Children's Home run by Cambian Childcare Limited in Essex

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 enjoy and have fun living in this home.  Parents and professionals are positive about the home and clearly identify where their young people are making progress.  Young people have access to direct psychological help.  Young people recognise the progress they make particularly regarding improvements in emotional well-being.  Physical restraint is a rare occurrence.  Incidents of missing which previously had been few have again significantly reduced.  Staff understand the aims and objectives of the home. They are committed to working through challenges with young people to make a positive difference to the lives of each individual who comes to live in the home.  This Registered Manager is making a positive difference to ensure that young people receive consistent and good quality care.  Each member of staff must ensure that they understand and know how to trigger the provider’s whistleblowing policy.

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The children's home provision is good because:

 The provider must consistently apply all pre-employment for new starters.

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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

The registered person must recruit staff using recruitment procedures that are designed to ensure children's safety. The requirements are that full and satisfactory information is available in relation to the individual in respect of each of the matters in Schedule 2 with specific reference to individuals re-joining the organisation. (Regulation 32 (3) (d)) 30/9/2015

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Recommendations

To improve the quality and standards of care further the service should take account of the following recommendation(s):  Ensure staff are familiar with and understand their responsibilities regarding the homes internal whistleblowing procedures. (The Guide to the Quality Standards page 53, paragraph 10.9)

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Information about this children's home

This privately run children's home provides care and accommodation for up to three young people with emotional and/or behavioural difficulties.

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Recent inspection history

Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

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Recent inspection history

11/03/2015 CH - Interim Improved effectiveness

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Good

Young people enjoy living in this home. They play games with staff and have fun taking part in energising activities such as go karting and cricket. Consequently there are good relationships between the staff and the young people. One young person said: ’This is a really nice place to live. All of the staff are great.’

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Good

Young people have the opportunity to receive direct help from a psychologist or to spend time with staff learning more about issues specific to their circumstances. Examples of the learning young people do with staff include how to understand relationships and ways to develop relaxation techniques. Their understanding of their own issues grows and this results in behavioural change. Incidents of self- harm have reduced. One young person said:’ The staff are really good at teaching us new strategies for dealing with our feelings.’ One social worker said: ’This is a really good home. My young person is now completely different.’

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Good

All young people receive help and support to attend school and complete homework. Some achieve 100% attendance. One parent said of her child: ’The progress is remarkable. My child has turned around. I am really pleased to know that she is now back in education.’

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Good

Young people are encouraged to think about their futures and to take responsibility for their actions in and around the home. To help them to prepare for adult life they receive help to develop self-care skills. One young person has a paper round in the local community. This builds young people’s self-esteem and promotes a work ethos.

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Good

Young people new to the home say that they have everything that they need and that they like the homes environment. Bedrooms are comfortable and highly personalised. There is adequate space for young people to relax in the homely living room. One young person has a pet hamster. This helps young people to invest and take pride in their environment. Judgement grade

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Good

Young people feel safe in this home. Some members of staff have worked in the home for a length of time and as a result, young people name staff that they would talk to if they had concerns. They feel listened to and are confident in staff’s ability to give guidance and keep them safe.

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Good

Staff help young people to learn from daily events. They use incentives and rewards to recognise and praise good behaviour. One social worker said: ‘The team are very good at being consistent with boundaries. They give really clear messages to the young people.’ This helps young people to feel safe and secure.

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Good

The emphasis placed on contact supports young people to rebuild family relationships and to maintain friendships. For example, those who come to the home having previously lived out of the area, receive help to continue to see friends. This meets young people’s emotional needs and enables them to develop appropriate relationships with peers.

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Good

Staff receive initial and refresher training in restraint. As stated in the homes Statement of Purpose, incidents of physical intervention from staff are rare. Managers took seriously one safeguarding incident arising from an inappropriate physical intervention. They shared relevant information with stakeholders and took advice from the delegated officer. To reduce the likelihood of reoccurrence the Registered Manager put a strategy in place. This included asking all staff to re-sign policies to show that they understood the company and legislation expectations regarding safeguarding. The outcome falls short because while staff spoken to were clear about what constitutes a safeguarding issue, there was insufficient evidence to demonstrate that all staff know how to effectively trigger the company’s whistleblowing policy.

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Good

Some young people who had been involved in taking significant risks such as absconding and consuming alcohol have not engaged in any of these behaviours since coming to live in this home. Young people have stopped smoking. They receive help, guidance and advice from staff about alternate, safe ways to spend time. There are no concerns about child sexual exploitation. Managers assessed the impact of the cumulative behaviours of one young person on the other young people and reluctantly reached the decision to end the placement. Since this time missing has reduced to zero and young people, the staff and mangers report that the home is again more settled. Judgement grade

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Good

The Registered Manager is gaining in experience. She came into this post at the time of the last full inspection. She continues to work to complete the required level 5 management and leadership award. Her drive to prioritise each young person’s unique needs means that she has aspirations for each individual to do well, be happy and have fun. She is keen for young people to develop transferable lifelong skills. Her understanding of the home combined with high expectations of staff and stakeholders means that she is motivated to build on the good quality of care delivered.

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Good

Managers have met the recommendation from the last interim inspection. The updates to the Statement of Purpose reflect current regulation. It describes the approach to the psychological support available to help young people. Staff understand the homes aims and objectives. This means that professionals using the service know what level of service to expect. One professional said: ‘We work well together. I am always made aware of what is happening through regular updates.’

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Good

A third young person moved into the home. To prepare, the company adjusted the staffing levels. The organisation has a system to establish the suitability of those working with young people. This inspection identified that on one occasion pre- employment reference checks had fallen short. Clarity in relation to gaps in employment helps to ensure that appropriately vetted individuals work with young people.

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Good

Staff receive regular supervision. This enables them to discuss their practice and helps them to focus on meeting the young people’s needs. Team meetings and training in areas such as restorative justice, foetal alcohol syndrome and awareness of gang culture enables staff to provide experiences tailored to the needs of the individuals they support. This also enables them to keep up to date with current themes in care.

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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

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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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