Children's Home run by Cambian Childcare Limited in Warrington

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’s good relationships with staff have helped them to steadily move forward and make progress. One young person said that staff at this home are outstanding. She said, ‘It is not just a job to them. They really care about you and every day is a new day.’ A professional said, ‘The excellent relationships have allowed her to move on and she is now able to reflect on her behaviour and the reasons of why she came into care.’ Young people feel safe and protected at this home. One young person talked proudly about how she has reduced the concerns adults had for her. For example, she has not been reported missing from home for a significant period of time. In addition to this she said, ‘I am the safest person on-line because of all the stuff staff have done with me. I can spot a shady person from a mile away.’ Further to this, staff demonstrated a good understanding of each young person’s vulnerabilities, their roles and responsibilities, and

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The children's home provision is good because:

how following protocols and procedures protects young people.  One young person’s academic achievement has improved. Although her attendance dips occasionally, staff ensure that good working partnerships with educational professionals address any issue straight away. In addition to this, good incentive schemes encourage young people to improve their attendance.  One young person’s health has significantly improved. A good focus on diet and exercise has meant that she has lost weight and she is proud of this achievement and her appearance.  One young person said that staff embrace her identity and, therefore, her self-esteem and confidence has improved.  A stable, well-supervised, trained and qualified staff team support young people. This ensures that young people receive continuity of care by staff who know them well.  The manager understands the strengths and weakness of the home and she has clear plans in place to address them. This is further supported by good

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The children's home provision is good because:

monitoring systems that look at the quality of care given within the home.

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Recommendations

To improve the quality and standards of care further the service should take account of the following recommendation(s):  The specific responsibilities of the home towards supporting the health and well- being of each child should be agreed with the placing authority and recorded in the child's placement plan. It is the joint responsibility of the registered person and the placing authority that this is agreed at the time of placement. This is specifically in relation to ensuring that medical consent is gained at the start of a placement. (The Guide to the Quality Standards page 34, paragraph 7.7)

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Recommendations

 Staff should be familiar with the home's policies on record keeping and understand the importance of careful, objective, and clear recording. Staff should record information on individual children in a non-stigmatising way that distinguishes between fact, opinion and third-party information. Information about the child must always be recorded in a way that will be helpful to the child. (The Guide to the Quality Standards page 62, paragraph 14.4)

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Recommendations

 Ensure the home takes the initiative in identifying others who must play a part for their children and engage with those relevant people proactively, advocating for the children in their care. This is specifically in relation to ensuring that the missing from home co-ordinator from the police is aware of all admissions who have significant risks around being missing and that are at risk from child sexual exploitation. (The Guide to the Quality Standards page 12, paragraph 2.7)

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Recommendations

 Ensure emergency admissions should not be taken unless the home's Statement of Purpose and its capacity and support systems mean that it has the capability to care for children admitted at very short notice while continuing to offer high quality care to children already living in the home. This is specifically in relation to identifying what information would be required from the local authority in an emergency admission. (The Guide to the Quality Standards page 15, paragraph 3.6).

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Information about this children's home

This private children’s home accommodates up to two young people with emotional or behavioural difficulties.

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Recent inspection history

Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

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Recent inspection history

26/02/2015 Interim Sustained effectiveness

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Recent inspection history

21/01/2014 Interim Satisfactory progress

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good

One young person fully engaged with the inspector during this inspection. She was extremely complimentary about the care that she receives. She was also able to reflect on the improvements she had made while being here. Another young person moved in four days prior to the inspection; she said she was safe here and that she was ok.

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good

The home has recently accepted a young person in an emergency. The manager completed a detailed impact risk assessment to ensure that the home could meet her needs. However, the home’s Statement of Purpose does not clearly identify what the optimal information is to have for a robust planned placement and what is essential in an emergency placement. For example, the home did not have medical consent in place. This does not ensure swift action can be taken in a medical emergency.

p.6

good

Young people have left this home in a planned manner. Excellent transition plans clearly identify the steps, times and arrangements to ensure that a smooth transition to semi-independence was achieved. This included the young person’s views of where she wanted to live. She visited places and was able to choose the best option. She was fully supported in furnishing her flat and getting to know the local area. In addition to this, the manager ensured that she continued to receive on-going support from the home. The young person’s key worker had allotted hours to visit her, over the following month. As a result, she is settled and doing well in the community.

