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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The children's home provision requires improvement because:

 Young people experienced further child sexual exploitation (CSE) and physical injury following an episode of going missing from the home.

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The children's home provision requires improvement because:

 Young people’s progress and experience have been held back. Inconsistent staffing and staff and manager absence mean that young people have not been able to form secure attachments with many of the adults who care for them.

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The children's home provision requires improvement because:

 Senior managers in the organisation arrange admissions in the absence of the registered manager, and without her full involvement. Unacceptable risks have been taken with both the mix of young people and the timing of their admissions.

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The children's home provision requires improvement because:

 Staff practice during incidents is not recorded in sufficient detail to maximize subsequent learning, or develop the skills and practice of the whole staff team.

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The children's home provision requires improvement because:

 Young people have not all benefitted from a full programme of learning, care and therapy to best help them recover from their experience of CSE. In some cases this is because police enquiries and criminal proceedings limit what can be discussed with young people.

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The children's home strengths

 A small group of long standing staff, including the Registered Manager, demonstrate very good skills in practice. They use reflection; adapt their practice and communicate well with young people, families, local authorities and police.

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The children's home strengths

 Two young people have moved successfully back to their home areas since the last inspection.

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The children's home strengths

 Young people are able to make significant disclosures about their experience of CSE to staff they know well.

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The children's home strengths

 The staff response to young people’s risky behaviours has improved and no further incidents of CSE or prolonged missing from home have occurred since July 2015.

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The children's home strengths

 New senior managers in the organisation restored decision making about admissions and matching of young people to the registered manager.

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The children's home strengths

The home has been fully staffed for a few weeks with eight new staff.

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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

11: The positive relationships standard In order to meet the positive relationships standard, with particular reference to positive relationships between young people and a skilled, retained staff team who stay with them, the registered person must ensure— 2(a) that staff— (iv) help each child to develop and practise skills to resolve conflicts positively and without harm to anyone; (vi) help each child to understand, in a way that is appropriate according to the child’s age and understanding, personal, sexual and social relationships, and how those relationships can be supportive or harmful; (vii) help each child to develop the understanding and skills to recognise or withdraw from a damaging, exploitative or harmful relationship; (ix) understand how children’s previous experiences and present emotions can be communicated through behaviour and have the competence and skills to interpret these and develop positive

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Requirement Due date

relationships with children; (x) are provided with supervision and support to enable them to understand and manage their own feelings and responses to the behaviour and emotions of children, and to help children to do the same; (xi) de-escalate confrontations with or between children, or potentially violent behaviour by children. 28/10/2015

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Requirement Due date

12: The protection of children standard In order to meet the protection of children standard, with 28/10/2015 particular reference to staffing the home with experienced and skilled, retained staff, the registered person must ensure— 2(a) that staff— (iii) have the skills to identify and act upon signs that a child is at risk of harm; (iv) manage relationships between children to prevent them from harming each other; (v) understand the roles and responsibilities in relation to protecting children that are assigned to them by the registered person; (vi) take effective action whenever there is a serious concern about a child’s welfare; and (vii) are familiar with, and act in accordance with, the home’s child protection policies; 2(b) that the home’s day-to-day care is arranged and delivered so as to keep each child safe and to protect each child effectively from harm.

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Requirement Due date

6: The quality and purpose of care standard In order to meet the quality and purpose of care standard, with particular respect to improving the depth and quality of the recovery programmes used with young people, the registered person must— 2 (b) ensure that staff— (vi) help each child to understand and manage the impact of any experience of abuse or neglect; (vii) help each child to develop resilience and skills that prepare the child to return home, to live in a new placement or to live independently as an adult. 28/10/2015

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Requirement Due date

13: The leadership and management standard In order to meet the leadership and management standard, with particular respect to the analysis and review of staff practice during incidents, the registered person must— 2(b) ensure that staff work as a team where appropriate; (c) ensure that staff have the experience, qualifications and skills to meet the needs of each child; 28/10/2015 (e) ensure that the home’s workforce provides continuity of care to each child; (f) understand the impact that the quality of care provided in the home is having on the progress and experiences of each child and use this understanding to inform the development of the quality of care provided in the home; (g) demonstrate that practice in the home is informed and improved by taking into account and acting on— (i) research and developments in relation to the ways in which the needs of children are best met; and (ii) feedback on the experiences of children, including complaints

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Requirement Due date

received; and (h) use monitoring and review systems to make continuous improvements in the quality of care provided in 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:  The registered person should only accept placements for children where they are satisfied that the home can respond effectively to the child's assessed needs as recorded in the child's relevant plans and where they have fully considered the impact that the placement will have on the existing group of children. (The Guide to the Quality Standards, page 56, paragraph 11.4)

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Information about this children's home

This is a privately operated children’s home forming part of a large national provider. The home accommodates up to four children or young people with emotional or behavioural difficulties. It specialises in care for young people who have experienced CSE.

