Children's Home run by Cambian Childcare Limited in Shropshire

Requires improvement

The children's home is not yet delivering good help and care for children and young people. However, there are no serious or widespread failures that result in their welfare not being safeguarded or promoted.

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because:

 Staff and the clinical team do not work cohesively to meet young people’s needs.  Staff do not plan the support young people need to help them fully reintegrate back into education. Young people do not reach their full educational potential.  Young people do not receive planned and purposeful input into learning about their risk taking behaviours.  Young people do not received planned and individualised independence work.  Young people do not have input into their care planning or decision making. Key working sessions are unplanned and lack purpose. Young people do not have enough opportunity to share their views, wishes and feelings.  Managers do not consistently and robustly follow up on safeguarding concerns with placing authorities.

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The children's home strengths

 Staff build positive relationships with young people and provide a warm and nurturing environment. Young people receive care from a consistent and stable staff team.

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The children's home strengths

 Staff ensure that young people have positive experiences of family contact.  The registered manager is committed to improving the service provided to young people.

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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 engaging with the wider system to ensure children's needs are met standard, the registered person must ensure that staff—

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Requirement Due date

(b) seek to secure the input and services required to meet each child's needs. 30/09/2015

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Requirement Due date

7: The children’s views, wishes and feelings standard

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Requirement Due date

In order to meet the children's views, wishes and feelings standard the registered person is to —

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Requirement Due date

(ii) help each child to express views, wishes and feelings. 30/09/2015

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Requirement Due date

In order to meet the education standard the registered person must ensure—

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Requirement Due date

(x) help each child to attend education or training in accordance with the expectations in the child's relevant plans. 30/09/2015

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Requirement Due date

In order to meet the positive relationships standard the registered person must ensure—

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Requirement Due date

(2)(a) that staff— 30/09/2015 (vii) help each child to develop the understanding and skills to recognise or withdraw from a damaging, exploitative or harmful relationship.

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Information about this children's home

This privately owned home provides care for up to five children and young people. The home provides a 12 month therapeutic service for young people at risk of child sexual exploitation.

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Recent inspection history

Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

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Recent inspection history

10/03/2015 CH - Interim Declined in effectiveness

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requires improvement

Staff promote contact between young people and their families. They ensure that young people have as much opportunity as possible to see their families and that this is a positive experience for them. This promotes young people’s sense of identity.

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requires improvement

Young people enjoy positive relationships with the staff team. Staff say: ‘Our job is to assess them, stabilise them and help them feel valued again; and build their self-esteem’. Staff promote a non-judgemental and warm environment in which young people live. A social worker says: ‘Staff always speak positively about the young person regardless of what she has done or said. The high regard that she has got from them has been a real strength of the placement’.

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requires improvement

However, there is a lack of planned and purposeful key working sessions to meet the individual needs of young people. They do have them, but these do not draw on the information from the clinical team and so do not enable them to express their views, wishes, and feelings regarding pertinent issues, such as child sexual exploitation.

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requires improvement

There is a lack of a joined up approach with the therapeutic work provided by the clinical team. For example, some young people do not choose to engage in direct therapy and so they do not receive information regarding safe relationships which will provide them with the coping skills they need for the future. The clinical team do not consistently feed into the direct work completed with them or into their transition arrangements.

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requires improvement

Young people do, however, make progress. Those who have not attended school for a significant period have started to engage in some formal education. Staff work collaboratively with their education colleagues to enable young people to make this transition back into a learning environment. There is a lack of planning about how staff support this ongoing engagement, and the strategies which are effective in order to ensure that they reach their full potential within education. Staff do help them to apply for college placements and part time jobs. They help them to have aspirations for their futures.

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requires improvement

There is positive partnership working with placing authorities. The registered manager and staff advocate on behalf of young people regarding their proposed transitions into new placements.

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requires improvement

Young people’s daily experiences within the home are positive. Staff celebrate their achievements and special occasions. For example, they go out for special meals for their birthdays. Staff recognise the importance of healthy activities to their emotional wellbeing and self-esteem. They engage with them and encourage them to be active. They go on bike rides together, go on holiday and to the gym.

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requires improvement

Independence work is not individualised and does not incorporate any input from the clinical team. Staff do, however, engage young people in some skills building regarding food shopping and budgeting and this is having some success.

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requires improvement

Young people receive care from a consistent and stable staff team. They are committed to wanting them to feel progress: ‘We are relaxed with the young people and they feel like it is a family place to be: they feel they can come and speak to us if there are any issues’.

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requires improvement

Staff understand risks relating to the complex needs of young people, such as child sexual exploitation. They receive specific training to enable them to have a greater understanding of their behaviours and therefore have the skills and knowledge to care for them.

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requires improvement

Staff provide warm and nurturing relationships to young people. It is these relationships which help and support them to invest in the placement. They build trusting relationships with key staff members and this enables staff to help to keep them safe. A staff member says: ‘Sometimes they just want a cuddle and reassuring. Some young people like me to stroke or comb their hair’. It is these acts of care which help young people to develop their self-esteem and recover from previous traumatic experiences.

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requires improvement

Staff have completed safeguarding training. The registered manager and staff review risk management plans. They report safeguarding concerns to placing authorities. However, they do not consistently and robustly ensure that the placing authority provides an outcome to the concerns raised. Managers have not ensured that there are robust risk management plans in place regarding situations such as family contact, where there are possible safeguarding concerns. Staff understand the missing from care protocols and are aware of how to safeguard young people form going missing. Young people’s risk taking behaviours decrease. There have been no physical interventions or missing incidents since the last inspection. Through regular key working sessions and engagement with the clinical team, some young people are able to start to understand risk and engage in keeping safe work for the future.

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requires improvement

The registered manager and staff are aware of the importance of multi-agency working in managing risk taking behaviours, such as missing and child sexual exploitation. They engage with services such as Barnardo’s and support young people to receive all appropriate input in order for them to make progress.

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requires improvement

Young people do not receive enough opportunities to be involved within their behaviour management planning and risk management. This means that they are not always centrally involved in decisions about them. There are, however, clear boundaries in place. Young people know the house rules and the reasons for them. A rewards system is in place which helps young people to learn from their behaviours.

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requires improvement

There is a registered manager in post who is suitably qualified and experienced. He registered with Ofsted in July. A deputy manager supports him. They are a committed, child focused management team. The registered manager has addressed the shortfalls highlighted within the last inspection. All requirements made at the last inspection are met and there are significant improvements to staffs understanding and knowledge of safeguarding and child sexual exploitation.

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requires improvement

The registered manager understands the importance of continuous professional development. Through team meetings and regular supervisions, staff are starting to embed knowledge and understanding regarding the needs of the young people within this service. Staff acknowledge the support that they have received from the registered manager: ‘Management have been really supportive and they have always helped us’.

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requires improvement

The registered manager understands the strengths of the home and areas for development. There is a clear development plan in place which focuses on continuous improvement in the service provided to young people. The registered manager is aware of the progress young people make and is integral to the positive changes and progress young people have made since the last inspection.

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requires improvement

The registered manager is proactive in developing positive relationships with placing authorities. He attends regular care planning meetings to focus on areas such as young people’s transitions.

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requires improvement

The home is meeting its objectives as stated within its statement of purpose. Young people receive clinical input and managers and staff share information with the clinical team. The registered manager is committed to developing the therapeutic work which young people receive through further information sharing, ensuring that young people receive a fully cooperative model of 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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