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. The home provides 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 has recently returned to work at the home after a period of absence. He is currently working alongside the interim manager.

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Information about this children’s home

Due to COVID-19 (coronavirus), at the request of the Secretary of State, we suspended all routine inspections of social care providers on 17 March 2020.

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Information about this children’s home

We last visited this setting on 3 March 2021 to carry out a monitoring visit. The report is published on our website.

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This monitoring visit

This monitoring visit took place to monitor the action taken by the provider in relation to a compliance notice served on 4 March 2021. The notice was served in relation to regulation 13, leadership and management. This was the second compliance notice served under regulation 13, leadership and management, since November 2020.

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This monitoring visit

At this visit, inspectors identified that progress has been made in addressing the shortfalls in leadership and management. Following the last monitoring visit, the acting manager was removed from her position. A new interim manager is now in place and is working alongside the registered manager, who has recently returned to work at the home after a period of absence. This change in management has had a positive impact on the practice in the home and the engagement of children by staff.

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This monitoring visit

The interim manager has been proactive in sharing information about the compliance notice with the staff team and in supporting the team to understand the improvements that are required to provide a good standard of care to children. The Inspection report for children’s home - monitoring visit: SC436559 2 interim manager has met with children to gain their experiences of being cared for in the home and has implemented a monthly meeting with each child. As a result, leaders and managers are in a better position to understand the children’s lived experiences.

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This monitoring visit

An independent person has been appointed to oversee and investigate complaints made by children that cannot be dealt with informally by the management team. There is no evidence yet of the impact of this appointment as no formal complaints have been made in the reporting period.

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This monitoring visit

The responsible individual meets monthly with the management team to discuss practice and critical incidents in the home. He is in the process of introducing a new quality assurance system, which is intended to support practice improvement and to ensure that the leadership team has an accurate understanding of the strengths and weaknesses of practice in the home. This system needs time to be embedded to evidence the effectiveness of these meetings.

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This monitoring visit

The actions that have been implemented in the reporting period are all still in their infancy. They do evidence that the shortfalls in leadership and management previously identified have begun to be addressed. The compliance notice is met. The remaining requirements and recommendations were not considered at this monitoring visit and are repeated.

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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 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, 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

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—

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Requirement Due date

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.

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Requirement Due date

(Regulation 11 (1)(a)(b)(c) (2)(ii)(iii)(b)) 31 May 2021

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Requirement Due date

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 plan is requested, if— 31 May 2021 Inspection report for children’s home - monitoring visit: SC436559 4 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.

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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 homes 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 are able to deliver their leadership and management responsibilities. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 52, paragraph 10.7) Inspection report for children’s home - monitoring visit: SC436559 5

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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 CW5 7ED

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Inspectors

Dawn Parton, Social Care Inspector Michelle Bacon, Social Care Compliance Inspector Inspection report for children’s home - monitoring visit: SC436559 6 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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