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

Inspection report for children's home: 2613341 1 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. It provides care for up to six children with learning disabilities.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager registered with Ofsted on 23 August 2022.

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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: inadequate

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Enforcement action since last inspection:

The home was judged inadequate in all areas at the last full inspection on 4 and 5 May 2022. Four compliance notices were issued under section 22A of the Care Standards Act 2000. These related to regulation 8, the education standard; regulation 12, the protection of children standard; regulation 13, the leadership and management standard; and regulation 35, behaviour management policies and records. A notice to restrict accommodation of any further children was also served.

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Enforcement action since last inspection:

A monitoring visit took place on 16 June 2022. The provider had met one notice, and three new notices were issued in relation to regulation 8, the education standard; regulation 12, the protection of children standard; and regulation 13, the Inspection report for children’s home: 2613341 2 leadership and management standard. The restriction of accommodation notice remained in place.

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Enforcement action since last inspection:

A further monitoring visit took place on 27 July 2022. The provider had taken sufficient action to meet the notices, and the notice to restrict accommodation was lifted.

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Enforcement action since last inspection:

The reports are published on the Ofsted website. Inspection report for children’s home: 2613341 3

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

04/05/2022 Full Inadequate 03/11/2021 Full Requires improvement to be good 16/06/2021 Full Inadequate Inspection report for children’s home: 2613341 4

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

At the time of the inspection, one young person was living at the home. The home’s statement of purpose was updated during the visit to reflect that the young person is now an adult.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

An individualised care plan is in place that ensures staff work consistently to meet the child’s needs. Regular multidisciplinary meetings are held to monitor the young person’s progress and to plan care in accordance with the placing authority’s expectations.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The young person continues to make positive progress in all aspects of their life. Staff encourage the young person to broaden their diet and to attend appointments to keep them healthy.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The young person now attends school full time, and there is good communication between the staff and educational professionals to deliver a consistent approach across the two settings. The young person is developing friendships at school and engages in activities of their choice to promote their social skills and inclusion in the local community.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The staff team works well together to promote the young person’s independent living skills in preparation for moving on from the home. There are clear targets in place, and the young person receives plentiful praise for progress made.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff make good use of social stories to help the young person to prepare for changes in their life. Progress tools are revisited in response to significant changes in care planning to ensure that they are not negatively affecting the young person’s well-being.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The young person is aware of transition plans to return to live in the area that they moved from at the end of the school year. Their wishes and feelings have been taken into account. Staff are preparing the young person for this move with regular visits to see family members. External professionals confirm that the staff are strong advocates for the young person and that good partnership working supports the young person’s development.

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

Staff have a good understanding of the young person’s vulnerabilities. Risk management plans have clear strategies for staff to follow to ensure that the young person is kept safe. A key worker updated the plan during the inspection to reflect potential risks in response to the young person’s current targets. There have been no significant safeguarding incidents since the last inspection. Inspection report for children’s home: 2613341 5 On one occasion, staff needed to guide the young person away from a road to ensure that they were not in danger. The staff had explained why it was important for the young person to follow guidance, but they did not follow this up later to ensure that the child understood the importance of road safety.

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

There is no longer a court order in place to deprive the young person of their liberty. The staff understand the implications of this but continue to ensure that the young person is well supported, with two members of staff on duty at all times.

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

Safer recruitment practices ensure that any new employees working at the home are vetted as safe and suitable individuals to work with children. The child is supported well to minimise any effects of changes in the staff team.

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

Repairs and refurbishment of the home are now complete, so it is a safe and comfortable place for children and young people to live in. However, some doors still have locks, which may restrict their access to areas of their home.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

An experienced and suitably qualified registered manager is now in post. He has good systems in place to monitor the young person’s progress and staff practice. The responsible individual completes a quarterly audit of the home in addition to the manager’s monthly checks. The manager identifies actions to drive improvements in his review of the quality of care. However, the report does not include a focused analysis of the care provided or the views of stakeholders.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The staff say that they are supported well by the manager and have access to good- quality training and supervision to help them in their professional development. Staff say that there is a good team ethos. There is a shared aspiration for children and young people to achieve goals that maximise their future independence.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager identifies training that the staff need to provide safe care before children move to the home. However, pre-admission planning documents do not capture this careful thinking about how the team will be prepared to meet children’s specific needs.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager and staff challenge and escalate when the placing authority does not provide important documents to guide care planning. However, staff ensure that they make their own records from meetings to inform any changes required.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Despite a recommendation made at the last inspection, the independent person’s external monitoring continues to lack consultation with the child and other stakeholders. This is a missed opportunity to gather important opinions about the quality of care provided. Inspection report for children’s home: 2613341 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, 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

children can access all appropriate areas of the children’s home’s premises; and

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Requirement Due date

any limitation placed on a child’s privacy or access to any area of the home’s premises—

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Requirement Due date

is intended to safeguard each child accommodated in the home;

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Requirement Due date

is kept under review and, if necessary, revised; and

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Requirement Due date

allows children as much freedom as is possible when balanced against the need to protect them and keep them safe. (Regulation 21 (a)(b)(i)(ii)(iii)(iv)) 08 January 2023

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Requirement Due date

When the independent person is carrying out a visit, the registered person must help the independent person—

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Requirement Due date

if they consent, to interview in private such of the children, their parents, relatives and persons working at the home as the independent person requires. (Regulation 44 (2)(a))

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Requirement Due date

This is specifically in relation to the independent person ensuring that regular consultation with stakeholders, including children, takes place during visits and takes into consideration alternative methods of obtaining feedback, for example if children do not communicate verbally. 08 January 2023 Inspection report for children’s home: 2613341 7

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that the statement of purpose is reviewed to reflect relevant changes in the home, including when it is caring for a young person who has reached the age of 18. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 14, paragraph 3.5)  The registered person should ensure that risk management plans are updated to include any additional strategies that may be required to safely manage potential concerns arising from personal targets set for young people. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 42, paragraph 9.5)  The registered person should ensure that direct work with young people takes place to help them to understand how to make appropriate choices to keep them safe from potential injury or harm. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 46, paragraph 9.35)

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that the report on the review of the quality of care has a clear focus on an evaluation and analysis of the care provided to demonstrate how it improves children’s experiences and progress. The report should include the views of relevant stakeholders, including children. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 65, paragraph 15.2)  The registered person should ensure that pre-admission records clearly identify how the provider will meet the assessed needs of the children being considered, including the identified training needs for staff. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 56, paragraph 11.4)

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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: 2613341 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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Children’s home details

Responsible individual: Anthony Yearsley

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Inspector

Karen Willson, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2613341 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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