Children's Home run by Cambian Childcare Limited in North Yorkshire

Unique reference number SC456477 Inspection date 25/07/2013 Inspector Nicola McEvinney Type of inspection Full Provision subtype Children's home

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Date of last inspection 20/02/2013 Website: www.ofsted.gov.uk

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This document may be reproduced in whole or in part for non-commercial educational purposes, provided that the information quoted is reproduced without adaptation and the source and date of publication are stated.

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Brief description of the service

This children's home is operated by a national company which provides residential care and educational services to young people. It provides care and accommodation for up to four young people with emotional or behavioural difficulties.

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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

Children and young people make good and sometimes excellent progress in all areas of their lives. This is a result of the high quality support they receive from the experienced and caring staff team who provide a caring and nurturing environment.

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Overall effectiveness

The shortfalls identified during this inspection relate to omissions in paperwork which the Registered Manager is addressing. These shortfalls include; children and young people’s day-to-day care not being set out in their placement plan and needs relating to their ethnicity are not identified. However, in practice children and young people’s needs are well provided for.

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Overall effectiveness

Children and young people feel safe and they are safe. Staff have an excellent understanding of safe working practices and they are vigilant in ensuring young people’s safety at all times.

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Overall effectiveness

Behaviour management is a particular strength. On arrival to the home, children present with some challenging and concerning behaviours. With the consistent approach and the emphasis on praising good behaviours these behaviours have significantly abated resulting in a stable and happy home where children and young people thrive.

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Overall effectiveness

Management arrangements are strong; staff feel well supported and all share a common ethos that puts children and young people’s needs central to their practice.

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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 the child's placement plan is prepared in accordance with the provisions in regulation 9 of the Care Planning, Placement and Case Review (England) Regulations 2010. (Regulation 12A (1)) 01/10/2013

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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's individual needs, particularly those related to heritage and ethnicity, are identified in their placement plan. (NMS 2.3)

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Outcomes for children and young people

Children and young people make very good progress; their confidence has grown and they are developing a positive self-view and secure attachments with staff and each other. This is a result of the warm and nurturing care that is provided, enabling them to flourish.

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Outcomes for children and young people

Children and young people’s health needs are well attended to. Staff are vigilant in ensuring that medication prescribed that does not promote young people’s well-being is not used. For example, alternative methods are explored to promote sleep rather than the use of sleeping tablets. Young people are discouraged from smoking by being given opportunities to access smoking cessation services.

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Outcomes for children and young people

Children and young people's views are sought in all aspects of their care and how the home is run. For some children this is a new experience, particularly around being involved in their care planning. At the manager’s insistence, child care reviews are held at the home with children fully involved in the process. This promotes their well- being.

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Outcomes for children and young people

Children and young people benefit from the staffs’ proactive approach in ensuring that they are supported with their education. Children and young people’s life opportunities are significantly enhanced by their improved attendance and achievement at their educational placement. There are good systems in place to monitor attendance and achievement, enabling support to be targeted appropriately.

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Outcomes for children and young people

Children and young people enjoy participating in the local community. The home is situated in a seaside town with a number of enjoyable facilities which they access; for example the dance mats, youth clubs and the beach. The local police community officer is a regular visitor to the home and participates in games with the children and young people. This helps to build tolerance and understanding.

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Outcomes for children and young people

Children and young people are supported to have constructive contact with significant family members. To this end staff transport young people considerable distances which promotes their welfare. For some individuals, contact with re- discovered family members is carefully monitored to ensure that this is rewarding. Staff are welcoming to all family members which builds up trust and further promotes positive relationships.

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Outcomes for children and young people

Children and young people benefit from practicing skills to support them into adulthood. For example, the children keep their personal space tidy and the older young people will help with meal preparation. Some individuals are working through an independence assessment tool to help identify where they need support to enable them to make a successful transition to adulthood.

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Quality of care

Children and young people enjoy warm and appropriately affectionate relationships with the staff team. They feel well cared for, saying ‘they really, really care about us.’ There are effective behaviour management strategies in place based upon rewarding good behaviours which children respond well to, enhancing their life experiences and promoting their well-being. Relationships between the children and young people are also positive, enabling the children in particular to have fun together.

