Children's home run by Your Chapter Limited

Inspection report for children’s home - monitoring visit: 1271213 1

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Care 4 Children Residential Services Limited

Monitoring visit Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

The children’s home is operated by a private company and is registered to provide care and accommodation for up to five children or young people who may have emotional and/or behavioural difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

The registered manager left the setting in September 2020, following the assurance visit.

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This monitoring visit

During an assurance visit on 23 and 24 September 2020, inspectors identified a number of significant shortfalls in safeguarding practices and procedures in the home. Leaders, managers and staff did not appropriately respond to incidents that occurred or implement effective strategies to safeguard and protect the children living in the home. In addition, poor risk management, a lack of appropriate boundaries and structures, and unsafe practice placed the children living at the home at risk of harm. An emergency suspension notice was issued together with three compliance notices.

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This monitoring visit

On 3 November 2020, a monitoring visit was conducted. The purpose of this monitoring visit was to ensure that the provider is compliant with the emergency suspension notice and to assess the progress made by the provider to meet the three compliance notices issued. These relate to regulation 12, the protection of children standard; regulation 13, the leadership and management standard; and regulation 14, the care planning standard.

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This monitoring visit

At this visit, the inspectors found that the provider had complied with the emergency suspension notice and there are no children living in the home. The provider has Inspection report for children’s home - monitoring visit: 1271213 2 taken steps to improve staff’s responses to safeguarding concerns. Care planning for children has been reviewed and new monitoring and review systems implemented.

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This monitoring visit

Following the assurance visit, the manager left the organisation. The provider has identified a new manager and work is in progress to support their learning and development before they undertake this role.

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This monitoring visit

The provider has ensured that significant improvements have been made to the environment. The home has been redecorated throughout and presents as clean and welcoming. Some windows in the living room area still need replacing and have been ordered. There have been delays in these being delivered due to the COVID-19 (coronavirus) pandemic.

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This monitoring visit

Risk management plans, care plans and placement plans have been reviewed and updated to ensure that they will reflect each child’s behaviours, risks and vulnerabilities. These documents have been shared with the staff team and will be standard agenda items at handovers and team meetings. However, as the home is not yet in operation, these documents have not been used. The provider has a plan to complete documents with fictitious information to demonstrate to managers and staff how these will need to be completed with the appropriate level of detail required.

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This monitoring visit

The provider has completed a root-cause analysis to identify what went wrong at the home. It has implemented new processes and developed systems to improve care practices. For example, systems have been introduced so that decision-making processes relating to safeguarding are clearly recorded. The provider has tested the staff’s knowledge of safeguarding in supervision sessions and in team meetings. The whistle-blowing procedures have been reinforced to ensure that staff understand their roles and responsibilities in protecting and supporting children.

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This monitoring visit

Impact risk assessments have been revised and updated. The assessments will now be completed in conjunction with the registered manager, responsible individual, therapist and education staff. This will ensure that the assessment is thorough and will enable the correct support packages to be identified and implemented before a child moves into the home. Any plans to move new children into the home will be discussed with the staff who will be responsible for caring for the child.

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This monitoring visit

Staff have undertaken some training to develop their skills and knowledge to deliver care to children in line with the home’s statement of purpose. Specifically, staff are now trained to be able to safely manage children who may be at risk of exploitation. Further training is planned for staff, but this has been delayed due to restrictions caused by the pandemic.

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This monitoring visit

The provider has introduced a golden-hour checklist for managers. This will enable managers to routinely monitor, evaluate and analyse the work undertaken by the staff. Daily and monthly monitoring systems have been discussed with the managers Inspection report for children’s home - monitoring visit: 1271213 3 and staff to ensure that they are clear about the expectations for these to be completed with all relevant information. However, as these systems have not yet been used in practice, it is unclear if this will improve practice.

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This monitoring visit

The provider has ensured that staff understand the home’s statement of purpose, ethos and vision, and the policies and procedures. Managers and staff discussed job roles and expectations at a staff meeting. Managers shared practice standards with staff to ensure that the children will receive a good quality of care.

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This monitoring visit

The provider has met with the local police force to discuss areas of risk in the local community. However, further work is required to assess the suitability and location of the home with a wider range of professionals. This will ensure that the location assessment will incude all areas of risk and all considered strategies to minimise any risks.

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Recent inspection history

Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement 21/05/2019 Full Good 15/01/2019 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home - monitoring visit: 1271213 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, the 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

In meeting the quality standards, the registered person must, and must ensure that staff—

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Requirement Due date

seek to involve each child’s placing authority effectively in the child’s care, in accordance with the child’s relevant plans;

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Requirement Due date

seek to secure the input and services required to meet each child’s needs; and

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Requirement Due date

seek to develop and maintain effective professional relationships with such persons, bodies or organisations as the registered person considers appropriate having regard to the range of needs of children for whom it is intended that the children’s home is to provide care and accommodation.

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Requirement Due date

The quality and purpose of care standard is that children receive care from staff who—

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Requirement Due date

understand the children’s home’s overall aims and the outcomes it seeks to achieve for children;

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Requirement Due date

use this understanding to deliver care that meets children’s needs and supports them to fulfil their potential.

