Children's Home run by iMapcentre Limited in Cheshire West and Chester

Inspection report for children’s home: 2613341 1 Registered provider: iMapcentre Limited Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

The home is run by a private provider. It provides care for up to six children with learning disabilities.

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Information about this children’s home

Three children were living at the home at the time of the inspection.

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Information about this children’s home

The registered manager has resigned from their position.

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Overall experiences and progress of

children and young people, taking into account

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inadequate

How well children and young people are helped and protected inadequate

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inadequate

The effectiveness of leaders and managers inadequate

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inadequate

There are serious and widespread failures that mean children are not protected and their welfare is not promoted or safeguarded and the care and experiences of children and young people are poor and they are not making progress.

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inadequate

Overall judgement at last inspection: inadequate

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Enforcement action since last inspection:

Following the inspection on 7 June 2023, compliance notices were issued under Regulation 12 (the protection of children standard) and Regulation 13 (the leadership and management standard). These compliance notices were monitored on 5 July 2023. Inspection report for children’s home: 2613341 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

07/06/2023 Full Inadequate 15/11/2022 Full Good 04/05/2022 Full Inadequate 03/11/2021 Full Requires improvement to be good Inspection report for children’s home: 2613341 3

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inadequate

Since the inadequate inspection in June 2023, one child has moved into the home and two children have moved out. Significant shortfalls have again been identified in the safeguarding and protection of children. The management oversight continues to be ineffective and positive progress identified at the monitoring visit in July 2023 has not been sustained.

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inadequate

The living environment is not maintained to a high standard and maintenance issues are not addressed in a timely way. Internal door locks remain on communal areas of the home. This practice restricts the children’s ability to move freely around their home.

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inadequate

The home is a large, detached building and comprises three separate living areas and a large garden. Children are kept separate in each area of the home and there is no area identified for children to eat together. This leaves children isolated from each other.

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inadequate

The home benefits from a large garden with a variety of play equipment. However, the manager has restricted children’s access to their garden, due to building works. This is despite the high staffing ratios in place to support each child.

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inadequate

Children’s plans do not provide staff with consistent guidelines on how to support each child with their daily routine. One child has a plan to attend the organisation’s school. However, the child is left to get themselves up and ready for school. This is a missed opportunity to work with children to encourage and support their learning and development. Furthermore, staff do not understand the targets in place for children to achieve. The manager has not ensured that there is a clear process in place for children’s targets to be reviewed and monitored. This is a missed opportunity to support children’s development.

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inadequate

Activities for children are sparse in the home and out in the local community. This means that children are not provided with opportunities to develop their social skills and mix with their peers.

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inadequate

Despite the concerns, children are supported to move into and out of the home in a planned way. This is a positive experience for children. Children enjoy time with their families, and this is supported by the staff. Leaders have worked closely with family members to ensure that children’s dietary needs can be met.

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

Managers lack oversight around the use of restraint. Children are being restrained using holds taught to staff for use with another child. One type of hold has not been Inspection report for children’s home: 2613341 4 agreed as being needed for one child and is not included in their plan. This means that children are being restrained when it is not necessary or proportionate to do so and is not the least restrictive option available. This is unsafe care.

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

The duration of restraints is not always recorded by the staff and appropriate monitoring of a child following the restraint is not taking place. This leaves children at risk of harm. Additionally, children are not always offered a debrief following restraints. This is a missed opportunity to repair relationships and support children with the potential effects of restraint practice.

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

One child has made several allegations against the staff working in the home. On the first occasion, this was not reported to the local authority designated officer until the second allegation was made and an allegation management meeting was held. Following this, the manager did not report any further allegations made by the child to Ofsted. This means that the regulator does not have adequate oversight to ensure that children are safe.

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

Children’s behaviour support guidelines are inconsistent and not always agreed with the placing authorities. One child was left to bang their head on a locked door as staff had retreated to another room to wait for the child to calm. This is not a safe caring arrangement.

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

Children’s plans for supporting them to leave the building during a fire drill are not reviewed. Additionally, regular fire drills and proactive work with one child are not carried out. This leaves children at risk of harm should there be a need to evacuate the building.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

The manager has submitted his notice to resign from the post. There is an interim manager in post and a new deputy manager. The new management team has begun to address the shortfalls in care. However, this work needs to be reprioritised as there is an emphasis on process rather than practice.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

Since the last inspection, leaders have successfully recruited new staff. However, there is limited guidance around care practices for staff. Not all staff are aware of who their supervisor is, and some staff have not received supervision. This is a missed opportunity to discuss practice, learning and development.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

Not all staff have had access to the relevant training they require to support the children’s individual complex needs. This includes training in autism spectrum disorder and safeguarding disabled children. This means that staff do not have the skills needed to support children effectively.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

There is a lack of managerial oversight throughout all records, including the use of restraint and restrictive practices, and children’s plans. This means that staff practice is not reviewed and addressed, and learning points for improvement are missed. In Inspection report for children’s home: 2613341 5 addition, the manager has failed to meet some of the requirements made at the last full inspection. Inspection report for children’s home: 2613341 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 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

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)) 5 November 2023

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Requirement Due date

*Restraint in relation to a child is only permitted for the purpose of preventing—

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Requirement Due date

injury to any person (including the child);

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Requirement Due date

serious damage to the property of any person (including the child).

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Requirement Due date

Restraint in relation to a child must be necessary and proportionate. (Regulation 20 (1)(a)(b) (2)) 5 November 2023 Inspection report for children’s home: 2613341 7 *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

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)(c)(f)(h)) 5 November 2023

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Requirement Due date

*The quality and purpose of care standard is that children receive care from staff who—

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Requirement Due date

understand the children’s home’s overall aims and the outcomes it seeks to achieve for children;

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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

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

make decisions about the day-to-day arrangements for each child, in accordance with the child’s relevant plans, which give the child an appropriate degree of freedom and choice

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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— 5 November 2023 Inspection report for children’s home: 2613341 8 meet the needs of each child; and

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Requirement Due date

enable each child to participate in the daily life of the home. (Regulation 6 (1)(a)(b) (2)(b)(iv)(ix)(c)(i)(ii))

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Requirement Due date

*The registered person must ensure that—

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Requirement Due date

children can access all appropriate areas of the children’s home’s premises. (Regulation 21 (b)) 5 November 2023

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Requirement Due date

* These requirements are subject to a compliance notice.

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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: 2613341 9

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Imap School, Barrowmore Estate, Barnhouse Lane, Great Barrow, Chester CH3 7JA

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Children’s home details

Responsible individual: Anthony Yearsley

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Inspectors

Maria McGranaghan, Social Care Inspector Kerri Lynch, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2613341 10 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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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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