Children's Home run by Care 4 Children Residential Services Ltd in Lancashire

Inspection report for children’s home: 2581237 1 Registered provider: Your Chapter 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 operated by a private company. The home provides care for up to eight children who may experience social and emotional difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager registered with Ofsted in December 2022.

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Information about this children’s home

There were five children living at the home at the time of this inspection.

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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

Date of last inspection: 29 January 2025

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requires improvement to be good

Overall judgement at last inspection: good

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requires improvement to be good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children’s home: 2581237 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

29/01/2025 Full Good 06/02/2024 Full Good 22/11/2022 Full Good 29/12/2021 Interim Not judged Inspection report for children’s home: 2581237 3

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improvement to be good

The home is spacious. However, inspectors identified several areas of the home that require attention. For example, some areas of the home need cleaning, including children’s bathrooms. Flooring in the conservatory needs to be repaired or replaced. Children’s bedrooms are personalised. However, some bedrooms require new carpets and the blinds are in need of repair. These issues have been identified by the provider but have not been resolved.

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improvement to be good

Three of the children have lived at the home for some time. Children’s moves in and out of the home are carefully planned and well managed. Professionals say that staff are central in making this a positive experience for the children.

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improvement to be good

Children are learning and developing their independence skills as they progress towards adulthood. Children are taking responsibility for various daily tasks, including making home-cooked meals and completing their laundry tasks.

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improvement to be good

Children say that they have good relationships with staff and get on well with them. Children are able to identify staff who they can trust and feel comfortable to share their concerns or worries with. However, since the last inspection, a high number of staff have left. Children told inspectors that there have been lots of staff changes. As a result, there have been periods of instability in the care provided to children.

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improvement to be good

Children’s individual hobbies and interests are well supported. Over the summer, all the children enjoy a summer holiday in Wales. Memories of this holiday are captured in photo albums. Each child enjoys weekly trips to their clubs within the community. For example, one child recently took part in an ice-skating show in the town and attends weekly lessons to continue to develop their skills. One child enjoys their volunteer work at a cat sanctuary, while another has recently joined a remote-control car club.

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improvement to be good

There is good partnership working in place to ensure that children’s education and health needs are met. Staff attend and participate in all educational meetings and reviews. Feedback from professionals is positive. However, not all children have up-to-date local authority care plans. This compromises staff’s understanding of children’s needs. This has not been escalated by the manager for one child who has been living at the home for a number of months. However, action was taken during the inspection to address this.

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improvement to be good

Safeguarding practices at the home require improvement. Recently, when a child presented as low in mood, staff decided to remove wires from the child’s bedroom to Inspection report for children’s home: 2581237 4 help to keep the child safe. Although this measure is reviewed regularly, inspectors found several wires still present in the child’s bedroom during a tour of the home. Action was taken during the inspection to address this. However, this oversight has the potential to leave the child at risk of harm.

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improvement to be good

Since the last inspection, there have been three significant incidents in which a child who is subject to a court order was able to gain access to inappropriate online material. On one of these occasions, the child was not supported in line with their agreed staffing levels. Additionally, the changes made to the child’s plan were not communicated effectively to the staff team and, during discussions with inspectors, staff were unclear on these new arrangements. This lack of clarity and oversight has the potential to significantly impact the child’s future.

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improvement to be good

Not all incident records contain sufficient information. Inspectors identified one incident that had not been sufficiently recorded and others lacked key information regarding police involvement and the support provided to children at the time. Additionally, the managers evaluation of incidents is inconsistent.

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improvement to be good

Children say that they have at times felt unsafe and have raised concerns about the behaviour of other children with the independent person. One child also shared this information directly with the inspectors during the inspection. However, the child’s social worker has fully explored these concerns. As a result, staff have made efforts to address the issues raised and proactively challenge bullying or intimidating behaviours between children. Staff continue to undertake direct work focused on building positive relationships.

