Children's Home run by Your Chapter Limited in Calderdale

Inspection report for children’s home - monitoring visit: 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

This home is owned and operated by a private company. It provides short- to medium-term care for up to six children who may experience social and emotional difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

There is currently no registered manager at the home. The previous registered manager left in November 2023, and a newly recruited manager is due to start in February 2024. Day-to-day management of the home is carried out by senior leaders. Two children were living at the home at the time of this monitoring visit.

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This monitoring visit

During an assurance inspection on 25 October 2023, serious shortfalls were identified relating to the safety and protection of children. A compliance notice under regulation 12, the protection of children standard was issued detailing the steps necessary to address the shortfalls. A notice restricting accommodation was also served to prevent further children from moving into the home. A monitoring visit took place in December 2023, where some shortfalls were found to have been addressed, but some improvements were still needed. In light of this, the compliance notice was reissued with a reduced number of steps, and the notice restricting accommodation remained in place.

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This monitoring visit

This monitoring visit was carried out to assess the home’s progress towards the remaining steps in the compliance notice and to review the restriction of accommodation notice.

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This monitoring visit

The relationships between the children have improved. This has been promoted by staff arranging joint activities for the children, capitalising on their shared interests. There have been no behavioural incidents, and staff have used their skills to calm children before they reach a point where they need to be held to keep everyone safe. Inspection report for children’s home - monitoring visit: 1234317 2 When children have specific needs and vulnerabilities requiring specialist input, they have been referred to appropriate professionals. Some of this external professional input for children has already commenced. This provides reassurance that children will get the help they need to make progress. To support this, staff have delivered an increased number of focused key-work sessions which align with children’s plans.

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This monitoring visit

Several harmful items, including substances, had been found in the home before the last inspection. Staff had not been trained on how to proactively keep the home, and therefore children, safe in this regard. Since the last monitoring visit, the staff have completed workshops on how to be more thorough in searching for illicit items. Staff have successfully implemented this training in their day-to-day practice.

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This monitoring visit

No children have moved into the home since the notice restricting accommodation was served. Leaders and managers have used the last three months to review staff practice and learn lessons to make improvements to the quality of care provided going forward. The improvements that have been made have addressed all the shortfalls identified. The compliance notice under regulation 12 has been met, and the notice to restrict accommodation has been lifted.

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This monitoring visit

Other requirements raised at the last inspection were not considered at this visit and have therefore been restated. These requirements will be revisited during future inspection activity. Inspection report for children’s home - monitoring visit: 1234317 3

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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 Inspection report for children’s home - monitoring visit: 1234317 4

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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, The Children’s Homes (England) Regulations 2015 and the ‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’. The registered person must comply with the given timescales.

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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 signed and dated by the author of each entry. (Regulation 36 (1)(a)(b)(c))

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Requirement Due date

This requirement has been restated. 29 February 2024

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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))

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Requirement Due date

This requirement has been restated. 29 February 2024 Inspection report for children’s home - monitoring visit: 1234317 5

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Recommendation

 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, as 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)

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Information about this inspection

The purpose of this visit was to monitor the action taken and the progress made by the children’s home since its last Ofsted inspection.

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Information about this inspection

This inspection was carried out under The Care Standards Act 2000. Inspection report for children’s home - monitoring visit: 1234317 6

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Your Chapter Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: 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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Inspectors

Rachel Ruth, Social Care Inspector Jo Cansfield, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home - monitoring visit: 1234317 7 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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