Children's home run by Chillington Close Ltd

Inspection report for children’s home: 2605829 1 Registered provider: Chillington Close 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 company. It provides care for up to two children who experience emotional difficulties because of the trauma they have been through.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager registered with Ofsted in April 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

Date of last inspection: 15 February 2022

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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: 2605829 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

15/02/2022 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: 2605829 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Two children live in the home. They have both lived here since the last inspection and are settled. They speak fondly of staff and feel well supported by the team. Both children have got pet fish and one child is considering getting a dog.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The environment is homely, with lots of soft furnishings and items around the home which relate to the children, such as a chess area in the lounge, photos on display around the home and a trophy displaying special achievements. The atmosphere feels welcoming and like a family home as soon as you arrive.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff use a loving and encouraging approach with the children. Children are consistently praised, and if there are issues with their behaviour staff talk this through with them. Any consequences used are fair and help the children understand the impact of their behaviours.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are making excellent progress in school. One child’s attendance and behaviour in school have greatly improved since moving into the home. Another child is regularly supported to complete revision and now has career aspirations to work towards. School professionals feel that the care from staff supports children to meet their potential.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children’s physical health needs are met and their health is reviewed with their GP when needed. For example, when one child needed a specialist referral, this was acted on by the staff team and followed up when required.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

When children are unhappy about anything around their care plans, the manager has advocated for them, talked things through with them and mediated with other professionals to help the child feel listened to and to understand decisions made.

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

The manager responds clearly when there are any safeguarding incidents, to keep children safe, to offer guidance to staff and to inform relevant professionals as needed.

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

When an allegation has been made regarding staff, the manager gathers information effectively. They share it with the local authority designated officer and follow their advice. However, after one incident, the manager did not inform Ofsted as required.

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

On one occasion, a child went missing from home. Staff worked as a team to locate the child and ensure their safety. They followed safety plans and worked well with the child’s school and police. When the child returned home, they were welcomed, and staff were attentive to their emotional well-being. Inspection report for children’s home: 2605829 4 The manager provides staff with detailed guidance through care plans and risk assessments about how to best support children and keep them safe. However, risk assessments around internet use do not include online platforms used by the children, and staff do not check these. Staff are not curious with children about their online activity, to assure themselves of children’s safety online. This was raised at the previous inspection as a requirement and is restated.

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

Leaders have not ensured that staff are safely recruited. Verification of the reasons staff have left previous roles with children or vulnerable adults is not reasonably sought, some gaps in staff members’ employment histories are not checked, and staff have started working for the organisation before their Disclosure and Barring Service (DBS) certificates had been received. The manager has recently taken action to improve recruitment processes.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager is passionate about providing children with high-quality care. She has developed good relationships with the children and the staff. Both children and staff speak positively of her approachability and other professionals have commented on her strong communication skills.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager oversees children’s care effectively. She offers guidance to staff when incidents occur and evaluates practice. Children’s plans are well understood by the manager, who keeps them regularly updated. Team meetings focus on ongoing care of children and how to help them make progress.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff receive practice-related supervision which helps them reflect on children’s experiences and how to meet their needs. Staff also receive training which covers the basic aspects of safeguarding. However, staff have not had training to enable them to understand children’s previous experiences and provide them with skills to meet their needs. A social worker identified this as an area for development. The manager recognises this needs greater focus and is in the process of recruiting a clinical psychologist to address this issue.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager has reliable and effective systems to help her review and monitor the quality of care. However, the quality of care review and independent person visits do not include consultation with professionals, children, their families or staff to help leaders to understand the children’s experiences effectively.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager effectively and regularly reviews the location of the home and engages wider agencies to help her. There are regular health and safety checks, however, the annual fire safety assessment of the home was not being carried out by a competent individual, in line with fire safety regulations. Senior leaders are aware of this shortfall and have recruited an appropriately qualified individual to carry out these checks from now on. Inspection report for children’s home: 2605829 5

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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 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;

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Requirement Due date

help each child to understand how to keep safe. (Regulation 12 (1) (2)(a)(i)(ii))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the manager is to ensure that appropriate measures and risk assessments are in place for the use of mobile phones. The manager is to ensure that children are helped to understand how to keep safe online.

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Requirement Due date

This requirement was made at the previous inspection and is restated. 22 February 2023

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Requirement Due date

If the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005(a) applies to the home—

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Requirement Due date

the registered person must ensure that the requirements of that Order and any regulations made under it, except for article 23 (duties of employees), are complied with in respect of the home. (Regulation 25 (2)(b))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person must ensure that a competent individual assesses the risk of fire in the home annually. 8 February 2023 Inspection report for children’s home: 2605829 6 The registered person may permit an individual to start work at the home despite the fact that the requirement in paragraph (3)(d) has not been met if—

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Requirement Due date

the registered person has taken all reasonable steps to obtain full information about each of the matters in Schedule 2 in respect of the individual, but the enquiries in relation to any of the matters in paragraphs 3 to 6 of Schedule 2 are incomplete;

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Requirement Due date

full and satisfactory information in respect of the individual has been obtained in relation to the matters in paragraphs 1 and 2 of Schedule 2;

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Requirement Due date

the registered person considers that the circumstances are exceptional; and

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Requirement Due date

the registered person ensures that the individual is appropriately supervised while carrying out the individual’s duties, pending receipt of any outstanding information on the matters in paragraphs 3 to 6 of Schedule 2, which is then considered satisfactory by the registered person.

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must take reasonable steps to ensure that any individual who is working at the home and who does not fall within paragraph (2)(a) and (b) is appropriately supervised while carrying out the individual’s duties. (Regulation 32 (7)(a)(b)(c)(d) (8))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person must ensure that satisfactory DBS checks are obtained for staff before they begin working in the home, and that verification of reasons for leaving previous roles with children is sought, and gaps in employment history are reviewed. 8 February 2023

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must complete a review of the quality of care provided for children ("a quality of care review") at least once every 6 months.

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Requirement Due date

In order to complete a quality of care review the registered person must establish and maintain a system for monitoring, reviewing and evaluating—

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Requirement Due date

the quality of care provided for children;

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Requirement Due date

the feedback and opinions of children about the children’s home, its facilities and the quality of care they receive in it 8 March 2023 Inspection report for children’s home: 2605829 7 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 (1) (2)(a)(b) (5))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person must ensure that they have a system for obtaining feedback from children, their families, staff and professionals and that this information is used to inform their quality of care review.

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that staff complete all training outlined in the statement of purpose. The information set out in the statement of purpose is an essential part of the process of agreement between the registered person and placing authority that a placement in that home is the right one for that child, and that the home will be able to respond effectively to the child’s assessed needs. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 15, paragraph 3.6)  The registered person should ensure that staff have a system in place so that all serious events are notified, within 24 hours, to the appropriate people. The system should cover the action that should be followed if the event arises at the weekend or on a public holiday. Notification must include details of the action taken by the home’s staff in response to the event. (‘Guide to the Children’s

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Recommendations

Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 63, paragraph 14.13)  The registered person should ensure that the independent person they appoint consults with children, reviews the environment the children are living in, and that they also gather information from the professionals linked to the home to properly assess the quality of care. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 65, paragraph 15.8)

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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: 2605829 8

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Chillington Close Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Suite 4, Bermar House, Cannock WS11 0ET

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Inspector

Fiona Roche, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2605829 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 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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