Children's Home run by Cambian Childcare Limited in Halton

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 are welcomed into this home in a planned manner and careful consideration is given to the staff skills and experience to meet their needs. On occasions whereby it is established they cannot meet young people’s needs they are well supported to move on constructively.

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The children's home provision is good because:

 Young people’s education is a priority and they actively seek suitable placements where young people can flourish. The support provided has enabled some young people to take their exams earlier than their peers.

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The children's home provision is good because:

 The home has good links with a variety of health services that support young people. Consequently, young people are increasingly making better lifestyle choices with, for example, reducing misuse of drugs and alcohol and improved diet and exercise.

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The children's home provision is good because:

 There is an excellent relationship with the looked after children’s nurse who provides helpful advice and support to young people and staff.

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The children's home provision is good because:

 The registered manager is proactive in challenging local authority’s when important information such contact arrangements have not been finalised.

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The children's home provision is good because:

 Young people’s culture and religious needs are well supported.

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The children's home provision is good because:

 The staff team demonstrate a good understanding of their roles and responsibilities in following protocols and procedures to keep young people safe.

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The children's home provision is good because:

 The registered manager is suitably qualified and experienced. Staff are well supported through good supervision and training and provide good continuity of care.

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The children's home provision is good because:

 The registered manager is excellent at ensuring the home improves and actively seeks input from young people and other professionals to inform the homes development plan.

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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 measurements of progress include qualitative information. (The Guide to the Quality Standards, page 26, paragraph 5.2)

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Recommendations

 Ensure that young people live in a homely environment. This is specifically in relation to completing the decoration of the dining room. (The Guide to the Quality Standards, Page 15, paragraph 3.9)

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Information about this children's home

This private children’s home accommodates one young person 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

20/02/2015 CH - Interim sustained effectiveness

p.4

good

The young person only came to live at the home 2 days prior to the inspection. Her move was well planned and her introduction was sensitively managed taking fully into account of her assessed need for a single placement. Good impact risk assessments ensure the staff have the skills and knowledge to effectively support her. There is good access to additional services in the community that can offer support such as Catch 22 advocacy, if needed. The young person said that the staff had made her feel welcome and discussed the rules and boundaries of the home. She particularly liked that staff wanted to know what she wanted and liked saying; ‘We are already discussing what design and decoration I want for my bedroom. It is early days, but I think it is going to be good here.’ A professional said, ‘The approach to her admission to the home has been very child focused and she appears to be settling in well.’

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good

The young person is fully aware of the in-house complaint system and she has a list of people that she can contact in private. This ensures that she has someone independent from the home if they wish to raise a concern.

p.5

good

The young person has clearly said that she wants to attend school and not be home tutored. She said, ‘Home tutoring does not work for me. I cannot concentrate or apply myself. I want to go to school and make friends.’ Her views have been listened to and arrangements to secure her educational placement are progressing. This means that she will be able to attend school at the beginning of the new term and have the same opportunity to thrive in her education as her peers. The home has a good history of securing good educational opportunities with, for example, a recently accommodated young person having sat exams earlier than their peers and gaining a good grade. This approach allowed them to then focus on bringing other grades up to a good standard. Sound educational plans show young people’s starting points, identifies additional help that may be required, and records attendance and assessment scores. This means that staff

p.5

good

have a good understanding of their educational needs and can support them effectively to progress with their studies. However, the plans include a lot of statistical information and bar charts. It is unclear how this is evaluated and therefore the information has limited impact or relevance. The home works closely with young people to ensure that they have good opportunities to engage within the community. Previously, one young person attended a boxing club. He was able to make friends and learn new social skills. Young people also have the opportunity to go on holiday. Incentive schemes are put into place for larger activities or requests. This means that young people have attended pop concerts and theme parks with friends. The young person who has most recently come to live at the home has expressed her interest in joining a gym, attending a drama group and possibly doing some voluntary work with animals. Consequently, the manager is exploring the options available with her.

p.5

good

Staff work closely with the looked after children’s nurse. She gives good advice on nutrition, diet and exercise. She often attends staff meetings if a health concern is identified such as supporting young people to manage their asthma. This ensures that any action taken is fully informed by professional advice. In addition to this, the home has good links with a variety of health professionals. Therefore, support and advice can be quickly sourced if young people or staff have concerns around misuse of drugs, alcohol or concerns for young people’s sexual health. The company also have clinicians that work with young people around their emotional health. An initial assessment is completed and young people identify areas that they would like to discuss or improve. A professional said, ‘This was a really good opportunity for him, as he felt that he had someone to talk to separate from the home.’

