Children's home run by Your Chapter Limited

Inspection report for children's home: 1240884 1 Registered provider: Your Chapter Holdings Limited Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This children’s home is operated by a private organisation. The provider states in its statement of purpose that it provides care for two children who may have social and/or emotional difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager has been registered with Ofsted since April 2022.

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Overall experiences and progress of

children and young people, taking into account

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requires improvement to be good

How well children and young people are helped and protected requires improvement to be good

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requires improvement to be good

The effectiveness of leaders and managers requires improvement to be good

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requires improvement to be good

The children’s home is not yet delivering good help and care for children and young people. However, there are no serious or widespread failures that result in their welfare not being safeguarded or promoted.

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requires improvement to be good

Overall judgement at last inspection: good

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requires improvement to be good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children's home: 1240884 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

21/06/2022 Full Good 27/01/2022 Full Requires improvement to be good 31/07/2019 Full Good 02/05/2018 Full Good Inspection report for children's home: 1240884 3

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improvement to be good

There are two children currently living in the home. The children say that they are happy in the home and feel safe. Staff spend time with children when they move into the home to help them settle in. The manager identifies the children’s needs and vulnerabilities before they move in. However, there are gaps in planning, as it is not always clear how the staff team can meet the children’s individual needs. For example, shortfalls in planning led to one child moving out of the home in an unplanned way.

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improvement to be good

Staff do not prioritise children’s individual educational needs. There are no plans or routines in place for children when they are not receiving formal education. Educational resources are not provided in the home when children are not attending school. One child’s attendance at school has significantly deteriorated since moving into the home.

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improvement to be good

Staff promote healthy and active lifestyles. Children are provided with opportunities to engage in physical activities in the community and enjoy trips out. However, when children do not engage with planned activities, staff do not always understand why children do not want to engage.

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improvement to be good

Staff support children with their physical health needs. Staff are proactive in accessing health services and medication reviews for children in line with their wishes. One child has been supported to have additional allergy testing, which has been a previous barrier to him being able to enrol in the army.

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improvement to be good

Staff address daily issues with children through key-work conversations. However, direct work for children is not planned, and work is not undertaken with children to address individual needs and vulnerabilities. As a result, children have not made progress in some areas.

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improvement to be good

Staff respect children’s relationships with family and those important to them. They help children to rebuild relationships with family members. One child has been supported to maintain relationships in their home area.

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improvement to be good

Staff seek children’s views regularly on an informal basis. Children’s meetings also take place monthly. This provides children with the opportunity to voice their wishes and feelings. However, children do not have access to an advocate and are not clear on how to make a complaint if they are unhappy. Inspection report for children's home: 1240884 4

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improvement to be good

Children’s risk assessment documents include clear guidance for staff. Behaviour management plans include clear strategies for staff to follow to manage behaviour.

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improvement to be good

Staff have a good understanding of how to keep children safe. The children living in the home say that they get on well with the staff and feel safe living in the home. However, staff practice is not underpinned by any therapeutic models, as stated in the home’s statement of purpose.

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improvement to be good

The home environment appears tired in some areas. One child’s bedroom was in poor condition. However, action was taken during the inspection to rectify this. Furthermore, staff use a downstairs communal room as a staff sleep-in room. This means that children do not always have access to all the rooms in their home.

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improvement to be good

Door alarms are routinely used on children’s bedroom doors. However, at the time of inspection, the children had removed these. Staff had not been aware of this. It was agreed during the inspection that these would no longer be used unless required to safeguard children. Furthermore, e-cigarettes were used by the children in the home, and inspectors saw these in the children’s bedrooms. Staff had not been aware of this.

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improvement to be good

Staff promote positive relationships between children through shared activities and experiences. The children currently living in the home spend time together away from the home. However, staff do not always effectively manage children’s different needs. This has impacted on children’s relationships with each other and led to incidents in the home.

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improvement to be good

Incidents of physically holding children are rare. When incidents do occur, staff manage them well. Children and staff are provided with opportunities to reflect on incidents. However, the manager has not evaluated incidents, and one record was missing.

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improvement to be good

When children go missing from home, staff actively look for them. However, there have been delays in reporting children as missing, and children are not consistently provided with return home interviews. There is a lack of managerial oversight of incidents. This is a missed opportunity to learn and implement support for children to improve the care that staff provide for children.

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improvement to be good

Staff have developed positive relationships with the local police community support officer, who maintains regular contact with the home. The local fire officer has also attended the home to educate children about fire safety. Inspection report for children's home: 1240884 5

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good

A suitably qualified and experienced manager manages the home. He knows the children well and has positive relationships with them. He works hard to get to know the children when they move into the home. However, the registered manager does not ensure that all local authority documentation is on file for children.

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good

Children are cared for by an established staff team. Staff get on well together and provide a relaxed atmosphere in the home. This provides consistency and stability for the children.

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good

Staff say they feel supported. They feel valued and involved in decision-making. They benefit from regular supervision and are supported with their professional development.

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good

Managerial oversight of the care provided to children is inconsistent. There is a lack of evaluation of the care being provided. This is a missed opportunity to learn from incidents, identify further support that children need and ensure that staff practice is appropriate. Leaders and managers do not ensure that staff provide children with care as outlined in the home’s statement of purpose. This is in relation to the therapeutic model.

