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

Inspection report for children’s home: 2674455 1 Registered provider: Choice Home for Children Limited

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Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

The home is privately owned. It is registered to provide care for one child who may have social and/or emotional difficulties and/or learning disabilities.

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Overall experiences and progress of

children and young people, taking into account requires improvement to be good

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Overall experiences and progress of

How well children and young people are helped and protected good

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Overall experiences and progress of

The effectiveness of leaders and managers requires improvement to be good

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Overall experiences and progress of

Overall judgement at last inspection: good

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Overall experiences and progress of

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children’s home: 2674455 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

15/08/2023 Full Good 29/06/2022 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: 2674455 3

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improvement to be good

The child’s experience of living at the home has been adversely impacted by the numerous changes to the staff team. In addition, there is not a full staff team in place, and this means that the child is cared for mainly by non-permanent staff.

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improvement to be good

The frequent changes in staff limit the child’s ability to form positive and trusting relationships with the adults who care for them. In the absence of a consistent staff team, the registered manager and deputy manager continue to take steps to provide the child with a stable and reassuring presence in the home.

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improvement to be good

The child has a strong relationship with the manager and deputy manager. In turn, they are committed to trying to provide the child with some continuity of care. For example, the deputy manager has changed her working hours so that she can be available to do activities with the child during the day. However, the use of non-permanent staff during the evenings and weekends limits the activities that the child can access.

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improvement to be good

The manager ensures that the child’s care plans are detailed and updated regularly. This means that there is clear guidance in place for new staff to follow.

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improvement to be good

Managers encourage and promote the child’s hobbies and interests. The child is interested in civil defence sirens (air raid sirens, sirens for flood warning) and researches their location with the help of staff. The child has recently been on a short holiday with managers to see a siren. This overnight stay was a significant achievement for the child.

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improvement to be good

Staff are supporting the child to learn important skills that will help the child to be more independent. For example, with encouragement, the child will help with household tasks, such as laundry and shopping.

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improvement to be good

The child chooses to eat a limited diet. Staff are slowly encouraging the child to introduce more variety and healthier options into their diet. Staff understand the importance of daily exercise and plan regular opportunities to engage the child in physical activities, such as local walks and bike rides.

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improvement to be good

Some areas of the home are tired and require more regular maintenance. For example, the carpet in the communal areas needs replacing and redecoration is required to areas of marked and/or chipped paintwork. This detracts from the homely environment that the manager has been trying to create. Inspection report for children’s home: 2674455 4

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

The child has become increasingly safe because of the care provided and high levels of supervision and support. As a result, the child has not been missing from the home or exposed to risks in the community.

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

The child is subject to restrictions of their liberty. The manager works with the placing authority to try to reduce the restrictions in a planned way while still maintaining the child’s safety.

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

The child has complex needs, and their behaviour can be challenging when they are anxious and/or upset. There is a very detailed behaviour support plan in place to support staff to identify potential triggers and guide their response to the child’s behaviours. This helps staff to manage challenging situations in a calm and planned way.

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

There is a reliance on non-permanent staff to care for the child. The child’s strongest relationships are with the manager and deputy manager of the home. As a result, much of their time is occupied with the day-to-day care of the child. This helps to ensure that the child is safe, but it detracts from their capacity to manage the home effectively.

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

Staff defuse most incidents in the home effectively. They rarely need to hold the child to keep the child safe. All staff have received training to equip them with the skills that they need to hold a child safely.

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

Managers encourage the child to reflect on their behaviours. This is helping the child to better understand their emotional responses to situations. In addition, the child is being helped to identify their own strategies to self-soothe. For example, the child has said that meditation and the use of peppermint oil helps them to feel calmer. The manager ensures that these strategies are captured in the child’s care plans so that new staff have access to this important information.

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

The child is very anxious about medical appointments and struggles to attend them. The manager carefully and sensitively plans how she will approach this with the child to ensure that the child’s health needs are met. In addition, staff complete direct work to help the child to understand the importance of attending health appointments and explain the relevance to the child’s long-term health.

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

The registered manager understands the child’s complex needs and the progress that the child is making. She is a good advocate for the child and is enthusiastic about ensuring that the child is listened to.

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

Insufficient progress has been made in securing and retaining a stable staff team. The child has experienced a high turnover of staff over a significant period. This is unsettling for the child and limits the experience and progress they are making. A requirement was made in relation to this at the last inspection and is repeated to secure improvement. Inspection report for children’s home: 2674455 5 The manager and deputy manager are a consistent and stable presence in the life of the child. They model their approach to new staff to try to provide the child with some consistency. However, the dependence on the presence of the manager and deputy manager to provide day-to-day care for the child limits their capacity to fulfil their managerial responsibilities.

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

The manager has made improvements in the frequency and content of staff supervisions. All permanent members of staff have received an annual appraisal of their performance.

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

All staff receive training to equip them with the basic skills they need to care for the child. However, very few of the staff hold a recognised childcare qualification.

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

The manager has not provided Ofsted with a copy of their quality of care review report. This is required by regulation.

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

Shortfalls with the accuracy of the staff rota were identified during this inspection. The manager has not ensured that the rota reflects which staff have worked at the home over night. Inspection report for children’s home: 2674455 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

ensure that staff have the experience, qualifications and skills to meet the needs of each child;

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Requirement Due date

ensure that the home has sufficient staff to provide care for each child;

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Requirement Due date

ensure that the home’s workforce provides continuity of care to each child;

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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)(c)(d)(h))

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Requirement Due date

This requirement was made at the last inspection and is restated. 31 December 2024

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must complete a review of the quality of care provided for children ("a quality-of-care review") at least once every 6 months. 31 December 2024 Inspection report for children’s home: 2674455 7 In order to complete a quality of care review the registered person must establish and maintain a system for monitoring, reviewing and evaluating—

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Requirement Due date

the quality of care provided for children;

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Requirement Due date

the feedback and opinions of children about the children’s home, its facilities and the quality of care they receive in it; and

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Requirement Due date

any actions that the registered person considers necessary in order to improve or maintain the quality of care provided for children.

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Requirement Due date

The system referred to in paragraph (2) must provide for ascertaining and considering the opinions of children, their parents, placing authorities and staff. (Regulation 45 (1) (2)(a)(b)(c) (5))

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Requirement Due date

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

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Requirement Due date

Schedule 4 sets out the other information that the registered person must keep in relation to a children’s home.

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Requirement Due date

maintain in the home the records in Schedule 4;

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Requirement Due date

ensure that the records are kept up to date; and

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Requirement Due date

retain the records for at least 15 years from the date of the last entry. (Regulation 37 (1) (2)(a)(b)(c))

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Requirement Due date

Specifically, the registered person must ensure that the staff rota is an accurate record of the actual shifts worked by staff in the home. 31 December 2024

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Recommendation

 The registered person should ensure that the home is decorated and furnished to a high standard throughout, that all areas of the home are kept clean and that carpets are replaced when they become worn. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards,’ page 15, paragraph 3.9) Inspection report for children’s home: 2674455 8

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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: 2674455 9

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Choice 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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Inspector

Sophie Thomson, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2674455 10 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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Inspector

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Inspector

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Inspector

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