p.6

good

Young people’s contact improves because staff advocate constructively for them and work closely with parents. For example, the manager has previously challenged a local authority when contact arrangements have not been finalised. As a result, a young person was able to attend a religious festival. A professional said, ‘The staff have gone out of their way to support contact. They liaised well with his parents and uncle to ensure contact took place. They also provided transport and any additional support required.’ Good contact plans show the arrangements and responsibilities of all concerned. Any restriction of contact to other people is clearly identified. This means that young people are able to safely maintain contact with people who are important to them.

p.6

good

This home embraces young people’s cultural and religious needs. Previously, with one young person, the manager ensured that a separate fridge was bought for their food and that staff understood the implications of cross contamination in preparing meals. Staff respected his privacy and kept distractions to a minimum for prayer times. They also completed the fasting period with him. Several mosques were identified in the surrounding community and he chose which one to attend. A professional said that the young person’s parents were very appreciative of the arrangements the staff and manager had taken to sensitively promote and celebrate their son’s culture and religion. The home strives to ensure that young people leave the home in a planned way. This has resulted in young people moving successfully into semi-independence accommodation in the knowledge that they know they can continue to telephone and visit the home if they need some advice or support. However, the manager

p.6

good

has also been able to identify when the home cannot meet a young person’s needs. A professional said, ‘This home was brilliant. The level of documentation was on point, child focused and he really enjoyed the placement. He formed great relationships. I was kept up to date; they went out of their way to make it work and were exceptional on managing the risk.’ She continued to say, ‘Even though placement broke down …they continued to support him at court and with his family, they didn’t have to. I would definitely use this home again in the future.’

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good

Young people live in a homely environment that meets their needs. They are encouraged to design and decorate their own bedrooms. Staff say this helps them to settle and encourages them to look after their possessions. The company has a maintenance team who respond quickly to repairing any damage to the home but some minor requests for decoration have not been prioritised. For example, the manager purchased new wallpaper, several months ago for the dining area. Several requests have been submitted for the decoration of the dining area but this has still not been completed.

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good

The young person said, ‘I have been moved here partly to keep me safe. I understand this. I have only been here two days but I feel safe and I am confident that I could speak to someone if I felt unsafe.’

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good

Staff work hard to build trusting and honest relationships with young people. One staff member said, ‘When young people are first placed, their information is usually quite negative. We always challenge this by asking for positive information. This allows us to focus on the good stuff rather than the negatives.’ For example, the staff found out the young person liked animals. This was discussed with the young person, her social worker and staff. As part of a strategy to reduce episodes of missing from care it was agreed to encourage the young person to have more responsibility by caring for a kitten.

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good

Good risk assessments are in place. These identify the young person’s vulnerabilities and set out what strategies and actions staff need to take to protect them. Young people are given the opportunity to discuss the identified risks and to have input into what strategies they feel would help them. This information informs staff responses and allows staff to complete sessions with young people around keeping themselves safe or get additional support if required. For example, the youth offending service has previously undertaken specific pieces of work with young people on anger management. Staff said that risks are identified from historical information and are usually listed as high risk at first. One staff said, ‘We look at risk assessments in staff meetings. This gives us the opportunity to discuss what strategies are working and what are not. It also allows us to identify when concerns are reducing or whether additional support is required.’ This means that

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good

risk assessments are reviewed regularly, that all staff aware of any changes and that young people are very much included within this process.

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good

The young person has not been reported missing from this home. There have been no concerns raised with safeguarding professionals or behaviour issues that have required physical intervention. However, staff have been fully trained in these areas. They clearly demonstrate their understanding of their roles and responsibilities in these areas as well as what action to take should an incident occur. The missing from home co-ordinator from the police said, ‘I am always informed when a young person arrives or leaves. I am sent copies of the missing from home risk assessments and incident reports where applicable. The placement contacts me for advice or support which I feel is really positive and communication is never an issue.’ These good arrangements ensure that professionals are kept up to date and that young people’s safety is prioritized.

