Children's Home run by Cambian Childcare Limited in Birmingham

Unique reference number SC424851 Inspection date 09/05/2012 Inspector Jo Stephenson Type of inspection Full Provision subtype Children's home

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Date of last inspection 30/11/2011 Website: www.ofsted.gov.uk

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Brief description of the service

The home is one of a number of homes run by this organisation. It is able to accommodate up to six young people. The home provides care to young people between the ages of 10 and 17 years on admission.

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The inspection judgements and what they mean

Outstanding : a service that significantly exceeds minimum requirements Good : a service that exceeds minimum requirements Adequate : a service that only meets minimum requirements Inadequate : a service that does not meet minimum requirements

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Overall effectiveness

The overall effectiveness is judged to be adequate .

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Overall effectiveness

The home provides a supportive environment in which most young people are generally happy. Staff are experienced, appropriately qualified and able to recognise young people’s individual needs. However, identified needs are not always reflected in placement plans and, therefore, positive outcomes for young people are not continually promoted.

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Overall effectiveness

Young people say they feel safe at the home and that sometimes their views are taken into account. Staff have a sound knowledge and understanding of their responsibilities in relation to safeguarding. Young people benefit from the consistent application of clear boundaries and staff encourage the development of positive behaviours. Nevertheless, some behaviour in the home has led to police involvement. This has impacted on the quality of care for some young people. For example, the home has suffered property damage and young people say the environment does not ‘feel like a home.'

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Overall effectiveness

The home ensures internal support plans are developed to promote education, health and welfare. Staff actively consult with young people on aspects of their care. However, statutory plans are not in place for some young people and this means that the aims and objectives of the placement are not always supported by other professionals. Subsequently, young people do not gain from an integrated approach to their care.

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Overall effectiveness

The management team retains an overview of the progress of the home and is able to recognise the strengths and weaknesses of the provision. Nevertheless, the monitoring of some records is not robust and this has led to recording errors being undetected.

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Statutory Requirements

This section sets out the actions which must be taken so that the registered person/s meets the Care Standards Act 2000, Children's Homes Regulations 2001 and the National Minimum Standards. The registered person(s) must comply with the given timescales.

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Reg. Requirement Due date

12A (2001) ensure, in the case of a child who is looked after by the local authority, staff co-operate with the child's placing authority in agreeing the plan for the child's placement prepared in accordance with the provisions in Regulation 9 of the Care Planning, Placement and Case Review (England) Regulations 2010 (Regulation 12A (1)) 08/06/2012

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Reg. Requirement Due date

(2001) ensure that an accurate written record is kept of the administration of any medicine to any child (Regulation 21 (2)(c)) 08/06/2012

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Reg. Requirement Due date

(2001) ensure that all parts of the home to which children have access are so far as reasonably practicable free from hazards to their safety. (Regulation 23 (a)) 08/06/2012

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Recommendations

To improve the quality and standards of care further the service should take account of the following recommendation(s):

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Recommendations

 ensure children who have been excluded from school have access to appropriate education and training, so that they are supported and enabled to resume full- time education (NMS 8.8)  provide a comfortable and homely environment that is well maintained and decorated (NMS 10.3)  ensure the views, wishes and feelings of children are taken into account in developing the home (NMS 1.7)  contribute to the development of the pathway plan for eligible care leavers and work collaboratively with the young people’s social work in implementing the plan. (NMS 12.2)

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Outcomes for children and young people

Outcomes for children and young people are adequate . There are some good examples where young people receive personalised care that meets their individual needs. Young people’s aspirations and ambitions are encouraged and this gives them a sense of well-being and self-esteem. Staff support young people to reflect on their behaviour using restorative justice and reparation programmes and relationships between young people and staff are mostly positive. Young people say they know why they are living at the home, which helps them to understand their backgrounds and early lives.

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Outcomes for children and young people

Young people’s general health needs are met and they access all primary healthcare services, such as regular doctors, dentist and optician appointments. Staff work in partnership with specialist health services for some young people who require additional support. As a result, young people benefit from a holistic approach to maintaining a physically healthy life style. However, the psychological and emotional health needs of some young people have not been assessed and this means that they may not receive the bespoke health care they require to develop. In addition, errors in medication administration records potentially leave young people at risk of harm.