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improvement to be good

Investigations into allegations are completed and information has been shared appropriately with the regulator. However, on two occasions, the registered manager did not follow up on the actions arising from disciplinary procedures. As a result, poor staff practice was not fully addressed.

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improvement to be good

There are effective and robust medication procedures in place to ensure that the children receive the appropriate and correct medication that they need to maintain their health and emotional wellbeing.

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improvement to be good

Recruitment procedures and practices are robust. All staff are checked and vetted prior to starting work at the home. These checks ensure that only suitable adults are employed to care for the children.

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

The manager is currently not working at the home. The provider has implemented a management plan in their absence and the home is being managed and supported by other managers in the company. Inspection report for children’s home: 2581237 5 Staff report that the manager does not support them well and this has negatively impacted on morale, which is described as low. Some staff also report experiencing a blame culture from some managers. As a result, not all staff feel confident in making important decisions to help children make progress.

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

Management oversight is inconsistent. For example, shortfalls in the recording of incidents by staff are not always identified.

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

The manager updates the home’s statement of purpose when there are changes. However, these updates are not shared with the regulator as required. As a result, inspectors are not always made aware of changes in the home. Action was taken during the inspection to rectify this.

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

Staff are supportive of one another. They are child focused and understand the children’s individual needs. Staff work well with children’s families to support positive and regular family time. Parents say that they are kept up to date about their children’s care.

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

Staff benefit from a comprehensive induction and attend regular training. However, not all staff have received training in epilepsy. This does not ensure that all staff have the relevant skills and knowledge to support children with epilepsy effectively.

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

Staff receive regular supervision, which helps them to set targets for improvement and continue developing their practice. This contributes to improving the quality of care provided to children. Team meetings consistently take place, are well attended and provide staff with opportunities to share information about each child and review their progress. Inspection report for children’s home: 2581237 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 protection of children standard is that children are protected from harm and enabled to keep themselves safe.

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Requirement Due date

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

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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;

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Requirement Due date

help each child to understand how to keep safe;

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Requirement Due date

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

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Requirement Due date

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

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Requirement Due date

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

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Requirement Due date

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

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Requirement Due date

are familiar with, and act in accordance with, the home’s child protection policies;

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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. Regulation 12 (1) (2)(a)(i)(ii)(iii)(iv)(v)(vii) 2(b))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person must ensure that adequate staffing is in place so that children are kept safe when using devices online. Furthermore, they must ensure that staff take 14 March 2026 Inspection report for children’s home: 2581237 7 sufficient action if there are concerns for a child’s welfare, particularly in relation to self-harm.

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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 work as a team where appropriate;

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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

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)(b)(d)(e)(f)(h))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person must ensure that all staff complete the relevant training to meet children’s needs. Leaders and managers must ensure that they have effective oversight of the home and complete all the required actions identified through their monitoring and review systems. 14 March 2026

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Requirement Due date

The care planning standard is that children— 14 March 2026 Inspection report for children’s home: 2581237 8 receive effectively planned care in or through the children’s home.

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Requirement Due date

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

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Requirement Due date

ensure the effective induction of each child into the home;

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Requirement Due date

manage and review the placement of each child in the home; and

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Requirement Due date

that each child’s relevant plans are followed. (Regulation 14 (1)(a) (2)(b)(ii)(c))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person must ensure that all children’s local authority plans are in place and, where these are not, that this is suitably escalated and challenged.

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that home conditions are homely, domestic environment. They should ensure that children’s bedroom carpets are replaced, flooring in the communal areas is replaced and the home is suitably clean. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 15, paragraph 3.9)  The registered person should ensure that the home’s statement of purpose is kept under review and shared with the regulator in a timely manner. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards,’ page 14, paragraph 3.5)

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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: 2581237 9

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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, Oakwater Avenue, Cheadle Royal Business Park, Cheadle SK8 3SR

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Inspectors

Judith Birchall, Social Care Inspector Anna Belshaw, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2581237 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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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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