Children's Home run by Your Chapter Limited in Lancashire

Inspection report children’s home: 1271998 1 Registered provider: Care 4 Children Residential Services Ltd

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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 provides care for up to three children or young people between the ages of 11 and 17 years who have experienced emotional and/or behavioural difficulties and challenging behaviours.

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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: not applicable

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

This is the home’s first inspection Inspection report children’s home: 1271998 2

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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, 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 health and well-being standard is that the health and well- being needs of children are met; children receive advice, services and support in relation to their health and well-being and children are helped to lead healthy lifestyles. (Regulation 10 (1)(a)(b)(c)) In particular, staff should adhere to the policies and procedures regarding children smoking tobacco. 14/12/2018

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Requirement Due date

The protection of children standard is that children are protected from harm and enabled to keep themselves safe.

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to ensure that staff assess whether each child is at risk of harm, taking into account information in the child’s relevant plans, and, if necessary, make arrangements to reduce the risk of any harm to the child; help each child to understand how to keep safe; have the skills to identify and act upon signs that a child is at risk of harm; manage relationships between children to prevent them from harming each other; understand the roles and responsibilities in relation to protecting children that are assigned to them by the registered person; take effective action whenever there is a serious concern about a child’s welfare; that the home’s day-to-day care is arranged and delivered so as to keep each child safe and to protect each child effectively from harm. (Regulation 12 (1) and (2) (a)(i)(ii)(iiii)(iv)(v)(vi(b)) 14/12/2018

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Recommendations

 The registered person should plan staffing levels to ensure that they meet the needs of children and can respond flexibly to unexpected events or opportunities. Staffing structures should promote continuity of care from the child’s perspective. Inspection report children’s home: 1271998 3 (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 54, paragraph 10.15)

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that the independent scrutiny of the home is completed and reported on in a timely way. Furthermore, that the information provided by this scrutiny supports the continuous improvement of the home. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 55, paragraph 10.24)

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Recommendations

 The registered person should have a system in place so that all serious events are notified, within 24 hours, to the appropriate people. The system should ensure that there is a clear threshold for notifications. Notification must include details of the action taken by the home’s staff in response to the event. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 63, paragraph 14.13)

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The experiences and progress for children living at this home have changed over time. During the first two months after the home opened, the experiences of children were not good. Poor placement matching and the lack of knowledge and skills of staff, alongside the high staff turnover, had an impact on children’s outcomes. Remedial action has seen positive developments in the home. As a result, children now have good experiences and they make good progress.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children now live in a home that is nurturing and supportive. Staff know the children well and help them to achieve good outcomes. Children have good and trusting relationships with staff. Children say that they feel safe and like living here.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children’s placement plans are of a good standard. They are child centred and outcome focused. Staff empower children to take an active part in their assessments and plans. Consequently, assessments and plans are individual to each child’s needs and are reflective of their personalities.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children can see that staff care about them. They understand why routines and boundaries are in place. Children can identify with the progress that they have made and the areas where they need further support.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Some children are not engaged in education when they are admitted to the home. Staff are proactive and ensure that children access educational provision that meets their needs. Children now have a good educational routine and are starting to enjoy learning again. As a result, children are working towards recognised qualifications and are beginning to be proud of their achievements. Inspection report children’s home: 1271998 4 Children have had varied experiences of moving in and out of the home. More recently, this practice has improved. Children now benefit from transitions that are informed by good assessing and planning. As a result, children have a more positive experience of moving in and moving on.

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improvement to be good

Children’s risk assessments and plans are not always accurate. As a result, strategies to reduce risk-taking behaviour are not always identified. In addition, some risk assessments contradict one another. Thus, plans are ambiguous and open to interpretation.

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improvement to be good

In some instances, children are not wholly safeguarded. Furthermore, risk-taking behaviour has increased. This is particularly evident when children go missing from care. Practice has improved over recent months. However, there have been occasions when staff have not followed procedures. Consequently, children have been at risk of harm.

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improvement to be good

The policies and practices relating to children who smoke are poor. The organisation is currently reviewing it’s policies and practices relating to smoking.

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improvement to be good

The first two children who came to live in this home were not appropriately matched. Consequently, one child bullied the other child. Furthermore, both children displayed increasing risk-taking behaviours, and their placements broke down. However, placement matching has since improved.

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improvement to be good

When children make complaints, managers respond in a timely way. However, the investigations and reports do not provide all the required information. In addition, the actions taken are not clear enough.

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improvement to be good

Managers have identified that there were many shortfalls in helping and protecting children. They have taken remedial action, and practice in this area has improved. Staff now have a better understanding of risks and they manage these well. As a result, children reduce their risk-taking behaviour and their outcomes improve.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

A new manager has been recently appointed to the home. The manager has previous experience managing children’s homes and has the relevant qualification.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The current manager, the responsible individual and the staff have worked together to improve the home and address the shortfalls. An internal audit enabled them to identify issues quickly. Subsequently, they put the required actions in place.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The managers and staff have high aspirations for children. They are passionate and committed to the work that they do. They provide a safe and nurturing environment for the children. The children respond well to this. Children speak fondly about the manager Inspection report children’s home: 1271998 5 and the staff.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

When notifications to the relevant authorities are required, these are not always done in a timely way. In addition, some notifiable safeguarding concerns are not submitted. The process for this requires revising and improving.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The home benefits from independent scrutiny, however the reporting of this is not always timely. This means that there is sometimes a delay in the relevant bodies receiving the information.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager and staff work well with other professionals involved with each of the children. Professionals speak positively about the partnership working and the progress that children make.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Managers and staff are committed to developing the home and enhancing their practice. They are able to reflect on and learn from their experiences. This provides them with the opportunity to develop their knowledge, skills and abilities further.

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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: 1271998 6

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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

Lisa Gregoire-Parker, social care inspector Inspection report children’s home: 1271998 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

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Inspector

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Inspector

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