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Outcomes for children and young people

Staff encourage young people to regularly attend their education placement and for some, their attendance has improved since coming to the home. Staff are resourceful at securing alternative training and apprentice opportunities for older young people. As a result, these young people benefit from a tailored approach to continued learning. Young people who do not have a school provision are supported to continue their education and a structured day programme is in place to complement this. Young people have individual education plans that identify their progress and consider the impact of special educational needs. However, partnership working with external education services lacks detail and subsequently some young people remain out of school longer than necessary. Staff celebrate the educational achievements of young people and discuss their successes in keywork sessions.

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Outcomes for children and young people

Young people say they enjoy attending weekly young people’s meetings. Their views are actively sought on menu choices and activity plans and these are personalised to reflect individual interests. Staff identify community-based activities for young people although participation is often limited. Young people say they feel that they are not always consulted on the daily running of the home or proposed changes. As a result, young people do not feel involved in the home’s development.

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Outcomes for children and young people

Staff are proactive at encouraging young people to sustain and further progress relationships with their families. Young people are supported to attend contact visits and staff tailor these routines around the individual needs and preferences of the young people. For example, staff take responsibility for transport and supervision arrangements over weekend periods.

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Outcomes for children and young people

Young people are encouraged to undertake independence skills to help prepare them for their transition to adulthood. Some young people follow detailed internal independent living programmes to support their development. This means staff are able to identify areas that young people require additional support in, such as cooking or budgeting. As a result, young people acquire necessary practical skills before leaving the home. However, statutory pathway plans are not in place for eligible young people. Subsequently, young people are not effectively prepared for their transition or consulted on potential accommodation options. Their support needs are not identified and this means they are less likely to achieve positive outcomes.

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Quality of care

Young people say they have mostly good relationships with staff and each other. They acknowledge that sometimes incidents happen at the home which will involve the police being called. Staff promote the importance of socially-acceptable behaviour, respect and consideration for others. These supportive behaviour strategies enable young people to build relationships with others and develop skills to manage conflict.

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Quality of care

Young people participate in regular young people’s meetings and are consulted on menu choices and activity plans. Staff share information with young people about proposed changes to the daily running of the home and the impact this may have on practice. However, young people say they do not feel that their views are always considered and one young person said, ‘staff have already decided when they tell us’. This means they do not feel they influence the development of the home.

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Quality of care

The home has a robust complaints procedure and all young people confirmed that they understand how to raise a concern. Young people say they feel able to make complaints and are confident that these will be appropriately resolved. The home provides an independent advocate for the young people. Records show that complaints are addressed within suitable time scales and young people receive written feedback and are asked to comment on this. Subsequently, young people feel their concerns are taken seriously.

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Quality of care

Staff verbally liaise with social workers to provide opportune feedback on progress made by young people. However, not all young people have statutory plans in place; completed by social workers, and staff are not always proactive in addressing this shortfall. As a result, the work undertaken by staff may not be compatible with the aims of the placing authority. This means that some young people do not experience and integrated approach to their care. Staff construct internal placement plans to monitor young people’s development and reflect individual needs. These plans are regularly reviewed and incorporate risk assessments, contact arrangements and behaviour issues.

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Quality of care

Young people are encouraged to attend their education placements and staff provide practical assistance to support this. Education achievements are celebrated and discussed in placement plan sessions. Staff work with identified education provisions to determine acceptable behaviour strategies for use at home and school. Consequently, young people benefit from a consistent approach to their education. Staff establish links with external health services that provide specialist interventions to support a healthy life style. Some young people are encouraged to access these services and acknowledge the benefits to their health. However, young people who require support from ‘complex care’ health professionals, such as mental health counsellors, are not effectively assessed. Consequently, young people may not benefit from a holistic approach to meeting their health needs. Young people participate in activities on a regular basis and these reflect their personal interests,

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Quality of care

identity and cultural background. Staff encourage young people to vary their activities to develop new skills and an understanding of others, although young people have resisted these attempts.

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Quality of care

The home is suitably located and young people have access to a range of community facilities. However, some young people have damaged the internal environment and this has necessitated police being called to the home. Property that has been damaged has not been replaced and, therefore, the home requires maintenance and decoration. Young people say that the home does not feel comfortable with one young person saying, ‘the house is bare; it doesn’t feel like a home.’

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Safeguarding children and young people

The service is adequate at keeping children and young people safe and feeling safe.

