Children's Home run by Your Chapter Limited in Calderdale

Assurance inspection report for children’s home: 1234317 1 Registered provider: Your Chapter Limited

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Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

A private company owns and operates the home, which offers short- to medium- term care for up to six children. The children may have social and emotional difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager registered with Ofsted in September 2022. Four children were living at the home at the time of the inspection.

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Information about this children’s home

Judgement at last inspection: requires improvement to be good

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Information about this children’s home

Enforcement action since last inspection: none

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Information about this inspection

At this inspection, the inspector evaluated:

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Information about this inspection

 the care of children  the safety of children  the effectiveness of leaders and managers. Inspectors have looked closely at the experiences and progress of children, using the social care common inspection framework. This assurance 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’. Assurance inspection report for children’s home: 1234317 2

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Findings from the inspection

We identified the following serious concerns in relation to the care or protection of children at this assurance inspection:

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Findings from the inspection

 Leaders and managers have failed to make effective arrangements to safeguard children.

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Findings from the inspection

Leaders and managers do not always effectively manage allegations. This leads to any concerns about staff conduct not being fully understood and addressed. A lack of action has meant that some allegations are not dealt with properly, and members of staff continue to work at this or another of the provider’s homes. This leaves children exposed to risk of harm.

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Findings from the inspection

During the inspection, a child made an allegation of suffering physical and emotional harm from a member of staff. Previous similar allegations made by the child had not been dealt with in line with the company’s policies and procedures. This does not show the child that their voice is heard, and managers are not assured that they have acted to prevent any ongoing risk to children.

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Findings from the inspection

Leaders and managers do not always share full information with the local authority designated officer (LADO). This prevents the LADO from understanding the gravity of allegations and therefore deciding on the correct course of action. New information relating to allegations is not always shared with the wider professional group, which prevents broader action being taken to reduce the risk of harm to children.

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Findings from the inspection

Action has not been taken by leaders and managers to address previous requirements regarding incidents between children. The seriousness of such incidents has increased. Leaders and managers have failed to act to reduce unwanted peer-on-peer behaviours between children, such as bullying. These unaddressed behaviours have left children at risk.

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Findings from the inspection

Relationships between children have not been managed effectively. This has resulted in children arranging and planning unwanted behaviours, such as going missing from the home. Staff have failed to prevent children obtaining dangerous items. Room searches are not effectively carried out. Items have subsequently been recovered that could put children and staff at significant risk of harm.

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Findings from the inspection

The premises are not in keeping with regulations. Fire extinguishers have been removed from the communal areas and put in the staff office and are not as easily accessible as they should be. Staff said that this is common practice to stop children from tampering with them. This puts everyone in the building at risk in the event of an emergency. Some areas of the premises were in a poor state of cleanliness; this does not make the children feel that they are cared for. Assurance inspection report for children’s home: 1234317 3 Staff work with other agencies to agree plans for when children are missing. For one child, the plan restricts staff from contacting people who may know the child’s whereabouts. This prevents staff from being able to check that the child is in a known location.

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Findings from the inspection

The use of unfamiliar agency staff to look for children limits the likely success of searches of the local area. The registered manager said that other professionals do not always support staff to safeguard children. However, this has not been sufficiently escalated to achieve a different response from these professionals.

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Findings from the inspection

Leaders and managers have not always notified the regulator when child protection enquiries have started or ended. This limits the regulator’s ability to have oversight to ensure that all necessary actions to keep children safe have been completed.

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Findings from the inspection

Due to the lack of progress in the shortfalls raised at the full inspection, all requirements raised will be restated.

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Findings from the inspection

Some of the newly identified concerns are so serious that the home has been issued a compliance notice under regulation 12, the protection of children standard. In addition, a restriction of accommodation notice has also been issued, which prevents any more children moving in to the home. This enforcement action will be reviewed according to Ofsted’s processes to evaluate whether measures put in place have reduced the identified risks. Assurance inspection report for children’s home: 1234317 4

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

25/04/2023 Full Requires improvement to be good 10/05/2022 Full Requires improvement to be good 06/01/2022 Interim Declined in effectiveness 25/05/2021 Full Requires improvement to be good Assurance inspection report for children’s home: 1234317 5

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Statutory requirements

This section sets out the actions that the registered persons 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 persons 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

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

are familiar with, and act in accordance with, the home’s child protection policies;

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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;

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Requirement Due date

that the premises used for the purposes of the home are designed, furnished and maintained so as to protect each child from avoidable hazards to the child’s health

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Requirement Due date

that the effectiveness of the home’s child protection policies is monitored regularly. (Regulation 12 (1) (2)(a)(iv)(vi)(vii)(b)(d)(e)) 10 December

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Requirement Due date

The positive relationships standard is that children are helped to develop, and to benefit from, relationships based on—

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Requirement Due date

an understanding about acceptable behaviour; and

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Requirement Due date

positive responses to other children and adults. 10 December Assurance inspection report for children’s home: 1234317 6 In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to ensure— that staff—

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Requirement Due date

help each child to develop and practise skills to resolve conflicts positively and without harm to anyone;

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Requirement Due date

de-escalate confrontations with or between children, or potentially violent behaviour by children. (Regulation 11 (1)(a)(b)(c) (2)(a)(iv)(xi))

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must maintain records ("case records") for each child which—

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Requirement Due date

include the information and documents listed in Schedule 3 in relation to each child;

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Requirement Due date

are kept up to date; and are signed and dated by the author of each entry. (Regulation 36 (1)(a)(b)(c)) 10 December

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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

ensure the effective induction of each child into the home;

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Requirement Due date

manage and review the placement of each child in the home; and

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Requirement Due date

plan for, and help, each child to prepare to leave the home or to move into adult care in a way that is consistent with arrangements agreed with the child’s placing authority. (Regulation 14 (1)(a)(b) (2)(b)(i)(ii)(iii)) 10 December

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Requirement Due date

* This requirement is subject to a compliance notice. Assurance inspection report for children’s home: 1234317 7

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that staff seek to meet the child’s basic needs in the way that a good parent would, recognising that many children in residential care have experienced environments where these needs have not been consistently met, this includes maintaining the physical environment– doing so is an important aspect of demonstrating that the staff care for the child and value them as an individual. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 15, paragraph 3.7) Assurance inspection report for children’s home: 1234317 8

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Your Chapter Limited

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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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Children’s home details

Responsible individual: Bokani Nyoni-Chaya

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Inspector

Rachel Ruth, Social Care Inspector Assurance inspection report for children’s home: 1234317 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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