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good

Staff work closely with educational providers to ensure young people receive appropriate education and reach their full potential. One young person has improved her grades this year in a range of subjects. She has at times struggled to attend school. But the staff have worked closely with the school and identified that she may benefit from being in a smaller class. Therefore, several options have been found. A professional said, ‘She is doing really well and the staff continue to encourage and support her within education.’ In addition to this, incentive schemes encourage her good attendance. The young person has received several items, such as music speakers, cushions, posters and a clock all with her favourite band on. She said, ‘It’s great and I love them.’ As a result, her attendance was improving towards the end of term.

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good

Young people have clear plans for seeing their families. One young person’s contact has developed into weekly unsupervised contact. She said, ‘It’s really good. I can make my own plans to see my mum and it is going well.’ When issues around restrictions of contact are not clearly defined, such as access to unsupervised mobile phone conversations, the manager has challenged the local authority. A professional said, ‘It is hard when parents give young people mobiles but the manager has rightly challenged this. I am working closely with the police to assess our position in removing the mobile phone and whether an unsuitable adult has breached a warning notice.’ This ensures that appropriate informed action is taken and that young people only have contact with people identified within their care plan.

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good

Young people have a range of independent people to talk to if they have concerns. They are confident that they could raise a complaint or concern without fear of reprisals. One young person said, ‘I can talk to any staff, you (inspector), the responsible individual, my social worker and loads more.’ Young people confirmed that when they have raised an issue it has been taken seriously and they have been happy with the outcome. One young person said, ‘I get a letter saying what’s happened about it and what they have done. This is good because you have it in writing.’ This shows that young people receive a formal response to their concerns. She also discussed the good arrangements of talking about the home, staff and any issues within young people’s meetings. An outstanding area of practice is that staff leave addressed envelopes to independent services with stamps on in the conservatory. This means that young people can make a complaint without having

p.7

good

Young people receive individualised health care. The company employs health clinicians to work with young people on an individual basis. Young people have built up good relationships with an identified clinician. Over time, they have been able to reflect on the external factors that have impacted on why they were placed here and how this affected their behaviour. This means that young people have a better understanding of their complex issues and that their emotional health has improved. Further to this, this had led to a young person being able to make and sustain friendships within the community. Friends visit the home, stay for tea and go on activities with the young people. One young person has been encouraged to eat healthily and take more exercise. She has lost weight and now makes more positive choices. This has had a positive impact on her self-esteem and confidence. Young people routinely attend appointments and check-ups with identified health

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good

services. One young person is reluctant to have an immunisation updated but the manager is working closely with her on an incentive to encourage her.

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good

Young people live in a warm, welcoming environment and they are very much involved in the design and decoration of the home. One young person has recently redecorated her bedroom which expresses her individualised tastes. Another young person has tentatively started to discuss themes and colours for her room. The manager said, ‘She has only been here a few days and is reluctant to unpack her belongings. By focusing on her bedroom, this will hopefully encourage her to engage and feel settled.’ Also the home has recently had new doors and windows. This means the home is more secure and the double glazing will make the home warmer in the winter season. As part of this, young people are now planning the redecoration of the lounge.

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good

One young person described staff as outstanding. She said that staff cared for her very well; they listened and tried to make things happen. She was able to reflect that her progress was down to these good relationships. A professional echoed this statement. She said, ‘Staff work extremely hard to make trusting relationships and this is evident in her progress.’

p.8

good

Young people said that they were safe at this home. One young person said staff went over things repeatedly to ensure she understood any concerns. She also said that she was very safe on-line. This is because staff have discussed the importance of not sharing information and being aware of issues around unsuitable adults. Therefore, she was very confident that she could keep herself safe when using social media.

p.8

good

All professionals, spoken to as part of this inspection process said that young people’s safety is prioritised here. They said there are good systems to protect young people and to help them understand how they put themselves at risk. As a result, young people have significantly reduced the concerns that adults had for them. For example, one young person has not been reported missing from care for a significant period of time. The Local Designated Officer said, ‘I thought it was really positive when they raised the staff ratio in order to ensure a past resident’s safety.’ She confirmed that all incidents and allegations are robustly reported, monitored and that swift action is taken to safeguard young people.

