Children's Home run by Cambian Childcare Limited in Lincolnshire

Good

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

p.2

The children's home provision is good because:

 From their starting points, young people make improvements in their educational achievement. Their attendance at educational placements is consistently high, helping ensure young people have the opportunity to reach their full potential.  Multi-agency working, especially with services in the local area, is established and effective. This is an improvement from the last full inspection and means staff and young people have an additional network of support.  Young people take part in a wide range of social activities in the local and wider community. This includes, for instance, attendance at local youth clubs and fishing. This promotes the engagement and inclusion of young people in the local and wider community and gives them opportunities to build their social skills.  Young people’s behaviour is generally good. Positive behaviour management techniques are effective in giving young people clear rules and boundaries,

p.3

The children's home provision is good because:

which they respond to well. Positive relationships exist with the local police who help reinforce staff guidance if needed.  If young people’s behaviour becomes out of character or changes, the staff team and managers are proactive in work collaboratively with placing authorities, parents and other agencies to agree a way forward. This helps ensure issues do not escalate and young people remain settled.  Young people benefit from independence programmes and become skilled and confident in using practical skills such as doing their laundry and cooking for themselves. This means young people are well prepared for moving to semi- independent living.   Staff have access to a range of mandatory training; however, training focused on the individual needs of young people would be beneficial in extending their knowledge and understanding.

p.3

The children's home provision is good because:

 Young people have not had the opportunity to have a return interview facilitated by their placing authority after being missing from care. This means opportunities for young people to be seen by someone independent of the home have been missed.

p.3

Recommendations

To improve the quality and standards of care further the service should take account of the following recommendation(s):  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, appropriate sexual behaviour and use of legal highs, drugs, alcohol and tobacco. (The Guide to the Quality Standards, page 35, paragraph 7.18)

p.5

Recommendations

 Ensure that when a child returns to the home after being missing from care or away from the home without permission, the responsible local authority must provide an opportunity for the child to have an independent return home interview. (The Guide to the Quality Standards, page 45, paragraph 9.30)

p.5

Information about this children's home

The home is managed by a large private organisation. It is registered to provide care and accommodation for up to three young people with emotional and behavioural difficulties and/or learning disability.

p.6

Recent inspection history

Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

p.6

Recent inspection history

05/02/2015 CH - Interim Declined in effectiveness

p.6

Recent inspection history

11/12/2013 CH - Interim Inadequate Progress

p.6

good

Young people make positive progress from their starting points at the beginning of their placements. For both the young people currently living at the home, education outcomes are positive. One young person is making better than average progress at school, attendance has improved and there is an increased enjoyment in learning. The other young person has gained a vocational qualification and has started an apprenticeship. For both young people, their life chances and potential to succeed are increased due to their commitment to education.

p.7

good

Young people have positive relationships with existing staff and are building relationships with newer members of staff. Placement plans are individualised and detailed to give a clear account of how care is provided. The impact of this is successful as staff offer good quality individualised care to young people. Previous complex behaviour is slowly decreasing through the structure and clear boundaries provided by staff and engagement with specialist support services. Young people are settled for the majority of time and, if they show signs of becoming unsettled or start to show out of character behaviour, consultation meetings with professionals are called to discuss a way forward. This helps ensure young people’s progress and experiences remain a focus. One young person commented, ‘It feels like a family home.’

p.7

good

Young people’s views are sought through both formal and informal methods such as chats with staff, monthly feedback and young people’s meetings. Young people are encouraged to attend their statutory reviews so they can voice their opinion on the proposed plans for their future. This means the views and wishes of young people are well understood.

p.7

good

Young people are encouraged to stay healthy and access services appropriate to their needs, including specialist substance misuse services and the looked after children’s nurse. For some young people, use of substances such as cannabis fluctuates despite comprehensive health plans, diversion strategies and access to specialists. Staff are effective at treading the fine balance between making it as difficult as possible for young people to procure illegal substances while respecting young people’s right to free time and acknowledging young people need the opportunity to develop skills in how to avoid negative influences. There are high levels of intelligence sharing with the local police, which is effective at decreasing access to substances.

p.7

good

Young people who are approaching independence feel confident about the independence skills they have learnt and practised. They are eager to move on to their next placements and are able to reflect on what has changed for them since they came to live at the home. One young person said, ‘I am different now. I’ve changed. I’m more confident and will not be drawn in to anything as I might have been previously.’

