Children's home run by Your Chapter Limited

Inspection report for children’s home: 1249035 1 Registered provider: Care 4 Children Residential Services Ltd Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This children’s home is operated by a private company. The home is registered to provide care and accommodation for up to six children who may have emotional and/or behavioural difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

The children have access to the organisation’s on-site school.

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Information about this children’s home

The inspectors only inspected the social care provision at this school.

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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 16 and 17 September 2020, and 22 October 2020, to carry out an assurance 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: good

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children’s home: 1249035 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

28/08/2019 Full Good 22/01/2019 Full Outstanding 15/02/2018 Interim Sustained effectiveness 23/08/2017 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: 1249035 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children living in the home are happy. One child said it is ‘sound here’ and described the registered manager as ‘sound as’. Children are engaged in activities in the home together and were observed laughing and interacting well with each other. As a result, children are settled and able to engage with support.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff relationships with children were a strength. Relationships between children and staff were observed during lunchtime to be warm and relaxed. Staff were able to identify the positive aspects of the children’s personalities as well as potential risks and how to manage these. This supports children to feel valued and cared for.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

All children in the home attend school regularly and engage well in education. One child in the home has gained qualifications and has progressed into further learning at college. Staff encourage children living in the home to learn in an environment that is safe for them. As a result of this children are making good progress in their education.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff at the home recognise the importance of family relationships. Staff facilitate and supervise visits to children’s families in line with local authority plans. Children are enabled to maintain relationships with their families.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff promote children’s health and well-being. All children are registered with health providers and attend appointments. The registered manager and staff were able to demonstrate good knowledge of the health needs of the children and how they support them. Therefore, children develop an understanding of the importance of maintaining good health.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children play an active role in their plans. Children plan the meals and cook on their chosen night for the home. Staff engage children in a variety of activities tailored to their wishes, such as golf, football and, for one child, cadets. As a result, children feel involved and engage well with their plans.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The registered manager ensures the home is well maintained. The children’s bedrooms are decorated to their taste and they are clean and tidy. Communal areas have a warm and homely feel to them. This supports children to feel valued.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children access a therapeutic programme delivered by trained staff, with clinical oversight. Children access a weekly therapy session with the clinician attached to the home. As a result, children are supported with their emotional well-being effectively. Inspection report for children’s home: 1249035 4

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

The home has a clear and consistent approach to risk management. There are clear and individualised risk assessments in place for all of the children. The registered manager regularly reviews risk assessments, and staff are knowledgeable of the strategies within them. Children living at the home are kept safe.

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

The registered manager and staff implement a restorative model of behaviour management. When incidents have occurred that have required staff to use physical intervention, this has been proportionate, with restorative work taking place following any incidents. This supports the children to feel heard and maintain positive relationships with staff.

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

All children have clear missing-from-care protocols in place, and staff know what to do if a child goes missing. Direct work sessions are completed, the registered manager has evaluated incidents, and appropriate professionals complete return home interviews promptly. This has resulted in a reduction of episodes of children going missing from home.

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

Staff are trained and knowledgeable around the risks identified for children. The registered manager has identified further training in online safety that will enhance their current knowledge. As a result, staff have a good knowledge and skill base to safeguard the children.

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

There is an environment of openness encouraged within the home. In discussion, children were able to identify members of staff they could speak to if they are concerned or worried. One child said that the registered manager will speak with social workers and follow up requests. As a result of this, children feel able to share, and they trust that staff will act appropriately.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The home is led by an experienced manager who is child focused and has high aspirations for all the children who live at the home. The manager knows all the children well and recognises and celebrates progress. This supports positive outcomes for children as they have high aspirations for themselves.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff feedback regarding the registered manager is positive. Feedback from other professionals is positive, and the manager’s communication was highlighted as a particular strength. As a result, staff and external professionals trust the manager and the care provided to the children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager and deputy know the children well. The care plans in place for children reflect accurately their needs and the plans of the local authority. The care plans are regularly reviewed and include input from involved professionals. This results in the manager being able to effectively evaluate children’s progress. Inspection report for children’s home: 1249035 5 Staff supervisions and appraisals are an area for improvement. Due to a lack of recording system, the manager was unable to demonstrate that regular supervision is taking place. Appraisals take place, but they lack feedback from both children and professionals. The manager has designed a monitoring system to ensure that supervision takes place regularly. However, this will need time to embed.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager completes a regular review of the service. The reviews cover all areas of the quality standards. However, the review lacks evaluation. Enhancement in this will result in a more effective plan to improve the service.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

It is the responsibility of the provider to notify of any change within the organisation. At the time of the inspection, details of the registered individual were not up to date and notification to Ofsted had not been appropriately submitted. Inspection report for children’s home: 1249035 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 registered person must give notice in writing to HMCI, as soon as it is reasonably practicable to do so, if any of the following events take place or are expected by the registered person to take place—

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Requirement Due date

if the registered provider is an organisation—

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Requirement Due date

any change in the identity of the responsible individual.

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Recommendations

 The registered person must have systems in place so that all staff, including the manager, receive supervision of their practice from an appropriately qualified and experienced professional, which allows them to reflect on their practice and the needs of the children assigned to their care. Professionally qualified staff employed by the home, for example teachers or social workers, should be provided with relevant professional or clinical supervision by an appropriately qualified and experienced professional. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations, including the quality standards’, page 61, paragraph 13.2)  All staff must have their performance and fitness to carry out their role formally appraised at least once annually. This appraisal should take into account, where reasonable and practical, the views of other professionals who have worked with the staff member over the year and children in the home’s care. As part of the

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Recommendations

performance management process, poor performance should be addressed by a timely plan to bring about improvement. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations, including the quality standards’, page 61, paragraph 13.5)  The registered person is responsible for deciding what each review should focus on, based on the specific circumstances of the home at that particular time and any areas of high risk to the children that the home is designed to care for, such as missing or exploitation. They will also consider what information or data recorded in the home will form part of the evidence base for their analysis and conclusions. There is no expectation that the registered person will review the home against every part of the Quality Standards every six months – registered persons should use their professional judgement to decide which factors to focus Inspection report for children’s home: 1249035 7 on. The review should enable the registered person to identify areas of strength

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Recommendations

and possible weakness in the home’s care, which will be captured in the written report. The report should clearly identify any actions required for the next 6 months of delivery within the home and how those actions will be addressed. The whole review process and the resulting report should be used as a tool for continuous improvement in the home. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations, including the quality standards’, page 65, paragraph 15.4)

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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: 1249035 8

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Care 4 Children Residential Services Ltd

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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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Inspectors

Rose Maddocks, Social Care Inspector Marina Tully, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 1249035 9 regulates and inspects 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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