Children's Home run by Chances CCFSS Limited in Gloucestershire

Inspection report for children’s home: SC016697 1 SC016697 Registered provider: Chances CCFSS Limited Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

The home is owned by a private provider and offers care for up to four children. The provider states in its statement of purpose that care, outreach and educational support is provided to children and young people who have suffered early trauma and loss. At the time of this inspection, one child was living in the home.

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Information about this children’s home

The registered manager has been in post since July 2001. An application to change the registered manager of the home has been received by Ofsted.

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Inspection dates: 10 and 11 January 2023

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people, taking into account outstanding

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Inspection dates: 10 and 11 January 2023

How well children and young people are helped and protected outstanding

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Inspection dates: 10 and 11 January 2023

The effectiveness of leaders and managers outstanding

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Inspection dates: 10 and 11 January 2023

The children’s home provides highly effective services that consistently exceed the standards of good. The actions of the children’s home contribute to significantly improved outcomes and positive experiences for children and young people who need help, protection and care.

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Inspection dates: 10 and 11 January 2023

Overall judgement at last inspection: outstanding

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Inspection dates: 10 and 11 January 2023

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children’s home: SC016697 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

03/08/2021 Full Outstanding 16/07/2019 Full Good 07/11/2018 Full Good 12/12/2017 Full Outstanding Inspection report for children’s home: SC016697 3

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outstanding

Children make excellent progress in this home. The registered manager and staff continue to offer outreach support to children who have moved on, including providing ongoing therapy and support to families and carers. While living in the home, children are supported to keep in touch and spend positive time with family members and friends. As a result, arrangements for moving on have been, and continue to be, a successful and positive experience for children.

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outstanding

The child currently living here says that they ‘love’ living in the home and feel as though it is the best place that they have ever lived. Staff have supported the child to have a real sense of belonging and worth, which has allowed them to explore their identity, pursue their interests and invest in themself. As a result, the child has high hopes and aspirations for the future.

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outstanding

Care plans are written for the child; they are child-friendly and empowering. Plans include research-based practice and therapeutic rationales and strategies that can be used by staff and the child to promote their well-being and safety. The therapeutic strategies outlined in plans are described in such a way that they directly relate to the child and seek to help them to understand themself.

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outstanding

Feedback from professionals, staff and a family member is exemplary. The ‘amazing’ progress and ‘incredible’ outcomes the child has made are attributed to the care provided by the staff and the support offered by the registered manager. Staff very much enjoy working in this home, and professionals and a grandmother ‘could not be happier’ with the service provided.

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outstanding

Staff have supported the child to build strong and positive therapeutic relationships. This has allowed the child to explore and discuss the topics that are important to them. Staff listen to the child and provide positive messages and guidance. As a result, the child feels valued and heard.

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outstanding

The child has made good progress in their education and plans to improve learning and educational opportunities have been actioned. The child is in full-time education and is being supported to move to another school in the local area. The plan to support this move includes learning opportunities outside of the school environment, which align with the child’s interests, and are aimed at supporting them to become comfortable with the opportunities that they will be provided with at their new school.

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outstanding

The home is warm and homely. There are pictures and photos on the walls, which are chosen by the child and mean something to them. The child’s bedroom is personalised, with safe enclosures for their pet geckos. However, adjacent to the kitchen, is a locked cupboard with treats and snacks inside. This locked cupboard Inspection report for children’s home: SC016697 4 detracts from the homeliness of the environment, although the registered manager took immediate steps to rectify this during the inspection.

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outstanding

The registered manager and staff do well at helping to keep children safe. The registered manager is professionally curious. This helps them to identify safeguarding concerns swiftly and take immediate action to protect children from potential harm. When concerns are identified about the actions of external professionals, the child involved is supported to make a complaint and express their thoughts, feelings and desired outcomes. In addition, robust precautions are taken to prevent similar concerns from reoccurring.

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outstanding

The response to safeguarding concerns helps to keep children safe. Staff have supported the current child to report their concerns to the relevant professionals. The registered manager is proactive in providing the child with a safe space to explore their concerns. Staff listen to the child’s views and wishes and consider what is important for the child when helping them to make decisions. As a result, the child feels empowered to keep themself safe and make decisions about their care.

