Children's Home run by iMap Centre Limited in Cheshire West and Chester

Inspection report for children’s home: SC481295 1 SC481295 Registered provider: iMapcentre Limited Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

The home is run by a private provider which specialises in delivering services for children with autism, learning disabilities and complex needs. It is registered to provide care for up to five children.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager registered with Ofsted in April 2021.

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Information about this children’s home

Due to COVID-19, at the request of the Secretary of State, we suspended all routine inspections of social care providers carried out under the social care common inspection framework (SCCIF) on 17 March 2020. We returned to routine SCCIF inspections on 12 April 2021.

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Information about this children’s home

We last visited this setting on 1 March 2021 to carry out a monitoring visit. The report is published on the Ofsted website.

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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: requires improvement to be good Inspection report for children’s home: SC481295 2

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Enforcement action since last inspection:

A monitoring visit took place on 1 March 2021 in response to an anonymous complaint regarding the administering of medication. The complaint was closed following the visit. Inspection report for children’s home: SC481295 3

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

08/04/2019 Full Requires improvement to be good 20/06/2018 Full Good 08/06/2017 Full Good 05/01/2017 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: SC481295 4

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The manager has developed a strong staff team which is compassionate and caring. This creates a positive ethos and practice which improves children’s outcomes. Children enjoy new experiences, such as travelling abroad for the first time and attending pop concerts. A child described the home as, ‘Just right!’

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The staff are sensitive to children’s anxieties about COVID-19. They help them to follow any guidance to keep themselves healthy and safe, while encouraging them to participate and improve attendance in education, enjoy activities and to see the people who are important to them.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The manager has challenged a child’s school and the local authority about his education, health and care plan, requesting an early review to ensure that it reflects the child’s current needs. The staff need to continue to challenge and escalate their concerns to ensure that his educational needs are met appropriately.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The team has a good understanding of equality, diversity and inclusion and promotes awareness and opportunities for children. This includes linking in with local specialist support groups and the provision of cultural awareness activities.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are encouraged to develop their independence, according to their age and understanding. For one child, this has involved learning to plan journeys and to apply for his first passport. Another child is being supported to make small but measurable steps in his self-care and can now tolerate new sensations. His social worker commented that during a recent visit she noted he was visibly happy, and she heard him speak for the first time since she has been supporting him.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The manager has good systems in place to plan for children moving to the home, with thorough transition planning in place. However, documents do not fully record how the manager considers the needs of other children living in the home and the suitability of the home’s location as part of the assessment.

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

Children’s needs and vulnerabilities are understood well. Robust risk management plans are in place and suitably high levels of supervision protect children from harm, including when they are spending time away from the home. As a result, there are few safeguarding incidents in the home.

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

Children benefit from consistent boundaries. Over time, the staff have helped a child to understand his feelings better, which means he is able to ask for help and is less likely to become distressed. His parent notes that this growing self-awareness shows how he has ‘come on in leaps and bounds’ since moving to the home. Inspection report for children’s home: SC481295 5 Physical intervention is used as a last resort. Records are clear and capture reflective debriefs with the staff after any incidents. The staff carefully monitor children’s well- being after any restraints if children are unable to express their views.

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

Effective management oversight ensures that any learning is shared with the staff to support and improve their practice in managing children’s behaviour. However, the staff do not always sign updated plans to show that they have read and understood them.

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

Children’s needs mean that they do not take part in fire evacuation drills. Each child has an individualised personal emergency evacuation plan in place to ensure they are safely helped to leave the home in the event of a fire. However, an inspector visiting the home for the first time was not told about the fire evacuation procedures.

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

The staff team is sensitive and skilled in protecting children’s dignity. They appropriately challenge other professionals to ensure that children’s rights are upheld. The staff are skilled in understanding children’s ability to tolerate others. They recognise when the home environment does not fully meet a child’s needs and advocate for a more suitable location.

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

The manager promotes positive relationships with immediate neighbours and addresses any complaints or concerns promptly.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager has a good understanding of the strengths and areas for development of the home. She has introduced robust internal monitoring systems to maintain high quality of care for children. External monitoring of the service now helps the manager to further understand strengths and areas of development in practice.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Managers have good oversight and understanding of children’s plans and have effective working relationships with partner agencies. As a result, children make consistent progress and receive personalised care.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Leaders learn from practice and feedback to improve care for children. The manager completes a report to review the quality of care every six months. This has improved in quality but does not consistently include the views of stakeholders, such as the staff and external professionals.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Managers fully support the staff team in their roles. Supervision takes place regularly and clear targets are set for individual staff in their annual appraisal meetings. This helps the team to meet its aims and objectives while also developing the skill set of individuals.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff attend regular training to ensure that their skills and knowledge reflect the needs of the children. This ensures staff provide consistent and effective support to children. Inspection report for children’s home: SC481295 6 The manager is aware of the need for the home environment to improve and to ensure that it is a warm and safe place for children to live in.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Rotas do not include the full names of the staff working on each shift to clearly identify individuals if an allegation is made.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The home’s statement of purpose does not accurately reflect the practice of the team. It does not include direct contact details for external complaints and for requesting copies of policies. Inspection report for children’s home: SC481295 7

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that the home is maintained so that it is a homely and safe environment. Water leaks and associated issues need to be addressed and minor repairs completed. The fire evacuation procedures should be explained to visitors to the home. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations, including the quality standards’, page 15, paragraph 3.9)  The registered person should ensure that they continue to escalate any concerns in relation to children’s relevant plans with the child’s local authority. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations, including the quality standards’, page 11, paragraph 2.3)  The registered person should ensure that pre-admission planning documents clearly and fully record how the needs of children already living at the home are considered, as well as the home’s location. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations, including the quality standards’, page 56, paragraph 11.4)

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that the staff sign updated documents, including behaviour support plans, to demonstrate that they understand the arrangements in place to keep children safe. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations, including the quality standards’, page 42, paragraph 9.5)  The registered person should ensure that records, such as the staff rota, contain complete details of the staff working in the home, including surnames. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations, including the quality standards’, page 62, paragraph 14.3)  The registered person should ensure that the home’s statement of purpose accurately reflects the practice approach used by the staff team and includes the information required under schedule 1. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations, including the quality standards’, page 52, paragraph 10.4)

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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 for children’s home: SC481295 8

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: iMap School, Barrowmore Estate, Barnhouse Lane, Great Barrow, Chester CH3 7JA

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Inspectors

Karen Willson, Social Care Inspector Mark Woodbridge, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: SC481295 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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