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Quality of care

Children and young people benefit from having their views sought in all areas of how the home is run. For example, they were proud to show off their own bedrooms where they have been involved in choosing their room décor. Some young people are involved in the organisation’s participation group while others attend their placing authority’s children in care forums. The regional organisation has a newsletter which children and young people contribute to, for example, by composing a rap, or writing an article. This all contributes to children and young people feeling valued and promotes their well-being.

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Quality of care

Children and young people benefit from the trusting relationships they have with the staff. This helps them to understand that occasionally they cannot have their wishes realised.

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Quality of care

Children and young people are encouraged to make representation. Complaints are handled sensitively and resolved to the complainant’s satisfaction, promoting their self-worth. Children and young people benefit from having the majority of their individual needs identified in their placement plan. There is guidance in place demonstrating how these needs are to be met. However, their ethnicity is not addressed neither are the needs relating to their heritage and culture identified. This does not promote young people’s personal identity. However, young people confirm that these needs are addressed in practice. Daily routines of the children are not set out which would clearly identify how on a day-to-day basis they are to be cared for.

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Quality of care

Children and young people benefit from accessing services to help meet their needs. For example, the organisation has a psychologist that attends the home offering staff guidance and support to help understand and manage some of the complex behaviours they present. The looked after children’s nurse undertakes health needs assessments and offers support on a range of issues including personal hygiene, sexual health and alcohol misuse. The speech therapist supports some children to improve their articulation. There are good key work sessions with staff undertaking one-to-one time with the children and young people exploring a range of issues that they need support with; whether this be behaviours or their emotions.

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Quality of care

Children and young people enjoy participating in a range of activities. For example, football, the cinema, pamper nights, shopping; they have bicycles, skate boards and scooters. The home is situated near the beach and they have fun there, looking for crabs and other crustaceans.

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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

Children and young people enjoy living in a home where they are safe and feel safe. They confirm that there is no bullying.

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Safeguarding children and young people

Children and young people are protected by clear, individual risk assessments which are in place for each of them; the activities that they participate in and the building. These identify potential dangers with strategies in place to minimise the risk. However, this does not preclude them from fully participating in normal childhood experiences.

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Safeguarding children and young people

Children and young people are protected by staff that have an excellent awareness of safeguarding issues and are vigilant in ensuring their safety. For example, their whereabouts is known at all times; contracts are drawn up with those young people who have access to social media sites and this is monitored.

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Safeguarding children and young people

Incidences of children and young people going missing is minimal. However, any incidents of young people’s whereabouts being unknown is recorded and missing person’s procedures are followed. The one incidence when a young person was missing was handled exceptionally well to ensure their safety. Children and young people benefit from the home’s approach to behaviour management. Children and young people are rewarded for good behaviour which gives them an incentive not to indulge in challenging behaviours. Professionals speak highly of the way children’s behaviour is managed; saying prior to this placement they were held regularly. There have been two incidents of restraint; these were gentle guiding holds to prevent harm to others. Recordings are in good detail with excellent discussions after the event. Sanctions are recorded in the consequences log which includes positive and negative consequences. Positives far outweigh negatives;

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Safeguarding children and young people

which are for misdemeanours that put children at risk of harm. The approach to imposing and managing sanctions supports children and young people to live in a happy and stable home.

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Safeguarding children and young people

Children and young people are safeguarded by the home being vigilant in investigating any allegation made. There are good links with the Local Authority Designated Officer whose advice is sought as appropriate.

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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

This is an exceptionally well-managed home. The Registered Manager leads a team of highly motivated, well trained and enthusiastic staff who provide children and young people with good life experiences in a nurturing environment.

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Leadership and management

This is the first inspection since it has been re-registered as the home has recently been taken over by a large national organisation. The staff are heavily involved in transferring paperwork onto new systems.

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Leadership and management

There are robust monitoring systems in place; young people within the organisation are involved in the regulation 33 visits. This ensures children and young people’s views are sought on the care provided. Systems have been recently introduced to monitor a range of issues. Examples include: educational attendance and achievement; health appointments; the use of restraint; sanctions and complaints. This ensures the Registered Manager is able to monitor how children and young people are making progress and channel support effectively.

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Leadership and management

The annual development plan has clear aims and sets out how these can be achieved. This plan is regularly monitored to ensure it is on target ensuring improvement is sustained.

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Leadership and management

Children and young people enjoy living in a well-maintained home. All areas are pleasantly decorated and furnished, providing them with a homely environment.

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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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