Children's Home run by Cambian Childcare Limited in Tameside

Unique reference number SC430239 Inspector Louise Redfern 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 Michael Ore Registered manager Elizabeth Hiley Date of last inspection 04/02/2014 2 of 10 Inspection date 29/10/2014

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Previous inspection good progress Enforcement action since last inspection none

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Overall effectiveness good

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

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Overall effectiveness

Staff are passionate about providing a high level of care to young people and supporting them to maximise their life experiences. This is underpinned by the highly individualised, well-constructed internal placement plans. Young people are actively involved in planning and reviewing their care and, therefore, in the decisions being made about their lives.

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Overall effectiveness

Young people's welfare and safety are fundamental to the home. All young people said they feel safe and this is supported by comments from parents and social workers. Appropriately managed risks are taken which allow young people increased levels of independence and opportunities to experience new activities and become involved in the local community, through volunteering at a local animal shelter.

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Overall effectiveness

Staff have high aspirations for all young people living at the home, this has resulted in exceptional progress being made in educational attendance and attainment. Social workers and parents comment on the effective and regular communication from the home. Social workers commented, ‘They are doing exactly what I have asked them to do. The placement has been brilliant, progress is being made in all areas.’

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Overall effectiveness

Leadership and management arrangements in the home are strong and a consistent management team offers effective leadership and direction to the staff team. The 3 of 10 staff team feel well valued and supported by the Registered Manager.

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Overall effectiveness

Shortfalls have been identified in the recording of medication received into the home; ensuring all staff are qualified within timescales; that supervision is completed by suitably trained staff and that the Registered Manager receives an appraisal. The Registered Manager took steps to address some of these shortfalls during the inspection which demonstrates a commitment to improving the quality of care in the home. The shortfalls identified have not impacted on the welfare or safety of the young people. 4 of 10

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Information about this children’s home

This children's home is registered to provide care and accommodation for five young people with emotional and/or behavioural difficulties. The home is privately owned.

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

04/02/2014 Interim good progress 23/10/2013 Full good 23/01/2013 Interim good progress 26/06/2012 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) the registered person shall make suitable arrangements for the recording of any medication received into the children home. (Regulation 21(1)) 05/12/2014

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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 that all new staff are working towards the Diploma within 6 months of confirmation of employment (NMS 18.5) 5 of 10  ensure staff are provided with supervision by a suitable trained member of staff (NMS 19.4)  ensure all staff, including the Registered Manager have their performance appraised at least annually. (NMS 19.6) 6 of 10

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Outcomes for children and young people outstanding

Young people enjoy excellent outcomes living at this home. Each young person's educational attendance and achievement is excellent in relation to their individual starting points. One professional commented, ‘X’s education has been brilliantly tailored to her individual needs, she has gained confidence through her achievements and her attendance has significantly improved.’

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Outcomes for children and young people outstanding

Young people feel the placement is their home and have developed strong attachments to the home and staff team. This is because staff know the young people and communicate well with young people. Staff avoid escalation of poor behaviour by following individualised behaviour management plans, discussion and good humour. One young person commented, ‘I am so glad I can stay here, the staff helped me get a children’s rights officer to make sure I could stay.’

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Outcomes for children and young people outstanding

Young people are settled in the home and enjoy living with each other. One young person commented, ‘I like all the girls, it’s not bitchy we just get on with each other.’ As a result young people feel attached to the placement. They are confident and develop a positive self-view as a result of the highly individualised care and nurturing they receive. Exceedingly good relationships exist between staff and young people, facilitating the development of trust and positive attachments. As a result, young people do not place themselves at risk by going missing regularly and they have shown a significant reduction in individual risk taking behaviours.

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Outcomes for children and young people outstanding

Young people have very clear contact plans in place to ensure meaningful contact with family, friends and other people who are important to them. Contact is promoted within the context of an appropriate consideration of individual safeguards and risk assessments. Young people are practically and emotionally supported with their contact arrangements, and this helps them to develop and sustain relationships with their friends and family.

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Outcomes for children and young people outstanding

Young people are developing life skills are appropriate to their age. They are involved in food shopping, cook individual and group meals based on a budget and undertake their own laundry. This enables them to develop necessary skills for when they move on from the placement and also builds their confidence. One parent commented, ‘I am really pleased X is being responsible for herself and doing more things around the house.’

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Quality of care good

7 of 10 The home provides high quality care to young people which results in the development of positive relationships between them and staff. The provision of high staffing levels, structure, routines and clear boundaries creates a safe and emotionally supportive environment for young people to develop and grow. Young people say they like the staff team and say, ‘It’s brilliant here I love it, the staff are here to care for me and they are great.’