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Safeguarding children and young people

Young people say they generally feel safe but there have been some problems with bullying. Staff have recognised bullying as an issue and are alert to signs of intimidation. Robust and individualised strategies have been introduced to keep young people safe. Incidents of bullying are taken seriously and detailed keywork sessions are completed with both perpetrator and victim. Subsequently, young people feel protected and able to raise concerns.

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Safeguarding children and young people

Policies and procedures support and promote safe work practices. Staff have a sound understanding of safeguarding procedures and receive regular training to support their knowledge. Allegations and suspicions of harm are effectively managed through liaison with local safeguarding teams.

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Safeguarding children and young people

Incidents of young people missing from the home have substantially reduced. Staff ensure that stringent missing from home risk assessments are in place and these are regularly reviewed and incorporated into care plans. Young people have individualised action plans to support risk assessments and establish potential triggers to missing from home episodes. Staff work closely with other agencies and local police to ensure, as far as possible, that young people are protected from significant harm. As a result, young people benefit from an integrated approach to maintaining their safety and well-being.

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Safeguarding children and young people

Staff implement positive behaviour management strategies to encourage young people to display socially-acceptable behaviour. Young people can earn rewards for school attendance and achieving individual goals and targets. Staff use restorative justice and repartition programmes to assist young people to consider the impact of their behaviour. This means that young people develop an understanding of the varied consequences of their actions. Staff receive training in physical intervention and de-escalation techniques. Records of restraint are detailed and appropriate. Young people are encouraged to comment on the reason for this intervention being used and how they feel about being restrained.

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Safeguarding children and young people

Staff complete general risk assessments to monitor and ensure that young people are kept safe from known hazards. However, on some occasions health and safety concerns are not addressed within appropriate time scales and this means that young people are potentially at risk of harm. Young people take part in regular fire drills; checks and tests of fire safety equipment are also carried out.

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Safeguarding children and young people

The home adheres to robust organisation recruitment procedures in place to safeguard young people. Safety checks are carried out in full on all new starters. This means that young people work with suitably vetted and selected staff.

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Leadership and management

The leadership and management of the children's home are adequate .

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Leadership and management

The home has a permanent manager who is registered with Ofsted. All concerns and complaints raised since the last inspection have been effectively addressed and resolved. The manager leads a suitably-experienced and qualified staff team who are able to understand the individual needs of young people. Staff receive regular formal supervision that supports their development and considers any additional assistance required. Training opportunities are tailored to the home and reflect the specific needs of the young people. For example, supplementary training has been implemented to focus on the complex health care needs of some young people. This means that young people work with a staff team who are able to effectively identify and address their needs.

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Leadership and management

The Statement of Purpose is professionally presented and details the aims and objectives of the home. It gives clear guidance on the facilities and services provided. Young people and placing authorities understand the purpose of the home and the outcomes it aspires to achieve. Young people are provided with a copy of the children’s guide to the home on admission.

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Leadership and management

The manager ensures that monitoring tools are in place to scrutinise the quality of care for young people. Systems in place consider the impact the home has on young people’s lives and looks to improve their life chances. Areas highlighted for improvement are addressed and practice changes are discussed during regular staff meetings. Young people are consulted on the development of the home during Regulation 33 visits and the manager responds in writing to all issues raised during young people’s meetings. Staff and managers are able to identify strengths and weaknesses of the home and these are included in the development plan. Consequently, young people live in a continually developing home that recognises their individual needs. Staff and managers work with placing authorities to ensure that statutory requirements pertaining to reviews, visits and placement plans are met, although there are some shortfalls in this area. Staff encourage young people to participate in

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Leadership and management

their review meetings and as a result, young people are able to express their wishes and views.

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Leadership and management

The manager ensures that all significant events are recorded and the appropriate authorities notified. Staff and managers operate robust systems to record incidents and detail actions taken. Records are clearly cross referenced to case files and internal placements plans and this contributes to the understanding of a young person’s life. As a result, young people have the opportunity to review their behaviour and the progress they have made at the home.

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About this inspection

The purpose of this inspection is to assure children and young people, parents, the public, local authorities and government of the quality and standard of the service provided. The inspection was carried out under the Care Standards Act 2000 to assess the effectiveness of the service and to consider how well it complies with the relevant regulations and meets the national minimum standards.

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About this inspection

The report details the main strengths, any areas for improvement, including any breaches of regulation, and any failure to meet national minimum standards. The judgements included in the report are made against the Inspections of children’s homes – framework for inspection (March 2011) and the evaluation schedule for children's homes.

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