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

Inspection report for children’s home - monitoring visit: SC436559 1 SC436559

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Choices Home For Children Limited

Monitoring visit Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

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

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This monitoring visit

Ofsted has received several notifications of significant concern. In addition, information was received which indicated that the home may be in breach of regulations relating to the protection of children.

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This monitoring visit

Due to COVID-19 (coronavirus) government restrictions, this monitoring visit took place using both on-site and off-site inspection methodology. During the visit, the inspectors identified shortfalls in the leadership and management of the home and poor practice in relation to safeguarding and risk management in the home.

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This monitoring visit

The registered manager is not working in the home, and there is an acting manager in place. In addition, the staff team is not consistent, and both children and social workers reported that there have been frequent changes in staff. This instability does not promote consistency of care or support to children or help them to form positive and trusting relationships with those caring for them.

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This monitoring visit

Staff do not have the skills or training to support the complex needs of the children who live at this home. For example, staff have not received training in identified areas of children’s individual needs, such as post-traumatic stress disorder, epilepsy, child sexual exploitation and missing from home.

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This monitoring visit

A child deemed as being at high risk of child sexual exploitation, and also known to misuse drugs and alcohol, leaves the home on a regular basis and travels out of the local area. Staff do not know of the child’s whereabouts or who she is associating Inspection report for children’s home - monitoring visit: SC436559 2 with. Furthermore, staff have a list of names and numbers of her alleged associates, but these have not been checked by the staff, nor have they been shared with the local authority social worker. Failure to share names and numbers of known associates prevents a clear evaluation of risk and subsequent safety planning.

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This monitoring visit

When children are missing from home, staff do not look for children in areas where they are known to frequent. This means there is a potential delay in locating children, and, as a consequence, this increases the risks they may face. On one occasion, due to staff shift cover, staff were unable to respond to requests from nursing staff and police to support a child in hospital who had been found intoxicated.

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This monitoring visit

There is poor managerial oversight of risk management in the home. Local authority social workers reported that they were not made aware of significant incidents and concerns regarding the safety of children. The acting manager was unaware that staff had documented serious concerns regarding a child’s safety on a risk assessment. The information recorded was not dated, had not been passed on to the social worker and had not been recorded on an incident form. This means that leaders and managers are unable to identify and address safeguarding issues and improve the service being provided. Another social worker reported that updates from the home were sporadic and that staff repeatedly failed to respond to her requests for weekly updates.

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This monitoring visit

There is poor managerial oversight of the recording for significant incidents. For example, records relating to physical interventions were completed by staff not on duty at the time, and some records were found to be inaccurate. Despite there having been numerous and prolonged incidents of children missing from home, there have not been any return home interviews conducted for some children.

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This monitoring visit

There has been an occasion when a child was left alone in the home. Staff failed to communicate effectively and ensure that they knew the whereabouts of each child. Another child has raised concerns about staff practice during a physical intervention. Inspectors found that the concerns have not been investigated by senior managers or referred to the designated officer for their consideration. This has compromised children’s safety and well-being.

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This monitoring visit

There are gaps in the home’s monitoring and review systems, which lessen the analysis and evaluation of care and its effect on outcomes for children. When staff have raised concerns with leaders and managers about other staff’s practice, these concerns have not been fully investigated or have been minimised. There is no clear and transparent audit trail of the actions that managers have taken.

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This monitoring visit

The kitchen door is routinely locked at night. This is not in line with the conditions of registration of this children’s home. This is a restriction on children’s liberty, with no risk assessment to justify the reason for this decision-making. Inspection report for children’s home - monitoring visit: SC436559 3

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Recent inspection history

Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement 08/10/2019 Full Good 09/10/2018 Full Good 01/08/2017 Full Good 02/03/2017 Interim Sustained effectiveness Inspection report for children’s home - monitoring visit: SC436559 4

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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 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—

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Requirement Due date

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;

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Requirement Due date

help each child to understand how to keep safe;

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Requirement Due date

have the skills to identify and act upon signs that a child is at risk of harm;

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Requirement Due date

understand the roles and responsibilities in relation to protecting children that are assigned to them by the registered person;

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Requirement Due date

take effective action whenever there is a serious concern about a child’s welfare; and

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Requirement Due date

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.

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Requirement Due date

(Regulation 12 (1)(2)(a)(i)(ii)(iii)(vi)(v)(b)) 03/01/2021

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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

promotes their welfare. 03/01/2021 Inspection report for children’s home - monitoring visit: SC436559 5 In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to—

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Requirement Due date

lead and manage the home in a way that is consistent with the approach and ethos, and delivers the outcomes, set out in the home’s statement of purpose;

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Requirement Due date

ensure that staff work as a team where appropriate;

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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’s workforce provides continuity of care to each child; and

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Requirement Due date

understand the impact that the quality of care provided in the home is having on the progress and experiences of each child and use this understanding to inform the development of the quality of care provided in the home.

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Requirement Due date

(Regulation 13 (1)(a)(b)(2)(a)(b)(c)(e)(f))

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Requirement Due date

*The procedure to be followed in the event of an allegation of abuse or neglect must, in particular—

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Requirement Due date

provide for liaison and co-operation with any local authority which are, or may be, making a child protection enquiry in relation to a child accommodated in the home; and

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Requirement Due date

provide for prompt referral of an allegation about current or ongoing abuse or neglect in relation to a child to the placing authority and, if different, the local authority in whose area the home is located.

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must prepare and implement a policy ("the missing child policy") setting out—

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Requirement Due date

the steps taken, and to be taken, to prevent children from being absent without permission.

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Requirement Due date

(Regulation 34 (2)(a)(b)(4)(a )) 03/01/2021

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Requirement Due date

*These requirements are subject to a compliance notice. Inspection report for children’s home - monitoring visit: SC436559 6

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Recommendations

 Staff should be familiar with the home’s policies on record keeping and understand the importance of careful, objective, and clear recording. Staff should record information on individual children in a non-stigmatising way that distinguishes between fact, opinion, and third-party information. Information about the child must always be recorded in a way that will be helpful to the child. (‘Guide to the children’s home regulations including the quality standards’, page 62, paragraph 14.4)

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Information about this inspection

The purpose of this visit was to monitor the action taken and the progress made by the children’s home since its last Ofsted inspection.

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Information about this inspection

This inspection was carried out under the Care Standards Act 2000.

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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: 31 Wellington Road, Nantwich, Cheshire CW5 7ED

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Inspectors

Michelle Bacon, Social Care Inspector Pauline Yates, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home - monitoring visit: SC436559 7 to 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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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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