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Quality of care good

Young people feel valued and respected as individuals because their views and opinions are integral to life in the home. They have a clear voice in the home and know that their views and opinions are listened to. There is excellent attendance at young people’s meetings and purposeful engagement. Young people discuss their menu and activity choices for the week ahead. They have an input into decisions about décor and furnishings within the home and plans for holidays and celebrations. This involvement helps young people to value their own contributions to the home which serves to increase confidence in their social skills. Young people are confident that staff listen, do their best to meet reasonable requests and take seriously any concerns they raise.

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Quality of care good

Care planning and care practice is highly individualised and young people's needs are well documented in their internal care plans and individual incentive plans. These plans are routinely monitored and reviewed to ensure they accurately reflect young people's current needs, development and progress. Professionals say, ‘The staff go above and beyond. Working with young people to make significant progress, despite the challenges they face from the young person.’

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Quality of care good

Young people are registered with a local doctor, dentist and optician and are well supported to attend routine appointments and check-ups. Young people also benefit from the in-house child adolescent mental health service (CAMHS) completing an initial assessment and, where appropriate, offering individual support. As a result, young people's known and emerging physical, emotional and psychological needs are effectively met.

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Quality of care good

Arrangements for the administration of medication are well managed. However, a shortfall was identified in that one packet of medication had not been recorded as being received into the home. There had been no impact on the welfare of the young person as the tablets had not yet been administered. The Registered Manager appropriately addressed this during the inspection.

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Keeping children and young people safe outstanding

Young people say they feel safe in the home and the local community. This is because they say there is no bullying in the home and they can talk to staff if they are worried.

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Keeping children and young people safe outstanding

Young people have a strong sense of safety and are well aware of their individual risk 8 of 10 management plans. They are supported to take managed risks and as a result they are enjoying independent time away from the staff and home. This is because they are not currently engaging in risk taking behaviour. This means that young people are developing skills to keep themselves safe in the community and building and maintaining peer relationships.

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Keeping children and young people safe outstanding

Staff give young people's safety the highest priority. They make excellent use of a range of robust safeguarding measures such as risk management plans and regular health and safety checks. Staff are well aware of their responsibilities to safeguard young people and receive appropriate training to ensure they know exactly what to do to keep young people safe. This ensures young people's wellbeing and safety is maintained in day to day practice. Professionals and parents confirm that they feel staff continually work to keep young people safe and that they have no safeguarding concerns about the home.

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Keeping children and young people safe outstanding

Young people's behaviour is effectively managed. Staff are trained in behaviour management, including the use of physical restraint. Staff know young people well and have developed an understanding of the factors that contribute to them becoming anxious, frustrated or upset. This has resulted in very low levels of physical restraints and low levels of imposed negative consequences.

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Keeping children and young people safe outstanding

All staff are selected and checked through the organisation's recruitment procedures. The Registered Manager takes an active role in recruitment, ensuring the safe recruitment of staff who are able to meet the young people’s individual needs.

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Keeping children and young people safe outstanding

Young people live in a physically safe environment. They are well protected by a range of health and safety procedures, risk assessments and routine checks. Young people and staff are regularly involved in fire drills to ensure they know how to safely evacuate the home in the event of a fire.

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Leadership and management good

The Registered Manager achieved registration with Ofsted in 2009 and has been Registered Manager at this home since 2012. She has successfully completed the NVQ level four in Leadership and Management for care services in 2011. Leadership in the home focuses on achieving excellent outcomes and providing individualised care for young people.

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Leadership and management good

The home meets the aims and objectives of its Statement of Purpose. The Registered Manager provides effective leadership and guidance for staff to ensure the service continues to develop and improve. They have an understanding of the homes strengths and areas for development. The provider and the Registered Manager effectively monitor all aspects of the service, including quality of care and outcomes for young people. Consultation with young people and stakeholders is part of the monitoring processes. 9 of 10 The small and consistent staff team are well trained with the majority holding the appropriate qualification. However, one member of staff is yet to commence the qualification, despite being in post for over six months. Staff say they feel well supported by the management team and that they enjoy their job. They value regular team meetings and supervision led by the management team. However, one

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Leadership and management good

of the management team is yet to receive appropriate training around supervision. The Registered Manager took steps to address this and has ensured that all future supervision will be facilitated by suitably trained supervisors. All staff, with the exception of the Registered Manager, have received an annual appraisal, and these take into account the views of young people living at the home.

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Leadership and management good

The home is well integrated into the local community and has not received any neighbourhood complaints. The Registered Manager and staff have excellent working relationships with key professionals in other agencies. Social work professionals comment positively on the frequent and good quality exchange of information.

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Leadership and management good

Records kept in the home are detailed and informative about each young person's life in the home. Whilst these records are stored securely to maintain confidentiality young people can access their own records and gain a clear understanding of their life and the progress they have made while living at the home. 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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