Children's home run by Your Chapter Limited

Inspection report for children’s home - monitoring visit: 1249115 1

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Your Chapter Limited

Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This home is operated by a private company. It is registered to provide medium- to long-term therapeutic care and support to children. The children may also experience social and emotional difficulties. The home offers placements for a maximum of four girls aged between 11 and 17 years. At the time of the visit, two children were living in the home.

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Information about this children’s home

The home does not have a registered manager, although there is an interim manager in post.

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This monitoring visit

Ofsted carried out this visit after being alerted to several emerging issues associated with the children’s safety and well-being. The concerns related to whether the home is sufficiently staffed to meet the needs of the children. Additionally, there were concerns about medication and whether this is administered in accordance with the child’s prescription.

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This monitoring visit

Concerns about the staffing at the home were substantiated. Leaders and managers have failed to staff the home in accordance with children’s needs. Leaders and managers have neglected their duty of care towards the staff and the children. They have instructed staff to work alone with children. This has depleted staff’s capacity to meet the practical and emotional needs of the children in their care. On these occasions, staff have not been able to apply the manager’s risk assessments when a child has had various missing-from-home episodes. This has resulted in an overreliance on police resources and has demonstrated a worrying lack of accountability and duty of care from the provider.

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This monitoring visit

Staff have not always aligned their care to the children’s risk assessments. On one occasion, a child was given unsupervised access to their mobile phone. This resulted Inspection report for children’s home - monitoring visit: 1249115 2 in the child planning to be collected from the home and subsequently going missing for several days. Again, the home placed a heavy reliance on the police to search for the child and return them to the home safely.

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This monitoring visit

Inaccuracies and shortfalls in the home’s recording systems mean that there are contradictory accounts in respect of illustrating which members of staff were in the home caring for the children. Additionally, various gaps in the medication recordings, despite the provider having conducted audits to explore the accuracy of these records, have left this recording system vulnerable to tampering. This reduces the capacity for the provider to be accountable and transparent in their care of the children.

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This monitoring visit

The provider has failed in their duty to investigate and report accurate information to the regulator. A provider-led investigation report around the administration of medication contains various inaccuracies and may have been designed to mislead the regulator. However, during the inspection, this was explored. The inspector found that the child’s medication has not been administered in accordance with the guidance. This could lead to children being harmed. In addition, the serious nature of this practice demonstrates the risk of creating a closed culture through misleading professionals and, consequently, increasing the likelihood of harm to children.

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This monitoring visit

At the time of the visit, the provider was still working within the timescales to complete the shortfalls noted at the assurance inspection. The requirements relate to supervision, restraints, internal and external monitoring of the home and notifications to Ofsted. The requirements have been carried forward.

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This monitoring visit

Due to the serious nature of these concerns, Ofsted has issued compliance and enforcement action to restrict the provider from taking further admissions.

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Recent inspection history

Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement 04/05/2022 Full Requires improvement to be good 20/04/2021 Full Good 21/05/2019 Interim Improved effectiveness 19/06/2018 Full Requires improvement to be good Inspection report for children’s home - monitoring visit: 1249115 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, 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 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

helps children aspire to fulfil their potential; and

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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

lead and manage the home in a way that is consistent with the approach and ethos, and delivers the outcomes, set out in the home’s statement of purpose;

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Requirement Due date

ensure that staff have the experience, qualifications and skills to meet the needs of each child;

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Requirement Due date

ensure that the home has sufficient staff to provide care for each child;

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Requirement Due date

understand the impact that the quality of care provided in the home is having on the progress and experiences of each child and use this understanding to inform the development of the quality of care provided in the home;

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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)(a)(c)(d)(f)(h))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person must ensure that: they embed team meetings and reflective discussions about the children’s needs; they have effective monitoring systems for records in place to ensure that they are satisfied that staff’s practice keeps the children safe; and the records accurately reflect who is working in the home. 18 December 2022

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must— 20 November 2022 Inspection report for children’s home - monitoring visit: 1249115 4 the registered person must ensure that all employees—

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Requirement Due date

receive practice-related supervision by a person with appropriate experience. (Regulation 33 (1) (4)(b))

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Requirement Due date

within 48 hours of the use of the measure, the registered person, or a person who is authorised by the registered person to do so (“the authorised person”)—

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Requirement Due date

has spoken to the user about the measure; and

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Requirement Due date

has signed the record to confirm it is accurate; and

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Requirement Due date

within 5 days of the use of the measure, the registered person or the authorised person adds to the record confirmation that they have spoken to the child about the measure. (Regulation 35 (3)(b)(i)(ii)(c))

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that this record is scrutinised and evaluated within the required time frame to ensure that practice is necessary, proportionate, safe and effective.

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that all staff involved in the hold, and those who witness the hold, are spoken to within the required time frame.

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that the language used by staff to record the incident is not judgemental and stigmatising.

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that a body map is completed after each incident of restraint. 20 November 2022

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must notify HMCI and each other relevant person without delay if—

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Requirement Due date

an incident requiring police involvement occurs in relation to a child which the registered person considers to be serious;

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Requirement Due date

there is any other incident relating to a child which the registered person considers to be serious. (Regulation 40 (4)(b)(e)) 20 November 2022 Inspection report for children’s home - monitoring visit: 1249115 5 When the independent person is carrying out a visit, the registered person must help the independent person—

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Requirement Due date

to inspect the premises of the home and such of the home’s records (except for a child’s case records, unless the child and the child’s placing authority consent) as the independent person requires. (Regulation 44 (2)(b))

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that all records are available for every visit by the independent person to help them to evaluate whether children are being safeguarded effectively and the conduct of the staff promotes the children’s welfare. 20 November 2022

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Requirement Due date

After completing a quality of care review, the registered person must produce a written report about the quality of care review and the actions which the registered person intends to take as a result of the quality of care review (“the quality of care review report”).

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Requirement Due date

supply to HMCI a copy of the quality of care review report within 28 days of the date on which the quality of care review is completed; and

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Requirement Due date

make a copy of the quality of care review report available on request to a placing authority, if the placing authority is not the parent of a child accommodated in the home.

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Requirement Due date

The system referred to in paragraph (2) must provide for ascertaining and considering the opinions of children, their parents, placing authorities and staff. (Regulation 45 (3) (4)(a)(b) (5)) 20 November 2022

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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

assess whether each child is at risk of harm, taking into account information in the child’s relevant plans, and, if necessary, make arrangements to reduce the risk of any harm to the child; 18 December 2022 Inspection report for children’s home - monitoring visit: 1249115 6 have the skills to identify and act upon signs that a child is at risk of harm;

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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;

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Requirement Due date

take effective action whenever there is a serious concern about a child’s welfare; and

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Requirement Due date

that the home’s day-to-day care is arranged and delivered so as to keep each child safe and to protect each child effectively from harm. (Regulation 12 (1) (2)(a)(i)(iii)(v)(vi)(b))

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Requirement Due date

*These requirements are subject to a compliance notice.

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Recommendation

 The registered person should ensure that photos taken of the child’s experiences have the dates of the events to help the child understand at what point in their time at the home the events occurred. Photos should be kept in a way that helps the child and their family to reflect about their time living at the home. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 62, paragraph 14.5)

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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. Inspection report for children’s home - monitoring visit: 1249115 7

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Your Chapter Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: 3 Hobart House, Oakwater Drive, Cheadle Royal Business Park, Cheadle, Cheshire SK8 3SR

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Inspector

Steve Guirey, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home - monitoring visit: 1249115 8 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 looked after children, safeguarding and child protection.

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Inspector

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Inspector

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Inspector

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