Children's Home run by Cambian Childcare Limited in Birmingham

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:

 Children and young people are often admitted to the home at a time of crisis and placement breakdown. They quickly experience positive and nurturing support from staff, which helps them settle and make progress.  Despite placements being short term, children and young people make progress, taking into account some difficult starting points.  Education and training are valued highly by the registered manager and staff.  Young people’s health care is well promoted with access to good primary health care services.  The registered manager and staff value children and young people’s relationships with their families. They promote contact where this is safe and in their best interests.  Children and young people have good relationships with staff, marked by good humour, fun and mutual respect.  Children and young people are safe and feel safe. They are protected by good staff practices and robust multi-agency plans.

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The children's home provision is good because:

 Incidents of missing from care have decreased. Good and consistent staff practice has supported this decrease, as a result children and young people are safer.  There is a committed and well qualified registered manager. She is supported by a stable group of team leaders.  There are some shortfalls in practice. The registered manager failed to provide information to Ofsted following a serious incident. Additionally, the registered manager, during a placement planning meeting did not ensure information was recorded in the meeting to support care planning for a new young person being admitted.

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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

6: The quality and purpose of care standard In order to meet the quality of care standard with particular reference to recording relevant information to be able to provide good care the registered provider must-

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Requirement Due date

(iv) provide personalised care that meets each child's need's, as recorded in the child's relevant plans, taking account of the child's background. 09/10/2015

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure a notification made under this regulation must include details of-the matter. (Regulation 40 (5)(a)(i) 02/10/2015

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Information about this children's home

The home provides care and accommodation for up to three children and young people, aged between 10 and 18 years of either gender at the point of admission. The home provides short-term care for children and young people who have emotional and behavioural difficulties. The home provides emergency placements as well as planned admissions. The home is privately owned and provides services to, mainly local authorities.

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Recent inspection history

Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

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Recent inspection history

19/03/2015 CH - Interim Improved effectiveness

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good

Children and young people are usually admitted to the home at a time of crisis, as a result of either foster placement or family break down. Children and young people quickly establish and experience positive, constructive and nurturing relationships with staff. They quickly settle into placement and make progress taking account of some difficult starting points.

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good

Central to the daily routine in the home is school attendance or attending training. Children and young people sustain excellent attendance at 100%. The registered manager strongly supports educational achievement and is ambitious for the children and young people. An example, a child was provided additional maths tuition over the summer holidays. This was sought and funded by the home. Another young person has also just started an apprenticeship and is enjoying this training. Their educational achievements are celebrated and rewarded. This in-turn develops their self-confidence and abilities.

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good

The registered manager and staff understand the crucial importance of comprehensive health care for children and young people. They benefit from easy access to health care such as the local GP, dentists and opticians. They receive regular health assessments and reviews to ensure their health needs are met. Children and young people benefit from a balanced diet, they enjoy exercise regularly. This includes energetic activities such as dancing and Zumba to doing lots of outdoor activities. They are able to access psychological services when required. This means young people are able to acknowledge and resolve past trauma and difficulty they may have experienced. As a result, young people are able to move forward with their lives and make sustained progress.

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good

Relationships and contact between children, young people and their families is well supported and valued. The registered manager and staff provide practical support through transporting children and young people to contact and supervision contact when required. They provide emotional support to children and young people to ensure that relationships with those important to them are positive and rewarding. For those children and young people not having contact with their families, staff work hard to ensure this does not have a negative impact on development or self- esteem. The registered manager and staff sustain positive relationships with family members where possible. One parent said, ‘the home are excellent, they support me and I support them, the communication is good’.

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good

Children and young people participate in regular group meetings with staff. These forums are well utilised to discuss the developments in the home or raise any concerns. This means children and young people develop a sense of inclusion and integration in the home.

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good

The children and young people are consistently involved in the planning and reviews of their care. They understand the short-term nature of placements, with the aim being to identify a permanent placement or return to family. Their views and feelings are fully appreciated and integral to the assessment process and decisions made regarding their futures.

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good

Children and young people’s safety and security is of paramount importance to the registered manager and staff. Children and young people are safe and feel safe. The registered manager has established effective partnerships with key agencies. Individual risk assessments for children and young people are completed in collaboration with these agencies and relevant professionals. Established procedures and practices to keep them safe are embedded in practice. Staff members have received child protection training and know how to respond suspicions of abuse or report concerns. This helps and protects children and young people.

