Children's Home run by Choices Home for Children Limited in Stockport

Inspection report for children’s home: 2724171 1 Registered provider: Choices Home for Children Limited Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This home is privately owned. It is registered to provide care for up to four children who may experience social and emotional difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

Three children were living in the home at the time of the inspection. Two children spoke with the inspectors about their experiences of living there.

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Information about this children’s home

The registered manager’s post has been vacant since August 2024.

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Overall experiences and progress of

children and young people, taking into account

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requires improvement to be good

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

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requires improvement to be good

The effectiveness of leaders and managers requires improvement to be good

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requires improvement to be good

The children’s home is not yet delivering good help and care for children and young people. However, there are no serious or widespread failures that result in their welfare not being safeguarded or promoted.

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requires improvement to be good

Overall judgement at last inspection: inadequate

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Enforcement action since last inspection:

Following the full inspection on 19 and 20 June 2024, the home was judged to be inadequate. Three compliance notices were served under section 22A of the Care Standards Act 2000. These related to Regulation 7, the children’s views, wishes and feelings standard; Regulation 12, the protection of children standard; and Regulation 13, the leadership and management standard. Inspection report for children’s home: 2724171 2 A monitoring visit took place on 12 August 2024. At that visit, sufficient progress had been made against the specified steps, and the compliance notices for Regulation 7 and Regulation 12 were met. A further compliance notice was issued under Regulation 13, the leadership and management standard. Inspection report for children’s home: 2724171 3

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

19/06/2024 Full Inadequate 21/11/2023 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: 2724171 4

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improvement to be good

Children make progress living in the home, but shortfalls in management oversight of practice mean that children’s experiences are not always positive. Two children have lived in the home for several years and are settled. One child has recently moved in and is being helped to settle in and develop positive relationships with staff. Since the last inspection, two children have moved out of the home.

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improvement to be good

The quality of relationships between children and staff is mixed. One child said that staff leaving made them feel unhappy as they no longer had staff to talk to who knew them well.

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improvement to be good

Children are encouraged to attend education. One child is attending college and committed to studying their A level subjects of choice. Staff have positive working relationships with the children’s education providers. One assistant head said that the home is in daily contact with them, and the home’s staff do all they can to help support the child with their education.

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improvement to be good

Staff talk to children about issues that are important to them; however, conversations are not always recorded in a manner that is helpful or meaningful to children.

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improvement to be good

Some children attend activities that match their interests. However, staffing changes mean activities are not consistently offered or encouraged.

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improvement to be good

Children are supported to spend time with people who are important to them. Staff transport one child twice a week to ensure they spend time with their family. Another child is being helped to make plans to meet a new family member.

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improvement to be good

The home is warm and welcoming. Communal areas have benefited from recent redecoration. Children’s bedrooms are adequately furnished and personalised. However, some items in the garage and the pathway to the outside annex currently pose a risk to children. This is something that leaders and managers are taking action to address.

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improvement to be good

Children have individual risk and behaviour management plans. Risks have been identified; however, not all plans include comprehensive information and guidance for staff to follow to keep children safe. This means children are not being helped to manage all their behaviours and feelings safely. Inspection report for children’s home: 2724171 5 Children can express their views, wishes and feelings freely to staff. One child recently made an allegation. This was dealt with swiftly and appropriately by the responsible individual. Measures were put in place to ensure the children are safe.

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improvement to be good

Since the last inspection, children have not gone missing from the home, and staff have not needed to hold children to keep them safe.

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improvement to be good

Staff complete bespoke training to ensure they have the right skills and knowledge to help manage the current and emerging risks of the children in their care. However, not all staff are trained in a therapeutic approach, as stated in the home’s documentation. This means staff are not always child-centred in their approach, which children do not respond well to.

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improvement to be good

Serious incidents are not always reported to Ofsted in a timely manner or recorded appropriately internally. This reduces the regulator’s oversight of practice in the home and means that opportunities for managers to reflect and learn from incidents have been missed.

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improvement to be good

Safer recruitment practices are in place. This helps to ensure that only people who are suitable to work with children are employed to work in the home.

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

Management changes beyond the provider’s control have been managed sensitively and in a child-centred way. Senior staff have stepped in to carry out some management duties, and a new manager has been appointed to start soon. This has, however, meant that there are gaps in management oversight and inconsistencies in the quality of care provided to the children.

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

Staff enjoy working in the home, despite experiencing a period of significant change in staffing recently. Since the last inspection, three members of staff have left, and another three have been appointed to start soon. Bank staff, who know the children well, have generally been employed to work in the home instead of agency workers. This provides some consistency of care for the children.

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

Staff benefit from regular team meetings. The quality of meetings has improved since the last inspection. Staff discuss the needs of the children and different ways in which they can support them.

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

The home’s statement of purpose does not accurately reflect the practice carried out in the home or the experiences of staff. This was a requirement at the last inspection and has been restated.

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

Internal and external monitoring systems are not robust. Records of work carried out with the children are not always reviewed. A review of the quality of care being provided Inspection report for children’s home: 2724171 6 in the home has not been completed within the required time frame. This limits management oversight and does not support the development of practice.

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

Not all staff receive regular supervision or have their practice reviewed on an annual basis. As a result, there are missed opportunities to support staff to understand and meet the needs of children in the home.

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

Following the visit, it was agreed at a case review that the provider has taken sufficient action to meet the steps in the compliance notice under Regulation 13, the leadership and management standard. Inspection report for children’s home: 2724171 7

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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

Specifically, ensure that leaders and managers have oversight of all work undertaken in the home. This includes reviewing and evaluating all incidents and key-work sessions to identify any learning and to support and develop practice in the home.

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Requirement Due date

This requirement was made at the last inspection and is restated. 3 January 2025

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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. 3 January 2025 Inspection report for children’s home: 2724171 8 In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to ensure—

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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. (Regulation12 (1) (2)(b)(d))

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Requirement Due date

Specifically, ensure that staff respond to children appropriately to minimise conflict and to keep children safe, that the contents of the garage do not present any hazards to children and the walkway to the annex is made safe.

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that all employees—

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Requirement Due date

receive practice-related supervision by a person with appropriate experience; and

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Requirement Due date

have their performance and fitness to perform their roles appraised at least once every year. (Regulation 33 (4)(b)(c))

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Requirement Due date

The registered provider must ensure that all staff receive regular supervision and an annual appraisal of their performance. 3 January 2025

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must compile in relation to the children’s home a statement ("the statement of purpose") which covers the matters listed in Schedule 1.

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Requirement Due date

keep the statement of purpose under review and, where appropriate, revise it; and

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Requirement Due date

notify HMCI of any revisions and send HMCI a copy of the revised statement within 28 days of the revision. (Regulation 16 (1) (3)(a)(b))

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Requirement Due date

This requirement was made at the last inspection and is restated. 3 January 2025 Inspection report for children’s home: 2724171 9

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that all serious events are notified to relevant agencies without delay. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 63, paragraph 14.3)  The registered person should ensure that staff record key-work sessions in a way that is meaningful and helpful for the child and use language that is non-stigmatising. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 62, paragraph 14.4)  The registered person should produce a report of the review of the quality of care provided by the home at least once every six months. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 65, paragraph 15.3)

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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: 2724171 10

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Choices Home for Children Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: 31 Wellington Road, Nantwich, Cheshire CW5 7ED

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Inspectors

Zillah Brooks, Social Care Inspector Michelle Snape, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2724171 11 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 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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