Children's Home run by Cambian Childcare Limited in Tameside

Unique reference number SC430239 Inspection date 26/06/2012 Inspector Louise Redfern Type of inspection Full Provision subtype Children's home

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Date of last inspection 29/11/2011 Website: www.ofsted.gov.uk

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Brief description of the service

This children's home is registered to provide care and accommodation for five young people of either gender with emotional and/or behavioural difficulties. The home is privately owned.

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The inspection judgements and what they mean

Outstanding : a service of exceptional quality that significantly exceeds minimum requirements Good : a service of high quality 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 good .

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Overall effectiveness

Young people report that they are safe and staff care about their welfare. The manager has already addressed some shortfalls identified during the inspection. However, a recommendation and a requirement are raised to ensure the on-going safety and educational progress of young people. A recommendation is raised in relation to omissions in the children’s guide.

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Overall effectiveness

Young people receive highly personalised, well-planned care taking into account their individual needs. Young people are central to planning for their future and take an active part in the development of the home, through thorough and effective consultation. Placement plans are effective, individual and clearly chart young people’s progress in placement. Through regular and effective monitoring of the home the manager and staff team ensure that young people are fully supported in the home and make good progress from their individual starting points.

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Overall effectiveness

Young people engage in a variety of activities supported by staff in the home and the community. As a result, they improve their social skills and increase in confidence. The manager and staff team are particularly proactive and successful in engaging young people in the placement and developing strong attachments.

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Overall effectiveness

Some young people make good progress in education. However, some young people are currently not engaging in their placement, which has an adverse impact on their individual progress. Young people make excellent progress in their independence living skills to prepare them for transition into adulthood. One young person commented, ‘this is the best home I have been lived in, they could do nothing better.’

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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

(2001) ensure that the registered person complies with the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005 in respect of ensuring fire doors are in good repair. (Regulation 32) (1A) (a)) 13/07/2012

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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 are supported to attend school, college or alternative provision regularly (NMS 8.3)  ensure the children's guide includes how a child can contact their independent reviewing officer. (NMS 13.5)

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Outcomes for children and young people

Outcomes for children and young people are adequate .

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Outcomes for children and young people

Staff recognise the importance of young people doing well in their education, whatever their starting point. However, despite regular planning and encouragement, some young people do not attend school. As a result, they are not achieving in education and are missing significant periods of education time.

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Outcomes for children and young people

Young people’s physical and emotional health is good. They receive support from health professionals and staff to understand the importance of making healthy lifestyle choices. They benefit from attending routine health appointments to maintain their general health. However, young people are developing a smoking habit, despite staff and health professional’s efforts to educate them away from this.

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Outcomes for children and young people

Young people engage in a variety of activities in the home and with staff in the local community, which increases their confidence, self-esteem and broadens their horizons. For example, volunteering as dog walkers for the local dog rescue centre. However, some young people are reluctant to engage independently in community activities. As a result they miss the opportunity to build peer relationships in the community. Young people maintain appropriate contact with family members, friends and other people who are important to them. This helps them maintain strong support networks outside the home.

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Outcomes for children and young people

Young people actively participate in day-to-day decisions as well as more complex ones, such as whether to return to their home area. Young people are taking responsibility for their own laundry and take turns to cook for the home. Some young people are undertaking full independent living programmes. As a result, they are more competent to take care of themselves in preparation for adult life.

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Quality of care

Young people enjoy positive and constructive relationships with staff. A consistent, nurturing and warm staff team cares for them. They implement clear structures and firm boundaries to encourage young people to achieve their full potential. As a result young people know they are valued as individuals and say, ‘the staff are really nice, they listen to me. It’s an amazing home.’

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Quality of care

Placement plans are tailored to each young person, clearly outlining their individual needs. Staff use the placement plans to support young people to focus on clear measurable outcomes. They also undertake monthly reviews with young people, to look at their progress in each area. Children’s rights officers and social workers note the success of the home in securing progress for young people in regard to making emotional attachments, improving family contacts and preparing for independence. One social worker commented, ‘the home has supported the young person to complete their education and build on their independence skills in a short period of time.’

