Children's Home run by Your Chapter Holdings Limited in Lancashire

Inspection report children‟s home: 1240753 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

This privately owned home is registered to provide care and accommodation for up to four children who may have emotional and/or behavioural difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

The registered manager has been in place since July 2018.

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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 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: requires improvement to be good

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report children‟s home: 1240753 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

12/06/2018 Full Requires improvement to be good 30/05/2017 Full Good 02/03/2017 Full Good Inspection report children‟s home: 1240753 3

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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 must comply within the given timescales.

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that all employees receive practice-related supervision by a person with appropriate experience. (Regulation 33 (4)(b))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, ensure that every employee receives supervision as laid out in the company‟s expected timescales. 31/07/2019

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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 each child. (Regulation 36 (1)(a)) 31/07/2019

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Recommendations

 When a child returns to the home after being missing from care or away from the home without permission, the responsible local authority must provide an opportunity for the child to have an independent return home interview. Homes should take account of information provided by such interviews when assessing risks and putting arrangements in place to protect each child. („Guide to the children‟s homes regulations including the quality standards‟, page 45, paragraph 9.30)

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Recommendations

 As set out in regulations 31-33, the registered person is responsible for maintaining good employment practice. They must ensure that recruitment, supervision and performance of staff safeguard children and minimise potential risks to them. („Guide to the children‟s homes regulations including the quality standards‟, page 61, paragraph 13.1)

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Recommendations

In particular, ensure that robust attempts are made to follow up employment references where information provided in the first instance is minimal. Inspection report children‟s home: 1240753 4

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Through living at the home, young people make good progress in all areas of their lives. For example, from some starting points of complete disengagement with education, all young people now attend school. Many young people have achieved qualifications and are beginning to develop aspirations for their futures.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The progress that young people make is underpinned by the hard work of staff, who build trusting relationships with young people and act as positive role models in their lives.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Young people say that they feel listened to and that changes occur as a result of their views being sought. Equally, young people understand and accept when changes are not appropriate, and consider that the rules and boundaries in the home are fair.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff spend positive time with young people, which helps to establish trust, develop positive use of leisure time and support individual young people‟s emotional health. As a result, some young people have joined local football teams, attend the gym regularly and are pursuing their interests in music.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Young people‟s cultural heritage and identities are sensitively promoted. Contact between young people and their families is fully supported and regular additional cultural activities are also encouraged by the staff.

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

From their starting points, young people become increasingly safer through living at the home. For example, long periods of missing from home, regular drug misuse and criminal activities significantly decrease.

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

Any incidents that pose a risk to young people‟s welfare and safety are appropriately responded to by staff. Staff arrange individual sessions with young people to promote reflection and insight into their behaviour. One independent reviewing officer commented: „Incidents have been managed calmly and thoughtfully, and they [staff] have been measured in their responses.‟

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

Young people say they feel safe living at the home and that their views and feelings are respected and listened to. The relationships between young people and staff are positive. As a result, there are fewer incidents and there is minimal need for staff to use physical intervention.

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

Young people and professionals consider that staff are clear and consistent with boundaries and expectations of behaviour. This provides for predictable and secure care.

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

All young people liked and expressed respect for their key workers. These positive Inspection report children‟s home: 1240753 5 relationships enable young people to listen to and apply the advice that they are offered. Young people have positive relationships with each other and there are no concerns of bullying.

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

Staff act appropriately when incidents of missing from home occur; however, records of return home interviews are not kept. Opportunities are missed for this information to be evaluated and used to inform young people‟s risk assessments.

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

Overall, newly appointed staff are recruited using mechanisms that prevent unsuitable adults working with young people. However, on occasion, when referees have only offered basic information regarding an applicant, managers have not sought alternative means of securing additional information.

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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 2018. Since her appointment at the home, she has worked hard to improve the care that young people receive. As a result, all but one of the requirements made at the last inspection have been met.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager has good insight into the progress and plans for young people and leads the staff team by example. She is ambitious for the care offered by staff to continually improve and that young people achieve in all aspects of their lives.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager provides clear leadership to the staff and fully encourages a team approach. This is achieved through providing supervision, child-focused team meetings and challenging staff where necessary. Although supervision is provided at regular intervals for more experienced members of staff, those new to the home are not yet receiving supervision within the company‟s timescales.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff are committed to and focused on achieving the best outcomes for young people. They act as diverse and positive role models that young people can identify with and relate to.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The care plans for the majority of young people are understood well by staff and implemented in practice. However, the agreed recommendations from the review of one young person‟s care plan are not clear, as the local authority‟s review report has not been secured by the staff or manager.

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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 Inspection report children‟s home: 1240753 6 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: 1240753 7

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Care 4 Children Residential Services Limited

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Children’s home details

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

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Inspector

Pauline Yates, social care inspector Inspection report children‟s home: 1240753 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 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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