Children's Home run by Cambian Childcare Limited in Shropshire

Unique reference number SC476231 Inspector Dawn Bennett Type of inspection Full Provision subtype Children's home

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Registered person Advanced Childcare Limited Registered person address Pinnacle House 2 Oakwood Square, Cheadle Royal Business Park CHEADLE Cheshire SK8 3SB Responsible individual Samantha Millward Registered manager Laura Jayne Duckett Date of last inspection N/A 2 of 10 Inspection date 03/06/2014

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Previous inspection N/A Enforcement action since last inspection none

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Overall effectiveness good

Outcomes for children and young people good Quality of care good Keeping children and young people safe good Leadership and management good

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Overall effectiveness

This was the home’s first full inspection since re-registration in March this year. Previously, the service had been registered and fully operational with another company.

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Overall effectiveness

Young people are making good progress in relation to their starting points across all aspects of their lives. There are positive relationships between staff and young people that are based on respect and trust. Staff encourage and support young people to develop and build upon their sense of self, education, interests and skills. As a result they lead healthy lifestyles, attend school and access clubs and groups in the local community. Staff celebrate young people's achievements and help them to continue to develop positive social links and support networks. As a result young people are leading lifestyles that promote their self-esteem, well-being and safe welfare.

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Overall effectiveness

There is effective leadership and management which contributes to a well-organised team of staff who have a clear understanding of their roles and responsibilities. The home has a good focus on meeting young people's individual needs because care and support is planned, coordinated and delivered to a consistently high standard. Young people feel safe and are safe in the home. Consistent management and staffing arrangements enable young people to make positive progress in their lives. 3 of 10 Young people’s needs and views are central to how the home operates and organises its daily routines. These circumstances make a significant contribution to achieving continuity and placement stability resulting in young people being able to confidently plan for their futures. 4 of 10

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Information about this children’s home

This children’s home is run by a private organisation and offers care and accommodation for up to four young people who may have emotional or behavioural difficulties. 5 of 10

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Outcomes for children and young people good

Young people have clear short term and long term plans which they actively influence. As a result they recognise they are making good progress towards meeting their personal goals.

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Outcomes for children and young people good

All young people have outstanding school attendance and are making good educational progress. Young people who have not historically engaged in education are now enjoying completing homework and working hard on projects and course work and currently sitting exams. This is as a result of staff promoting education in an accessible and fun way. An example of their commitment to young people's academic achievement is the support they give to young people, where appropriate, by attending school and supporting in the classroom.

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Outcomes for children and young people good

Young people are in good emotional and physical health because they lead healthy age-appropriate lifestyles. They enjoy shopping for and preparing nutritious meals and are participating in a wide range of physical activities which include dance club, tampolining, Zumba and Boxercise. As well as identifying and responding to specific health needs, the home's staff team and therapy team also give good advice, support and guidance on a wide range of health topics and lifestyle choices. Young people are supported to develop a better understanding of the importance of staying safe and keeping healthy. As a result they attend medical appointments and stop or moderate their unhealthy habits. By becoming well informed young people are better able to make considered decisions about their health and safe well-being in the future.

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Outcomes for children and young people good

Young people are active and constructively occupied. They are supported to experience a wide range of activities that help them decide what they then would like to pursue further in the local community. The routine of the house and ethics role modelled by staff promotes opportunity and participation. Young people have established friendships and are valued members of clubs and groups. For example, one young person volunteers at a local club for people with learning difficulties. She is also an active member of Shropshire Local Authority Health Champions. There are clear procedures in place that are known to staff and young people that promote young people's independence but also keep them safe. These processes enable young people to safely socialise with friends and do not stigmatise them as 'children in care'.

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Outcomes for children and young people good

Where appropriate to do so, young people also maintain their relationships with their families. As a result, they maintain their individual identities and emotional security.

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Quality of care good

6 of 10 Placement plans accurately reflect the needs of young people and provide appropriate guidance to a team of staff. The team consists of social care, education and therapy staff who work together, and meet on a regular basis, to review and ensure continuing positive progress for each young person. External professionals state: 'The team work hard, and effectively bring about positive changes in young people’s lifestyles and skills.' Young people are fully familiar with their individual targets and feel they are making good progress.

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Quality of care good

The staff team provide young people with a good level of care. There are effective systems and practices that actively enable young people to have a say in the running of the home as well as what's happening in their own lives. Young people have regular key-worker sessions which support them to successfully address current concerns as well as long term aims from their placement plans. Young people say they understand the reason for the meetings and find them helpful. There are also regular young people's meetings that ensure young people feel listened to and have a voice. Young people state that they use these meetings to put their point of view across about their concerns and difficulties. This has supported young people to listen to each other, understand how their actions can affect each other and has helped them form positive relationships with each other and make living with each other a positive experience.

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Quality of care good

Young people live in a healthy environment where their physical, emotional and psychological needs are well known and consistently met. They benefit from an informed, coordinated and planned approach to meeting their needs which includes effective partnerships with health professionals and services. Young people’s awareness and knowledge about how to lead healthy lifestyles and the potential risks to their health are promoted well through active engagement and discussions with staff. Psychological support provides the staff with effective strategies in working with young people. The organisation has its own psychological services that enable the team to work in ways that best enables young people to progress.

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Quality of care good

Substantial effort is invested in helping children and young people understand their own circumstances. There is effective liaison with their families and family contact is supported well. Professionals associated with the home consider that children and young people become more insightful and self-confident as a result of their strong relationships with staff. Staff ensure that their strategies are based on close communication with social workers and parents. A social worker stated: 'I have observed the Registered Manager to be person centred when dealing with the young person. She knows the young person very well and is aware of her current behaviours. The Registered Manager advocates well on her behalf and also ensures she understands decisions and plans. I am in regular contact with the Registered Manager who ensures that points from the care plan are being met.' Social workers feel confident that staff are effectively addressing agreed targets for young people.

