Children's Home run by Cambian Childcare Limited in Durham

Unique reference number SC457573 Inspection date 09/10/2013 Inspector Stephen Graham Type of inspection Full Provision subtype Children's home

p.1

Date of last inspection 14/02/2013 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 home is run by a private company and provides care and accommodation for up to three 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 good .

p.3

Overall effectiveness

The overall effectiveness of the service in meeting the needs of young people living at the home is good. Young people can discuss their individual care needs with staff whenever they need to. They enjoy some good outcomes in their care and receive good support from the staff team to help them to achieve this. They are able to access well planned support and advice regarding their personal health care needs. They participate in a broad range of healthy leisure activities in their local community. They receive very good support to help them attend their education regularly and they are encouraged to participate positively and to be successful in it.

p.3

Overall effectiveness

The home is decorated and furnished to a good standard and is well presented. It provides a safe and comfortable environment for young people who live there. The staff team give young people good advice and support to help keep them safe. The home is well led and managed. The management arrangements work effectively to support the good quality of care provided and the good outcomes achieved by the young people who live there. There are some shortfalls in some of the records in use at the home. However, these shortfalls have had no impact on the overall good quality of care that young people receive.

p.3

Recommendations

To improve the quality and standards of care further the service should take account of the following recommendation(s):  maintain a clear record at the children’s home of the recruitment and vetting checks carried out on those working for the children’s home. (NMS 16.3)

p.3

Outcomes for children and young people

Young people regularly discuss the success of their individual care plans with the staff team at the home. They and the staff team also talk regularly with their placing social workers to ensure that the outcomes agreed in their care plans are being achieved. The staff team ensure that the individual achievements of all young people living at the home are clearly documented and are celebrated. Young people had no suggestions to make when asked ‘what could the home do better?’ Social care professionals with links to the home agree that equality and diversity is central to everything the home does. They also agree that improving outcomes for children is a clear priority for staff at the home.

p.4

Outcomes for children and young people

Young people living at the home enjoy a healthy and active lifestyle. They participate regularly in a very good range of healthy activities both within the local community and beyond. They enjoy a healthy diet and achieve some good health outcomes. They confirm that staff look after them ‘all the time’ if they are ever unwell. The staff team ensure that young people enjoy good access to, and can benefit from, the support available to them from appropriate specialist health care services.

p.4

Outcomes for children and young people

Young people enjoy some good outcomes in their education. The staff team maintain good links with local schools and specialist education providers. They encourage and support regular attendance at school. They work to maintain and improve the educational outcomes for young people living at the home and to celebrate their individual achievements. The staff team also provide young people with good support and practical advice to help them practise and develop their individual self- care skills. This gives young people who move on from the home the opportunity to live successful, independent lives within the local community. One social care professional describes how, in their experience of working with the home, the young people who live there are ‘settled and confident regarding their long term future’.

p.4

Quality of care

The care plans for each young person living at the home are monitored regularly by the manager and staff team. They work in close partnership with placing social workers and the young people themselves to achieve this. This helps to ensure that the individual needs of each young person are known and addressed in their individual care arrangements.

p.4

Quality of care

Social care professionals linked to the home confirm that the staff team work well with them. They believe that improving outcomes for young people is the ‘clear priority’ of the manager and staff. One describes staff as ‘knowledgeable’ and having a ‘good grasp’ of the care needs of the young people living at the home. Staff are also described as being ‘very warm’ in their approach to the care of young people.

p.4

Quality of care

Social care professionals believe that the service provided to the young people who live at the home is ‘good’. Young people are encouraged and supported to be directly involved in their own care planning. Regular meetings are organised to review the effectiveness of their care plans. Young people can attend these meetings and give their views directly to the social care professionals involved in meeting their care needs. The manager and staff team members also attend and provide good information and detailed written reports to the meetings on the progress being made by young people. One social care professional commends the way in which ‘the staff team have encouraged the young person to engage in their review meetings’.

p.5

Quality of care

The home has detailed admission procedures in place. The manager and staff team use these procedures very effectively to help young people coming to live at the home to settle in quickly. They also complete detailed individual risk assessments in partnership with placing social workers and the young people themselves. These help to ensure that young people are admitted safely.

