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 home is operated by a private company and is registered to provide care and accommodation for up to five children or young people with 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 both safeguarding practices and procedures within the home. Leaders, managers and staff did not appropriately respond to incidents that required safeguarding action to be taken and they did not 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. During the visit, staff raised concerns to the inspectors about poor safeguarding practice in the home and about the practice of the registered manager. Staff had not reported these concerns to anyone else in the organisation and they had not followed the whistle-blowing procedures to escalate these serious concerns. This left children at risk of harm.

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This monitoring visit

Following this visit, an emergency suspension notice was served.

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This monitoring visit

During this visit, inspectors found significant shortfalls in the safeguarding policy and procedure, specifically around whistle blowing.

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This monitoring visit

As part of the work completed during the suspension period by the organisation’s senior leaders and managers, the whistle-blowing policy was revised and reissued to staff. This was supported by workshops with staff to ensure that they understand their roles and responsibilities in recognising and responding to concerns. This was reviewed during this visit. Inspection report for children's home - monitoring visit: 1271213 2 However, the provider has failed to recognise a number of shortfalls in their new policy. This fails to give sufficiently clear guidance to staff about what is reportable and does not ensure that there is clear management oversight of poor staff practice. In addition, the provider has not demonstrated that poor practice will be investigated, challenged and appropriately recorded in staff files. This also prevents managers from monitoring staff conduct to identify any trends and patterns. This

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This monitoring visit

The provider has failed to demonstrate that, despite significant safeguarding concerns being raised at the assurance visit and subsequent monitoring visits around staff practice and ineffective whistle-blowing procedures, sufficient action is not being taken to ensure that children will be safeguarded.

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This monitoring visit

Requirements were not considered as part of this visit and will be considered at the next inspection visit.

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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 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(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. (Regulation 5 (a)(b)(d)) 27 November

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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. (Regulation 6 (1)(a)(b)) 27 November

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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.

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to ensure— 27 November Inspection report for children's home - monitoring visit: 1271213 4 that each child has access to such dental, medical, nursing, psychiatric and psychological advice, treatment and other services as the child may require. (Regulation 10 (1)(a)(b)(c) (2)(c))

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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. (Regulation 21 (a)(b)(c)(i)(ii)(iii)(iv)) 27 November

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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. (Regulation 33 (4)(b)) 27 November

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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

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Requirement Due date

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

The registered person must ensure that— 27 November Inspection report for children's home - monitoring visit: 1271213 5 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. (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; 27 November Inspection report for children's home - monitoring visit: 1271213 6 are kept up to date: and

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Requirement Due date

are signed and dated by the author of each entry. (Regulation 36 (1)(a)(b)(c))

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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;

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Requirement Due date

ensure that the records are kept up to date. (Regulation 37 (1) (2)(a)(b))

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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 November

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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—

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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. (Regulation 40 (4)(a)(b)(c)(d)(i)(ii)(e)) 27 November Inspection report for children's home - monitoring visit: 1271213 7 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. (Regulation 44 (1) (2)(a) (4)(a)(b)) 27 November

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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. (Regulation 46 (1) (2)) 27 November

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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. Inspection report for children's home - monitoring visit: 1271213 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: 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 9 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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