Children's Home, Residential special school run by Cambian Autism Services Limited in Dorset

Unique reference number SC065261 Inspector Heather Chaplin Type of inspection Interim Provision subtype Residential special school (>295 days/year)

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Registered person Cambian Autism Services Limited Registered person address 3 Bunhill Row London EC1Y 8YZ

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Responsible individual Stephen Wallace Bradshaw Registered manager POST VACANT Date of last inspection 21/08/2014 2 of 8 Inspection date 12/01/2015

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Previous inspection good Enforcement action since last inspection none

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This inspection

This home was judged good at the last full inspection. At this interim inspection Ofsted judge that it has improved effectiveness .

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This inspection

The home has improved in effectiveness because it continues to deliver outstanding outcomes and quality of care for young people. The service has met the requirements and recommendations from the last inspection.

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This inspection

Six new students have joined the school since September 2014. The service has a clear process for admissions and when children leave. The head teacher explained that although she is often under pressure to accept new students in an emergency, this is usually not in their best interests. This is because the children have highly complex needs and often struggle to adapt to change. Therefore, each child has an individually-designed programme to help them to get to know their staff team and adjust to their new surroundings.

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This inspection

For example, young people are assessed at home and at their previous school. They parents are invited to come in to set up the bedroom to suit their child’s individual needs. Before the child arrives, the staff send them a school calendar and photographs of the school, home and people they will meet. Each child’s schedule is planned carefully and some benefit from seeing a video of the school and living area, so that they feel familiar with the surroundings before they arrive. This reduces anxiety and helps children to settle into their new environment.

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Three students have left the school since the last inspection. There is an equally well-planned process for helping young people make the transition into adult provision. For example, young people are fully involved in deciding where they wish to live when they reach adulthood. Staff help them to plan for the move, ensuring that they have the necessary life skills to be able to meet the challenges of their new home. For example, some young adults who were previously completely dependent on staff to help them, can now go into the town on their own. They have learned to cope with their frustrations and difficulties, so they are calmer and more likely to 3 of 8 adapt to a change of environment. This good progress has meant that these young people are able to achieve their ambitions. For example, some are currently embarking on a trial stay in their new home.

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This inspection

The school and residential staff provide nurturing, individual care appropriate to the child’s emotional and developmental age. For example, some children are learning to eat a range of healthy foods and use cutlery appropriately. Some children who were unable to walk on admission and were reliant on a wheelchair, have now improved their motor skills and can walk with guidance. For individual young people, these outcomes are excellent.

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This inspection

The school recognises and values every student’s unique individual needs. Targets are set for each young person and are constantly reviewed. For example, some young people were very aggressive towards staff when they arrived, but incidents have now reduced in frequency and duration. Some young people have weekly meetings with the head teacher to review what has gone well and areas that require further work. Young people said that they find this individual attention to their progress really helpful. They commented that ‘this is a really good school’.

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This inspection

Children and young people are fully involved in the running of the school. For example, some students asked for a ‘bake-off’ competition. The school’s managers organised this event, with very positive results. The head teacher explained that the students really enjoyed this activity and became very involved in producing baked foods, including gluten and lactose free foods suited to people with special dietary needs. This activity was fun, but has also helped young people to understand how to cater for special diets, which some of them require.

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This inspection

Young people in each living group prepare a weekly presentation for the whole school showing their activities and progress. This helps children and young people to become more aware of what has gone well and to acknowledge their achievements. This helps to build their confidence and self-esteem.

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This inspection

This school provides a highly specialised service for young people on the autistic spectrum, and staff show exceptional knowledge and understanding of these complex needs. The psychology team meets with leaders and managers each week to review individual students’ progress. Young people receive a great deal of individual staff time from key workers, education staff and senior managers. The whole school provides a highly nurturing, supportive environment. Office, maintenance and catering staff all work directly with children to help ensure that their needs are met. For example, the head chef meets regularly with students to review their menu choices in light of their preferences.

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This inspection

The Registered Manager retired in October 2014, and informed Ofsted of their pending departure. The children’s home now has a new manager, who is due to start in post on 17 January 2015. This person has applied to Ofsted in a timely manner, so that there is no delay in registration. 4 of 8 Interim management arrangements are robust. The school’s highly experienced head teacher, supported by her deputy, has been managing the children’s home. She is keen to engage with the current consultation and review of the children’s homes framework. This means that the service is aware of pending changes to the inspection framework and how the children's home will be regulated in future. The head teacher has worked very effectively with Ofsted to ensure that regulatory requirements of her interim children’s home management role are met. She is very well supervised and supported by her line manager.

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This inspection

The head teacher explained that the service’s new independent visitor has been very robust in his inspections, but also very supportive. Regulation 33 reports are detailed and insightful. This has helped to maintain the existing high standards of care and to drive continued improvement. The latest Regulation 34 report is also very detailed and provides a good overview of the service’s achievements and challenges. This internal and external reporting provides an effective guide for further development.