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good

Following incidents, the manager shares information with the relevant professionals and agencies. However, there have been delays in notifying Ofsted of incidents.

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good

Regulation 44 reports are thorough, and reports include regular feedback from children and professionals. This supports independent scrutiny of the home. Internal monitoring of the home includes areas for development actions to address these. Inspection report for children's home: 1240884 6

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Statutory requirements

This section sets out the actions that the registered person 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 must comply within the given timescales.

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Requirement Due date

The education standard is that children make measurable progress towards achieving their educational potential and are helped to do so.

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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

help each child to achieve the child’s education and training targets, as recorded in the child’s relevant plans;

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Requirement Due date

support each child’s learning and development, including helping the child to develop independent study skills and, where appropriate, helping the child to complete independent study;

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Requirement Due date

understand the barriers to learning that each child may face and take appropriate action to help the child to overcome any such barriers;

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Requirement Due date

help each child to understand the importance and value of education, learning, training and employment;

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Requirement Due date

promote opportunities for each child to learn informally;

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Requirement Due date

maintain regular contact with each child’s education and training provider, including engaging with the provider and the placing authority to support the child’s education and training and to maximise the child’s achievement;

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Requirement Due date

help each child to attend education or training in accordance with the expectations in the child’s relevant plans; and

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Requirement Due date

that each child has access to appropriate equipment, facilities and resources to support the child’s learning. (Regulation 8 (1) (2)(a)(i)(ii)(iii)(iv)(v)(vi)(x)(b)) 7 June 2023 Inspection report for children's home: 1240884 7 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

help each child to understand how to keep safe;

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Requirement Due date

manage relationships between children to prevent them from harming each other;

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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)(ii)(iv)(vi)(b))

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Requirement Due date

Specifically, ensure that staff undertake meaningful work with children to address and minimise risks, that there is no delay in reporting children as missing from home, that staff manage relationships between children to prevent harm and that children are supervised appropriately in the home. 7 June 2023

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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, as set 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; and

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Requirement Due date

manage and review the placement of each child in the home. 7 June 2023 Inspection report for children's home: 1240884 8 (Regulation 14 (1)(a)(b) (2)(a)(b)(i)(ii))

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Requirement Due date

Specifically, clear plans should be in place to ensure that the home can meet children’s needs. Also, the manager should ensure that all local authority documentation is on file for children. Children should also have a positive experience of moving in and on from the home.

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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 the home’s workforce provides continuity of care to 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

demonstrate that practice in the home is informed and improved by taking into account and acting on—

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Requirement Due date

research and developments in relation to the ways in which the needs of children are best met. (Regulation 13 (1)(a)(b) (2)(a)(e)(f)(g)(i))

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Requirement Due date

Specifically, ensure that the registered manager has oversight of all incidents and work being undertaken with children, that staff work in accordance with the statement of purpose and that the care being provided to children is evaluated. 7 June 2023

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Requirement Due date

The quality and purpose of care standard is that children receive care from staff who— 7 June 2023 Inspection report for children's home: 1240884 9 understand the children’s home’s overall aims and the outcomes it seeks to achieve for children; and

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Requirement Due date

use this understanding to deliver care that meets children’s needs and supports them to fulfil their potential.

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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

understand and apply the home’s statement of purpose;

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Requirement Due date

understand and apply the home’s statement of purpose;

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Requirement Due date

provide personalised care that meets each child’s needs, as recorded in the child’s relevant plans, taking account of the child’s background;

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Requirement Due date

ensure that the premises used for the purposes of the home are designed and furnished so as to—

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Requirement Due date

meet the needs of each child. (Regulation 6 (1)(a)(b) (2)(a)(b)(i)(iv)(c)(i))

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Requirement Due date

This specifically relates to the absence of therapeutic intervention as stated in the home’s statement of purpose and the children’s bedrooms being furnished and maintained to a good standard, with any damage being repaired promptly.

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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 7 June 2023 Inspection report for children's home: 1240884 10 allows children as much freedom as is possible when balanced against the need to protect them and keep them safe. (Regulation 21 (b)(c)(i)(ii)(iii)(iv))

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Requirement Due date

This relates to children being able to access all areas of their home. Communal areas must not be locked and should not be used as sleeping spaces.

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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

a child is involved in or subject to, or is suspected of being involved in or subject to, sexual exploitation;

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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 an allegation of abuse against the home or a person working there;

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Requirement Due date

a child protection enquiry involving a child —

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Requirement Due date

concludes (in which case, the notification must include the outcome of the child protection enquiry); or

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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)(a)(b)(c)(d)(i)(ii)(e)) 7 June 2023

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Recommendation

 The registered person should ensure that all children in the home have access to appropriate advocacy and complaints support, and where possible, this should be provided by a person that the child chooses. Looked after children are entitled to an independent advocate to advise them and ensure they have the support needed to express their views, wishes and feelings about their care and lives. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’ page 22 paragraph 4.16) Inspection report for children's home: 1240884 11

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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: 1240884 12

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Your Chapter Holdings Limited

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Children’s home details

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

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Inspectors

Claire Hobbs, Social Care Inspector Mark Woodbridge, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children's home: 1240884 13 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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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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