p.5

Quality of care

The quality of the furnishings and decoration at the home is very good. The building provides a very safe and comfortable environment for the young people who live there. The location provides them with easy access to a broad range of local community facilities and recreational opportunities. Young people are encouraged to eat well and to enjoy a healthy diet. They are directly involved in menu planning and food preparation. The staff team work to ensure that young people can enjoy a range of healthy choices and can also try foods from a variety of cultures.

p.5

Quality of care

The staff team are trained in first aid. This helps to ensure that the health needs of young people are met in any emergency. They are also trained in the safe administration of medication. The manager closely monitors those arrangements. This helps to ensure that the administration of medication is always done safely and is recorded clearly.

p.5

Quality of care

Staff work to develop and sustain positive and constructive relationships with young people who come to live at the home. There are a range of agreed sanctions available to staff. However, their use is very rarely necessary. Young people are actively encouraged by the manager and staff team to give their views and to be involved in the overall running of the home. They also receive good support to maintain regular contact with their family and friends as agreed in their care plans. Social care professionals ‘agree strongly’ that the staff team work well with the parents of young people where this is required.

p.5

Safeguarding children and young people

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

p.5

Safeguarding children and young people

Young people living at the home benefit from the care provided by a stable staff team. Staff are very experienced and committed to keeping young people safe. They are trained to help protect young people from abuse and can access additional safeguarding procedures and guidance if needed. They ensure that young people receive regular advice and support to help them understand how they can protect themselves. They complete detailed care plans in partnership with placing social workers and the young people themselves. These plans clearly identify any risks and protective factors for each young person. The manager and staff team monitor and review these regularly to ensure that they remain effective in helping to keep young people safe. Social care professionals believe that the staff team understand how to protect children and safeguard their welfare. Young people confirm that they feel safe living at the home.

p.5

Safeguarding children and young people

The staff team use the agreed procedures in place to help ensure that if young people go missing from the home they are found and kept safe as quickly as possible. There are agreed strategies in place which are working to help reduce the number of absences from the home. The staff team are trained to use physical restraint where this is necessary to keep young people safe. However, the use of any physical interventions at the home has very rarely been necessary. There are a range of agreed incentives in place at the home. The staff team use these well to promote, support and celebrate the positive behaviour of young people.

p.6

Safeguarding children and young people

The home provides a safe and comfortable environment for the young people who live there. The manager and staff team ensure that regular health and safety checks are completed to help minimise any potential risks to young people. The staff team know what to do in any emergency and they practice this regularly with young people.

p.6

Safeguarding children and young people

There are arrangements in place to complete checks on new staff team members to ensure they are suitable to work with children. In some cases the summary records held at the home of checks completed do not report clearly on all recommended matters. For example, the full detail of the applicant’s previous employment history obtained at interview. However, this shortfall has had no immediate impact on the care of young people living at the home. Any visitors to the home are supervised by staff to help ensure that children are kept safe when they are present.

p.6

Leadership and management

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

p.6

Leadership and management

The arrangements for the manager to lead, manage and monitor the quality of the service provided at the home are well organised. The manager regularly creates reports on the quality of care provided to young people. The manager works effectively with the staff team and young people to plan and implement further service improvements to the benefit of the young people who live at the home.

p.6

Leadership and management

Social care professionals with links to the home believe the service provided to the children living there is good. They also believe that improving outcomes for children is the clear priority of the manager and staff team. They confirm that they receive regular updates from the home regarding the progress being made by young people. They describe the overall communication between themselves and the staff team at the home as good. There is a Statement of Purpose in place which accurately describes the service provided at the home. Young people receive their own summary guide to the service which is well presented and contains some very good information.

p.6

Leadership and management

Overall the staff team are very experienced and well qualified. They use their experience and qualifications very well to provide young people with some good outcomes in their care. Additional training opportunities are planned by the manager in consultation with the staff team. This helps to further develop and maintain the knowledge and skills needed to care for young people successfully. The manager ensures that staff members receive appropriate supervision and an annual appraisal. The manager monitors and manages the daily staffing levels at the home to ensure that young people are receiving the care and support they need.

p.7

Leadership and management

Independent monitoring visits to the home are completed regularly on behalf of the registered provider. The reports from these visits are completed in good detail. The manager reviews the contents of these reports and consults regularly with young people, the staff, social workers, other professionals and where possible with parents to gather their views on the effectiveness of the service and to plan further improvements to it.

p.7

Leadership and management

There were no actions raised or recommendations made at the previous inspection visit.

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