Children's Home run by Your Chapter Limited in Calderdale

Inspection report for children’s home: 1234317 1 Registered provider: Your Chapter Limited Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

p.1

Information about this children’s home

This home is run by a private company. It provides care for up to six children who may experience social and emotional difficulties.

p.1

Information about this children’s home

The post for a registered manager has been vacant since November 2023. A manager was appointed in March 2024. However, they have not yet registered with Ofsted.

p.1

Overall experiences and progress of

children and young people, taking into account

p.1

good

How well children and young people are helped and protected requires improvement to be good

p.1

good

The effectiveness of leaders and managers requires improvement to be good

p.1

good

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

p.1

good

Overall judgement at last inspection: requires improvement to be good

p.1

Enforcement action since last inspection:

During an assurance inspection on 25 October 2023, serious and widespread concerns were identified relating to the safety and protection of children. A compliance notice and a notice restricting accommodation were served to prevent further children from moving into the home. During a monitoring visit in December 2023, some shortfalls were found to have been addressed. However, some improvements were still needed. The compliance notice was reissued with a reduced number of steps, and the notice restricting accommodation remained in place. During a further monitoring visit in January 2024, it was felt that the compliance notice had been met and the notice restricting accommodation was lifted. Inspection report for children’s home: 1234317 2

p.1

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: 1234317 3

p.2

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children who live at this home make varying progress from their individual starting points. Some children have moved into and out of the home quickly; others have stayed longer, and more measured progress has been seen. The staff have reflected on the successes and challenges they have faced with caring for children in the home and have gleaned learning to improve and enhance their practice.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The manager and staff have been able to support children to make some positive strides in some areas of their lives. Two children started to attend education regularly when previously they had not. One child was supported to reduce their substance misuse, which markedly decreased the risk of them coming to harm. Another child has been able to explore their faith and identity safely and at a pace that suited them.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Several children have moved into and out of the home since the last inspection. These transitions are generally managed well. Children are visited by staff before they move in and should time allow, a transition plan is put in place. This is created in a child-centred way to allow them the time needed to adjust. In circumstances when this has not been possible, arrangements have been made to make the experience as smooth as possible for the child.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are encouraged to participate in a wide range of activities inside and outside the home. Children choose what they would like to do and are supported to fully participate. There are also gym facilities available in the home for the children to use.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The manager and staff are proactive in encouraging children to have time with their families in whatever way is safe and appropriate for them. Staff advocate for children in the team around the child and challenge decisions they feel have not been made in the best interests of children.

p.3

improvement to be good

Missing-from-care incidents are managed well overall. Staff follow the missing-from- home procedure, and appropriate actions are taken to locate children and return them to safety. However, the missing-from-care documents produced for one child did not correlate with each other and gave staff conflicting information about what actions to take. This caused delay in reporting the child missing during a recent incident.

p.3

improvement to be good

Risk assessment documents created for one child are inaccurate and contain duplicated information from the documents of another child. This means that the information is not bespoke to the individual child and therefore does not accurately reflect their behaviour support needs. This does not give the staff accurate information about the child, which could impact on the care provided to the child. Inspection report for children’s home: 1234317 4 Physical intervention is used as a behaviour management method in the home. Staff will only hold a child as a last resort and if there are concerns for their safety. However, on two occasions, staff have used a hold that is not permitted in the child’s risk assessment. This places the child at risk as they could have been hurt as a result.

p.3

improvement to be good

There have been allegations made against staff by children in this home. When this has happened, appropriate steps have been taken to investigate appropriately and in line with the provider’s policy. The relevant professionals have been informed and action has been taken. Children and the affected staff are informed of the outcome of investigations when they have been carried out.

p.4

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

The manager has been in post since March 2024 and does not yet have sufficient oversight across the home. In several documents, there are inaccuracies and inconsistencies that have not been picked up through management systems. This means that it is difficult to have accurate records to share with wider professionals, such as children’s social workers and the regulator. This then impacts on the external scrutiny of the home.

p.4

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

The quality of safeguarding notifications sent to the regulator have been consistently poor. This means that a lot of additional time has been required to fully understand the information and to be able to determine whether the right action has been taken. This has been picked up as a learning need for the manager and is to be addressed by the registered individual.