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Quality of care

The manager ensures young people’s views are routinely heard through complaints, daily routine conversations, planned placement sessions, young people’s meetings and the organisation’s Regulation 33 visitor. Systems have also been developed to ensure that young people’s views are obtained about staff as part of their annual appraisal and for Regulation 34 manager monitoring. Staff feel young people have a say in how the home is run. For example, more photograph frames were purchased at young people’s request for use around the house to display their photographs.

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Quality of care

Young people have access to a range of health promotion information in the home and access to support from other agencies, such as a health visitor and drug and alcohol project workers. Staff engage young people in enjoyable activities both in and out of the home, which are planned by young people. Some young people are not engaging or progressing in their education, despite continuing support and efforts by staff to facilitate their re-engagement.

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Safeguarding children and young people

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

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Safeguarding children and young people

Young people report that they feel safe and can talk to an adult when they are concerned. One young person commented, ‘I feel safe because there’s always staff about, talking to us and listening to what we say. The home is 10 out of 10.’ Staff are comprehensively trained in safeguarding and the home has extensive policies and procedures in place which underpin effective practice.

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Safeguarding children and young people

Young people are encouraged to behave positively, through the use of rewards. As a result, there are very few incidents of young people being sanctioned and no incidents of physical restraints. On occasions that young people do engage in negative behaviour, good work is done with them to reflect on significant incidents, which supports them to manage their behaviour better in the future.

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Safeguarding children and young people

Young people do occasionally go missing. When they do, staff comprehensively search for them and actively encourage their quick return home. Through effective monitoring of all incidents the manager and staff team develop a clear understanding of the reasons why young people do go missing. The home has also developed strong links with local police to promote the safety of young people in the local area.

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Safeguarding children and young people

The manager ensures that highly individualised behaviour management plans are implemented for each young person. Comprehensive risk management plans and individual planned placement sessions enable young people to take managed risks, develop their life skills and reflect on the progress they have made in their placement.

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Safeguarding children and young people

The manager and staff team pay excellent attention to health and safety management. They use comprehensive risk assessments around the home and in the local community. Young people have regular opportunities to participate in fire evacuation drills during the day and night. A shortfall was identified with a fire door not working correctly. In the event of a fire this could significantly impact on the safety of young people and staff in the building. The manager took steps to rectify this shortfall at inspection. The company has a history of robust staff recruitment and supervision of visitors. These practices underpin the good levels of safety and protection provided to young people.

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Leadership and management

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

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Leadership and management

Young people benefit from the manager and staff being consistent, self-motivated and exceptionally committed. Staff benefit from excellent relationships with the manager. These relationships are built on mutual respect and ensure staff are working in a consistent, motivated and highly professional manner. Young people develop strong relationships with both the manager and staff team, which are based on trust and professionalism. These relationships ensure young people are supported in their care and effectively challenged around inappropriate behaviours. The manager ensures that the staffing levels are sufficient in the home and adapts the rota in order to meet the individual needs of the young people.

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Leadership and management

The home is effectively and efficiently managed and the manager consistently communicates high expectations to the whole staff team through robust and effective supervisions and team meetings. Young people's individual needs are met because the manager is committed to improving practice in the home. For example, Regulation 34 reports ensure a rigorous approach to monitoring the service. This monitoring ensures that weaknesses are identified and actions are raised to address the weaknesses to improve outcomes for young people.

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Leadership and management

The Statement of Purpose and young person’s guide accurately represent the specific service of the home. However, there is a minor shortfall in the young people’s guide because it does not have the young people’s independent reviewing officer details included. There is no impact on the young people as they all attend their reviews and the home has the details held in their files.

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Leadership and management

The staff team are a group of experienced and culturally diverse professionals committed to improving the outcomes of young people. Their performance continually improves with well-planned team meetings, effective handovers between shifts, annual appraisals and robust and supportive supervisions. The manager effectively challenges any identified shortfall in staff performance.

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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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