Children's home run by Your Chapter Limited

Inspection report children’s home: 1249115 1 Registered provider: Care 4 Children Residential Services Limited Full inspection 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. It provides medium- to long-term therapeutic care and support for children who have suffered childhood sexual abuse and child sexual exploitation. The children may also experience emotional, social and behavioural difficulties. The home offers placements for a maximum of four female children aged between 11 and 17 years.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager registered with Ofsted in August 2019 and is working towards attaining the level 5 certificate in leadership and management of residential childcare settings.

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Information about this children’s home

We last visited this setting 15 September 2020 to carry out an assurance visit. The report is published on our website.

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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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Overall experiences and progress of

children and young people, taking into account

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good

How well children and young people are helped and protected good

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good

The effectiveness of leaders and managers good

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good

The children’s home provides effective services that meet the requirements for good.

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good

Overall judgement at last inspection: improved effectiveness Inspection report children’s home: 1249115 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

21/05/2019 Interim Improved effectiveness 19/06/2018 Full Requires improvement to be good 19/12/2017 Interim Sustained effectiveness 27/06/2017 Full Outstanding Inspection report children’s home: 1249115 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are supported by staff to make progress while living at the home. Staff support them to recognise and celebrate their achievements and develop aspirations. One child proudly commented, ‘I can’t believe how far I’ve come.’

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children have trusted and secure relationships with the adults who look after them. Children told the inspector that staff are always there for them. They said that they feel listened to and like being part of a family. One child said, ‘Living here gives a family vibe, you feel like you belong.’

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The emotional warmth and safety that staff provide helps children to explore their thoughts and feelings in a sensitive way. As a result, children are learning how to self-regulate their emotions.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

All children talk positively about the on-site school. Staff show an interest in their learning experience by exploring with each child what their day has been like. Staff’s ambition and interest in children’s learning have supported them to make educational progress.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

One child who has a talent for music has been supported to enrol on a music course at a local college. Staff created a plan with the college tutors to help prepare the child and lessen any worries they had. As a result, the child felt safe and less anxious about attending the new setting.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are involved in setting their goals. Through this, children develop ownership and commitment to living at the home. They share their views, wishes and feelings about the progress they feel they have made and the next steps they would like to take. This helps to influence the care they receive. When children’s wishes are not able to be granted, they are sensitively supported by staff to understand why.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The home is tastefully decorated and provides children with a comfortable living space. Staff provide children with in-house activities, including arts and crafts and games consoles. Children personalise their own bedrooms, and pictures of children are displayed throughout the home. This helps to create a relaxing atmosphere for children to live in.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Some children are being supported to learn the skills needed in preparation to move on from the home. Staff help children to develop emotional strategies to cope with life events, such as dealing with setbacks. Children also learn more day-to-day practical skills, including doing their laundry, keeping their bedrooms tidy and cooking. This is helping children to prepare to leave the place they describe as their ‘home’. Inspection report children’s home: 1249115 4 A child recently admitted to the home has been supported by staff to establish a daily routine, which has helped to provide her with a sense of safety. In addition, staff supported the child to build relationships with the other girls already living at the home. The child’s social worker commented, ‘Staff were very welcoming and understanding. They listened to her and helped her understand what they could do to support her.’

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How well children and young people are helped and protected: good

Children are better protected as a result of living in this home. Previous incidents, such as child sexual exploitation, drug and alcohol misuse, violence and aggression, and episodes of children going missing from home, have reduced or ceased for some children. The rural location of the home and the secure attachments children have with the staff have helped to reduce the risk of harm.

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How well children and young people are helped and protected: good

Staff responses to missing-from-home episodes are well coordinated. On the occasions when children have gone missing, staff have worked with the police to return the children to the home. When there are concerns about a child’s welfare, the manager follows the relevant safeguarding procedures. This enables professionals to put in place safety plans to protect children from further harm.

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How well children and young people are helped and protected: good

Children receive constant positive praise from staff. Staff talk with children in an open and calm manner, which helps them to reflect on their thoughts and feelings when difficult emotions arise. This is helping children to grow in confidence and develop better coping strategies.

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How well children and young people are helped and protected: good

Children are being supported to recognise their own risks. Staff explore with children what strategies they need to use to reduce the risk of harm. Children are involved in writing their own safety plans, which is helping them to recognise and accept the actions they must take to make progress and keep safe.

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How well children and young people are helped and protected: good

Risk assessments are in place for each child, which are relevant to their individual needs. However, risk assessments are not signed by staff and there is no other evidence that suggests staff have read each child’s risk assessment. This reduces the manager’s ability to be reassured that staff know each child’s safety plan and could result in children being at risk of harm.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager provides strong leadership to the team. Staff feel well supported and enjoy working at the home. The manager has created a culture within the team which is characterised by high aspirations for children. Staff are supported effectively and share the same awareness about the children’s needs as the manager. As a result, children’s day-to-day care is consistently delivered by the whole team. One child said, ‘They [staff] are always there for you, you don’t feel alone.’

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff understand the purpose of each child’s care and provide support in line with the therapeutic programme. The manager, the teacher from the on-site school and Inspection report children’s home: 1249115 5 the assistant psychologist carefully monitor the children’s progress. This enables the care provided by staff to be responsive to the children’s needs.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff are provided with sufficient training and support to enable them to fulfil the responsibilities of their role. New staff members receive an induction and their performance is reviewed to ensure that they have the required skills and knowledge to care for the children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager responded effectively when it was identified that children were not sufficiently supervised by staff at night. The lack of supervision resulted in children not being safeguarded. The manager put in place strategies and protocols for staff to follow to prevent the safeguarding incident continuing. Staff were also supported to reflect on what they needed in place to be able to offer safe care to children. As a result, this has prevented the likelihood of reoccurrence.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager challenged a local authority and health professionals when she assessed they could no longer keep a child safe at the home. The local authority wanted the child to return to the home despite the manager declaring they could not protect the child from harm. As a result of the manager’s challenge, the child now has the required mental health support and care in place.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager monitors the quality of care provided to children. However, consultation with social workers, parents and other professionals rarely occurs. Also, the manager’s audit has not identified that some of the children’s plans were out of date. The lack of key stakeholder consultation does not enable the manager to fully evaluate the service. This may limit the quality of care provided to children. Inspection report children’s home: 1249115 6

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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—

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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. (Regulation 12 (1) (2)(a)(v))

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Requirement Due date

This particularly refers to the manager ensuring that all staff understand and are aware of the risk management strategies in each child’s risk assessment. 12 May 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

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

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Requirement Due date

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

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Requirement Due date

This particularly refers to the manager regularly seeking stakeholder feedback to help improve the quality of care provided to children. Also, the manager must ensure that the monitoring systems used result in them having the most up- to-date plans for each child. 12 May 2021 Inspection report children’s home: 1249115 7

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Information about this inspection

Inspectors have looked closely at the experiences and progress of children and young people, using the ‘Social care common inspection framework’. This inspection was carried out under the Care Standards Act 2000 to assess the effectiveness of the service, how it meets the core functions of the service as set out in legislation, and to consider how well it complies with the Children’s Homes (England) Regulations 2015 and the ‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’. Inspection report children’s home: 1249115 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: Care 4 Children, 1 Stuart Road, Bredbury Park Industrial Estate, Bredbury, Stockport SK6 2SR

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Inspector

Aaron Mcloughlin, Social Care Inspector Inspection report children’s home: 1249115 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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Inspector

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Inspector

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Inspector

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