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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Information about this children’s home

The registered manager is not currently working within the home and an acting manager is in place.

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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.

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This monitoring visit

This visit took place in order to monitor the home’s attention to three compliance notices served on the home on 18 November 2020. The notices were served against regulation 12, the protection of children; regulation 34, policies for the protection of children and regulation 13, leadership and management.

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This monitoring visit

The home has met the regulation 12 notice, as suitable progress has been made against the specified steps.

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This monitoring visit

Records of key-work sessions indicate that sessions are now completed by staff, and session content links to the individual’s presenting needs or behaviours.

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This monitoring visit

While risk management plans for all five young people have been reviewed by the home, only four out of five are consistently followed in practice. There appears to be limited oversight of one young person’s nocturnal mobile telephone use, and carers are unaware of whom the young person is in contact with or what websites they are accessing. Inspection report for children’s home - monitoring visit: SC436559 2 There is some evidence of the home’s escalation of the young person’s telephone use through to their social worker. However, a formal review of the care plan has not yet been completed to consider whether the young person is at risk of harm. It is fair to say that a care planning meeting is scheduled for the week commencing 11 January 2021.

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This monitoring visit

The home has met the regulation 34 notice, as suitable progress has been made against the specified steps.

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This monitoring visit

The home now refers all safeguarding allegations to the appropriate agencies for investigation and oversight. Two incidents of staff practice have been suitably referred to statutory agencies in line with statutory and internal guidance.

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This monitoring visit

A revised missing-from-home policy has been developed that provides clear instructions to staff regarding the safe return of young people to the home, and these are followed in practice.

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This monitoring visit

The home has not fully met the regulation 13 notice, as only limited progress is evident in relation to management’s oversight of care practice, the quality review of the same, and the use of lessons learned from incidents and young people’s concerns and complaints to improve care for young people.

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This monitoring visit

Some young people feel unfairly treated. They outline that they have reported to staff and managers episodes of behaviour involving a peer’s use of taunting language, name-calling and a peer’s non-compliance with house policies and rules. These issues have not been suitably acted on by staff or the manager.

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This monitoring visit

Formal complaints made by young people have not been addressed in line with the home’s internal complaints policy, leaving the complainant unclear regarding the outcome of their grievances.

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This monitoring visit

The manager’s internal quality monitoring is highly descriptive and doesn’t capture patterns and trends from incidents and the impact on young people. The critical issues emerging from these incidents and the aforementioned concerns and complaints are not suitably analysed and used to improve care practice.

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This monitoring visit

The external quality monitoring visit for December 2020 was not completed within that month as required. The challenge and critical review of care practice are therefore missing for that period, and young people did not have recourse to an independent individual to share their concerns and positive feedback on care practice.

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This monitoring visit

Furthermore, staff and young people advise that the manager is not always visible in the home. This means that the manager can’t always be contacted regarding arising issues or to receive information regarding concerns. Inspection report for children’s home - monitoring visit: SC436559 3 The home’s practice of securing the kitchen door at night has ceased. Required actions relating to staff sufficiency and training have been suitably addressed by the home. Training has taken place that is appropriate for the home’s statement of purpose and relevant to the needs of resident young people, for example training in managing self-harm, responding to post-traumatic stress disorder, and in safeguarding young people and child exploitation.

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This monitoring visit

The previous recommendation regarding the quality of recording in the home was not reviewed as part of this inspection and is repeated.

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Recent inspection history

Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement 8 October 2019 Full Good 9 October 2018 Full Good 1 August 2017 Full Good 2 March 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 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 promotes their welfare.

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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

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

demonstrate that practice in the home is informed and improved by taking into account and acting on—

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Requirement Due date

feedback on the experiences of children, including complaints received; and

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Requirement Due date

use of monitoring and review systems to make continuous improvements in the quality of care provided in the home. (Regulation 13 (1)(a)(b) (2)(f)(g)(ii)(h)) 28 February 2021

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Requirement Due date

The positive relationships standard is that children are helped to develop, and to benefit from, relationships based on—

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Requirement Due date

an understanding about acceptable behaviour; and

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Requirement Due date

positive responses to other children and adults.

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Requirement Due date

In particular the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to ensure— that staff— 28 February 2021 Inspection report for children’s home - monitoring visit: SC436559 5 help each child to develop socially aware behaviour;

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Requirement Due date

encourage each child to take responsibility for the child’s behaviour, in accordance with the child’s age and understanding; and

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Requirement Due date

that each child is encouraged to build and maintain positive relationships with others. (Regulation 11(1)(a)(b)(c) (2)(a)(ii)(iii)(b) The care planning standard is that children—

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Requirement Due date

receive effectively planned care in or through the children’s home;

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the standard in paragraph 1 requires the registered person to ensure—

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Requirement Due date

that the child’s placing authority is contacted, and a review of that child’s relevant plans is requested, if—

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Requirement Due date

the registered person considers that the child is at risk of harm or has concerns that the care provided for the child is inadequate to meet the child’s needs. (Regulation 14(1)(a) 2(e)(i)) 28 February 2021

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Requirement Due date

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

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Requirement Due date

The independent person must provide a copy of the independent person’s report to—

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Requirement Due date

HMCI (Regulation 44 (1) (7)(a)) 30 January 2021

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Requirement Due date

*These requirements are subject to a compliance notice.

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that staff are familiar with the home’s policies on record keeping and understand the importance of careful, objective, and clear recording. (‘Guide to the children’s home regulations including the quality standards’, page 62, paragraph 14.4).  The registered person should ensure that those with a leadership and/or management role are visible and accessible to staff and able to deliver their leadership and management responsibilities. (‘Guide to the children’s home regulations including the quality standards’, page 52, paragraph 10.7). Inspection report for children’s home - monitoring visit: SC436559 6

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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

Dawn Parton, 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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