Children's Home run by Cambian Childcare Limited in Middlesbrough

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:

 Staff relate to young people with warmth and sensitivity. They manage bad behaviour with an understanding of what lies behind it and respond accordingly.  Young people are in good health. The home promotes their physical well- being and is particularly effective in addressing their emotional issues.  Young people rarely go missing. When they do, staff work closely with police to return them quickly.  Bullying is an issue, but staff manage it well. They are effective in supporting both the bully and the victim, creating a safe environment for all young people.  Staff help young people move on positively to other placements, back home, or independence.  There are some shortfalls in management practice, primarily in relation to engaging with other services.

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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 notify HMCI and each other relevant person without delay if an incident requiring police involvement occurs in relation to a child which the registered person considers to be serious. (Regulation 40(4)(b)) 11/09/2015

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Requirement Due date

5. The engaging with the wider system to ensure children’s needs are met standard: In order to meet the engaging with the wider system standard with particular reference to ensuring that children have access to full-time education, the registered person must ensure that staff: (b) and (c) seek to secure the input and services required to meet each child’s needs and if the registered person considers, or staff consider, a placing authority’s or a relevant person’s performance or response to be inadequate in relation to their role, challenge the placing authority or the relevant person to seek to ensure that each child’s needs are met in accordance with the child’s relevant plans. 11/09/2015

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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 that the review of the home’s quality of care identifies areas of strength and possible weaknesses, in particular that it reports on whether young people have access to full-time education. (The Guide to the Quality Standards, page 65 paragraph 15.4)

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Information about this children's home

The home accommodates up to four children with emotional and/or behavioural difficulties. It is operated by a private company.

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Recent inspection history

Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

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Recent inspection history

18/03/2015 Interim improved effectiveness

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good

Staff have a good understanding of young people’s needs. They gather comprehensive information when a young person is referred which enables them to assess whether the home will be able to help them. Care plans are based on these assessed needs and tailored to each young person. Staff update care plans at regular intervals and plot young people’s progress and achievements. This enables them to understand what is working for the young person and what perhaps needs to change.

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good

Young people develop emotional attachments to staff, and value the care and attention that staff give them. Young people sometimes fall out with particular members of staff, usually when they are told ‘no’. However, the relationship is quickly repaired, staff taking care to convey to the young person that it is not them they are rejecting but their behaviour. Young people enjoy spending time with staff, either in recreational activity or going out for a ride in the car. When the inspector arrived, one young person was happily playing a board game with the Registered Manager. One young person said, ‘This is the best staff team ever, they take the time to talk to you when you’re upset or angry, they’re unreal.’ A young person who had moved on into independence happened to visit the home during the inspection. She spoke warmly of her experience here, how she liked the staff and how they had helped her.

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good

Staff give young people every opportunity to have appropriate control over their day-to-day lives, consulting and discussing with them constantly. More formal methods, such as regular meetings, are also used to record and action suggestions made by young people. For example, young people are encouraged to choose what activities and holidays they would like. One young person had a holiday abroad with family members which was subsidised from the home’s resources. Staff also promote leisure activities within the community. One young person gains great benefit from twice-weekly attendance at a local youth club, enabling them to see their friends and have fun.

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good

Staff support young people in learning the skills they will need when they are older, the level of this encouragement being tailored to their age and ability. The kitchen is freely available to young people, who often make snacks and meals with the help of staff. Staff encourage young people to take responsibility for their laundry, and keeping their rooms tidy (with varying degrees of success).

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good

Staff are effective at helping young people to stay in touch with their families. Clear plans set out whatever safeguards are necessary in relation to contact between each young person and family members. Staff also understand the need for young people to maintain relationships with their friends. They make sure that they know who young people are mixing with and encourage the develop of friendships which are positive.

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good

Staff motivate young people to look after their health. They ensure that they attend appointments and encourage them to take responsibility for their well- being. The home is creative in motivating young people to stay engaged with health services. For example, it pays for one young person to continue attending a private dentist as this is where they are most comfortable in receiving treatment. Food is plentiful but healthy. The home is also good at promoting young people’s emotional health. The registered provider’s own psychology team supports the staff with consultation sessions as well as doing direct work with young people. It also works with wider child and adolescent mental health services to ensure that young people receive the right level of service. One young person said, ‘I’ve started going to counselling, I find it really helpful, if it hadn’t been for the staff I wouldn’t have gone.’ In general, young people have good attendance at their education placements,

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good

with some having made significant improvements and achieved qualifications. One young person who left the home recently is doing well at college. However, the majority of young people currently placed have not had access to full-time, good- quality education provision. Some have been receiving only part-time education for the best part of a year at a critical period in their school careers. Staff have made some efforts to provide formal learning opportunities within the home itself. This is not a substitute for the level of education to which they are entitled and this limits their potential for achievement.