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This inspection

The head teacher is pleased with the school and children’s home’s progress. She is ambitious for the service and had lots of ideas. For example, she and her deputy are working towards achieving deeper statistical analysis to demonstrate improvement in children’s outcomes. They recognise that the new Registered Manager will have his own vision for the children’s home. Once he has settled in post and the registration process is complete, he will be involved in plans to review care documentation.

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This inspection

Because of the profound nature of some children’s disabilities, there are a large number of physical interventions, both in the school and the children’s home. Over the past few months, the service has changed to a restraint technique that provides an increased range of options. For example, the technique now used reduces the need to hold young people on the floor. The lead-in to this change was managed very effectively, and all staff received training in the new method.

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This inspection

There have been no incidents of bullying or unauthorised absences from the home. Staff confirmed that issues identified through the Regulation 33 visits have been resolved.

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This inspection

There have been four complaints since the last inspection. All of these issues were managed appropriately. The home has good safeguarding procedures in place. There have been two safeguarding incidents since the last inspection. Both incidents were reported to the local area designated officer for child protection, and to Ofsted. Neither required external investigation, and have been managed internally. These incidents related to physical intervention procedures. In response, leaders and managers have improved safeguarding training. Each child now has an individual ‘safeguarding pack’ to guide staff on correct protocols and strategies. These incidents showed that the service works effectively with other agencies to help keep children safe. For example, the home has very good relationships with the local area designated officer, who visits 5 of 8 regularly. A police child protection officer visited the school recently and was

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This inspection

complimentary about the quality of their communications.

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This inspection

The home and school are exceptionally well engaged with the community. Some young people are sufficiently able and confident to visit the local town. All young people benefit from visits to local attractions. The home and school have links with organisations that bring friendly animals into the service, which the young people really enjoy.

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This inspection

Three requirements were made at the last inspection. The home was required to improve restraint recording so that there is a permanent record of the effectiveness of any measure used. Restraint logs show that recording has improved. The service is robust in its scrutiny of all physical interventions. Monitoring has also shown that since the introduction of the new method, there has been a reduction in the number of emergency floor holds, which benefits young people.

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This inspection

The second requirement concerned the significant shortage of staff at the last inspection. The school and home has always ensured that there are sufficient numbers of staff on duty to look after the students appropriately. Existing staff and managers cover shifts, so the impact of staff shortages on young people was minimised. However, the cover arrangements were not sustainable.

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This inspection

This prompted a senior leadership review of the pay structure, and a concerted effort to tackle the problem on every level. For example, strong recruitment monitoring systems are now in place to track job applications and progress on the required checks and outcomes. The head teacher has worked hard to communicate recruitment developments to existing staff. The service has engaged recruitment agencies. There is now a substantial bonus available for staff who regularly do overtime, and a raft of measures to improve staff retention. Improved staff engagement has raised morale and as a result, resignation figures have fallen. This is helping to decrease the number of vacancies, which currently stand at 18 out of 180 posts. Consequently, although there is still work to be done, the situation has improved compared with staffing levels in August.

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The third requirement was to review training for new staff to ensure compliance with national induction standards. The service has confirmed that the induction process complies with national standards. The service was also asked to ensure that there is no delay in embarking on a level 3 qualification. In response, the home has appointed a new NVQ assessor to improve access to learning.

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At the last inspection, not all staff were receiving regular supervision. Care managers now have management systems in place to ensure that all staff receive regular supervision. The head teacher monitors every probationary report, and also signs off all appraisals, so she does have effective oversight. 6 of 8 The home has also addressed the recommendation which was made to ensure that children’s views on physical interventions are recorded. This is now in place, and staff have been reminded of the importance of this process. Children’s views cannot always be recorded because of the nature of their needs, but there is evidence in the restraint logs that this is done when possible.

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The second recommendation concerned changes required to the children’s guide. Work has been completed to include contact details for Ofsted and the Children’s Commissioner in the students’ complaints procedure. This is now publicised to students on notice boards around the school and living areas, so that they understand how to obtain external help when required. 7 of 8

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Information about this children’s home

This national private organisation provides care and accommodation for up to 60 students with autistic spectrum disorder and learning difficulties. It operates as a residential special school which also provides accommodation for a number of students requiring 52 weeks boarding and is therefore registered as a children's home.

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

21/08/2014 Full good 18/03/2014 Interim good progress 14/11/2013 Full good 14/10/2013 Full good Website: www.ofsted.gov.uk

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

This document may be reproduced in whole or in part for non-commercial educational purposes, provided that the information quoted is reproduced without adaptation and the source and date of publication are stated.

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What inspection judgements mean

At the interim inspections we make a judgement on whether the home has improved in effectiveness, sustained effectiveness, or declined in effectiveness since the previous full inspection. This is in line with the Inspection of children’s homes: framework for inspection.

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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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