Children's Home run by Cambian Childcare Limited in Birmingham

Good

The children's home provides effective services that meet the requirements for good.

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The children's home provision is good because:

 Young people receive a comprehensive assessment of their needs. The manager and staff team understand the importance and value of completing excellent assessments of young people’s needs.  Educational attendance and achievement is high. The manager and staff team understand how crucial educational attainment is.  Staff are experienced, stable and highly skilled. They are nurturing and caring towards young people even when faced with challenging situations.  Personalised and bespoke care planning ensure young people receive excellent care and make progress.  Relationships between young people and staff are excellent, with young people feeling supported, encouraged and valued.  Partnership working with other agencies is good. This supports young people with coordinated plans that are affective and ensure progress.  Young people are not able to enjoy a well-furnished, decorated or maintained building.

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The children's home provision is good because:

 Young people are not being sufficiently supported to stop smoking.  Impact assessments for new residents to the home are not sufficiently robust.

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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 (England) Regulations 2015 and the Guide to the children's homes regulations including the quality standards. The registered person(s) must comply with the given timescales.

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Requirement Due date

In order to meet the quality and purpose of care standard in particular ensure that the premises used for the purposes of the home are designed and furnished so as to- (i) meet the needs of each child. (Regulation 6(2)(c)) 01/07/2015

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Requirement Due date

In order to meet the quality of care planning standard in particular - (2(a)) ensure that children are admitted to the home only if their needs are within the range of needs of children for whom it is intended that the home is to provide care and accommodation, as set out in the home’s Statement of Purpose. (Regulation 14(2)(a)) 01/07/2015

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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 restraint records enable the registered person and staff to review the use of control and discipline and are shared with the placing local authority (The Guide to the Quality Standards, page 49, paragraph 9.59)

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Recommendations

ensure staff have the relevant skills and knowledge to be able to help children understand, and where necessary work to change negative behaviours in key areas of health and well-being such as, but not limited to, nutrition and healthy diet, exercise, mental health, sexual relationships, sexual health, contraception and use of legal highs, drugs, alcohol and tobacco. (The Guide to the Quality Standards, page 34, paragraph 7.18)

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Information about this children's home

The home is registered to provide care for up to 3 young people. The home is a short-term residential provision which provides assessment of young people’s needs. Assessment is usually six to eight weeks to determine the young person’s longer term needs. The home will extend the placement and period of assessment when in the best interests of the young person to do so.

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Information about this children's home

The home is privately owned and currently providing a commissioned service to a local authority.

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Recent inspection history

Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

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Recent inspection history

03/02/2015 CH – Interim Sustained effectiveness

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good

Young people stay for short periods to undergo assessments. These assessments are thorough and assist in planning for any future placement.

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good

Care and placement plans are accurate and well detailed. Regular looked after children’s reviews and professionals meetings utilise information to coordinate plans. This ensures young people’s needs are being met.

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good

Participation of young people in the running of the home takes place regularly. For example, they join in house meetings and take up individual key working sessions. There is a wide range of recreational activities taking place for young people. These include: trips to theme parks, ice skating and engaging in local sports clubs. Young people benefit from this wide spectrum of activities that help to develop self-confidence and a sense of achievement.

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good

The staff team promote and encourages high educational attainment. Young people all have appropriate educational placements and most have good attendance. This is to the credit of young people who use public transport and travel some distance to attend education. Young people are encouraged to achieve and most are predicted to do well in forthcoming exams. Staff members support them to complete their homework, attend parent’s evenings and take interest in the young people’s education. The staff’s commitment to education extends to ensuring placements are not compromised when young people are entering critical periods in their learning. This support enables young people to secure the right educational outcomes before any transition.

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good

Not all young people in the home are doing well in education. Some struggle with their attendance and behaviour. The manager and staff work closely with the education provider and the local authority to identify the barriers to learning and to help to address them.

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good

Young people’s health needs are prioritised. This extends to the home working closely with primary health care professionals to ensure young people have appropriate health surveillance and support.

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good

The manager and staff show perseverance and tenacity at times to ensure all young people health needs are met. For example, one young person refused dental treatment. The staff continued to support the young person until they felt able to attend.

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good

Emotional and mental health needs of young people are met. Referrals to the local Child and Adolescent Mental Health Service (CAMHS) or other specialist services are made in response to young people requiring these services. The manager maintains strong and productive links with these services to ensure young people’s emotional and mental health needs are fully met.