p.4

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

Key documents are missing for one child, and the manager has not chased these up. This means that important information regarding a child is not on record and has not been seen by the manager and staff. This has not been acted on until it came to light during the inspection .

p.4

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

The home has not had a registered manager for 26 weeks. This impacts on the stability of the leadership and management in the home. It has also been felt by wider professionals working with the home. Some have commented on the impact this has on them, especially regarding the level of communication they receive and the consistency of care afforded to the children. The current manager said that they are committed to improving standards in the home.

p.4

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

The manager is known to the staff as they have worked together previously. The staff feel comfortable to speak with him about any issues. They describe him as ‘friendly’ and ‘approachable’ and say that they feel supported by him. The manager is being guided by the responsible individual and is in the process of applying to register with Ofsted.

p.4

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

The manager has challenged decisions made about children’s futures when he feels that they are not in the children’s best interests. The manager has a child-centred approach Inspection report for children’s home: 1234317 5 to the care provided to the children and feels this ethos resonates across the whole staff team. Children benefit from child-focused care. Inspection report for children’s home: 1234317 6

p.4

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.

p.6

Requirement Due date

The protection of children standard is that children are protected from harm and enabled to keep themselves safe.

p.6

Requirement Due date

In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to ensure—

p.6

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;

p.6

Requirement Due date

help each child to understand how to keep safe;

p.6

Requirement Due date

have the skills to identify and act upon signs that a child is at risk of harm;

p.6

Requirement Due date

manage relationships between children to prevent them from harming each other;

p.6

Requirement Due date

understand the roles and responsibilities in relation to protecting children that are assigned to them by the registered person;

p.6

Requirement Due date

take effective action whenever there is a serious concern about a child’s welfare; and

p.6

Requirement Due date

are familiar with, and act in accordance with, the home’s child protection policies. (Regulation 12 (1) (2)(a)(i)(ii)(iii)(iv)(v)(vi)(vii))

p.6

Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person must ensure that risk assessments for children contain accurate and up-to-date information that is individualised to the needs of each child.

p.6

Requirement Due date

In addition, the registered person must ensure that staff know and understand the information contained in risk assessments 8 July 2024 Inspection report for children’s home: 1234317 7 and behaviour management guidelines to ensure that children are kept safe.

p.6

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—

p.7

Requirement Due date

helps children aspire to fulfil their potential; and

p.7

Requirement Due date

In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to—

p.7

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)(h))

p.7

Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person must ensure that they have monitoring and reviewing systems in place to have sufficient oversight of the home. 8 July 2024

p.7

Requirement Due date

The registered provider must appoint a person to manage the children’s home if—

p.7

Requirement Due date

there is no registered manager in respect of the home; and

p.7

Requirement Due date

is not, or does not intend to be, in day-to-day charge of the home.

p.7

Requirement Due date

If the registered provider appoints a person to manage the home, the registered provider must, without delay, give HMCI notice of—

p.7

Requirement Due date

the name of the person so appointed; and the date on which the appointment takes effect. (Regulation 27 (1)(a)(b)(i)(ii)(iii) (2)(a)(b)) 8 July 2024

p.7

Requirement Due date

The registered person must maintain records (“case records”) for each child which— 8 July 2024 Inspection report for children’s home: 1234317 8 include the information and documents listed in Schedule 3 in relation to each child;

p.7

Requirement Due date

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

p.8

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: 1234317 9

p.8

Children’s home details

Registered provider: Your Chapter Limited

p.9

Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Hobart House, 3 Oakwater Avenue, Cheadle Royal Business Park, Cheadle SK8 3SR

p.9

Children’s home details

Responsible individual: Bokani Nyoni-Chaya

p.9

Inspector

Gail McGann, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 1234317 10 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.

p.9

Inspector

If you would like a copy of this document in a different format, such as large print or Braille, please telephone 0300 123 1231, or email enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk . You may reuse this information (not including logos) free of charge in any format or medium, under the terms of the Open Government Licence. To view this licence, visit www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence , write to the Information Policy Team, The National Archives, Kew, London TW9 4DU, or email: psi@nationalarchives.gsi.gov.uk .

p.10

Inspector

Interested in our work? You can subscribe to our monthly newsletter for more information and updates: http://eepurl.com/iTrDn .

p.10

Inspector

T: 0300 123 1231 Textphone: 0161 618 8524 E: enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk W: www.gov.uk/ofsted

p.10