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outstanding

The advocacy for children by the registered manager and staff team leads to exceptional outcomes and directly improves the lives of children. For example, the registered manager escalated concerns and provided evidence for the need for an immediate medication review for one child. This resulted in significant progress for the child, which ultimately helped the child to successfully move in with family members.

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outstanding

Risk assessments and care plans provide staff with the strategies they need to promote safety, while providing opportunities for children to learn about how to keep themselves safe. Risk assessments are regularly updated, based on changes to risk factors and the progress made by children. Consequently, children are helped to understand risk and how to mediate it for themselves.

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outstanding

Incident reports provide a clear and accurate overview of what happened during an incident and the support offered by staff. Staff use a range of strategies to support children, and remain calm, nurturing, and available to them. Staff also encourage the child to use their own strategies to help them to express their emotions in a safe way. As a result, restraint has not been used in the home.

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outstanding

Debriefs with the child and staff are reflective and seek to identify the triggers of difficult emotions, and what could have been done differently. The child is supported to reflect on their feelings and behaviours, which empowers them to respond differently in the future.

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outstanding

The procedures for the safe storage and administration of medication protects the child from harm. The registered manager is proactive in identifying the potential for Inspection report for children’s home: SC016697 5 future error when medications are similar. This allows the registered manager to implement further safeguards to protect children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

The registered manager has a comprehensive and therapeutically informed understanding of the needs of children. Consequently, the registered manager can support the staff team, families and other people who are important in the child’s life to care for them effectively. This has resulted in children being supported to fulfil their hopes and dreams.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

The registered manager works in partnership with external professionals to inform the delivery of high-quality training. For example, the registered manager has expanded on the therapeutic practices included within positive behaviour management training courses. This has led to changes in how the course is delivered, with the registered manager working with other homes to further develop their understanding and practices.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

Team meetings and staff supervisions are used to reflect on the care and needs of children, the practice of the staff team, and how the care offered to children can be further developed. The registered manager seeks to ensure that the relationships between children and staff, and the views and wishes of children, are at the forefront of the decisions being made.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

The location risk assessment provides an overview of what services and resources are available to children in the local area. In addition, it identifies local risk considerations and how these can be managed. As a result, the registered manager and staff team are supported to keep children safe.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

When staff leave their employment, the registered manager seeks to identify the reasons, and whether additional support can be offered to the team. The registered manager also oversees safer recruitment checks when employing new staff. However, records of interviews are unclear and do not always evidence the consideration of the candidate’s suitability for the position.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

Leaders and managers are not able to use the home’s training matrix to identify the training needs of staff, as it is out of date and incomplete. Furthermore, there is a lack of clarity with regards to induction and training plans.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

The registered manager has taken appropriate action to address the recommendations from the previous inspection. These recommendations focused on ensuring that staff regularly assess risk and the arrangements in place to protect children, and that the registered manager uses independent and internal monitoring systems to ensure continuous improvements to the quality of care. Further improvements are planned to the home’s independent and internal monitoring processes in order to ensure their usefulness when identifying areas of development. Inspection report for children’s home: SC016697 6 Despite these few shortfalls, the home continues to offer high-quality care to children. The shortfalls do not detract from the experiences or progress of the child living in the home.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

The home’s statement of purpose is compliant with Schedule 1 of the Children’s Homes Regulations (2015). The registered manager ensures that the care delivered to children is consistent with the statement of purpose. Inspection report for children’s home: SC016697 7

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Recommendations

 The registered person should have a workforce plan that details staff training and the timescales for staff to achieve induction and core training, such as safeguarding, health and safety and mandatory qualifications. The plan should be updated to include any new training and qualifications completed by staff while working in the home. The plan should be used to record the ongoing training and continuing professional development needs of staff, including the home’s manager. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 53, paragraph 10.8)

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Recommendations

 The registered person is responsible for maintaining good recruitment practice. In particular, the registered person should ensure that interview notes are legible and include an evaluation of why a candidate is, or is not, suitable for the position. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 61, paragraph 13.1)

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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: SC016697 8

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Chances CCFSS Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: 3 Fairview Court, 119-127 Fairview Road, CHELTENHAM, Gloucestershire GL52 2EX

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Inspector

Martin Brown, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: SC016697 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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Inspector

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Inspector

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