Children's home run by Your Chapter Limited

Inspection report for children’s home: 1271213 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 owned and managed by a private company. It provides care for up to 4 children who may experience social and emotional difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

At the time of this inspection, 4 children were living at the home.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager registered with Ofsted in July 2024.

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Overall experiences and progress of

children and young people, taking into account

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outstanding

How well children and young people are helped and protected outstanding

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outstanding

The effectiveness of leaders and managers outstanding

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outstanding

The children’s home provides highly effective services that consistently exceed the standards of good. The actions of the children’s home contribute to significantly improved outcomes and positive experiences for children and young people who need help, protection and care.

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outstanding

Date of last inspection: 25 February 2025

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outstanding

Overall judgement at last inspection: outstanding

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outstanding

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children’s home: 1271213 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

25/02/2025 Full Outstanding 06/02/2024 Full Good 09/11/2022 Full Good 26/07/2022 Full Inadequate Inspection report for children’s home: 1271213 3

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outstanding

Children benefit from living in a homely and nurturing environment. Children’s bedrooms are personalised, and children’s artwork and photos of them enjoying activities with staff are displayed throughout the home. Children are encouraged to share their ideas about the home’s decoration and have recently redesigned the kitchen area and planned the development of a summer house for the garden.

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outstanding

When children move into the home, their arrivals are thoroughly assessed. Children have opportunities to develop relationships with staff ahead of moving in, and children already living at the home are involved in the planning for their arrival. This thoughtful approach helps to reassure children who are new to the home and supports a positive start to their placement. Children’s endings are well planned and their time at the home is celebrated with an activity of their choice, ensuring that their achievements and experiences are meaningfully acknowledged.

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outstanding

Children attend education every day and are making significant progress from their starting points. Staff have high aspirations for children’s futures, and this helps build children’s self-esteem. Children are also encouraged to take on extra-curricular studies at the local college and benefit from an internal homework club. Children have strong ambitions for their future careers. This is enhanced through work experience and charity fundraising in the local community.

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outstanding

Children have strong and trusting relationships with staff, which gives them a sense of permanence and stability. They enjoy spending structured time with staff playing board games, going for walks and watching television. Children also have opportunities to take age-appropriate risks in safe environments and access activities such as horse riding, dance classes and army cadets. These opportunities help them to develop personal resilience, confidence and a sense of achievement.

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outstanding

Children’s views are routinely gathered and recorded in a weekly newsletter. Children talk to staff about the activities they would like to take part in, which has included going to musicals and live music concerts and planning holidays. Children are encouraged to pursue hobbies of interest, which helps them to develop a sense of accomplishment and pride in their achievements. Their creative abilities are also harnessed with them completing arts awards, gaining certificates in sign language and accessing music lessons.

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outstanding

Children benefit from nutritious meals and are supported to access food that reflects their cultural backgrounds. Each child takes responsibility for planning the menu for one day of the week. Staff encourage children to explore new recipes and support them to consider budgeting and meal planning when shopping at the supermarket. Inspection report for children’s home: 1271213 4 These opportunities help children to develop practical life skills and broaden their understanding of healthy eating.

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outstanding

Children’s health needs are well understood, and they attend all necessary health appointments. Their emotional wellbeing is also prioritised. The provider has commissioned a therapist to work directly with staff to strengthen their understanding of trauma-informed practice. This has enabled staff to build nurturing, child-centred relationships with the children in their care and to respond to their emotional needs with sensitivity and consistency.

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outstanding

Children’s safety is prioritised. The manager and staff have an exceptional understanding about the risks that children face. Risk assessments are thorough and reviewed regularly in partnership with key stakeholders to ensure that children’s risks are managed effectively. Children also contribute to their risk assessments, which gives them a sense of ownership.

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outstanding

Children’s behaviour support plans include individualised de-escalation strategies that help to minimise the use of physical intervention. Staff use their close relationships with children to manage difficult situations safely and effectively. When a physical hold does occur, thorough debriefs are completed with both the child and staff involved to reflect on the incident and identify any learning to inform future practice.

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outstanding

Staff have developed clear and appropriate boundaries and routines to provide children with structure and consistency of care. When children go missing from home, staff respond promptly and effectively. Return home interviews and follow-up support are offered to ensure that children can explore the reasons for leaving. However, on one occasion, there was a delay in notifying the local authority of a child’s return home. A recommendation has been made in relation to this shortfall.

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outstanding

Children benefit from strength-based, child-centred key-work sessions that focus on their individual needs. This includes direct work related to emotional wellbeing, friendships, safe relationships and substance misuse. Staff have completed training linked to children’s individual needs and use research to inform their practice. As a result, children’s diverse needs are understood and met effectively.

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outstanding

With the support of staff, children receive consistent care for their mental health. Key workers have supported one child to access mental health support through a commissioned service and community offer. As a result, there has been a noticeable reduction in the child’s risk of self-harm. Children trust staff, which means they feel able to share incidents or worries that have caused them emotional distress. Inspection report for children’s home: 1271213 5

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

Leadership and management within the home is strong. The registered manager is an experienced and effective leader who has secured the respect of staff, children and professionals. She leads by example, with a clear focus on securing positive outcomes for children. Staff speak positively about her commitment and drive to promote creative and dynamic practice.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

The staff team consists of a mixture of experienced and newer staff. New staff receive a comprehensive induction and are supported to achieve relevant qualifications. More-experienced staff take responsibility for different delegated tasks, which promotes their continuous development. Staff are supported to access training that reflects the specific needs of the children in their care. Staff overwhelmingly reported that they feel valued by leaders and managers.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

There are robust systems in place to monitor the quality of care and drive continuous improvement. The registered manager responds effectively to recommendations made by the independent person and ensures that all documentation is up to date and regularly reviewed. The language used in recording is trauma-informed, and children’s daily logs provide a clear and insightful overview of their experiences and progress.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

Managers work effectively with key stakeholders. Partner agencies spoke positively about the communication skills and commitment to children demonstrated by the manager and staff team. One social worker said, ‘They communicate perfectly. I love the way they operate; they are excellent.’

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

Supervision and team meetings are held regularly and support reflective practice. Staff value these opportunities and report high levels of job satisfaction. The home has a positive team culture with strong morale and a shared commitment to delivering high-quality care. Inspection report for children’s home: 1271213 6

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Recommendation

 The registered person should specify the procedures to be followed and the roles and responsibilities of staff when a child is missing from care or away from the home without permission and how staff should support the child on return to the home. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 45, paragraph 9.28)

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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: 1271213 7

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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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Inspector

Jon Dutton, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 1271213 8 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 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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