p.8

Good

Implementation of good quality risk assessments means young people’s care is sensitively managed, carefully balancing their needs and risks with opportunities to create friendships and spend time away from the care of staff. For example, one young person has started attending a local youth club without the supervision of staff; another has increased their free time and uses public transport to travel to see friends. A young person commented, ‘I always feel safe.’

p.8

Good

Staff take swift action to consult with the placing authority and other involved professionals to decide a way forward when young people who are new to the home are struggling to settle, the home identifies it cannot meet the young person’s needs, or their placement threatens to unsettle other young people living at the home. This approach helps alleviate the negative impact on other young people and provides a planned transition period for young people to move away from the home to a placement that better meets their needs. Episodes of negative or extreme behaviour are rare; if they do occur, staff manage them appropriately with the support of the police where necessary.

p.8

Good

Complaints from young people about the care they receive are infrequent. There is robust follow up if they are made. For example, the response to one complaint included a visit from the local police community support officer, where issues of bullying were sensitively discussed with young people, who learnt about the about the possible implications of this behaviour. The previous manager ensured there was learning from young people’s complaints, for example, where improvements in staff practice were identified through young people’s feedback. This also ensures young people understand their views and opinions are important and that they are listened too.

p.8

Good

Since the last inspection, young people have occasionally gone missing from home although this has stopped completely recently. Staff follow appropriate procedures and are proactive in searching for young people, and liaising with the police and other professionals. Young people have not had independent return interviews following these incidents and the staff have not been proactive in challenging the placing authority to fulfil their obligation in line with statutory guidance.

p.9

requires improvement

The previous Registered Manager has very recently left to take up another position within the organisation. A new manager has taken over and is preparing her application to register with Ofsted. The new manager benefited from a thorough handover from the previous manager to ensure the impact of the change in leadership was reduced.

p.9

requires improvement

The experiences of young people are central to the ethos of the home. Young people’s progress and staff practice are closely monitored to ensure the home is meeting the aims and objectives of its Statement of Purpose. Since the last full inspection, relationships with local agencies and professionals in the local area have developed. Staff now have established relationships with the local police community support officer, looked after child nurse, a substance misuse agency, missing from care police and youth services. A professional commented, ‘There are good professional working relationships with staff for both our benefit.’ These good quality relationships enhance the care young people receive as staff are able to request additional visits, advice or support from stakeholders.

p.9

requires improvement

As well as the change in manager, there are recent significant changes to the staffing team as several members of staff have left. The provider has recruited new staff to the vacant posts. However, a large proportion of the staff team are new to the organisation, in their probationary periods and are unqualified. This leaves the home vulnerable and means young people live in a changing environment, cared for by some staff they do not know well or have trusted relationships with yet. New staff receive appropriate mandatory training before starting work at the home, such as first aid, physical intervention and safeguarding. Existing members of staff have this training refreshed on a rolling cycle to ensure their skills and knowledge remain up to date. There are limited opportunities for staff to receive training specific to the needs of young people such as substance misuse. This means staff may not always have a full understanding of young people’s individual

p.9

requires improvement

Established structures for the induction of new staff are implemented in practice. These include a period of time as an additional member of staff on shift and observing other staff practice before starting their roles in earnest. New members of staff report feeling confident and prepared for starting their first shifts. Staff are well supported through a system of one-to-one formal supervision as well as receiving informal support and guidance from senior members of staff. This means young people are cared for by new members of staff who benefit from an appropriate induction period and existing staff who feel well supported.

p.10

requires improvement

Three requirements were made at the last inspection and all three are met. These related to the safety of young people, the internal environment and health and safety in the garden. Placement matching systems have improved, and greater efforts are now made to ensure that new young people placed at the home match the needs of residents who already live there. In relation to the internal environment and health and safety in the garden, staff, young people and the previous manager have made great efforts to make the garden a safer and more attractive environment. It now has a wildlife area which attracts birds and insects. Young people enjoy watering the flowers in the new raised beds; additional fencing added to the original fence softens its appearance. Overall, the garden has a much more attractive feel. Any damage to the home is quickly rectified, so that young people live in a safe and pleasant environment.

p.10

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.

p.11

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

p.11

What the inspection judgements mean

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

p.11

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

p.12

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 .

p.12

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,

p.13

Information about this inspection

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

p.13

Information about this inspection

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

p.13

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

p.13