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good

All young people are helped to be aware of and take up universal services including smoking cessation and access to relevant material. However, despite all available support they continue to smoke and will take risks by smoking in their bedrooms. The mechanisms for monitoring are not sufficiently robust and fail to decease presenting risks associated with smoking.

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good

Arrangements for contact with families are promoted. Contact is assessed by professionals, taking place within a clear plan to ensure it is both meaningful and safe. This ensures that the young people can benefit from clear contact arrangements that are well organised safe and enjoyable.

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good

Young people are given every opportunity to make and safe and meaningful relationships with family and friends. For example, one young person commented ‘the staff encourage me to make and keep friendships’.

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good

The frequency of young people going missing is low. When young people do go missing the staff and the manager act swiftly to secure their safe return. On young people’s returning, work is carried out with them to prevent further recurrence. This includes ensuring they receive emotional support and independent guidance.

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good

Young people’s risk taking behaviour reduces as a direct result of their time at the home. For example, young people no longer use alcohol as a consequence of support and guidance. Where risk still exists such as cannabis use, staff increase their direct work to help young people understand the risks and to make better life choices.

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good

Staff understand the risks to young people of sexual exploitation. They know the signs and symptoms and pro-actively monitor all young people. This is not a problem facing young people in this home but it is to the staff team’s credit they take a pro-active approach to this potential risk.

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good

Young people do not benefit from access to high quality sex and relationship education. This limited them being able to access appropriate knowledge to make wise and informed decisions regarding sexual health and relationships.

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good

Internet use by the young people is appropriately controlled and monitored by staff. Staff are well informed about areas such as E-Safety. When young people use the internet staff monitor their usage carefully so they remain protected from accessing inappropriate sites.

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good

Negative behaviour displayed by young people is addressed by the manager and staff team. Sanctions and consequences are used in response to poor behaviour. These are balanced against rewards for positive behaviour. The use of physical intervention is minimal, when used it is appropriate as there are risks to others and the young person concerned. Following the use of physical intervention they are debriefed about the incident. The staff attempt to identify any antecedents to the behaviour.

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good

In reporting incidents of physical intervention to the local authority a sufficient level of detail is missing. This leaves the local authority without all information regarding the incident so that appropriate decisions can be made.

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good

Staff use a structured model of behaviour management. This includes creating an environment whereby young people receive high levels of emotional warmth. This enables them to develop better skills in self-regulation and to moderate their emotions more safely.

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good

Supportive relationships exist between staff members and young people. There is a nurturing and caring atmosphere with a level of good humour between the staff and the young people. One young person said ‘it takes time to feel settled and develop relationships and I feel I have done that at this home’.

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good

Young people know how to make a complaint. The manager takes complaints seriously. She deals with the complaints quickly and efficiently to ensure they are resolved.

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good

Incidents of bullying are taken seriously and addressed. The manager and staff take a zero tolerance approach. Individual work with young people regarding the effects of bullying and the development of empathy for others takes place. This helps young people to benefit from such work and to understand the impact bullying can have on them and others.

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good

Young people are safeguarded and their needs met through the manager and the staff members working well with partner agencies. For example, the manager and staff members attend young people’s reviews, strategy meetings and other meetings as required.

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good

The home is effectively led by a motivated and committed manager. The recently appointed manager holds a level five diploma in leadership and management for residential childcare. The manager has quickly established herself in post and has high expectations and aspirations for young people’s achievements.

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good

Young people are well supported by a stable and experienced staff team. Currently there is one vacancy, with active recruitment underway. This ensures that young people are cared for by a staff team that knows them well. One young person said ‘staff encourage me to complete my homework, want the best for me; they are just like parents’.

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good

Staff members are accountable and supported in their work with young people through effective and regular supervision. The manager assures supervision takes place monthly. Supervision focusses on the needs of the young people as well as the developmental needs of the staff member. This means that staff members bring to bear their individual strengths whilst working safely and consistently.

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good

Leaders and managers wish to continuously improve the services provided to young people by the staff group. Appraisal and development of staff members takes place. Appraisals are detailed and evaluate the workers performance.

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good

Processes for the recruitment of staff are robust. This helps to minimise the possibility of young people being abused by those in positions of trust. The process is thorough and as a result young people are better protected by those charged with their care and protection.

