Children's Home run by Cambian Childcare Limited in Halton

Unique reference number SC456729 Inspector Michelle Bacon 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 Kamran Iltaf Abassi Registered manager Kelly-Anne Wade Date of last inspection 15/01/2014 2 of 9 Inspection date 21/08/2014

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

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Overall effectiveness good

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

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Overall effectiveness

This home provides high quality and well-planned care that fully considers the individual needs of each young person. This ensures good outcomes for young people in respect of their behaviour and emotional and psychological health. The impact that the home has had in supporting this progress is clearly evidenced.

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Overall effectiveness

Excellent communication and working relationships between the staff, social workers, parents and other professionals supports the development of young people. One young person reported ‘the home has helped me to turn my life around.’ One placing social worker commented in a questionnaire “ X has made fantastic progress in all areas of their life and the dedication of the staff has enabled X to make improvements.” Staff are exceptionally caring, supportive and have high aspirations for all young people. Young people report that they feel safe. This is because staff ensure that the welfare and safety of young people is promoted through safe working practices. As a result, young people's risk taking behaviours have significantly reduced from the starting point of placement.

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Overall effectiveness

Young people and staff did not take part in this inspection as they were away on holiday. One professional said this was a real positive for one young person in particular; they commented ‘I don't think they would have achieved this six months 3 of 9 ago.’ Young people are making good progress in understanding how their behaviour impacts on their future life chances.

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Overall effectiveness

Young people's views, wishes and feelings are central to their care planning and organisation of the home. As a result, they feel valued and respected as individuals. One young person who recently moved on wrote “I wish I could move the house and staff with me…I will remember having fun, the staff and my friends.”

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Overall effectiveness

The Registered Manager demonstrates a very good understanding of the strengths and weaknesses of the home. She provides strong leadership and guidance to all staff. Robust monitoring of the home supports the manager and staff team in ensuring continuous improvement in the quality of care. Four recommendations are additionally made in relation to e-safety, young people's health, education and records. None of these shortfalls impacts the continued development and progress of young people. 4 of 9

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Information about this children’s home

The home, run by a private company, provides care and accommodation for three young people with emotional and behavioural difficulties.

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

15/01/2014 Interim good progress 30/04/2013 Full good

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Recommendations

To improve the quality and standards of care further the service should take account of the following recommendation(s):

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Recommendations

 ensure young people are encouraged to take appropriate risks as a part of normal growing up. Young people are helped to keep themselves safe including outside the home and when using the internet or social media(NMS 4.4)  ensure children understand their health needs, how to maintain a healthy lifestyle and to make informed decisions about their own health(NMS 6.2)  ensure children are supported to attend school, college or alternative provision regularly(NMS 8.3)  ensure information about a child is recorded clearly and in a way which will be helpful to the child when they access their files now or in the future.(NMS 22.5) 5 of 9

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Outcomes for children and young people good

Overall, young people make good progress in all aspects of their lives, including their education, social and emotional development. They engage well in the home and for some young people their risk taking behaviour has significantly reduced since coming to live at this home. They are growing in confidence as they recognise the achievements they make. Consequently, they are learning to make sense of their past experiences and build emotional resilience.

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Outcomes for children and young people good

In the main, young people enjoy good health and improved health outcomes. For example, a young person who refused to attend their routine medical check-ups prior to placement is now attending these appointments regularly. This ensures they remain fit and healthy. Although some young people continue to smoke they have good access to advice and support to encourage them to make healthy choices. All are fully involved in the menu planning however, records show that some young people often skip meals and do not regularly eat fruit and vegetables. This means they do not consistently maintain a healthy diet.

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Outcomes for children and young people good

Most young people are making good progress in education and are motivated to attend school and achieve. For some young people their attendance and participation in education and learning has significantly improved since moving coming to live at the home. One young person has realised the impact of missing so much education on their future life chances and has requested they repeat year 11 to enable them to gain some qualifications. However, the educational progress for other's continues to be limited because they do not consistently engage in their education. Although, more recently they have engaged well in some vocational training.

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Outcomes for children and young people good

Young people benefit from contact with family. Staff ensure that contact arrangements promote the welfare and safety of young people to ensure it is a positive experience for them. This ensures positive attachments are maintained. For example, one young person is an active member of the Children in Care Council. Young people also regularly attend the local youth club which they enjoy attending. These improves young people's confidence and social interactions.

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Outcomes for children and young people good

Young people are routinely encouraged and assisted to develop life skills, including shopping, cooking and general household tasks. Some young people have plans in place to promote their independence; staff use these to monitor progress and development.

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Quality of care outstanding

6 of 9 The excellent quality care provided by staff means that young people are making good progress. Young people enjoy positive relationships with both staff and each other. The time they spend together is extremely positive for example, they enjoy going on holiday and taking part in activities together. Young people, parents and professionals talk very highly of the manager and staff and their level of commitment. Feedback from a parent in the form of a questionnaire rated the service and care as “excellent.” Comments included ‘ the staff have been truly excellent and thanks for keeping our son safe it has been a huge weight off our minds knowing he is safe and well.’ Young people benefit from living in a stable, nurturing and supportive environment. As a result, they engage well to overcome their difficulties and achieve positive outcomes.