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good

The home prides itself on working with young people to make positive changes in their behavior. They do this by having reward and incentive schemes in place. Young people have seen the benefit of this by receiving trips to pop concerts, theme parks or having additional money. When sanctions are applied young people have commented within the homes record that they are fair. The manager robustly monitors these incidents for trends and patterns.

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good

A stable staff team cares for the young person. This means that she receives continuity of care. There has been no new staff since the homes last full inspection at which time there were sound recruitment practices in place that ensured only suitably checked people were employed.

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good

The young person lives in a safe environment because staff ensure that all health and safety issues are addressed. Renewals of certificates are in place for safety equipment and fire evacuations are completed regularly. Judgement grade

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outstanding

The manager is suitably qualified and experienced. She also managers two other single bed homes. She ensures that she spends equal periods of time within each home. Three deputy managers also support her across the three homes.

p.9

outstanding

The manager is currently working a three month notice of employment. She has secured another position within another company. Ofsted were informed appropriately of the arrangements for the future management of the home. The company quickly held interviews for the position and a suitable candidate was found. He has commenced employment and is working closely with the manager to ensure a good handover is given.

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outstanding

Most staff are qualified in caring for young people. One staff member is currently completing a recognised qualification. Some staff have additional qualifications that support them and the team in caring for young people well. For example, one staff member has a Degree in Child Psychology. She has shared her knowledge around the best ways of nurturing young people. She said, ‘It is often the basic things that staff forget, such as, running bubble baths for them to encourage good hygiene or waking them with a cup of tea. These are things any good parent would do.’ Several professionals commented on these excellent practices that enable young people to feel cared for.

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outstanding

Young people are central to the care that they receive at this home. This is because they are encouraged to discuss and comment on every aspect of their care. This is evident in the detailed recordings of the home. For example, young people discuss their normal daily routines and compromises are made around things like bedtimes. The young person said she fully understood her care plan and was confident that she could influence the plan.

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outstanding

Staff say that the supervision, training and development opportunities that they receive support them to give good, consistent care to the young person. One staff member said, ‘The manager is very approachable, we can discuss anything and she takes on board our views.’ Another staff member spoke about a recent training event. She said, ‘We are part of the Integrated Youth Services for our area. This means that we can access additional training. I have recently attended a safeguarding event. It was exceptional and really made me think about how we often dismiss the severity of some issues or that we don’t challenge ‘off the cuff remarks’ made by some people.’ This means that staff have a better understanding of safeguarding issues and can challenge professionals appropriately.

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outstanding

Professionals have described the manager of this home as ‘caring’ and ‘child focused’. She has confidently challenged professionals or local authorities when decisions have not been formalised, if information is incorrect or their view of the placement is different from hers. For example, a social worker wanted a young person to be fully supervised without any free time. The manager told her that the home was not a secure unit and that staff work closely with young people in building up trust. Therefore, there would be a clear agreed risk assessment in place for them to be able to have free time, in the future. These challenges ensure that young people receive care in line with the homes Statement of Purpose.

p.10

outstanding

An independent visitor monitors the home on a monthly basis. Ofsted receives these timely. These reports reflect the findings on the quality of care within the home. The manager uses this report in her monitoring to evaluate the records and care given. She takes over any actions noted into her development plan for the ongoing improvement of the home. The development plan is discussed on a monthly basis within staff meetings. Excellent consultation with young people, parents, professionals and stake holders also inform the development of the home. For example, it was identified that the qualifications and background checks of frequently visitors to the home, such as tutors or clinicians, were unknown. The manager has put into place a matrix that addresses these issues. This means that young people are fully safeguarded.

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outstanding

Staff meetings are used to very good effect to improve the good quality of care at this home. Staff said that staff meetings are frequent and are an arena to be open, honest and to reflect on practice. For example, staff were fully aware of the recent changes within the Children’s Homes Regulations 2015 and the Quality Standards. Staff are currently looking at how this impacts on information recorded. This ensures that staff are kept up to date with changes within legislation. Staff also look at one company policy per month within these meetings. This ensures that staff know, understand and can discuss whether it is compatible with legislation or the working practice of the home.

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outstanding

The homes Statement of Purpose reflects the service offered at this home. Professionals say that the ethos of the home is evident in the excellent outcomes for the young people. The manager ensures that young people’s reviews, 72 hour placement meetings, strategy meetings or core groups are completed, on time, as outlined within the homes Statement of Purpose. This means that plans are regularly up dated and that everyone is working towards the same plan.

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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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