Children's Home run by Cambian Childcare Limited in Lincolnshire

Unique reference number SC456347 Inspector Catherine Honey Type of inspection Full Provision subtype Children's home

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Registered person Cambian Childcare Limited Registered person address Pinnacle House 2 Oakwood Square, Cheadle Royal Business Park CHEADLE Cheshire SK8 3SB Responsible individual Barry Eannetta Registered manager Kirsty Hunt Date of last inspection 11/12/2013 2 of 9 Inspection date 19/06/2014

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Previous inspection inadequate progress Enforcement action since last inspection There has been no enforcement action since the last inspection.

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Overall effectiveness adequate

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

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Overall effectiveness

The home has made a great deal of progress since the last inspection. A new Registered manager is in post who is raising standards and increasing the effectiveness of the home. Developments and improvements are becoming embedded into practice. As a result, young people living at the home benefit from living in a positive and nurturing environment where they received individualised care. Staff provide high levels of care and young people respond well to the boundaries consistently put in place. Young people make good progress living at this home especially in relation to decreasing their risk taking behaviour and increasing attendance at education.

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Overall effectiveness

Some shortfalls were identified. Due to a lack of consideration of safety measures during contact with family members, staff and potentially young people are put at risk. This does not demonstrate sufficient oversight by the Registered Manager. In addition, although the system for notifying significant events to Ofsted has improved, one notification was not received. The garden requires further attention to make it a more attractive and functional space for young people to use. 3 of 9

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Information about this children’s home

The home is managed by a large, private organisation. It is registered to provide care and accommodation for three young people with emotional and behavioural difficulties or learning disability.

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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 if any of the events listed in column 1 of the table in Schedule 5 takes place, the registered person shall without delay notify the persons indicated in respect of the event in column 2 of the table (Regulation 30 (1)) 24/07/2014

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Reg. Requirement Due date

(2001) ensure that the children’s home is conducted so as to promote and make proper provision for the safeguarding of children accommodated there. The specifically relates to the safety of children and staff during contact. (Regulation 11 (a)) 24/07/2014

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Recommendations

To improve the quality and standards of care further the service should take account of the following recommendation(s): 4 of 9  ensure the home provides a comfortable and homely environment. Avoidable hazards are removed as is consistent with a domestic setting. This relates to ensuring the garden is a more suitable environment for young people to use. (NMS 10.3) 5 of 9

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Outcomes for children and young people good

Since their time living at the home began, all young people have developed. Young people are positive about living in the home and have good relationships with staff that care for them. All young people are regularly attending school or engaging with exams. Some have made significant progress with their attendance rates at school, having not engaged with education for a significant time before their placements began. Young people have aspirations for their future.

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Outcomes for children and young people good

Young people respond well to boundaries and consistency of care provided. They are working hard to abide by these boundaries and are currently adhering to them positively. Some young people are now more able to effectively manage their behaviour and are less likely to engage in challenging or risk-taking behaviour. They are learning to build friendships with each other in the positive atmosphere of the home. Some young people are very positive influences on others. Young people enjoy cooking meals together and preparing their own surprise desserts for staff and visitors. Occasions like this helps increase young people's self-esteem and relationships with each other as well their independence skills.

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Outcomes for children and young people good

Young people are beginning to take responsibility for their health. Although young people smoke tobacco, they have stopped illegal substance or alcohol abuse. Moreover, young people with specific health needs are engaging regularly with agencies that can support them. This significant change dramatically increases young people's life chances.

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Outcomes for children and young people good

Young people are learning independence skills as appropriate to their age. For instance, through the responsibilities of keeping their own pets. Prior to having the pet, young people save up for the cost of equipment such as cages, they then clean and look after the pet and save a small amount each week towards vet’s bills. This demonstrates how young people are becoming more responsible as well as getting in to good budgeting and saving habits. Young people’s experiences with their family are becoming increasingly more positive. Young people are having regular opportunities to meet with their family. Young people speak positively about activities available to them such as going to the sea side or trying adventurous sports.

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Quality of care good

Young people are confident in their interactions with staff. Relationships are more relaxed and comfortable. These positive relationships are fostered by staff enforcing appropriate boundaries and remaining consistent in their approach. Individual placement plans developed in the home show how young people's needs are to be 6 of 9 met to ensure consistency of care. Young people respond well to their incentive charts which are linked to individual goals, such as appropriate behaviour and school attendance. Staff have a good understanding of the needs of the young people. They spend a lot of time with them and clearly enjoy working with them and doing things together.

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Quality of care good

Care planning is managed effectively and provides young people with a clear sense of their progress and development during their placement. Young people are positively encouraged to attend their care reviews. Staff practice is strong in giving young people space to prepare for their reviews and think about their future, thus enabling young people to put their views across clearly. On a day to day basis, young people have numerous opportunities to put their points of view forward about the running of the home through informal conversations and young people’s meetings. Young people make menu choices and help devise their activity programmes. For example, young people have opportunities to take part in individual activities such as playing football, horse-riding or boxing. This helps young people develop their identity, likes and interests.

