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

Unique reference number SC457435 Inspection date 28/08/2013 Inspector Nicola McEvinney Type of inspection Full Provision subtype Children's home

p.1

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

p.1

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.

p.2

Brief description of the service

The children's home is run by a private company which is a national provider of residential care and education for children. It is registered to care for up to two children or young people with emotional or behavioural difficulties.

p.3

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

p.3

Overall effectiveness

The overall effectiveness is judged to be outstanding .

p.3

Overall effectiveness

Children and young people have made exceptional progress during their stay at this home. With the excellent, nurturing care and consistent effective support they have received from the home they have significantly enhanced life opportunities. For example, some young people arrived at the home following a number of foster placement breakdowns and unable to sustain educational placements resulting in home tuition; they now attend mainstream education, achieving exceptionally well. This has enabled them to move onto foster placements which they so desired. Other children arrived following a traumatic break up with their family and now enjoy regular overnight contact with family members.

p.3

Overall effectiveness

Children and young people are central to their plans and the running of the home. They consider that they are well looked after, saying; ‘it’s nice here, everyone is lovely all staff look after me very well and make sure that I am safe’.

p.3

Overall effectiveness

Care plans are highly individualised reflecting how on a day-to-day basis children and young people should be cared for. Behaviour management plans ensure a consistent approach is maintained to manage the complex behaviours some children and young people present.

p.3

Overall effectiveness

Staff have an excellent understanding of safe working practices and children and young people are safe.

p.3

Overall effectiveness

The Registered Manager is an effective leader and is committed to ensure the homes' continued improvement. The requirement raised at this inspection related to the Statement of Purpose and does not impact on the outcomes for children.

p.3

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.

p.4

Reg. Requirement Due date

(2001) ensure the Statement of Purpose contains the age range of the children for whom it is intended that accommodation shall be provided. (Regulation 4(1) Schedule 1. 8 (a)) 01/10/2013

p.4

Outcomes for children and young people

Outcomes for young people are outstanding .

p.4

Outcomes for children and young people

Children and young people benefit immensely from the excellent care they receive. This has enabled them to build up secure attachments and develop a positive self- view. For some young people their confidence has grown enabling them to form strong friendships within the community enhancing their quality of life.

p.4

Outcomes for children and young people

Children and young people benefit from having their health needs well met. This is ensured by them being registered with doctors, dentists and opticians and they are supported with all appointments. They enjoy healthy and nutritious meals which they help to choose.

p.4

Outcomes for children and young people

Children and young people have benefited immensely by the proactive approach of the home in supporting them with their education. They are excellent attendees and their achievements in this area have exceeded expectations. For example, from a position on admission of having home tuition with a Statement of Educational Needs that stated ‘their overall cognitive ability measures in the low ability range’ to them going on to achieve and, sometimes, exceed the national average. This is inspiring. Other children who required constant staff support in the classroom now attend without support and also are also making excellent progress. This has a profound effect on their life opportunities.

p.4

Outcomes for children and young people

Children and young people enjoy being an integral part of the local community and using local facilities with neighbours looking out for them. They are involved in helping around the house with decorating their bedrooms and domestic chores. This helps them to develop their self-help skills. Children and young people’s quality of life has improved by the positive contact they have with significant family members. The staff have worked tirelessly to help build upon these relationships, which has resulted in extended and comprehensive contact taking place.

p.4

Outcomes for children and young people

Children and young people benefit from being cared for in a home where there is no involvement in risk taking activity, they are able to be ‘children’ and have flourished in this warm nurturing environment.

p.5

Quality of care

The quality of the care is outstanding .

p.5

Quality of care

Children and young people enjoy positive and constructive relationships with the staff who are committed to them and provide a caring nurturing environment where they thrive. Their behaviours have improved immensely enabling them to realise their wishes and feelings; to spend more time with family or to be part of a new family.

p.5

Quality of care

Children and young people benefit from the proactive approach of the staff team. The staff have high aspirations for them and have worked closely with schools and education providers to ensure that some are able to receive mainstream education where they are accomplishing.