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good

Staff benefit from monthly consultation with a clinical psychologist. Consultation supports the assessment of young people’s needs taking into account their experiences and presenting behaviours. Bespoke care plans emanate from consultation as well as suggested strategies for communication and managing behaviour.

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good

Staff members are well informed through good communication processes being in place. Monthly staff meetings review practice such as the young people’s individual plans and approaches to care.

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good

The manager and the staff group have a clear understanding of the purpose of the home as set out in the Statement of Purpose. This is kept under regular review, amended when required and a copy is provided to HMCI in a timely manner.

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good

Maintenance of the physical environment of the home is not maintained to a high standard. The home presents as worn in places with the bathroom not being kept in a good state of repair. The garden is overgrown. A broken window to the front of the property and parts of the home are not clean. This will mean as a consequence young people fail to have welcoming, orderly and attractive surroundings in which to live.

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good

Leaders and managers work collaboratively with a range of other professionals and external agencies. They use these networks to develop the service and to improve quality of provision in the best interests of young people.

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good

The manager ensures the home compliance with health and safety requirements including having a good location risk assessment that is used to consider the appropriateness of referrals.

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good

Admissions and discharges to the home are not always planned and in some cases young people are admitted as an emergency. Impact assessments to ensure the home is able to meet the needs of any potential new residents are not always robust. This impacts on the care provided to new residents and de-stabilises existing residents.

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What the inspection judgements mean

The experiences and progress of children and young people are at the centre of the inspection. Inspectors will use their professional judgement to determine the weight and significance of their findings in this respect. The judgements included in the report are made against Inspection of children's homes: framework for inspection.

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What the inspection judgements mean

An outstanding children's home provides highly effective services that contribute to significantly improved outcomes for children and young people who need help and protection and care. Their progress exceeds expectations and is sustained over time. A good children's home provides effective services that help, protect and care for children and young people and have their welfare safeguarded and promoted. In a children's home that requires improvement , there are no widespread or serious failures that create or leave children being harmed or at risk of harm. The welfare of looked after children is safeguarded and promoted. Minimum requirements are in place, however, the children's home is not yet delivering good protection, help and care for children and young people. A children's home that is inadequate is providing services where there are widespread or serious failures that create or leave children and young people being

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What the inspection judgements mean

harmed or at risk of harm or result in children looked after not having their welfare safeguarded and promoted.

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Information about this inspection

Inspectors have looked closely at the experiences and progress of children and young people living in the children's home. Inspectors considered the quality of work and the difference adults make to the lives of children and young people. They read case files, watched how professional staff work with children, young people and each other and discussed the effectiveness of help and care given to children and young people. Wherever possible, they talked to children, young people and their families. In addition the inspectors have tried to understand what the children's home knows about how well it is performing, how well it is doing and what difference it is making for the children and young people who it is trying to help, protect and look after. This 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 Children's

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Information about this inspection

Homes (England) Regulations 2015 and the Guide to the children's homes regulations including the quality standards. the guidance raising concerns and making complaints about Ofsted, which is available from Ofsted's website: www.gov.uk/government/organisations/ofsted . If you would like Ofsted to send you a copy of the guidance, please telephone 0300123 4234, or email enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk .

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Information about this inspection

achieve excellence in the care of children and young people, and in education and skills for learners of all ages. It regulates and inspects childcare and children's social care, and inspects the Children and Family Court Advisory and Support Service (Cafcass), schools, colleges, initial teacher training, workbased learning and skills training, adult and community learning, and education and training in prisons and other secure establishments. It inspects services for looked after children and child protection. If you would like a copy of this document in a different format, such as large print or Braille, please telephone 0300 123 4234, or email enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk . You may reuse this information (not including logos) free of charge in any format or medium, under the terms of the Open Government Licence. To view this licence, visit www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence , write to the Information Policy Team,

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Information about this inspection

The National Archives, Kew, London TW9 4DU, or email: psi@nationalarchives.gsi.gov.uk .

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Information about this inspection

Interested in our work? You can subscribe to our monthly newsletter for more information and updates: http://eepurl.com/iTrDn .

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Information about this inspection

Store Street Manchester M1 2WD T: 0300 123 1231 Textphone: 0161 618 8524 E: enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk W: www.gov.uk/government/organisations/ofsted

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