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good

The home promotes a culture of respecting people’s differences. For example, there is a wall display which raises aware of lesbian, gay and bisexual issues, stimulating discussion amongst the group. This helps young people to appreciate what equality of opportunity means in practice, and the importance of accepting people for who they are.

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good

Effective plans and risk assessments ensure that staff prioritise the safety of young people. They enable staff to take into account the factors which make each individual young person vulnerable and reduce risk. A social work professional commented, ‘I feel that the home gives young people a safe, nurturing environment.’

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good

It is rare for young people to go missing. When they do, staff take immediate action to track them, both in person and by contacting them on their mobiles. Clear protocols set out when staff should ring the police. These measures ensure that young people are missing for the shortest time possible. There are no current concerns in relation to sexual exploitation, but the home’s policies and procedures guard against this danger. For example, where necessary, staff ask young people to hand in their mobiles at night. Access to the internet is monitored, and key worker sessions with young people are used to remind them of the potential risks that exist online.

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good

The behaviour of young people is often challenging, and sometimes violent. They can express their frustration by verbally abusing staff and damaging the fabric of the home. Staff respond in these situations calmly and consistently. They are skilled in using effective behaviour management techniques, for example, by helping young people out of a confrontation in a way which preserves their dignity. Sanctions are employed sparingly, using positive incentives to reward good behaviour more than negative consequences in response to bad. This thoughtful and considered approach to behaviour management accounts for the relatively low number of occasions when physical restraint is necessary. Relationships within the group of young people are sometimes strained. Bullying is occasionally an issue, but staff respond to this robustly. They demonstrate a zero tolerance of intimidation and manage group dynamics thoughtfully. This removes

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good

the potential for ongoing harassment, for example, by splitting the group and taking young people on different activities. In any bullying situation staff are sensitive to the needs of each young person, including the bully. They follow up incidents with individual discussions with both parties. These focus on building the confidence of the victim and promoting the message that it’s OK to tell. With the bully, staff reinforce that bullying is unacceptable. They also explore what lies behind it and suggest more appropriate ways in which the young person can express their need to control others.

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requires improvement

The Registered Manager is suitably experienced and qualified. He undertakes additional training and development to add to his knowledge and skills. He organises the staff team effectively, and has established a culture and ethos to which all staff are committed. The turnover of staff is low and there is little unforeseen absence. This creates continuity and stability which benefits young people.

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requires improvement

Key workers monitor young people’s progress in weekly and monthly reports. The Registered Manager’s six-monthly monitoring reports collect detailed feedback from young people, their parents and social workers. They demonstrate that everyone who uses the service has a high opinion of it. These reports also contain detailed information about young people’s achievements set out in graphical form. They are very helpful for staff, placing authorities and Ofsted, but they do not include details about the amount of education that each young person accesses. This is important information which highlights where the home’s performance is falling below what is required. Another aspect of management reporting which requires improvement relates to significant incidents. Occasionally, staff need to call the police to help manage behaviour and keep people safe. Not all of these incidents have been reported to Ofsted. This lack of scrutiny means that the regulator cannot be

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requires improvement

assured that young people’s welfare and safety is being promoted at all times.

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requires improvement

The great majority of staff are appropriately qualified. Those that are not have been set clear timescales for completing theirs. Staff receive professional supervision at regular intervals, and have access to a range of training to keep their skills refreshed. In addition, there are opportunities for staff to develop other areas of knowledge. For example, one person has been identified as the ‘clinical champion’ for the home. She is beginning training with the registered provider’s psychology team, which aims to help staff work therapeutically in a more structured and targeted way. The member of staff said, ‘I will do the training and then cascade it to the team. We will learn to use soothing techniques with young people, for example hair brushing, or massage. We will also go more deeply into behaviour management, linking behaviour more explicitly to the emotional state of young people.’

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requires improvement

In general, the home works effectively with other professionals and agencies, improving consistency of approach between all partners in the care plan. One independent reviewing officer said, ‘The young person is a lot more settled. It helps that staff are so informative, they keep everyone up to date with what is happening, and any concerns are addressed promptly and appropriately.’ Staff also have good relationships with parents, some of whom keep in contact even after their children have left care. For example, one set of parents still occasionally seek staff’s advice on how tackle a particular issue with their child who returned home some months ago. The home is less effective at challenging agencies which do not deliver the quality of service that young people require. For example, the local authority has not been held to account about the lack of access to full-time education. The home does not

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requires improvement

have a copy of the personal educational plan for two young people. Some effort has been made to obtain these key documents but has not been followed up or escalated to more senior levels within the organisation. The home’s role as a corporate parent in advocating for young people’s entitlements is therefore not being fulfilled consistently.

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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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