p.5

Quality of care

Children and young people’s views are central to the running of the home and in driving their care plan. They are listened to and know how to complain. Other professionals spoke highly of the excellent work done with the young people to enable them to move on to the next stage of their lives where their life opportunities are significantly enhanced.

p.5

Quality of care

Children and young people benefit from the partnership relationship with the social work teams which has helped their care plans to be progressed effectively. Foster carers spoke highly of the preparation which they, and young people, had experienced during introductions which led to a smooth transition.

p.5

Quality of care

Children and young people benefit from accessing other services to help meet their needs. For example, the organisation has psychological services which support young people. The service also offers consultation sessions with the staff team to give guidance and support to manage some of the highly complex behaviours some children and young people present. The Looked After Children nurse discusses health and sexual health issues. Children and young people are able to explore their feelings through high quality key work sessions where staff are able to support them with their emotions.

p.5

Quality of care

Children and young people enjoy a range of stimulating activities. For example, they go to the cinema, theatre, swimming and the circus. The home is situated in a seaside town and the local beach and park are a great source of entertainment. They have age appropriate free time where they spend time in the local community. For some young people this has had a great impact on their social development where they have built up strong friendships with school friends.

p.5

Quality of care

Children and young people benefit from having their individual needs set out in their care plan which includes their cultural and religious needs. Daily routines are also set down in their daily living plan which ensures a consistency of care.

p.6

Safeguarding children and young people

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

p.6

Safeguarding children and young people

Children and young people are extremely safe in this home. The staff have an excellent awareness of safeguarding issues including their whistleblowing responsibilities. This includes knowledge of the management of allegations and support for the person that allegations are made against. This ensures that children and young people are cared for safely.

p.6

Safeguarding children and young people

Children and young people are kept safe by risk assessments which are in place for them as individuals, their activities and the building. These identify potential dangers with clear guidance on how the risk can be minimised. However, these do not prevent young people from fully participating in age appropriate activities as part of their normal growth and development.

p.6

Safeguarding children and young people

Children and young people do not go missing from this home. There are individual protocols in place to advise what action they should take in the event of this happening.

p.6

Safeguarding children and young people

Children confirmed they feel safe, although there are the occasional bullying behaviours in the form of name calling. They said that staff are prompt to intervene and ‘sort it out.’

p.6

Safeguarding children and young people

Children and young people are safeguarded by the effective behaviour management plans in place. These identify triggers to unwanted behaviours with clear guidance in place to manage these. Some children and young people were admitted in a time of severe crisis, following a number of placement breakdowns or families unable to manage their extreme behaviours. Their behaviours have improved to such an extent they are having increased, regular overnight contact with their families. This impacts significantly on their wellbeing. The incidence of restraint is rare; recordings are in good detail with discussions with the young people held following the event.

p.6

Safeguarding children and young people

Children and young people benefit from being cared for in a home which is safe, all health and safety checks are carried out regularly to ensure their continued safety.

p.6

Leadership and management

The leadership and management of the children's home are good . Children and young people benefit from being cared for in a well-managed home. The Registered Manager leads a highly committed, enthusiastic staff team who have good training opportunities and are well supervised. They provide effective, nurturing care to the children and young people who have flourished and have significantly improved life opportunities.

p.6

Leadership and management

This home has recently been taken over by a large national organisation and has recently been re-registered; this is the first full inspection since their new registration. The staff team have been heavily involved in the transition to new systems and paperwork. However, this has not impacted on the excellent progress young people have made during this period.

p.7

Leadership and management

The Registered Manager is aware the strengths and weaknesses of the home and has a development plan in place. However, this is a generic corporate document and does not clearly reflect the individuality of the home. The Statement of Purpose is a comprehensive document but does not contain the information on the ages of the children the home intends to accommodate.

p.7

Leadership and management

There are robust monitoring systems, through monitoring visits and notifications. It is clear that children and young people’s outcomes have been significantly enhanced by this placement.

p.7

Leadership and management

Children and young people are an integral part of the local community where they enjoy good relationships with neighbours.

p.7

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.

p.8

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.

p.8