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

Inspection report for children’s home: 1250186 1 Registered provider: Your Chapter Limited Full inspection 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 care for up to four children who experience social and emotional difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

Since the last inspection, the manager has registered 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 school was not inspected at the same time as 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 requires improvement to be good

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good

The children’s home provides effective services that meet the requirements for good.

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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

08/08/2023 Full Good 30/11/2022 Full Good 07/03/2022 Full Good 18/11/2019 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: 1250186 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Four children were living at the home at the time of this inspection. Three of the children moved into the home recently. Managers and staff ensure that children move into the home in a planned way. Managers and staff visit children before they move in, to ascertain their views and share information with them about the home. Managers ensure that they have all the relevant information to enable them to determine if they can meet children’s needs effectively. Managers ensure that staff receive additional training to meet children’s specific needs before they move into the home. As a result, children feel less anxious about the move and have positive experiences moving into the home even in emergency situations.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

One child has moved out of the home since the last inspection. The move was unplanned and was due to safeguarding concerns. The manager convened several multi- agency meetings with all professionals to share concerns and explore alternative options which were safe for the child. The manager and staff ensured that the new carers had sufficient information about the child to ensure that their safety and welfare were promoted. The child was given gifts and received support from staff to move into their new home. The child said they enjoyed living at the home and spoke positively about staff and the manager. This support helps children to have positive endings.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff and managers invest time to develop positive and nurturing relationships with children. As a result, children are making progress from their starting points. Before moving to the home, one child’s education attendance was 10%. The child now has excellent attendance and is engaging positively with the curriculum.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children recognise the progress they have made despite only living in the home for a short period. One child said, ‘My hygiene, routines and making safe decisions are the areas I have made the most progress.’

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff prioritise children’s health and well-being needs. Children are registered with primary care services and access these when required. Children enjoy a varied and balanced diet and are supported to engage in physical activities. Children have access to specialist support to meet their therapeutic needs. Therapists contribute to assessments, risk management plans and care plans. Children also benefit from multi-agency support. For example, the manager, staff from education and clinical staff meet regularly to discuss children’s progress and develop plans to further support children. This support helps children to experience positive health and well-being.

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

Children said they feel safe living in the home. One child identified and named the members of staff who kept them safe. Professionals were complimentary about the staff and the manager’s approach to managing risks and ensuring children’s safety. Inspection report for children’s home: 1250186 4 Managers and senior leaders take prompt action when children raise complaints or make allegations. Managers acknowledge and explore complaints promptly. Information is shared with relevant professionals immediately, and children are kept informed of outcomes. These actions give children the confidence to make complaints and help them to feel safe in their home.

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

Senior leaders respond promptly to whistle-blowing complaints. The relevant professionals are consulted, and they ensure that internal investigations are robust. This practice ensures that concerns are addressed promptly and that children’s care and safety are not compromised.

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

Incidents of children going missing from the home have significantly reduced. This is a result of the positive relationships children have with staff as well as the education staff provide to children about risks arising from going missing. On the rare occasions when children go missing from the home, staff take prompt actions and ensure that children’s risk management plans are followed. When children are located, staff use a nurturing and sensitive approach to engage with them. This approach helps children to feel that staff care about them, which contributes to them feeling valued.

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

Staff take appropriate actions to support and safeguard children when they disclose suicidal thoughts or self-injurious behaviours. For example, staff recognised the signs of self-injurious behaviour for one child and were able to respond to them sensitively and promptly. The support from staff, and the positive relationships children have developed with staff, has resulted in children using more positive coping strategies when they are in crisis. On one occasion, staff did not follow one child’s plan to carry out a room check after a child injured themself. This could leave children at risk of further injuring themselves if staff do not ensure that the environment is checked for any implements that could cause harm. Additionally, the manager and staff delayed having a discussion with one child after they injured themself. This is a missed opportunity for managers and staff to understand children’s feelings and provide the appropriate support to prevent

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

A suitably qualified and experienced registered manager leads the staff team, supported by an experienced deputy manager. Managers are child-centred and committed to promoting positive outcomes for children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

Managers have various reviewing and monitoring systems to enable them to have oversight of the home. Some of the reviewing and monitoring systems have not identified shortfalls effectively.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

Managers have not ensured that discussions take place with staff without delay when they have been involved in managing safeguarding incidents. This limits opportunities to discuss any shortfalls with practice or any concerns staff experienced during the incident. Inspection report for children’s home: 1250186 5 Additionally, the manager’s review of incidents has not identified shortfalls with the recording of some incidents. This lack of analysis limits understanding of the incident, which results in difficulty determining whether the incident was managed effectively.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

The manager reviews the appropriateness and suitability of the location of the premises. The manager has not consulted with all relevant people to ensure that the report addresses the current risks in the area effectively. This lack of consultation could put children at risk of harm if current information is not obtained and considered.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

Managers have recruited staff who have experience of working with children who experience social and emotional difficulties. This means that children receive care from staff who can understand and respond to their needs effectively. Managers also have effective safe 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: requires improvement to be good

The staff supporting children have appropriate qualifications for their role. Managers also ensure that staff receive additional training to enable them to meet children’s health and neurodiversity needs. This practice ensures that children’s individual needs are met effectively to support them to make good progress. Senior leaders also ensure that the manager receives additional training to enable them to continue to provide effective leadership of the home.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

The responsible individual and operations manager are actively involved in the monitoring and oversight of the home. This includes regular visits, oversight of incidents and involvement when children are moving into the home.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

Senior leaders have acknowledged the shortfalls identified at this inspection and have devised an action plan to address these promptly. 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

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

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)(a)(f)(h))

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Requirement Due date

This specifically relates to the manager ensuring that: discussions take place with staff without delay when they have been involved in managing safeguarding incidents; management reviews of safeguarding incidents are critically analysed and shortfalls with recording and practice are identified and addressed without delay; discussions take place with children without delay after they self-injure or disclose suicidal thoughts; the views of all relevant people are ascertained when the location assessment is reviewed. 2 May 2025 Inspection report for children’s home: 1250186 7

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Recommendation

 The registered person should ensure that staff continually and actively assess the risks to each child and the arrangements in place to protect them. Where there are safeguarding concerns for a child, staff must take actions as set out in children’s plans to manage any assessed risks. This specifically relates to managers ensuring that staff follow children’s risk assessments and carry out room checks when children show self- injurious behaviour and discussions with children take place without delay when children injure themselves. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 39, paragraph 8.14)

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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: 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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Inspector

Nateisha Cardoza-Evans, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 1250186 9 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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Inspector

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Inspector

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Inspector

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