Children's home run by The Partnership of The Chartwell Group

Inspection report for children’s home: SC015266 1 SC015266 Registered provider: The Partnership of The Chartwell Group

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Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This privately owned home provides care and education for up to six children who may have experienced neglect, abuse or trauma that has left them vulnerable.

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Information about this children’s home

There is an independent school on site that is registered with the Department for Education. The inspector only inspected the social care provision.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager registered with Ofsted in June 2016.

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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 good

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good

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

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good

Date of last inspection: 20 February 2024

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good

Overall judgement at last inspection: outstanding

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children’s home: SC015266 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

20/02/2024 Full Outstanding 20/02/2023 Full Good 21/09/2021 Full Outstanding 04/03/2020 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: SC015266 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

There were four children living at the home at the time of inspection. All four children were spoken to. No children have moved in or out of the home since the last inspection. The children are all settled, and the staff know them well.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff support children to attend clubs based on their interests. Each child has their own club which they attend. This ensures that children can develop their social network and develop their talents.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Three children attend the on-site school, and one child attends a local college. All children have high attendance and make good educational progress from their starting points.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff understand the importance for children of maintaining relationships with their families. Family members talk positively about the support provided by the manager and staff. Staff advocate for children’s visits with families to be arranged in a way that is safe and positive for the child. For one child who suffered a recent bereavement, staff ensured that he was sensitively supported and took him to the funeral.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The home is suitable for the children. Children’s bedrooms are personalised to reflect their interests. However, the decor in the home is outdated in places. There are fire safety signs and fire extinguishers clearly visible around the home, creating an institutional feel.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The language staff use in some records is not always child-friendly. Staff use language when describing some of the children’s behaviours which could be interpreted as child- blaming. Children have the right to see their records and this language would not be appropriate for them to read.

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

Staff understand children’s risks. Children’s care plans and risk assessments are detailed and provide strategies for staff to support children.

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

Staff use children’s meetings to discuss any group dynamic concerns. The children’s meetings are a chance for staff to speak to the children about any occurred recently. The meetings also give the children opportunities to raise any concerns or worries they may have.

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

There have been no missing-from-home incidents since the previous inspection. Restraints are infrequent and proportionate when they are used. Debriefs with the child and staff take place and management oversight is conducted. However, there are no dates to indicate when the manager’s oversight took place. This means it is not possible Inspection report for children’s home: SC015266 4 to see whether the manager’s review was completed within the time frames required by regulation. Staff complete link-work sessions with children. Link-work sessions take place following any restraints or incidents. This gives children the opportunity to discuss what happened. However, staff do not consistently reflect with children about how they could have managed situations differently to try and avoid similar incidents happening again.

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

Consequences are used regularly at the home as part of a wider approach to behaviour management for children. However, the consequences imposed on children are punitive and ineffective. Children regularly receive a consequence of an early bedtime which can be in place for up to seven days. The concerns which led to the consequence and the consequence given are not always logical. Consequences are being used for the same behaviours on repeated occasions. This has not been identified as an issue by managers or staff. This means that ineffective consequences are being used which are not supporting children to develop positive changes in their behaviours.

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

New staff have an induction booklet to complete to support learning their roles. Safer recruitment processes are generally followed. However, gaps in staff employment histories are not always explored. The manager has not identified this missing information.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager is qualified and experienced and supported by an equally dedicated senior member of staff. The manager and the senior staff member have a good understanding of the children and their needs. They understand children’s progress and are aspirational for them.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

There is a small but stable staff team. Temporary staff are not used in the home. This means children are cared for by staff who understand their needs and know them well.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff are positive about the manager and the support that she provides. Supervision sessions and team meetings take place regularly in which children’s needs are discussed, ensuring there is a unified approach to their care.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff receive appraisals of their performance. However, there is no feedback from professionals, colleagues or children as part of these appraisals. This reduces opportunities for staff to reflect on their practice and identify any potential areas for further development.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

There is management oversight recorded following all incidents or consequences. However, due to staff shortages the manager is working on shift with the children for most of her time at the home. This means that her ability to provide reflective oversight and identify patterns, trends and lessons learned has been reduced. Although the manager understands the areas of support that need further development, she has not Inspection report for children’s home: SC015266 5 had the time to implement plans to address these areas due to her having to cover staff shortages. Inspection report for children’s home: SC015266 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

No measure of control or discipline which is excessive, unreasonable or contrary to paragraph (2) may be used in relation to any child.

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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

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

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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.

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Requirement Due date

(Regulation 13 (1)(a)(b) (2)(d)(f)(h)) 28 March 2025

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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. 7 March 2025 Inspection report for children’s home: SC015266 7 In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to ensure—

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Requirement Due date

that staff help each child to access and contribute to the records kept by the registered person in relation to the child.

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Requirement Due date

In particular, managers must ensure that records about children are written in a child-friendly way.

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that the home provides a nurturing environment that meets the needs of the children. In particular, ensure that the home’s decor helps to create a homely environment. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 15, paragraph 3.9)  The registered person should ensure that staff support children with strategies to manage and reduce any risks. In particular, staff should support children to develop positive strategies to manage their behaviours safely. (‘Guide to Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 43, paragraph 9.10)  The registered person should ensure that records of restraint enable the registered person and staff to review the use of control, discipline and restraint to identify effective practice and respond promptly where any issues or trends of concern emerge. There should be dates added for management comments and staff debriefs

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Recommendations

to demonstrate these are being completed in a timely manner. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 49, paragraph 9.59)  The registered person should ensure that all Schedule 2 checks are completed when recruiting new staff. In particular, ensure that any gaps in employment history are explored. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 61, paragraph 13.1)  The registered person should ensure that staff appraisals take into account, when reasonable and practical, the views of other professionals who have worked with the staff member over the year and children in the home’s care. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 61, paragraph 13.5) Inspection report for children’s home: SC015266 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: SC015266 9

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: The Partnership of The Chartwell Group

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Chartwell House, Goodens Lane, Newton, Wisbech, Cambridgeshire, Cambridgeshire PE13 5HQ

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Inspector

Leanne Lyon, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: SC015266 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.

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Inspector

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Inspector

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Inspector

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Inspector

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