Children's Home run by Cambian Childcare Limited in Shropshire

Unique reference number SC476252 Inspector David Morgan 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 Sarah Dawn Bourne Date of last inspection N/A 2 of 9 Inspection date 07/01/2015

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Previous inspection N/A 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

At the time of the last inspection in November 2013, the service had recently been taken over by another company. Subsequently in March 2014 another take-over occurred. These events have caused organisational changes but have had minimal impact on children. The manager has a comprehensive understanding of the service. She has ensured that its operation has continued at a good level despite these and other challenges. Improvements brought about by the new organisation include a renewed focus on the clinical support of children and thorough training programmes for staff.

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Overall effectiveness

The last inspection raised three recommendations and these have been addressed. Fire evacuation processes now serve to educate staff and children more effectively. This increases the level of safety for everyone. Monitoring by the manager is now more evaluative of the data about the service. This improves her analysis and helps the service improve. The current inspection finds there have been some minor shortfalls in administration but that steps are underway to address these. In particular, the recruitment records require attention in order to verify that only suitable individuals are working with children.

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Overall effectiveness

The outcomes for children are good mainly because of the strong relationships they 3 of 9 establish with staff. They enjoy living in the home and benefit from a comfortable house with ample private space. Their individual needs are often complex. These are given a high priority and as a result children feel secure. Any complaints or shortfalls are investigated thoroughly in close liaison with relevant external agencies. 4 of 9

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Information about this children’s home

This private children's home is part of a national organisation. It is registered to provide care and accommodation for up to five young people who have emotional and/or behavioural problems arising from severe trauma. Therapy is provided and a special school is available.

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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 the home has a record of the recruitment and vetting checks which have been carried out on those working for the home, as indicated in this standard. (NMS 16.3) 5 of 9

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Outcomes for children and young people good

Children benefit from thorough personalised care. They receive one-to-one support that serves to keep them as safe as possible and also promotes their individual care needs. Progress varies between individuals and over time but is now more clearly recorded by staff, teachers and therapists. Children admitted to the home soon feel safe and are able to look forward to improved opportunities. All of the children receive excellent attention to their emotional and psychological welfare as befits the specialist function of the service. Cultural and linguistic issues are addressed and children have access to specialist services, where necessary, for example for their hair care. The childrens’ emotional resilience benefits from the staffs’ careful attention to the wide range of heritages in the group.

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Outcomes for children and young people good

Each child feels they are respected and that their circumstances are understood. They have access to life-story work and other therapeutic support. Substantial resources are invested in ensuring each child has the family contact that is agreed. Each child also has a full education programme. Rates of attendance and progress vary and reflect the children's situations. For each child, however, the education support is substantially better than prior to admission and arrangements are not allowed to stagnate. Some children make remarkable progress and compete with their peers at every level. Children are encouraged to do as well as possible whether in the organisation's own school or elsewhere.

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Outcomes for children and young people good

During the last year, several children have been able to successfully move to new and more permanent placements. They keep in touch with the staff and are positive about their time in the home. Children understand why they are being cared for and what targets are in place for them. They are involved in assessments of the risks presented by community activities and learn to be accountable. As a result, anti-social behaviour outside the home is minimal.

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Quality of care good

The staff team is competent and conscientious. One social worker described team members as 'flexible and approachable'. External professionals have confidence that a good standard of service is being provided. There is a clear focus on children's needs. Great lengths are taken to understand every child as well as possible. The team around each child meets frequently to adapt the care package for maximum benefit. In some situations direct therapeutic work is not possible so alternative packages are implemented by care staff. Similarly, non-attendance at school is temporarily replaced with educative programmes and firm routines at home. These steps serve to continue to support children during difficult periods. 6 of 9 High staffing levels and a variety of consultative processes mean that children are actively involved in the operation of the home. Sometimes the regular de-briefing exercises about less successful events proves to be particularly valuable. Children's

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Quality of care good

views also play a part in the assessment of staff and this enables them to feel a valued part of the service.

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Quality of care good

Improved systems have been implemented recently by the clinical team to more accurately reflect children's progress. This is not yet fully consolidated but gives a variety of indicators and contributes to the placement planning. The manager also keeps track of other issues so that plans may be adjusted quickly.

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Quality of care good

The new organisation has thoroughly reviewed the operation of the clinical team and ensured it has a high profile. This process created some short-term gaps in the service to children and staff teams, which are now resolved. There is also improved liaison with the school since the last inspection, which is critical in helping children improve as fast as possible.

