Children's Home run by Your Chapter Limited in Lancashire

Inspection report children‟s home: SC489416 1 SC489416 Registered provider: Care 4 Children Residential Services Limited Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This is a privately owned children’s home. It is registered to provide care and accommodation for four 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 2019.

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Overall experiences and progress of

children and young people, taking into account

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requires improvement to be good

How well children and young people are helped and protected good

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requires improvement to be good

The effectiveness of leaders and managers requires improvement to be good

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requires improvement to be good

The children’s home is not yet delivering good help and care for children and young people. However, there are no serious or widespread failures that result in their welfare not being safeguarded or promoted.

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requires improvement to be good

Overall judgement at last inspection: inadequate

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Enforcement action since last inspection:

A full inspection completed on 30 April 2019 identified concerns regarding the welfare of young people. There were weak management and leadership arrangements and insufficient staffing levels. In response to these concerns, four compliance notices and a restriction of accommodation notice were issued. Monitoring inspections took place on 3 Inspection report children‟s home: SC489416 2 June 2019, 18 June 2019 and 24 July 2019. The notices were met by the provider.

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

30/04/2019 Full Inadequate 17/07/2018 Full Good 16/05/2017 Full Good 21/03/2017 Full Requires improvement Inspection report children‟s home: SC489416 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 leadership and management standard is that the registered person enables, inspires and leads a culture in relation to the children’s home that–

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Requirement Due date

helps children aspire to fulfil their potential; and

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to–

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Requirement Due date

ensure that staff have the experience, qualifications and skills to meet the needs of each child;

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Requirement Due date

ensure that the home has sufficient staff to provide care for each child. (Regulation 13(1)(a)(b), (2)(c)(d)) 30/11/2019

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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 supervision is provided to staff within the company’s expected timescales. 31/10/2019

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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))

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Requirement Due date

This is with particular reference to a young person’s pathway plan and records of health matters. 31/10/2019 Inspection report children‟s home: SC489416 4

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Recommendations

 When a child needs additional health or well-being support, staff should continue to work with the child’s placing authority to enable proper and immediate access to any specialist medical, psychological or psychiatric support required. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 34, paragraph 7.10) This is with particular reference to the home continuing to promote a young person’s access to therapeutic input as they transition into foster care. Inspection report children‟s home: SC489416 5

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improvement to be good

Young people have made progress since the last full inspection with regard to their education and their emotional stability. Both young people attend school and college regularly, and are given appropriate support and encouragement to enable them to work towards their chosen careers.

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improvement to be good

Each young person has developed individual interests that include training with a football team, volunteering, horse riding and training with the fire cadets. These activities provide them with a sense of pride in their achievements and a positive focus for their leisure time. Full engagement with the home’s therapeutic programme is variable. One young person feels that she has benefited from the intervention, and commented: ‘I feel positive about things and learned that you don’t have to rely on drugs to feel happy.’ She added that, since other young people have been discharged from the home, she now feels able to ‘do the things [she] enjoys doing’. The other young person at the home has chosen to restart their therapy programme after their imminent move into foster care.

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improvement to be good

Both young people are in a period of transition in preparation for foster care. Staff encourage young people’s progress in developing independence to complete the final phase of the home’s programme. However, the home does not have access to a young person’s local authority pathway plan, nor has one been sought by staff. Therefore, clear details regarding the young person’s changing needs and the services to be provided as they make transition into adulthood are not known by staff.

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improvement to be good

A young person’s annual health assessment is seven months out of date, with a recommendation that a full immunisation history was obtained and any gaps acted upon. Although a record of immunisation has been sought, the manager did not know whether the young person had benefited from all appropriate immunisations.

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improvement to be good

Staff demonstrate that they have an insight into the needs of young people and provide suitable care, however the shortages of permanent staff have resulted in a reliance on bank staff. One young person would like the same staff to watch her train each week, as she has expressed embarrassment that her peers have asked her why there is always someone different with her. Insufficient permanent staff have meant that this consistency cannot be achieved.

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

Since the last full inspection there has been a significant reduction of incidents within the home. As a result, there have not been any circumstances in which young people have needed to be physically restrained or any threats or assaults against staff, nor has there been damage to the home.

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

There has been one incident of a young person being missing from home, to which staff Inspection report children‟s home: SC489416 6 responded appropriately.

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

Staff support young people to better manage their negative emotions and develop healthy relationships. They spend time with young people, helping them to reflect and talk about their feelings.

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

Managers have responded promptly and appropriately to an allegation that was made by a young person. This has ensured that concerns have been taken seriously, that the young person feels listened to and that they are protected from harm.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

The manager is suitably qualified and experienced, and was registered to manage the home in July 2019. His appointment and registration now afford improved oversight of the home and greater stability for both the staff and young people.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

Since the last inspection, improvements include a significant drop in incidents of aggression and damage caused by young people, and the home has undergone substantial redecoration and repair.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

There are insufficient qualified staff employed at the home to ensure that there is always a qualified member of staff on duty. Of the two who are qualified, one is in their probationary period. Managers are aware of this shortfall and are actively recruiting additional qualified staff.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

Staff do not receive supervision in line with company policies. Newly appointed staff have not received the support expected and some more experienced members of staff have received supervision only once since the last full inspection.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

Staff training is not up to date in some key areas that link to the home’s statement of purpose. For example, training in physical intervention is not up to date and staff have not received training in self-harm or dealing with ligature attempts. Inspection report children‟s home: SC489416 7

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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 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: SC489416 8

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

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Inspectors

Pauline Yates, social care inspector Michelle Bacon, social care inspector Inspection report children‟s home: SC489416 9 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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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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