Children's Home run by Cambian Childcare Limited in West Northamptonshire

Unique reference number SC456719 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 Victor Takadiwa Registered manager POST VACANT Date of last inspection 13/03/2014 2 of 10 Inspection date 10/09/2014

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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 good Keeping children and young people safe good Leadership and management good

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Overall effectiveness

The home has continued to maintain an overall good standard of care and good outcomes for young people placed there. Young people feel safe and secure and speak positively of their time at the home. Personalised care ensures young people's unique needs are identified and fully met. Young people feel safe in the home. They value their relationships with staff and feel listened to. Most are achieving well in their education, maintain good health and achieve success with their individual placement aims.

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Overall effectiveness

The home has been effectively led and managed during the interim period while an appointment is made to the role of manager. Partnership working is strong with a wide range of external professionals working well with the staff team to offer an individualised approach to care planning. Social care and health professionals describe the positive effect the home has on young people's lives.

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Overall effectiveness

Some areas for development were identified. Some parts of the home are damaged, look and feel tired with no clear maintenance plan in place. Some staff have not received formal training to equip them with the skills to support young people who self-harm. A records of recruitment checks is not available for employees who work on occasion at the home. However, the shortfalls identified have not put young 3 of 10 people at risk or impacted on the high quality of care young people receive. 4 of 10

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Information about this children’s home

This privately owned children's home is part of a large national organisation. The home can provide care and accommodation for up to six young people who display emotional and behavioural difficulties.

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

13/03/2014 Interim good progress 18/04/2013 Full good

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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 all parts of the children’s home used by children are reasonably decorated and maintained. (Regulation 31 (2) (e)) 24/10/2014

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Recommendations

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

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Recommendations

 ensure staff are equipped with the skills required to meet the needs of the children accommodated in the home. This relates to children who display self-harmful behaviour (NMS 18.1)  ensure the children’s home has a record of the recruitment and vetting checks which have been carried out on those working (including as 5 of 10 volunteers) for the children’s home. (NMS 16.3 (a-f)) 6 of 10

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Outcomes for children and young people good

The majority of young people make very positive progress from their starting points. Young people develop skills in reflection and are able to talk about what has changed for them since coming to live at the home, such as decreasing incidents of missing from home or better managing their anger.

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Outcomes for children and young people good

Young people’s physical and emotional health needs are clearly identified and well- met. Young people take responsibility for their sexual health and engage well with specialist nurses who visit the home regularly. Some young people continue to display self-injurious behaviours. However, they respond well to the one to one support given to them from the staff team. Contact arrangements are facilitated and well-promoted by the staff team. Young people benefit from these appropriate contact arrangements in terms of their identity and keeping in touch with family and friends.

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Outcomes for children and young people good

Young people’s attendance and achievements educationally are good when considering their individual starting points. Most young people are attending education placements and achieving very well. Those who are waiting for education placements to become available take part in daily educational activities with staff or are engaged in independence programmes and voluntary work. Young people engage in a good range of activities. Young people’s individual talents and interests are identified and promoted. This includes some young people’s interest in dance or martial arts. Opportunities like this enhance their personal development through involving them in a wide range of activities and events.

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Outcomes for children and young people good

Young people are becoming well-prepared for independence. The home benefits from two semi-independence style flats which young people transition to from the main home when they are ready. Although at times young people struggle to engage with their plans, over time young people have begun learning and practising skills which will benefit them in later life. For example, young people learn how to budget, shop and cook; book their own medical appointments; attend events in the community and undertake household maintenance tasks such as changing a fuse or light bulb.

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Quality of care good

Listening to young people’s views is a priority at this home. Effective systems are in place, for example residents’ meetings and a complaint’s system. Young people say staff listen to them and act on what they say. Regular ‘You said, we did’ information is displayed in the home. Complaint records show that young people’s comments are taken seriously, followed up appropriately and lessons are learnt as a result. Furthermore, some young people are supported to chair their own review meetings 7 of 10 ensuring young people have a clear voice in the planning of their own care.

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Quality of care good

Partnership working with external professionals is strong. Positive relationships exist with local police, youth offending and local health services. This benefits young people through good multi-agency planning around risk. Staff ensure young people’s health needs are met by prompt registration or referral to appropriate health services. The home has positive working relationships with health workers who regularly visit the home to provide advice to staff and young people.

