Children's Home run by Cambian Childcare Limited in Warwickshire

Unique reference number SC476249 Inspector Julia Wright 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 Samantha Millward Registered manager POST VACANT / David Hughes Date of last inspection N/A 2 of 9 Inspection date 03/12/2014

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Previous inspection N/A Enforcement action since last inspection None

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Overall effectiveness adequate

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

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Overall effectiveness

This is the home’s first inspection since it’s reregistration with Ofsted In June 2014. A new manager started in November 2014, and has made an application to Ofsted for Registration.

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Overall effectiveness

The overall level of care provided to the young people at the home is adequate. When young people make allegations, these are not always robustly and safely managed. There are minor shortfalls in recruitment practices and record keeping is inconsistent. This means some key information is missing from young people’s files and in recruitment checks.

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Overall effectiveness

Despite these shortfalls, some young people make good progress at the home. Young people have good relationships with staff and use this to make safe decisions. The majority of the young people are in full time educational placements. Young people’s interests are captured and channelled into positive experiences which enhance their lives at the home. 3 of 9

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Information about this children’s home

This home is registered to accommodate up to five young people with emotional and/or behavioural difficulties. The service is owned by a private company.

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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 the prompt referral to the local authority in whose area the children's home is situated, of any allegation of abuse or neglect affecting any child accommodated in the children's home (Regulation 16.2(b)) 31/01/2015

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Reg. Requirement Due date

(2001) ensure written records are kept of any allegation of abuse or neglect and of the action taken in response (Regulation 11.2(d)) 31/01/2015

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Reg. Requirement Due date

(2001) ensure persons at the home report any concerns about the welfare and safety of a child accommodated there to one of the following -(i)the registered person(ii)a police officer(iii)an officer of HMCI(iv)an officer of the local authority in whose area the home is situated or(v)an officer of the National Society for the Prevention of Cruelty to Children (Regulation 16.2(g). 31/01/2015

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Reg. Requirement Due date

(2001) ensure maintenance in respect of each child who is accommodated in a children's home a record in permanent form which includes the information, documents and records specified in Schedule 3 relating to that child. (Regulation 28.1(a)). 31/01/2015 4 of 9

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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 people working in or for the children's home have their references checked to assess suitability before taking on responsibilities. Telephone enquiries are made as well as making written references (NMS 16.1) 5 of 9

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Outcomes for children and young people adequate

Some young people make good progress in their global development. They value the support of staff and use this trust to make a positive contribution to decisions that directly affect them.

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Outcomes for children and young people adequate

Young people use the services provided by the home’s clinical team to help them to begin to take appropriate levels of responsibility for their emotional and psychological health.

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Outcomes for children and young people adequate

Considering young people’s starting points at the time of their placement, many of them harness the support of the staff. This in turn enables them to begin to learn ways to regulate their behaviour. As a result, young people grow in confidence and in their ability to manage difficult situations.

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Outcomes for children and young people adequate

Young people’s educational attainment is variable. Some young people attend education full time and use this opportunity to enhance their learning. Other young people are waiting for an education placement. This delay hinders educational attainment and achievement.

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Outcomes for children and young people adequate

Young people attend house meetings twice a week and discuss any issues they wish to raise. This includes talking about bullying, activity planning, and meal choices. In addition, young people say ‘I can talk to staff, they talk to me and we have fun’. As a result, most young people feel confident that their views are listened to and acted on.

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Outcomes for children and young people adequate

Young people are supported to develop areas of responsibility in line with their transitional plan towards independence. This extends to helping with meal preparation, clearing away, and looking after their rooms. This helps to develop young people’s self-confidence and self-esteem.

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Quality of care adequate

The small, committed staff team has experienced a number of changes over the previous few months, with changes both in management and staff. This has had an impact on the continuity of care young people receive. The young people all have complex backgrounds, and whilst staff changes are inevitable, the number of changes in the staff team in a short space of time has affected some of the young people’s quality of care. A Social Worker said ‘I am worried about my young person’s stability at the home, there have been so many changes and these have affected them’. 6 of 9 Young people’s files are not always complete. For example, care and placement plans are not in place in some files. This means it is difficult to cross reference expectations with outcomes as key information is missing, and progress is difficult to quantify.

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Quality of care adequate

Whilst young people know how to make complaints, their concerns are not always dealt with promptly and appropriately by staff. This results in a lack of transparency in the way complaints are managed by the home, and leaves young people at times in an unsafe position.

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Quality of care adequate

Young people develop warm relationships with staff they trust. Young people say, ‘The staff are nice to me’, and ‘I love it when staff take me to football’. The ability to develop secure relationships with staff they trust means that young people’s emotional health is enhanced.

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Quality of care adequate

Staff are confident in using individualised behaviour strategies to support young people and work together to achieve this goal. The care and welfare of the young people is a priority for all staff. This ensures that young people feel confident and safe around the adults caring for them.