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good

Young people’s risk assessments identify their individual vulnerabilities. Staff work consistently with the strategies identified within them and take the agreed action when an incident occurs. Risk assessments are reviewed regularly and discussed within staff meetings. This means that staff can contribute to them and that know of any changes made to them. This ensures that all staff follow the agreed protocols and procedures and that young people receive continuity of care.

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good

One young person has recently moved in and she is struggling with being so far away from home and in a rural setting. However, these restrictions are an identified part of a multi-disciplinary strategy to try and break a cycle of risky behaviour. This includes staff supervising her at all times. On one occasion staff lost sight of her and reported her missing from home. The missing from home co- ordinator from the police said that the home is very good at reporting and following the agreed protocols. But she said that she had not been informed when the young person had moved in. The manager said shared the information at the earliest opportunity spoke with her and invited her to a placement meeting. Clear and consistently applied behaviour management strategies ensure that young people understand about acceptable behaviour. Consequences for unacceptable behaviour are minimal but when applied, young people said they were fair. Young

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good

people have not been physically held. But as part of good practice, a record has been made where a young person was escorted out of the staff office. This was to ensure her safety because she was exhibiting unsafe behaviour within a confined space. All staff have received training in holding young people safely and several associated safeguarding courses. Staff are very clear about their responsibilities for keeping young people safe. They know what to do if they have concerns and take action to protect young people.

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good

The manager was registered with Ofsted in May 2015. She has the relevant qualifications and experience to lead a staff group and manage the home. She also manages another two single bed children homes. She ensures that she spends equal periods of time within each home. Three experienced and qualified deputy managers support her across the homes. As part of her on-going development she is completing a doctorate in child sexual exploitation. She has been able to use some of the research in staff meetings to inform staff of current issues, and develop their understanding of the complexities associated with child sexual exploitation.

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good

Professionals confirm they have received the home’s Statement of Purpose and that it provided very good information about the service. Young people said that they are welcomed into this home and part of this is receiving a welcome booklet. They say that it is child friendly and gives them good information about the home. They continued to say that staff take time to go through this with them. This helps them settle and know the boundaries of the home. It also provides them with details of independent people who they can contact, if necessary.

p.9

good

Records clearly reflect the plans for young people and the progress they have made over time. But some records are not legible. Young people said that they can contribute and influence their plans. They often make comments and sign that the information is factual. These good practices ensure that young people are fully involved in their care. Young people receive continuity of care because there is a well-trained, supervised and qualified staff team in place. The home currently has one staff vacancy and one young person has been part of the recruitment process. She was able to identify several people who she thought would work well at the home. This good practice ensures young people are involved in all aspects of the development of the home.

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good

Most staff are qualified in caring for young people. Two staff are completing this award. Staff said that the support they receive from the manager is excellent. They said they were fully involved in the development of the home and all decisions or changes were fully explored within staff meetings. One staff said, ‘Staff meetings are an open forum, we all bring something to it and take some learning away.’ Further to this, staff say they have good training and developmental opportunities. One staff said, ‘I have just started a supervision course with an external agency. This is really good because it incorporates management skills and supervision across all walks of life not just in caring for young people.’ He continued to say, ‘I have also registered for the Level 5 in Leadership and Management. I want to be a manager in the future.’ This shows that staff have excellent progression and development opportunities and that their skills and knowledge are continually built

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good

Independent monitoring of the home takes place monthly. The visitor uses these opportunities to consult with young people and a wide range of professionals to ensure a high standard of care. They evaluate the content of the records and give constructive feedback to the manager. The manager uses this information well. She includes all positive and negative comments within her development plan. This means that the home continues to improve. For example, improvements have been made in reporting and recording. The manager has completed one-to-one sessions with staff to improve the quality of recordings rather than quantity of information. This helped to improve their focus on the essential information and evidencing the progress young people are making.

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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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