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Quality of care good

Children are provided with a good range of routine and ad hoc social and sporting opportunities. They have recently enjoyed a full programme of Christmas activities including, for example, a successful party with children from other homes and a visit to the Christmas lights. Community organisations are supported including a riding club and scouts and ice-skating. These provide children with important stimulation outside the home and improve their self-confidence in groups. Free time is provided within carefully managed boundaries.

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Quality of care good

The importance of children's views is apparent in the property. Outings and other events are reflected in collages of photographs and important messages about cultures and bullying are shown in artwork. Certificates of educational and other successes are also on show to visitors. Children's individuality is also demonstrated in their bedrooms where there is a high degree of personalisation. The property itself is presented to a high standard inside and out. In the kitchen pictures are used to remind children about the staffing arrangements and other important issues.

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Keeping children and young people safe good

Children are protected well, feel safe in their home, and are able to make complaints. Children are fully involved in the arrangements for their care and their views are integrated into the actions that staff take. This process often leads to marked improvements. In some cases, children have experienced stability for the first time and look forward with optimism to the future. One told staff, 'I see a glowing future full of choices.'

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Keeping children and young people safe good

The progress that children make is kept under review to ensure their placements remain suitable. If this is not the case an effective and sensitive multi-agency 7 of 9 approach, involving clear guidance from the clinical team, leads to alternative placements being sought. Children benefit from a consistent and detailed approach to their behaviours. One professional observed 'calm and sensitive practice' by staff based on their thorough understanding of children's individual needs. Incidents are often avoided and lessons are learnt by the team to avoid repetitions, wherever possible. Some children make marked progress in keeping themselves safe, for example, by reducing their self-harming behaviours. An increased number of physical interventions has occurred since the last inspection partly as a result of the admission of new children. Staff endeavour to avoid physical intervention unless absolutely

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Keeping children and young people safe good

necessary and incidents are carefully reviewed.

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Keeping children and young people safe good

Despite the challenges presented by the behaviour of the children, the police are rarely called. Staff fully understand the relevant procedures and seek assistance if necessary. The manager is taking steps to ensure the home has routine communication with local police officers. There are relatively few incidents of children being reported as missing although this has increased since the last inspection. This reflects the changing needs of the children. The de-briefing process indicates that the risk levels during such incidents were low and that the incidents were not driven by pressures in the home. Effective steps have been taken to keep children safe and prevent recurrences. Safeguarding procedures have been implemented on a small number of occasions. The relevant professionals confirm that appropriate measures were undertaken by staff.

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Keeping children and young people safe good

Incidents of bullying and racism are addressed firmly. The staff team is composed of individuals from a variety of backgrounds and ages and this experience is used effectively. Consequently, children learn about the effect of their negative comments and the frequency of such incidents has reduced.

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Keeping children and young people safe good

The staff recruitment processes have altered slightly each time the service has been taken over by a new company. These processes remain thorough but are not always clearly or consistently reflected in the records kept on site.

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Leadership and management good

The manager is highly respected by her team and external professionals. She ensures that a high level of therapeutic intervention is provided to children by all the team members. She has substantial experience, has appropriate child-care qualifications, and is due to complete a management qualification in the next few months. As a result, staff members display a high level of commitment and there is minimal sickness. This means consistent care is provided to children and vital relationships are sustained as much as possible.

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Leadership and management good

The period since the last inspection has presented a number of potent challenges that have been addressed successfully. A further take-over of the service caused uncertainty as did some natural turnover of staff. Changes in the resident group also 8 of 9 served to alter the dynamics between the children and create new challenges for staff. However, external professionals report that they have not noticed a negative effect of these pressures. This is to the credit of all concerned. In this context it is reasonable to find that the service has on balance been sustained rather than significantly improved. Even so, the issues in the development plan for last year have been completed and a new plan is now being devised. The last inspection report made only three recommendations. These have also been addressed. These improvements have served to bring greater focus to fire evacuation exercises so that children and staff learn more from them. Monitoring exercises are now more

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Leadership and management good

evaluative, track changes more accurately, and serve as an effective base for improvement.

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Leadership and management good

The manager supplies staff with a high level of daily support and direction. This is supplemented by formal supervisions and appraisals. There has been a little drift in the timescales for and recording of these meetings but a reasonable recovery plan is in place. Although further minor changes are likely in the short term, a period of consolidation is now anticipated. The manager has a clear understanding of her service and what is required to improve it. Staff training is thorough and up-to-date and a large majority of staff are qualified. Recent and proposed changes in legislation have been addressed. 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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