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

A private company runs the home. The home provides 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, no children were living at the home.

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Information about this children’s home

The home has no registered manager, although there is an interim manager in post.

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This monitoring visit

This visit focused on whether the organisation has addressed the issues outlined in two separate compliance notices. Ofsted previously raised concerns around accountability, transparency and safeguarding practices. Consequently, Ofsted issued compliance and enforcement action to restrict children from moving into the home.

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This monitoring visit

Risk assessments are complicated, difficult for staff to apply and do not include important information. Additionally, during the visit, the responsible individual could not find key documents associated with reporting a child as a missing person to the police. Consequently, risk assessments and associated plans do not guide staff in their ability to understand how to keep children safer.

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This monitoring visit

The manager has lacked professional curiosity following incidents involving children. As a result, the manager has missed opportunities to constructively challenge staff and encourage them to reflect on their decision-making. This lack of substantive insight and debrief does not better protect children from reoccurring episodes of exposure to significant harm. Inspection report for children’s home - monitoring visit: 1249115 2 The organisation has failed to respond to child protection agencies promptly. This has prevented the opportunity to forge collaborative plans with partner agencies, which would have better protected a child.

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This monitoring visit

The manager has not used team meetings effectively to harness a greater understanding of pertinent safeguarding issues associated with a child. This is also a missed opportunity to strengthen staff practice.

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This monitoring visit

Staff do not yet receive clear direction from the manager. Staff do not know the role of the organisation’s on-call officer. This results in confusion, a lack of support when managing behaviours that challenge and the need for police assistance to manage children’s behaviour.

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This monitoring visit

The manager does not apply a coordinated plan around staff accessing the organisation’s online training programme. This has resulted in the entire team not accessing training that would have better equipped staff to meet a child’s needs. Additionally, the manager does not keep an up-to-date record of training that staff have engaged with. This reduces the manager’s ability to target areas for staff development.

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This monitoring visit

The organisation did not take heed of important information that social workers raised around a child’s known risks at the referral stage. The child’s experience of living at the home was characterised by poor planning and poor decision-making. Consequently, the child moved on from the home in crisis. In doing so, the organisation has failed in its obligation to the child and the child’s local authority.

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This monitoring visit

Although the visit noted some progress made by the setting, fundamental shortfalls remain that the organisation needs to urgently address. Safeguarding practices are not coordinated, and significant gaps remain around risk management. Consequently, Ofsted will reissue the compliance notice associated with the protection of children. Additionally, the restriction applied to the setting will remain enforced. Inspection report for children’s home - monitoring visit: 1249115 3

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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 4

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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 practise keeps the children safer. 7 February 2023

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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. 7 February 2023 Inspection report for children’s home - monitoring visit: 1249115 5 In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to ensure—

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Requirement Due date

that staff— 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;

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Requirement Due date

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

The care planning standard is that children—

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Requirement Due date

receive effectively planned care in or through the children’s home; and

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Requirement Due date

have a positive experience of arriving at or moving on from the home.

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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

that children are admitted to the home only if their needs are within the range of needs of children for whom it is intended that the home is to provide care and accommodation, asset out in the home’s statement of purpose;

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Requirement Due date

ensure the effective induction of each child into the home;

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Requirement Due date

manage and review the placement of each child in the home; and 7 February 2023 Inspection report for children’s home - monitoring visit: 1249115 6 plan for, and help, each child to prepare to leave the home or to move into adult care in a way that is consistent with arrangements agreed with the child’s placing authority. (Regulation 14 (1)(a)(b) (2)(a)(b)(i)(ii)(iii))

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Requirement Due date

*This requirement is subject to a compliance notice.

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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: Your Chapter, Hobart House, 3 Oakwater Avenue, Cheadle Royal Business Park, Cheadle 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 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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