measure, the registered person or authorised person adds to the record confirmation that they have spoken to the child about the 30/11/2018 Inspection report children’s home: SC436559 4 measure. (Regulation 35 (3)(b)(i)(ii)(c)) The registered person must ensure that a record is made of any complaint, the action taken in response, and the outcome of any investigation. (Regulation 39 (3)) 30/11/2018

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Recommendations

 Any sanctions used to address poor behaviour should be restorative in nature, to help children recognise the impact of their behaviour on themselves, other children, the staff caring for them and the wider community. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 46, paragraph 9.38)

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Most young people make good progress through living at the home. Their life chances have significantly improved from their starting points and they embrace the opportunities and benefits that result from stable and reliable care.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Most young people have grown in self-esteem and positive self-worth. This is evidenced in their achievements of becoming mentors for younger children in community-based projects and head student at school. The consistent support that staff give to young people helps them to develop future goals and increases their confidence.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Young people follow healthy routines and recognise boundaries for behaviour, and these strategies help to support their physical and emotional development. These care programmes are complemented by timely referral to specialist services, such as the drug and alcohol team and the art therapist.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

All young people spoken to are able to identify staff that they trust, and young people value the time that staff spend with them. One young person, reflecting on the progress she had made commented: ‘I’m able to go to education without any worries on my mind. It makes it a lot easier being here.’

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Some young people’s progress at the home has faltered. Although the manager and staff have advocated on young people’s behalf for services and attempted to hold partner agencies to account for their contribution to care packages, these strategies have not been effective. Concerns regarding the lack of attention to care plans have not been robustly escalated with the other agencies. This has resulted in some young people disengaging from the staff at the home.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

On the whole, the home is welcoming and reasonably well maintained. However, there Inspection report children’s home: SC436559 5 have been delays in addressing some repairs and improvements identified by the manager. For example, young people and professionals have expressed frustration with the phone system installed within the home being faulty, resulting in interrupted calls. Delays in other maintenance issues include replacement blinds and curtains in young people’s bedrooms, damp in some downstairs rooms, electric gates on the property that are broken and no longer fully open and outside lighting that has ceased to work.

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improvement to be good

Most young people do not engage in drug or alcohol misuse. The manager and staff understand young people’s individual vulnerabilities and risks well. Young people spoken to say that they feel safe at the home.

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improvement to be good

When young people have been missing from home, staff are active in looking for them and working with other agencies to secure their safe return. A missing from home coordinator said: ‘They absolutely do their best to keep him safe to the best of their abilities.’

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improvement to be good

Community-based activities are promoted well by the staff, and through sensitive and ongoing encouragement young people begin to embrace the opportunities that are offered. This helps young people to manage and overcome any anxieties that they feel towards unfamiliar situations.

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improvement to be good

Staff are trained in, and apply, de-escalation techniques in order to manage incidents of challenging behaviour within the home. Some incidents, however, where it has been necessary to use physical restraint, have not always benefited from robust evaluation. In addition, young people were not always spoken to by the manager following the incident, but by a member of staff who had been involved in the restraint. As a result, learning opportunities for staff have been missed.

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improvement to be good

Young people understand the expectations of staff and consider the rules to be fair. However, some means of managing young people’s negative behaviour have not been restorative in nature. This reduces and limits young people’s learning opportunities.

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improvement to be good

The manager investigates any allegations or complaints in a timely manner. However, the outcome of these enquiries has not always been recorded in a clear and transparent manner. Staff do not consistently apply the company’s policy within the fire safety risk assessment regarding the frequency of fire evacuation drills, and as a result the opportunities for young people to practise these are reduced.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager is suitably qualified and experienced and was registered to manage the home in July 2017. She offers clear and unambiguous leadership to a committed staff team. Inspection report children’s home: SC436559 6 The manager offers good levels of support to staff through formal and informal supervision, being visible and available at the home and having good insight into each young person’s needs and their progress. Equally, she sets high expectations of staff performance and is equally aware of the work’s emotional impact on staff.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager is passionate about her role and achieving the best outcomes for young people. The manager and staff work hard to establish and maintain good working relationships with other agencies. A particular strength of the home, identified by professionals, is the regular and timely communication from the staff team.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager has good insight into the strengths and weaknesses of the home. Suitable monitoring systems are in place to inform the development plans and ensure that the care offered to young people is of a good standard.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Not all requirements set at the last inspection have been addressed. As a result, a requirement regarding young people’s case records has been reinstated and the requirement relating to fire evacuation procedures is repeated.

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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 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: SC436559 7

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Choices Home For Children Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: c/o Afford Bond, 31 Wellington Road, Nantwich, Cheshire CW5 7ED

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Inspector

Pauline Yates, social care inspector Inspection report children’s home: SC436559 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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