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Quality of care good

Staff ensure young people live in a healthy environment where their physical, emotional and psychological health is promoted and where they are able to access services to meet their health needs. Staff engage young people in discussions about smoking cessation and are persistent in their approach to encourage young people to stop smoking. There is some very positive multi-agency working. Workers from external agencies describe very high levels of communication from staff and a good level of partnership working which benefits the young people. A social worker stated, 'I’m really happy with my young person's placement at the home.'

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Quality of care good

Staff promote attendance at school and have helped facilitate young people being able to take exams at short notice. This has enabled young people to engage in education and show commitment. Staff are experienced and competent in meeting the needs of young people and receive a good level of training. Diversity is respected within the home. Young people's backgrounds are understood and their needs met by a diverse staff team. Young people relate to the staff team that is aware of their backgrounds and can empathise with their present situation.

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Quality of care good

Young people are informed about how to make a complaint on their admission to the home. This ensures that young people have the opportunity to discuss all elements of their care. Young people have not made any formal complaints since the last inspection. The home is well presented and young people have assisted staff in decorating it. Some areas have had new carpets. It has a reasonable size garden which young people play football in and use a paddling pool in during the hot weather. However, young people and staff have to be careful when playing football not to trip or injure themselves on tree stumps or kick the ball in to stinging nettles. The garden requires further attention to make it a more functional and attractive space for young people to use. 7 of 9

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Keeping children and young people safe adequate

Young people generally maintain a positive relationship with each other. They are generally courteous towards each other and respectful of their privacy and individual circumstances. Young people state there have been some instances of bullying behaviour however they confirm this is swiftly acted on by staff. Any incident of bullying behaviour is comprehensively and robustly followed up by the staff team who have recently received refresher training on anti-bullying. High supervision levels mean that opportunities for bullying behaviour are limited and young people are kept safe. In addition, both the victim and perpetrator have had the opportunity to sit down with staff to discuss their feelings. As a result, instances of bullying have reduced.

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Keeping children and young people safe adequate

Young people occasionally go missing from care; however these are for short periods of time and the frequency of these events are decreasing. If a young person goes missing, staff follow protocols effectively. This includes searching for the young person and liaising with the police. Where missing from home events have increased for individual young people, multi-agency meetings are called to discuss strategies and a way forward. This helps keep young people safe. There are some incidents where some young people get angry and display verbal and physical aggression; however, these are reducing. The staff team employ positive and effective strategies at these times to help young people calm and settle. Young people are helped after incidents to de-brief and reflect on what happened and how they can best manage in the future. Instances of physical intervention are reducing.

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Keeping children and young people safe adequate

Young people benefit from contact with people significant to them. Staff, who recognise the importance of contact for young people, are proactive in working with family members, organising transport and liaising with social workers to facilitate contact for young people. However, where there are potential risks to the safety and welfare of staff when they are supervising contact, little consideration has been given on how to safeguard them and in turn young people during this time. This puts both staff and young people at risk.

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Keeping children and young people safe adequate

The necessary health and safety checks are undertaken on the environment. Staff and young people practice an evacuation drill to ensure they know how to respond should an emergency arise. Young people are protected from involvement with unsuitable people through safe recruitment procedures.

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Leadership and management adequate

Since the last inspection, a new manager has registered with Ofsted. The manager holds a level 3 qualification in caring for young people and is studying towards a level 5 qualification. She has had a number of years' experience working in residential care meaning she is appropriately experienced for the role. 8 of 9 The manager and staff recognise the strengths and weaknesses of the home and have worked hard since the last inspection to improve the quality of care and the functioning of the home. As a result, care practice within the home has improved, record keeping is more accurate and comprehensive, and the home has a more positive atmosphere. Staff are enthusiastic and have more energy. The staff team speak positively of each other and feel they work well together. There is a good balance of gender and ages and this positively benefits the general support given to young people. Staff speak confidently about their roles and how they care for young

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Leadership and management adequate

people. They feel morale is high and this has a positive impact on young people as the staff team work together to provide consistent care.

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Leadership and management adequate

At the previous inspection, two requirements and three recommendations were made. Apart from one requirement, all the requirements and recommendations are met. Staffing at the home now reflects and appropriate mix of experienced members of staff on duty meaning staff are able to meet young people's needs. The home's relationship with the police has improved. Staff and the police work together to positively manage situations, for example, the local police have spoken to local shop holders about not supplying young people with goods when they are underage. This improved relationship means young people are less at risk of becoming criminalised. Staff benefit from regular supervision sessions which enables them to discuss their practice and training needs. In addition, annual appraisal meetings now take account of young people's views meaning young people's views are part of systems in place to monitor the performance of staff in the home.

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Leadership and management adequate

However, a requirement made at the previous inspection about notifying the regulator about significant events in relation to the home has not been fully met. Although the system of notifications to Ofsted has improved and stakeholders report good communication from the home, one event was not notified to Ofsted which limits the regulator's overview of the home. This oversight happened at time of change of management within the home. All other safeguarding procedures, such as liaison with the placing authority, were followed.

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Leadership and management adequate

Team meetings happen frequently and there is evidence that discussions are undertaken about young people to ensure a consistent approach is maintained. Internal and external monitoring of the home is regularly undertaken and the home responds positively to actions set following these audits. Website: www.ofsted.gov.uk

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Leadership and management adequate

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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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