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Requirement Due date

The health and well-being standard is that—

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Requirement Due date

the health and well-being needs of children are met;

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Requirement Due date

children receive advice, services and support in relation to their health and well-being; and

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Requirement Due date

children are helped to lead healthy lifestyles. 27/11/2020 Inspection report for children’s home - monitoring visit: 1271213 5 In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to ensure—

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Requirement Due date

that each child has access to such dental, medical, nursing, psychiatric and psychological advice, treatment and other services as the child may require.

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Requirement Due date

the privacy of children is appropriately protected;

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Requirement Due date

children can access all appropriate areas of the children’s home’s premises; and

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Requirement Due date

any limitation placed on a child’s privacy or access to any area of the home’s premises—

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Requirement Due date

is intended to safeguard each child accommodated in the home;

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Requirement Due date

is kept under review and, if necessary, revised; and

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Requirement Due date

allows children as much freedom as is possible when balanced against the need to protect them and keep them safe.

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Requirement Due date

(Regulation 21 (a)(b)(c)(i)(ii)(iii)(iv)) 27/11/2020

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that all employees—

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Requirement Due date

receive practice-related supervision by a person with appropriate experience.

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must prepare and implement a policy (“the behaviour management policy”) which sets out—

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Requirement Due date

how appropriate behaviour is to be promoted in the children’s home; and 27/11/2020 Inspection report for children’s home - monitoring visit: 1271213 6 the measures of control, discipline and restraint which may be used in relation to children in the home.

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must keep the behaviour management policy under review and, where appropriate, revise it.

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Requirement Due date

within 24 hours of the use of a measure of control, discipline or restraint in relation to a child in the home, a record is made which includes—

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Requirement Due date

details of the child’s behaviour leading to the use of the measure;

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Requirement Due date

the date, time and location of the use of the measure;

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Requirement Due date

a description of the measure and its duration;

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Requirement Due date

details of any methods used or steps taken to avoid the need to use the measure;

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Requirement Due date

the name of the person who used the measure (‘the user’), and of any other person present when the measure was used;

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Requirement Due date

the effectiveness and any consequences of the use of the measure; and

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Requirement Due date

a description of any injury to the child or any other person, and any medical treatment administered, as a result of the measure;

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Requirement Due date

within 48 hours of the use of the measure, the registered person, or a person who is authorised by the registered person to do so (“the authorised person”)—

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Requirement Due date

has spoken to the user about the measure; and

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Requirement Due date

has signed the record to confirm it is accurate; and

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Requirement Due date

within 5 days of the use of the measure, the registered person or the authorised person adds to the record confirmation that they have spoken to the child about the measure. Inspection report for children’s home - monitoring visit: 1271213 7 (Regulation 35 (1)(a)(b)(2)(3)(a)(i)(ii)(iii)(iv)(v)(vi)(vii)(viii)(b)(i) (ii)(c))

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must maintain records (“case records”) for each child which—

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Requirement Due date

include the information and documents listed in Schedule 3 in relation to each child;

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Requirement Due date

are signed and dated by the author of each entry.

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Requirement Due date

Schedule 4 sets out the other information that the registered person must keep in relation to a children’s home.

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Requirement Due date

maintain in the home the records in Schedule 4: and

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Requirement Due date

ensure that the records are kept up to date.

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Requirement Due date

In particular, ensure that the records include a copy of the staff duty roster of persons working at the home, a record of the actual rotas worked and a record of any person who works at any time at the home, including the registered manager. 27/11/2020

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must notify HMCI and each other relevant person without delay if—

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Requirement Due date

a child is involved in or subject to, or is suspected of being involved in or subject to, sexual exploitation;

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Requirement Due date

an incident requiring police involvement occurs in relation to a child which the registered person considers to be serious;

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Requirement Due date

there is an allegation of abuse against the home or a person working there;

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Requirement Due date

a child protection enquiry involving a child— 27/11/2020 Inspection report for children’s home - monitoring visit: 1271213 8 is instigated; or

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Requirement Due date

concludes (in which case, the notification must include the outcome of the child protection enquiry); or

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Requirement Due date

there is any other incident relating to a child which the registered person considers to be serious.

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Requirement Due date

(Regulation 40 (4)(a)(b)(c)(d)(i)(ii)(e))

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must use reasonable endeavours to ensure that an independent person visits the children’s home at least once each month.

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Requirement Due date

When the independent person is carrying out a visit, the registered person must help the independent person—

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Requirement Due date

if they consent, to interview in private such of the children, their parents, relatives and persons working at the home as the independent person requires.

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Requirement Due date

The independent person must produce a report about a visit (“the independent person’s report”) which sets out, in particular, the independent person’s opinion as to whether—

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Requirement Due date

children are effectively safeguarded; and

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Requirement Due date

the conduct of the home promotes children’s well-being.

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Requirement Due date

(Regulation 44 (1)(2)(a)(4)(a)(b)) 27/11/2020

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must review the appropriateness and suitability of the location of the premises used for the purposes of the children’s home at least once in each calendar year taking into account the requirement in regulation 12(2)(c) (the protection of children standard).

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Requirement Due date

When conducting the review, the registered person must consult, and take into account the views of, each relevant person.

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Information about this inspection

Inspection report for children’s home - monitoring visit: 1271213 9 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: 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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Inspectors

Michelle Edge, Social Care Inspection Manager Jessica Forshaw, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home - monitoring visit: 1271213 10 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 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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