Children's Home run by Cambian Childcare Limited in Warwickshire

Unique reference number SC457488 Inspection date 23/10/2013 Inspector Katarina Djordjevic Type of inspection Interim Provision subtype Children's home

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Date of last inspection 24/04/2013 Website: www.ofsted.gov.uk

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Brief description of the service

This home is registered for up to five young people who may have emotional or behavioural problems. The service is owned by a private company.

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The inspection judgements and what they mean

Good progress The children’s home has demonstrated continued improvement in quality of care and outcomes for children and young people and where appropriate has addressed all requirements and the large majority of recommendations that were raised at the previous inspection. Satisfactory progress The children’s home has maintained quality of care and outcomes for children and young people and where appropriate has addressed all requirements and the majority of recommendations that were raised at the previous inspection. Inadequate progress The children’s home has failed to address one or more requirements and/or has not met the majority of recommendations and/or the quality of care and outcomes for children and young people have declined since the last full inspection.

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Progress

Since their previous inspection the service is judged to be making inadequate progress .

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Progress

At the last inspection in April 2013 the overall quality rating for the service was judged as good. No requirements or recommendations were made.

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Progress

This interim inspection was brought forward as a result of concerns identified from notifications received by Ofsted which highlighted poor outcomes for young people.

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Progress

Children and young people who contributed to the inspection say that they are happy living at the home. They say they have good relationships with staff and are able to raise any concerns they may have. Children and young people confirmed that they ‘get on with each other and that bullying is not an issue in the home’. However, this inspection has identified a number of serious shortfalls in the promotion of children and young people’s welfare and the arrangements to keep them safe. Feedback from placing authorities and the police also raises concerns about admissions to the home and the ability of the staff to manage children and young people’s behaviour and keep them safe.

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Progress

Staff understand their responsibilities to report safeguarding concerns and they work proactively with outside agencies on occasions when children and young people go missing from the home. However, poor leadership and management decisions relating to admissions have resulted in poor outcomes for children and young people. This is because, in some instances, a lack of appropriate and robust pre-admission assessment of needs, including a failure to obtain important information regarding children and young people’s histories, has not been carried out. Additionally, the Registered Manager has failed to ensure an assessment of the compatibility of young people being referred with the existing group. This has not ensured that staff are able to meet all children and young people’s needs at the point of admission and adequately manage their behaviours, which places them at risk of harm and abuse.

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Progress

A high number of children and young people who display and have a history of high level risk-taking behaviours, such as child sexual exploitation, have been admitted in recent months. This has resulted in children and young people colluding together and some children and young people being manipulated into risk-taking behaviours such as going missing from the home. These incidents of children and young people going missing have resulted in some of them being subjected to actual harm and abuse. As a result, placing authorities have found alternative placements for some children and young people in order to ensure their safety.

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Progress

Failure to implement the home’s admission procedures is also not consistent with the home’s Statement of Purpose.

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Progress

Some children and young people do make good progress during their time at the home given their starting points, for example, a reduction in the number of incidents of self-harming behaviour. Comments from children and young people include, ‘I now think before I act’, and, ‘staff have helped me to improve my behaviour and increase my independence skills.’ Some children and young people spoke proudly about their achievements, which have helped to improve their self-esteem and confidence.

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Progress

Improved behaviour has also helped some children and young people to re-establish positive relationships with their families, and contact with their families has increased. This supports children and young people to spend meaningful time with people who are important to them.

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Progress

Some children and young people make progress in engaging in education and training. This helps to promote opportunities for them to reach their full potential. Staff strive to ensure education and training are tailored around individual needs. A social worker commented that staff had been ‘really good’ at securing an individualised education programme for the young person they have placed at the home. Staff have actively supported young people in obtaining work experiences in a voluntary capacity. Children and young people are proud of their achievements in this area and this has increased their confidence and helped them prepare for future employment. However, education provisions are not always found in a timely manner which means some children and young people are left without an appropriate education provision. This affects their ability to reach their full potential. Children and young people benefit from living in an environment which is homely

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Progress

and welcoming. They are encouraged to personalise their rooms, which helps them retain their individual identities, likes and beliefs. However, some areas of the home are in a poor state of repair, and maintenance of the home is not always carried out in a timely manner. The shower cubicles, including the tiling, are stained and in a poor state of repair. This does not ensure children and young people are able to attend to their personal care needs in a clean and relaxing environment. There are paving slabs missing on the patio that have been removed by staff as they were presenting a health and safety hazard. The request for these to be repaired was made some months ago.

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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 children's home is at all times conducted in a manner which is consistent with its statement of purpose (Regulation 4 (6)) 29/11/2013

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Reg. Requirement Due date

(2001) promote and make proper provision for the welfare of children accommodated at the home; make proper provision for the care, education, supervision and, where appropriate, treatment, of children accommodated there (Regulation 11 (1) (a) (b)) * 29/11/2013

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Reg. Requirement Due date

(2001) ensure that all parts of the children's home are kept clean and reasonably decorated and maintained. (Regulation 31 (2) (e)) 29/11/2013

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Reg. Requirement Due date

*These requirements are subject to a compliance notice

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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 progress made by the provider since the last full inspection, identifies any further strengths, any areas for improvement and makes judgements as outlined in the Inspection of children’s homes – framework for inspection.

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