Children's Home run by Cambian Childcare Limited in Halton

Unique reference number SC457175 Inspection date 23/05/2013 Inspector Michelle Bacon Type of inspection Full Provision subtype Children's home

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Date of last inspection 14/02/2013 Website: www.ofsted.gov.uk

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Brief description of the service

This home is owned by a national provider. It provides care and accommodation for one young person with emotional and behavioural difficulties. It is also registered as a school.

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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

This is an established home which has recently been taken over by a large private company. The Registered Manager and staff team remain in place which means young people receive care from a stable staff team.

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Overall effectiveness

At the time of this inspection, a young person has recently moved into the home. This move was well planned taking into account the individual’s presenting needs; ensuring appropriate safeguards are in place to minimise any risk-taking behaviours. The young person and staff are still in the early stages of developing their relationships. However, the staff are effective at building constructive relationships with individual young people to ensure they engage positively in their placement.

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Overall effectiveness

The home works closely with other agencies to ensure young people's complex needs are well supported. One placing social worker commented, ‘they communicate well′ another professional commented ‘communication is excellent, I can't fault them.’

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Overall effectiveness

The manager has a good understanding of the strengths and weaknesses of the home. She regularly monitors the progress that young people make and can demonstrate the difference the home is currently having on the young person. However, there are some areas for development which include; ensuring the care young people receive promotes their individual identity, staff training and the décor of the home.

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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

 provide children with care that promotes all aspects of their individual identity (NMS 2.1)  ensure staff have appropriate training, supervision and support if they are required to supervise and facilitate contact (NMS 9.2)  ensure the home provides a comfortable and homely environment that is well maintained and decorated, in particular ensure the kitchen worktops are replaced. (NMS10.3)

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Outcomes for children and young people

Young people are making good progress given their starting point of placement. They benefit from access to a range of services that promotes their emotional and psychological well-being. This means young people are being supported to understand their past difficulties and the impact of engaging in risky behaviours.

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Outcomes for children and young people

Young people are helped to understand the importance of maintaining a healthy lifestyle and are registered with health care professionals. In addition, they regularly make use of a gym to keep them fit. Young people have also stopped smoking since moving into the home. This means young people are generally very healthy.

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Outcomes for children and young people

Young people have often experienced disruption to their education as a result of their past difficulties. Visiting tutors to the home support young people to re-engage in their education. Consequently, young people are making good progress and are more likely to leave school with some formal qualifications. Furthermore, a young person recently attended a work experience placement to give them an insight into the world of work and to learn some new skills. The young person enjoyed this experience.

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Outcomes for children and young people

Young people are well supported to engage in activities in the local community, such as dance classes. This gives young people an opportunity to mix with their peers as well as helping them to develop a positive self-view. Furthermore, young people maintain contact with their families, which enhance their sense of identity. However, some young people say they feel isolated because they have been placed away from their local community and staff do not have enough knowledge of their cultural background to fully support them. Staff supervise young people's contact visits, however they have not had any training to support this.

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Outcomes for children and young people

Young people develop their self-care and independence skills in line with their age and understanding. They help to keep the home clean and tidy as well as helping to prepare some meals. This enables some young people to prepare and cook the foods they like.

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Quality of care

Young people say their relationships with the staff are still developing. However, they feel their views, wishes and feelings are actively sought. They attend regular young people's meetings and individual key worker sessions where they are consulted on their care plans and the running of the home.

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Quality of care

Young people confirm they know how to make a complaint should they have one. Clear information is also contained in the young people's guide about how young people can access advocacy support outside of the home should they have a complaint about their care.

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Quality of care

Young people are cared for in line with their individual care plans. These plans clearly outline the needs of the young people and how these will be met. Young people have weekly targets they aim to meet, with an incentive in place if they achieve these. Staff provide young people with firm and consistent boundaries, which is important for those individuals who may have experienced inconsistencies previously. Strong relationships exist between the staff and other professionals to ensure young people receive the support they need. One professional commented ‘moving here is the best thing that could have happened…. if (name) stays there I think it will make a difference to their life.′

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Quality of care

Staff are proactive and consistent in supporting educational achievement. They have established links with the local schools so that young people can access mainstream school. These ensure young people’s educational progress and help them to achieve their full potential.

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Quality of care

Staff promote the health and well-being of young people by ensuring they have access to specialist services, as well as attending their routine health appointments. All staff have received medication and first aid training. There are clear procedures in place for the administration and disposal of medication, which protects the welfare of young people in the home.

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Quality of care

The home is decorated and furnished to a good standard. However, there is wear and tear in the kitchen, in particular to the work surfaces. The Registered Manager said she now has confirmation that the old window frames will be replaced in the coming weeks, which will further improve the appearance of the home. Young people say they like their bedroom which they have personalised to their own taste and style. This gives them some sense of belonging.

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Safeguarding children and young people

The service is good at keeping children and young people safe and feeling safe. Young people say they feel safe. Staff are well trained in safeguarding and work effectively with other safeguarding agencies to promote the safety of young people. Placement plans and risk assessments clearly identify the risks for young people and the suitable strategies to manage these. These effective strategies are having an impact because there has been a reduction in unsafe behaviour.

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Safeguarding children and young people

All staff receive mandatory training in behaviour management and physical intervention. The records of physical intervention confirm that this only takes place in line with current statutory guidance. The use of physical interventions and sanctions are few in number, which means the staff are successful in utilising their skills in behaviour management. Both the sanctions and physical interventions are effectively monitored by the manager to identify any patterns or trends to inform future practice.

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Safeguarding children and young people

Safe recruitment and vetting procedures protect young people, as far as possible, to ensure they are only cared for by suitable people. In addition, young people are protected by robust health and safety procedures in the home. Regular fire drills ensure young people and staff know how to evacuate the building safely in the event of an emergency. All fire, gas and electrical installations are serviced annually. This means young people live in a physically safe and secure environment.

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Leadership and management

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

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Leadership and management

A qualified and experienced Registered Manager oversees the home and provides good leadership. She is also responsible for managing another home within the organisation, which means she is not in full time day-to-day charge of the home. There is a qualified first line manager who deputises in the manager’s absence.

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Leadership and management

Young people are cared for by suitably qualified and very experienced staff. All staff have access to relevant training to ensure they are competent to meet the needs of the young people. Staff receive regular supervision and feel supported in their work. In addition they have their work practice and development annually appraised to identify areas of improvement and training needs. This ensures the staff have the right skills to effectively support young people.

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Leadership and management

Young people are cared for in line with the aims and objectives of the Statement of Purpose and the home can clearly demonstrate the positive impact they are having on improving outcomes for young people. A placing social worker confirmed the home keeps them up to date on the progress of their young person. This ensures young people are being cared for in line with their care plans.

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Leadership and management

Monthly monitoring of the home is undertaken by the manager and an external manager from the organisation. This monitoring contributes to improving the quality of care in the home and involves young people. Young people's records are stored securely. All information is up to date and provides a comprehensive picture of a young person's time at the home. All significant events are notified to the relevant authorities to ensure the welfare and safety of young people is further protected.

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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 and the evaluation schedule for the inspection of children's homes.

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