Children's home run by Your Chapter Limited

Inspection report for children's home: 1249035 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

This home is owned and operated by a private provider. It provides care for up to six children who may experience social and emotional difficulties.

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Information about this children's home

The manager registered with Ofsted in January 2021.

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Information about this children's home

There were 5 children living in the home at the time of this inspection. During this inspection, 3 of the children spoke to the inspectors.

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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

Overall judgement at last inspection: outstanding

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outstanding

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children's home: 1249035 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

18/03/2025 Full Outstanding 13/02/2024 Full Good 14/02/2023 Full Good 01/02/2022 Full Good Inspection report for children's home: 1249035 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

Children living in this home receive effective and highly personalised care, which allows them to make excellent progress in all areas of their lives. The staff team nurture children to thrive and make sustained changes in their lives. Staff focus on building positive and lasting relationships with children. Children feel valued and listened to. One child said, 'They [staff] are respectful and just want the best for us.'

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

Staff are highly nurturing and accepting of children for who they are. There is a real sense of this being a home where everyone is welcome. The children have been encouraged to personalise their bedrooms, which gives them a sense of ownership. Thought has been given into how the space in the home is used and there are several areas where children can relax and play. Special events are celebrated together by children and staff. There are photos of the children around the home.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

The manager and staff maintain high aspirations for every child, and education is consistently promoted and valued within the home. All children were significantly underachieving before moving in, but they are now fully supported to re-engage with learning. As a result, each child is making excellent progress from their individual starting points. One child had been out of education for two years prior to admission. With the support of the staff team, they returned to school immediately upon moving in and are now preparing to sit their GCSE examinations. Staff provide additional learning opportunities in the home, including help with homework, reading practice, and structured exam preparation.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

The provider's clinical team has a strong presence. A psychological practitioner works directly with children to provide therapeutic input. Regular consultation with staff gives the team an additional layer of support and deepens their understanding of each child's emotional and mental health needs. A range of robust clinical assessments are completed when children move into the home which support the staff's understanding of children's needs and how best to support them. Staff help and encourage children to maintain good physical and emotional health.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

Children are fully involved in planning for their futures. There are a variety of ways in which they can express their views, feelings and wishes. This helps children feel included in decisions about their home and care. Staff and the manager are diligent in ensuring that the children have the same opportunities as their peers and that they are not disadvantaged or prevented from engaging in activities outside the home.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

Children know how to complain. The manager ensures that children are aware of the outcome of any complaint and supported to understand the process in place.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

Preparation for independence is embedded into daily life. There is a structured program to prepare children for adulthood. Children complete age-appropriate household tasks, Inspection report for children's home: 1249035 4 including cleaning their bedrooms. Each child cooks the evening meal one night a week. Staff reinforce these skills through discussions with children and positive affirmations. This helps children to build their confidence, self-esteem and resilience.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

Children benefit from effective and well-planned moves in and out of the home. There is a strong multi-agency approach and the manager completes a highly personalised assessment that fully considers the suitability of the staff team in meetings the child's needs alongside other children.

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

This is a safe and stable home where children thrive. Children are protected from harm by staff who support them to develop their own skills to stay safe. The manager and staff know the children exceptionally well. As such, they can quickly spot subtle changes in behaviour and offer immediate support. There are robust safety protocols and plans which keep children safe. Individualised care is provided to the children, yet staff are careful to ensure that children are not made to feel different or singled out.

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

Staff set clear and consistent boundaries and this helps children to feel safe. One social worker said, 'They [staff] are incredibly supportive of [name of child].' Staff hold them accountable when they have made an unsafe choice. They are realistic with supporting [name of child] and understand their needs very well.'

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

Incidents in the home are rare. Positive behaviour is encouraged by use of praise, rewards and incentives. Staff use highly effective strategies in-line with their training to diffuse situations if children are upset or frustrated. Relationships between children are managed effectively and staff provide a high level of supervision when necessary. When incidents have happened, the manager has supported staff and children to reflect which allows for learning to be taken.

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

Missing-from-home episodes are rare. When these have happened, staff search for children and welcome them when they are ready to return home.

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

Accidents and self-harm incidents are responded to quickly by staff who offer appropriate first aid and nurture. There has been one serious incident of self-harm. Staff responded to the incident swiftly and effectively. They ensured that the child received medical attention and appropriate follow up support. Robust procedures have been put in place to reduce the likelihood of this happening again.

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

Recruitment of new staff is robust. Staff understand their safeguarding responsibilities, including how to escalate concerns to safeguarding partners. The manager and staff know the local area well and any risks that this may present. There has been proactive planning which mitigates any risks in the local community. This ensures that highly vulnerable children are kept safe. Inspection report for children's home: 1249035 5

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

The manager is highly aspirational for children and the service. She is suitably experienced and qualified and her practice is child-centred. The manager is a confident and ambitious leader who has high expectations of staff and leads by example. She is supported by an effective deputy manager.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

The manager has created a positive environment where children can flourish and explore their own interests in a safe way. The manager forms positive working relationships with the children's family members and professionals. She is a determined advocate for children and challenges when necessary to secure the best possible outcomes for children. A parent said, ' Staff have been very supportive of family time. They communicate really well and I have no concerns about the level of care that [name of child] is receiving.'

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

The manager has excellent oversight and employs a range of tools to evaluate and improve the care provided. The manager welcomes scrutiny and ensures that feedback from children, family members and professionals is gathered regularly and used to inform care provided. The manager is aware of any areas for improvement and challenges staff practice when it does not meet the high standards she expects.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

There is a stable, dedicated staff team. There has been little use of agency staff or staff from other homes. When this does happen, the manager ensures that a small pool of staff is used to ensure consistency for children. However, on the occasions that agency staff have been used their details are not recorded on the staff roster.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

Staff have an excellent understanding of the goals and aims set for the children and how to accomplish these. They have been given specialised training, which supports them to care effectively for children and allows them to make progress. Staff practice is highly influenced by research into how best to work with children. This ensures that children are cared for by a highly skilled team of staff who have an excellent understanding of the children's individual needs.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

Staff state that they feel well supported by the manager and wider organisation. They receive regular, good quality supervision sessions, which allow them to reflect on their role. Team meetings are held regularly which have a focus on how best to support children and embedding learning for staff. Staff have access to an employee assistance programme. Private counselling is provided to help staff process difficult incidents and the emotional impact of these. This promotes staff retention, which provides consistency and stability for children. Inspection report for children's home: 1249035 6

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Recommendation

 The registered person should ensure that agency staff and their working hours are clearly recorded on the staffing rota. Regulations 35 to 39 detail the records that must be kept in children's homes. ('Guide to the Children's Homes Regulations, including the quality standards', page 62, paragraph 14.3)

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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: 1249035 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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Inspectors

Eve Ostridge, Social Care Inspector Caroline Bates, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children's home: 1249035 8 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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