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Quality of care outstanding

Young people live in a healthy environment where their physical, emotional and psychological health is very well promoted. They have very good access to a full range of health services including the in-house therapy team. The mental health needs of every young person is fully assessed on admission to the home to ensure their emotional and mental health are met. In addition staff meet regularly with a psychologist for consultations. This ensures that the staff team are provided with effective support and guidance in supporting young people's emotional and behavioural needs. This means staff have an excellent understanding of young people’s specific health and emotional needs and provide consistency of care.

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Quality of care outstanding

Staff are proactive in supporting the educational achievement of young people. They work proactively and tirelessly to challenge any barriers to young people’s full participation in their education. They acknowledge young people's achievements and celebrate these no matter how small. This makes young people feel valued and builds confidence in their own abilities.

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Quality of care outstanding

Young people are fully consulted and able to contribute to their placement plans. The plans are detailed, clearly identifying the individual needs of each young person and the support needed to reach their targets. The plans link effectively with the local authority care plans. Young people’s views significantly influence the running of the home and the decisions affecting their lives. Their complaints are taken seriously which means they feel listened to and respected.

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Quality of care outstanding

Young people live in a home that provides them with a very high standard of accommodation that is well maintained. The home is made even more homely by photographs of the young people being displayed around the house which gives them a sense of belonging.

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Keeping children and young people safe good

7 of 9 Young people reported that they feel safe and secure. Some young people who come to live at the home have high levels of risk-taking behaviours. The staff ensure that these risks are reduced as much as possible by engaging young people in direct work and proactive involvement with other agencies such as the youth offending service. Feedback from one external professional included: ‘staff have provided structure and boundaries…X has matured, X's attitude has completely changed…X deals with things more maturely than they would have done six months ago.’ This consistent approach between staff and professionals ensures young people have a clear understanding of the expectations placed upon them.

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Keeping children and young people safe good

Young people are able to access the internet via their mobile phones and personal devices such as, tablets and the X-box. This means young people are not always being supervised when accessing the internet and may be vulnerable. Although staff have recently undertaken some e-safety training, young people need to build a resilience that equips them to manage their own online safety.

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Keeping children and young people safe good

There have been some isolated incidents of young people going missing from the home. Positive links with the local police ensures young people's safe return. Staff talk to young people on their return to reinforce the importance of keeping themselves safe at all times. Staff are trained in child sexual exploitation(CSE) so that they are competent in recognising and responding the signs and symptoms of sexual exploitation. This promotes the welfare and safety of those young people at risk of CSE.

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Keeping children and young people safe good

All staff are trained in behaviour management which includes de-escalation techniques and physical intervention. There is minimal use of physical intervention and negative consequences. Staff actively encourage positive behaviour through the use of direct work, incentives and praise. Consequently, young people learn to their manage anger and frustrations much more positively.

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Keeping children and young people safe good

Risk assessments are regularly reviewed and updated to ensure all staff are aware of young people's vulnerabilities and the strategies that are in place to ensure their welfare and safety. Regular health and safety checks of the building, including fire drills, ensure young people live in a physically safe environment.

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Keeping children and young people safe good

Young people are protected by the organisation's safe recruitment practices which ensure that all staff are thoroughly vetted before they are allowed to start work in the home.

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Leadership and management good

The Registered Manager has been in post since April 2009, and provides strong leadership to a stable, committed and competent staff team. She is suitably qualified to Level 3 in childcare and Level 4 in the management of children’s homes. She is also the Registered Manager for another home within the organisation. She divides 8 of 9 her time effectively between the two homes, and there is a suitably qualified first line manager who deputises in her absence.

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Leadership and management good

The home provides a clearly written Statement of Purpose that has been revised to ensure compliance with the latest regulations. This means that local authorities and those with an interest in the home have up-to-date information about the service.

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Leadership and management good

Overall, young people are cared for by a very experienced, skilled and qualified staff team. The numbers of staff on duty are sufficient to meet the needs of young people. Staff have access to good quality training to develop their individual skills and knowledge relevant to the young people they are caring for. All staff have regular supervision and an annual appraisal which enables them and the manager to reflect on performance and identify areas for further development. A particular strength is that the appraisals take young people's views into account. Regular team meetings enable the staff team to review young people's plans and progress. The staff demonstrate a strong commitment to providing a high standard of care that improves outcomes for young people.

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Leadership and management good

The home can demonstrate its capacity for continuing improvement, based on its track record and performance since the last inspection. The manager and provider make positive use of the home's monitoring activities to secure the improvement of young people's care. The views of young people, parents and their placing authority are sought on the conduct of the home. The manager uses this monitoring to identify any areas of practice that can be improved.

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Leadership and management good

Young people's records provide a clear account of their experiences and progress in the home. However, there was a minor shortfall in relation to some incident records. For example, on one occasion the home had appropriately notified a placing authority of a concern in relation to a young person; it is not clear from the record if the placing authority was with the action taken. This shortfall does not impact on the welfare and safety of young people.

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Leadership and management good

There were no requirements or recommendations from the last inspection. 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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