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Quality of care good

Young people know about the home’s complaints procedure and they are confident that just talking to staff will help resolve concerns. 7 of 10 Young people benefit from a welcoming and homely environment. The property is located in a rural area with a large garden area. Young people have influenced the décor in the home and have personalised their bedrooms.

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Keeping children and young people safe good

This service specialises in the supporting young people who have experienced, or are vulnerable to, sexual exploitation. In additional to safeguarding training all staff have received additional specialist training courses in this area. The service is supported by a clinical team who are available to both the young people and the staff team. They are involved in the initial assessment of all young people new to the service, provide subsequent support and attend all staff meetings and team around the child meetings.

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Keeping children and young people safe good

Young people are safe and feel safe at the home. They benefit from an environment where they can develop their sense of security and well-being. The staff team are vigilant to the individual vulnerabilities of young people while encouraging them to develop their independence in line with their ages, abilities and readiness.

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Keeping children and young people safe good

Care plans refer to known and potential risks for young people. Keyworkers update these documents with young people to ensure an accurate reflection. Key work sessions further address any concerns that the young person may be experiencing. This ensures that staff have a clear overview of any risk factors associated with young people.

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Keeping children and young people safe good

There is a high but realistic expectation on young people to behave reasonably and to discuss their concerns appropriately with staff. The staff team manage young people’s behaviour consistently. Clear expectations and boundaries ensure that young people develop socially acceptable behaviours in and outside of the home. The use of sanctions and physical intervention are rare and there have been no occasions of young people going missing from the home. Risk assessments are very clear and thorough. They support staff in their work in the area of behaviour management. This is because the steps that staff should take are very detailed and clear in the assessments. This helps towards a team approach. Staff communication is such that young people's behaviour can be discussed at the earliest opportunity, ensuring consistency. As a result young people make good progress.

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Keeping children and young people safe good

Young people currently living at the home are settled and have very positive established relationships with staff. Staff have worked hard to ensure they have a good understanding of the impact of their behaviour on themselves and others. They continue to support them to develop effective communication skills. They work well with staff to keep themselves safe. If issues arise staff use key worker sessions to work towards aims and objectives that increase young people's knowledge, skills and independence whilst discussing age appropriate strategies to keep them safe. As a 8 of 10 result, young people have made good progress in a range of areas, for example, they attend education, some have long established friendships in the local community and they can make informed decisions that ensure they keep themselves safe.

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Keeping children and young people safe good

The staff provide young people with a safe environment. The home is very well maintained and meets young people’s needs. Health and safety checks are regularly carried out; for example, fire safety is regularly reviewed through fire drills and checks on equipment.

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Leadership and management good

The home was re-registered in March 2014 and this is its first inspection since being registered.

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Leadership and management good

Young people benefit from a service that is effectively and efficiently managed. This is because there is robust, visible leadership that is child-focused that achieves good levels of safety and high quality care. The Registered Manager is respected and trusted by colleagues, young people and staff. She was re-registered as manager by Ofsted in March 2014 when the home was re-registered. She had been managing the home prior to this re-registration. She is appropriately qualified holding a Registered Manager Award. She is continuing with her personal development and is currently undertaking a foundation degree in advanced therapy for child care.

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Leadership and management good

The home's management team promote an environment that supports staff to effectively work with young people. Since being under new management records and paperwork are in the progress of being changed for the new organisation's records and paperwork.

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Leadership and management good

The Registered Manager is effectively leading a committed, motivated and enthusiastic staff team. Communication amongst the staff team is good; all staff are clear in their duties and provide a consistent level of care to young people. The Registered Manager stimulates the enthusiasm of staff through regular team meetings, giving staff responsibility for key tasks in the home and valuing their input into making improvements. As a result, staff feel valued, well supported and dedicated to further improving the standard of care at the home.

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Leadership and management good

The Registered Manager can readily demonstrate the home’s capacity for continuing improvement based on a record of improving outcomes for each individual. Young people’s placement stability and progress is regularly tracked and evaluated. The Registered Manager has a robust range of systems in place to ensure on-going monitoring occurs and that these systems inform improvement and development. Strengths and potential shortfalls of the service are clearly understood. This information is used to plan the home’s future development and to help maintain the high standards already achieved. 9 of 10 Established monitoring systems are used to ensure that the home meets regulations and that any areas for improvement are identified and acted upon. Regular external monitoring visits ensure that the home is robustly monitored. This is further enhanced by the Registered Manager’s own monitoring reports. All areas of the home

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Leadership and management good

are regularly scrutinised. Furthermore, the views of young people are central to the home’s development.

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Leadership and management good

The home’s Statement of Purpose is up to date and contains all required information. Young people, parents, carers and placing authorities are clear about the home’s aims and objectives. The home’s development plan sets out the plans for the year. Staff are clear of the home’s strategy and how targets will be achieved. The development plan is further enhanced through incorporating the views, wishes and requests of young people. This ensures that young people are at the centre of the home’s development. Website: www.ofsted.gov.uk

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Leadership and management good

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Judgement Description

Outstanding A service of exceptional quality that significantly exceeds minimum requirements.

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Judgement Description

Good A service of high quality that exceeds minimum requirements.

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Judgement Description

Adequate A service that only meets minimum requirements.

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Judgement Description

Inadequate A service that does not meet minimum requirements.

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Information 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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Information 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 framework of inspection for children's homes.

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