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Quality of care adequate

Staff work closely with the clinical team assigned to the home to offer a package of care designed to meet the global needs of the young people. Regular staff meetings which include clinical staff, are held to review and discuss young people’s progress or areas of difficulty. This means that any problems are addressed and that staff respond to young people’s needs with appropriate strategies.

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Quality of care adequate

Staff support young people to maintain contact with family and people important to them. As a result, young people sustain their identity and heritage.

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Quality of care adequate

Young people receive their prescribed medication safely from staff who are trained in the safe administration of medication.

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Quality of care adequate

The home is a comfortable, well-furnished and well-resourced. Young people use the varied space to participate in socialising or to have some personal space. Young people contribute to the decoration of their bedrooms. This helps to increase their self-respect and self-esteem, by having a sense of ownership to a personalised space within the home.

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Keeping children and young people safe inadequate

The home fails to adequately safeguard some young people. Young people have complex needs and as a result, are highly vulnerable. When young people make complaints, these are not always responded to appropriately. For example, where young people make a complaint concerning an allegation against staff, this is not escalated as a safeguarding issue. An investigation into an allegation raised by a child has not taken place in a fair and effective manner to provide protection. 7 of 9 Consequently, young people and staff are not afforded the protection of a robust and transparent procedure that protects everyone’s welfare.

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Keeping children and young people safe inadequate

Recruitment practice is overall thorough. Key checks of prospective staff are undertaken, although verification of references is not always secured. The absence of these additional checks weakens the safeguards that protect young people.

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Keeping children and young people safe inadequate

There are very few incidents of young people going missing from care. Where these have happened, staff have taken prompt action. This includes following the home’s missing from care protocol and thereby prioritising the young person’s safety. Risk assessments are in place for each young person and these are regularly reviewed and updated. This helps to minimise diverse risks to young people.

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Keeping children and young people safe inadequate

Staff are skilled in using de-escalation and deflection techniques with young people, to avoid any escalation of behaviour, and the possible need for restraint. Where physical intervention is needed, this is seen as a last resort. Following a restraint, the views of young people are sought via a debrief session. This helps young people to understand the reason for the intervention and to reflect on their emotions. Staff have adopted an incentive approach for young people, where positive steps are rewarded and reinforced. For some young people, this has had a positive effect on presenting behaviours.

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Keeping children and young people safe inadequate

The home provides a safe physical environment for young people. All safety checks have been completed, including a fire safety risk assessment. Fire drills are undertaken at the required times and all young people are familiar with the procedure. This ensures that young people’s physical safety is maintained in the home, and the environment is hazard free.

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Leadership and management adequate

This is the home's first inspection since reregistration in June 2014.The Registered Manager left her post in August 2014. Since this time, there have been interim arrangements in place. A new manager took up their appointment in November 2014 and has made an application for registration to Ofsted. As a result, there have been gaps in having a Registered Manager in place. Where other members of staff have covered roles, given the size of the small staff team, has meant that interim roles have at times been filled by staff who are also covering shifts and working directly with the young people. This has meant that interim managers or deputy managers have at times been unable to provide rigorous and accountable oversight of the day to day running of the home.

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Leadership and management adequate

Some files and records lack information about young people. For example, some files do not have care and placement plans produced by the placing authority. This lack of reports hinders the home ensuring young people’s global needs are met. 8 of 9 A lack of managerial oversight has resulted in a complaint made by a young person being overlooked and a safeguarding referral not being made. This places the safety and welfare of young people at risk. In addition, a notification was not sent to Ofsted about this incident. As a consequence, young people are not always kept safe at the home.

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Leadership and management adequate

The home’s Statement of Purpose reflects the work undertaken at the home. The associated young people’s guide is given to each young person on arrival, and includes details of who to contact outside the home for advice and support.

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Leadership and management adequate

The small permanent staff team is assisted by a small group of additional staff from other homes, to cover shifts. This helps to minimise the impact on young people. This allows for the development of positive relationships between young people and staff. Staff receive a thorough induction, refresher training and other courses of interest. This means that staff are knowledgeable about, and able to meet young people’s needs.

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Leadership and management adequate

The new manager is becoming familiar with the strengths of the home and the areas that need improvement, and is familiar with the home’s development plan. The home receives monthly external quality assurance visits and quarterly internal quality assurance audits. These provide the manager and staff with information about positive areas of practice and areas that need improvement.

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Leadership and management adequate

Relationships with the local police are being developed and the local police community support officer has visited the home to meet the young people. This helps the young people by breaking down barriers where they may only have negative experiences or memories of police involvement. In addition, this contributes to promoting the safety of the young people through staff and police working together. The new manager is developing links with other professionals to ensure positive working relationships benefit young people. 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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