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good

Incidents of missing from care have significantly reduced. Those children and young people who are at greater risk are supported by staff to understand the danger they are placing themselves in by going missing. Positive relationships exist with staff members who care and invest time with children and young people. Subsequently the frequency of missing from care is low. When this has happened staff have acted quickly, reporting to the police, local authority and searching for the young person. Upon the young person arriving back staff welcome them home, staff discuss these events and seek to understand the reasons for going missing in an attempt to prevent future recurrence.

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good

The staff encourage children and young people to behave well. They are quickly supported to understand what constitutes acceptable behaviour. Positive rewards are used to promote good behaviour and negative consequences for poor behaviour. The staff actively utilise a behaviour management model of high praise and high warmth. They closely manage behaviours to support children and young people to make the correct behavioural choices. There are no concerns with bullying. The children and young people have good and close relationships, characterised by fun, laughter and support. Staff members quickly get to know the children and young people and develop individualised approaches that are effective in reducing negative behaviour. There has only been one physical intervention required. This was related to a situation whereby a child was placing themselves in danger. The staff acted quickly and correctly to keep the child safe. The registered

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good

manager closely monitors the behaviour management strategies employed by staff and will question and review these as required.

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good

The signs and symptoms connected to drug use, legal highs and alcohol are understood by staff members. There has been one occasion a young person used alcohol. Individual work with this young person was undertaken and referrals made to agencies best placed to provide additional support. The young person felt able to talk to staff regarding the reasons underlying the behaviour. She said, ‘the staff are very supportive they are always there for us and know when something is wrong’.

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good

Children and young people benefit from and enjoy a comfortable home environment. The building is clean, well-furnished to a high standard. The home is personalised and reflects the children and young people who live there. They are able to decorate and furnish their rooms to their own tastes. This provides children and young people with a home they can be proud of, reflective of them and helps them to feel valued.

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requires improvement

Children and young people benefit from living in a home led by a committed registered manager who seeks to continually improve services. The registered manager holds a level three Diploma in young people’s workforce, a BA hons degree in social care and policy. She is currently undertaking the level 5 Diploma in leadership and management. She has managed the home since August 2014. There were no requirements or recommendations from the last interim inspection.

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requires improvement

The registered manager is supported by three team leaders. They are clear about the aims and objectives of the service which are communicated to other agencies. The recently updated statement of purpose underscores the individuality of the home and what it seeks to achieve for children and young people. The manager ensures that young people and stakeholders have a good and clear understanding how the service operates and what can be expected from the service.

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requires improvement

The staff team are positive, forward looking and well supported. Recruitment processes are rigorous with new staff receiving full employment history checks, criminal history checks and referenced undertaken. This reduces the risk of children and young people being harmed by those caring for them. Stability of staffing supports children and young people’s development. There are currently no vacancies in the staff team. There has however been considerable staff changes with the home having to utilise bank staff to ensure shifts are adequately covered. The registered manager is confident that staffing is now more settled and this will provide added stability for children and young people.

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requires improvement

Effective support systems are in place for staff. Regular supervision takes place with team leaders, focussing upon the children and young people, staff development and performance. Supervision is enhanced by a clear agenda that provides structure to the meeting. Staff members have access to team leaders on shift or the registered manager for support and guidance. This means children and young people are supported by a well-supported staff group.

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requires improvement

The registered manager actively monitors the quality of care provided and uses reports provided by the independent visitor to add further rigour to her quality assurance process. She also uses team meetings and consultations with children and young people together with feedback from other professionals and parents, as further monitoring measure to ensure the quality of care stays child focused.

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requires improvement

Full and accurate information was not provided to Ofsted following a serious incident. Although the registered manager informed Ofsted of the incident in a timely manner they failed to provide accurate information. Furthermore, information was omitted from the notification regards the incident in question. This prevents HMCI from having a full and accurate information regarding serious incidents and what actions are being taken to fully safeguard children and young people.

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requires improvement

Care planning for a new young person admitted to the home was not robust, failing to incorporate crucial information. The registered manager and a staff member attended a planning meeting regarding the new young person admitted. Information taken at the meeting was poor, lacked depth and the minutes were not placed upon the young person’s file. The manager failed to ensure this information was of good quality, placed on file or used effectively to personalise plans and care for the young person.

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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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