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Quality of care good

Relationships between staff and young people are positive. Staff demonstrate good knowledge of young people's backgrounds and unique care needs. They want young people to achieve. Care planning is of good quality and includes a focus on equality and diversity needs. This includes consideration of young people’s ethnic background, musical likes, cultural food considerations, religion, discrimination they may face, young people’s own understanding of diversity, disability, sexuality and how the mix of staff reflects young people’s needs. This approach demonstrates a commitment to understanding and meeting young people’s individual needs.

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Quality of care good

In general, the home feels homely and comfortable. However some areas of the home are damaged or showing signs of wear and tear. For example, a hole in a ceiling due to a leak; scuffed and scraped walls in communal areas and graffiti on young people's bedroom doors. Young people's bathrooms are tired and feel clinical. The home's refurbishment plan does not provide a detailed overview of when refurbishment works will take place.

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Keeping children and young people safe good

Young people feel safe in the home. They do not identify bullying as an issue and where there are instances of bullying it is suitably addressed by staff. A social worker stated, 'There is a strong approach to dealing with such issues as bullying.' There have been a number of safeguarding incidents since the last inspection and on each occasion the management response has been appropriate. Allegations or suspicions of harm are appropriately shared with the local police and child protection professionals. The manager and staff attend strategy and professionals meetings as required. The home works effectively with social workers and external safeguarding professionals to protect young people. Staff spoken with demonstrate a strong awareness of safeguarding procedures. Individual risk assessments are regularly reviewed and appropriate action taken in response to any identified concerns. This helps staff provide care appropriate to young people's changing needs.

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Keeping children and young people safe good

On occasion, young people go missing from the home. Where there are concerns that young people may be at risk of sexual exploitation, appropriate measures are taken to keep young people safe. This includes close liaison with specialist police officers and the young person's placing authority. Staff work closely with young people to educate them about how to keep themselves safe; for example, how to 8 of 10 keep themselves safe while using the internet. Staff take prompt and appropriate action to safeguard the young people including keeping in contact with them by telephone. Clear policies and procedures are in place and agreed with local police to manage any incidents of missing from home.

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Keeping children and young people safe good

Effective behaviour management techniques are used, ensuring young people respond well to the clear boundaries in the home. For example, in consultation with staff, young people have set out what they feel are appropriate sanctions for any poor behaviour displayed. This further demonstrates how young people have an influence over the care they receive. Use of physical intervention to help young people manage their behaviour is minimal.

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Keeping children and young people safe good

Young people are further protected by safe recruitment practice which reduces the risk of unsuitable people have contact with young people. However, recruitment information is not available for members of staff, such as maintenance personnel, who work infrequently at the home but who may come into contact with young people. This is a shortfall in record-keeping rather than practice as recruitment information is held at a head office location.

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Leadership and management good

There is no Registered Manager in post due to the previous Registered Manager's internal promotion. Interim management arrangements have been appropriate with the home's well-experienced deputy manager acting as manager with support from the regional manager. An appointment has been made to the post of manager. There is a development plan in place and the management team have a good understanding of the home's strengths and areas for development.

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Leadership and management good

The home is well-staffed and the level of staff turnover is relatively low which supports stability for the young people. The staff team are diverse in gender, age and ethnicity and this positively benefits the support given to young people. Staff, especially new staff, feel well supported by the management team. One member of staff commented, ‘I’m really lucky to work here’. The majority of staff have achieved the level 3 childcare qualification. This provides young people with an experienced and knowledgeable staff team. Staff have access to a variety of training. The vast majority of staff have received training in mandatory areas such as first aid or fire safety. However, some staff have not had training in self-harm and a recommendation is made to ensure staff are better equipped to meet the needs of young people showing this behaviour.

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Leadership and management good

One recommendation was made at the last inspection in relation to information sharing. Records at the home demonstrate that health advice provided by the company's own psychologist is appropriately shared with other professionals. All professionals spoken to in the course of the inspection cited the home's high levels of communication. All events are notified to Ofsted and other parties to ensure there is 9 of 10 appropriate oversight.

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Leadership and management good

The functioning of the home is monitored both by the management team and external visitors. External monitoring visits take place within required timescales and involve young people. Actions raised as a result of external monitoring appropriately challenge the home to continue to provide a good quality of care. Young people's case files are maintained to a good standard, case records and placement planning documentation are regularly updated to ensure staff and other professionals understand the best way to support young people. 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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