Children's Home run by Your Chapter Limited in Telford and Wrekin

Inspection report for children’s home: 1250186 1 Registered provider: Your Chapter LTD Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This children’s home provides care for up to four children with social and emotional difficulties. A private company owns and operates this home.

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Information about this children’s home

Since the last inspection, the registered manager has left the home. The current manager has applied to register with Ofsted.

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Information about this children’s home

A school that is operated by the same provider is on the same site. The inspectors only inspected the social care provision.

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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: 30 November 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: 1250186 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

30/11/2022 Full Good 07/03/2022 Full Good 18/11/2019 Full Good 02/10/2018 Full Outstanding Inspection report for children’s home: 1250186 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

At the time of the inspection, one child was living in the home. The child moved in one week before the inspection. Five children have moved out of the home since the last inspection. Most children moved on from the home in a planned way. Two children did not have positive experiences of moving out of the home, following a significant incident. The incident resulted in the children’s placements ending immediately. The leaders and managers of the home have reflected on the incidents and concluded that the staff who were present at the time of the incident were not experienced enough to manage the behavioural needs of the children. As a result of this, managers have made some changes to the staff team, introduced further training and have ensured that they only move children into the home when staff are equipped to meet their needs. The inspector spoke with the child living in the home and with children who have recently moved out as part of the inspection.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children have made good educational progress. Children living at the home attend the organisation’s own on-site school. Only children living at the home attend this school. Attendance is excellent. Communication between school staff and care staff is excellent and helps to ensure that there is a good understanding of children’s interests, which helps to keep them motivated and keen to learn. One child completed 13 GCSEs, and all children have received conditional offers for college placements of their choice.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are given opportunities to engage in a variety of activities according to their interests, both in the home and in the community. All children are enrolled onto the home’s ‘well-being for life’ programme, which is the organisation’s model of clinical intervention. This work provides individually targeted direct work, supported by staff, to help children develop and understand their emotions.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff prioritise children’s physical and emotional health needs. Despite only recently moving into the home, the manager and staff have ensured that the child has been registered with all primary care services and ensured that the child had access to a specialist service they required.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children reported positive relationships with the manager and the staff team. Children’s family members and professionals shared positive feedback about the communication from the home and quality of care provided by experienced staff to the children. However, children, their families and professionals have also commented on the inexperience of some members of the staff team and how this impacted on the experiences that children had while living in the home.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The home is welcoming, and the communal areas are decorated to a good standard. There are repairs outstanding in unused bedrooms that the manager has addressed with the maintenance team. These repairs are a result of damage from children who have left the home. Inspection report for children’s home: 1250186 4

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

The manager and staff have a good understanding of children’s individual risks. Risk assessments are detailed, clear and set out the actions staff should take to keep children safe. The risk assessments are regularly updated, and there is management oversight of the children’s plans.

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

Children are educated to understand and manage risks safely through regular discussions. Children also have direct discussions with the clinical lead every two weeks, which offers a safe place for children to share their concerns. The clinical lead has regular consultation with the manager and staff to support their better understanding of children’s needs and how best to support children and keep them safe. This intervention creates a settled and nurturing environment where children are safe and can thrive.

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

The manager and staff proactively respond when children are missing from home. When children do go missing from home, staff follow the children’s plans and share any safeguarding concerns with the relevant agencies, including Ofsted. The manager participates in multi-agency meetings and implements agreed strategies promptly.

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

Physical interventions are rare and used as a last resort. The manager completes debriefs with children and staff following incidents where physical intervention has taken place. All records of physical intervention include a critical analysis from the manager and the responsible individual. When learning is identified, this is addressed immediately, and strategies such as additional training are implemented to promote safe practice in the home. This practice prioritises children’s safety and is consistent with the home’s statement of purpose.

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

There was a lack of professional curiosity from the manager regarding an incident where a child made a complaint about staff conduct. The manager acted promptly, sharing the concerns with relevant professionals and speaking to the child and the staff concerned. The manager also updated the child on her actions and offered the child an opportunity to speak to an advocate, and the staff member concerned wrote an apology letter to the child. However, the manager did not complete an internal investigation following the incident to enable a thorough understanding of the circumstances and identify any shortfalls in staff practice or learning to reduce further occurrence.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

A suitably qualified and experienced manager leads the team. The manager has applied to register with Ofsted. Their practice is centred around promoting good outcomes for children and keeping children safe. Inspection report for children’s home: 1250186 5 The responsible individual is actively involved in the monitoring and oversight of the management of the home. This is done through regular visits, oversight of incidents and involvement when children are moving into the home.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager has effective recruitment systems in place to reduce the risk of children being cared for by unsuitable adults.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager uses a range of review and monitoring systems to maintain oversight of the home. The home’s location risk assessment is updated, and appropriate consultations take place to ensure that the local area risks are understood and reviewed.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager and staff have the appropriate qualifications for their roles. The manager ensures that all staff have completed mandatory training that is relevant to children’s needs and risks. Dates are scheduled for new staff who recently joined the team to complete training. Team meetings are held regularly, which provide staff with the opportunity to review and share ideas on ways to support children’s progress. The manager uses these meetings to develop practice and embed her vision for the home.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Rotas have not always been clear about who has been on shift and when. This could impact on investigations if an allegation is made in the future concerning a member of staff.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff receive child-centred supervisions that focus on improving the quality of care to children and staff development. However, staff have not received monthly supervision in line with the home’s policy. These are missed opportunities for the manager and staff to reflect on their practice, discuss safeguarding concerns and review staff development. The manager did not provide supervision to staff when the children in the home went through a period of instability. Therefore, the opportunity to reflect and evaluate children’s experiences was missed.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff turnover is high. The manager and responsible individual have identified that some staff have lacked the experience and skills to support the children the home has cared for. The staff turnover and the inexperience of the staff team have contributed to incidents not being managed effectively. The manager and responsible individual have decided to focus on recruiting and building a stable and experienced staff team before accommodating more than two children in the home. Inspection report for children’s home: 1250186 6

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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, The 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

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’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

feedback on the experiences of children, including complaints received. (Regulation 13 (1)(a)(b) (2)(c)(e)(f)(g)(ii)) 22 November

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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. (Regulation 14 (1)(a)(b)) 22 November

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that all employees— 22 November Inspection report for children’s home: 1250186 7 receive practice-related supervision by a person with appropriate experience. (Regulation 33 (4)(b))

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Requirement Due date

This relates to the registered manager ensuring that all members of staff receive supervision in line with the home’s policy.

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Recommendations

 The registered person should fully review any complaint made by a child concerning staff practice. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 22, paragraph 4.13)  The registered person should ensure that rotas are clear and that it can be understood who has been on shift and when. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 62, paragraph 14.3)

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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: 1250186 8

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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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Inspectors

Nateisha Cardoza-Evans, Social Care Inspector Jessica Forshaw, Regulatory Inspector Manager Inspection report for children’s home: 1250186 9 regulates and inspects 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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