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Recent inspection history

Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

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Recent inspection history

03/03/2015 CH - Interim Sustained effectiveness

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Recent inspection history

14/04/2014 Re-registration Not applicable

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requires improvement

High staff turnover and use of agency staff has compromised the quality of individualised care since the last inspection. A young person who returned home in August said, ‘It disrupted us not knowing who was in with agency staff - I think that’s the reason the house took a sudden bad turn. They need to look at what we could do – we got bored – we should have a lot more new ideas to get away from boredom: the beach, places of interest, hobbies, more things to do.’ Despite this, the same young person describes her time here as ‘a life changing experience’, where the programme to recover from CSE is ‘fantastic’. Poor matching of young people within the home has impaired some of their progress and experiences here. Some young people see themselves as too old for the routines the home uses, and do not want to engage in therapy. They do not identify that they have experienced CSE and are unable to fully accept nurturing

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requires improvement

and help. Some staff and young people also say the age combinations and vulnerabilities of some young people have resulted in unhelpful ‘copy-cat’ behaviour and grooming. A young person said: ‘The ages weren’t right – the way they put young people together was a bad influence.’ Nevertheless, some young people’s experience is very good. One young person said, ‘compared to other homes it’s the best – they don’t let down their promises’. The quality of relationships between experienced staff and young people is very good. Young people say they feel ‘spoilt’ and nurtured here by staff who, ‘work really hard.’ As a result, a number of young people have returned home and are continuing to be free from exploitation. These young people are now working hard at education and employment and are feeling more self-confident, self-motivated and in control. The parents of a young person living here now has noticed their

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requires improvement

child, ‘walking taller, really acknowledging things and really listening now.’ Young people benefit greatly from the care and attention of adults. For example, they get good help to: get back into education; settle to sleep at night; learn how to protect their health, and understand the differences between safe and exploitative relationships. Therapists too have made a significant contribution to the progress and experiences of some young people, using art, occupational therapy, psychological assessment, and clinical advice to help them. Independent reviewing officers (IRO) are impressed with the way therapists and key staff contribute to planning and review meetings, providing good detail about the progress and experiences of young people and the help being provided. One IRO said: ‘I like the set up, they work hard and I would recommend the home, despite the incident that occurred in the summer’. However, some young people have refused to engage in any therapy

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requires improvement

during their placement. In addition, some sessions for learning about CSE, for example, the ‘be wise to exploitation’ programme, have not always been used to full effect. Managers say that they have been advised not to undertake certain work with young people where this might compromise police enquiries and legal proceedings. Overall, young people are well prepared for their futures and their transitions home are well managed. Their progress in placement is celebrated with farewell parties and they have well planned and increasing independent time in the home and in the local community. They take increasing responsibilities, such as going on public transport and using phones and internet appropriately. They spend increasing amounts of time away from the home and back in their home areas. They have benefitted from sessions about appropriate friendships, including ‘what friends expect of me; what I expect of friends; putting myself across appropriately; what I

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requires improvement

disclose’. Once returned, staff keep in contact with young people by phone and continue to provide reassurance and support.

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requires improvement

The response to young people who go missing and are at risk of exploitation requires improvement. Young people who were particularly vulnerable to being led by others, were living alongside young people known to be likely to lead and influence them. A serious incident occurred involving two young people going missing back to the home area of one of them. Both young people were subject to CSE and one to an accidental physical injury. Staff did not realise that a mobile phone had been obtained or that young people had made plans to leave. Staff and police were not able to effectively prevent the incident and were not able to find young people before abuse happened. Some staff were unfamiliar with the young people and the detail of how they should respond to their needs and behaviours. Young people were not sufficiently engaged in the home or attached to members of staff, increasing the likelihood of continued risk taking.

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requires improvement

This serious safeguarding incident was extensively reviewed by the home, as well as placing authorities. The manager and staff worked hard within their team and with police, to better manage young people’s risks of going missing. They quickly realised that using holiday accommodation to separate young people, posed additional difficulties, desperation and further incidents of going missing. They also realised that poor matching of young people was a pre-disposing factor for serious safeguarding issues. Staff have used physical restraint as a last resort to prevent serious harm when young people were at immediate risk. Police specialists recently said: ‘It is nice to see all the good practices put to use around consequences and a good response where a young person was found quickly and was safe and well.’ There is recent improvement in how well daily situations and behaviour are managed by staff. Staff reflect and debrief daily and look for ways to contribute to

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requires improvement

young people’s feeling of well-being and security. They provide young people with good help to manage the angry and despairing feelings that frequently underpin their self-harming behaviour. Staff are vigilant to the signs young people show. They suggest and remind young people of safer ways to express and soothe themselves. These might be: using mood cards; hand massage; colouring; fidget toys, or reflective diaries. The home’s monthly visitor recently said: ‘The staff at the home appeared to work well together in responding to a crisis and remained calm throughout. It was clear from the discussions I had with staff that there was a careful balance being aimed at, between keeping the young people safe and at the same time considering the attachment implications and supporting them through the crisis.’ Experienced staff who know the young people best are well aware of the impact of their own words, tone and mood. They consider the escalating, as well as de-

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requires improvement

escalating impact of their practice. However, some staff are better at this than others. It is hard for the team to learn lessons from reviewing incident records and debriefs. This is because there is little detail about what staff have said and done in situations where unsafe behaviour like self-harm, or going missing, have occurred. Instead, young people’s behaviour is scrutinised and interpreted, but successful and unsuccessful staff practice is not identified for staff’s continuous development. The support and care provided to young people is helping them feel increasingly safe here. After a number of months, they trust long standing staff, including the manager, enough to disclose details of their experiences of exploitation. They feel sufficiently supported to make statements and give evidence. They are able to trust male staff to spend time with them. They are beginning to understand what help they need before they can safely return home. A young person who has now

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requires improvement

returned home said: ‘This home saved my life.’ Judgement grade

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requires improvement

The registered manager has been at the home for over 12 months and has almost completed her level 5 diploma in leadership and management for residential childcare. She is enormously committed to young people and is trusted by young people and staff alike. She creates positive relationships that enable young people to disclose to her. Her practice and leadership create a positive atmosphere in the house that promotes young people’s progress and adds a richness to their experience. Serious behaviour incidents are rare when she is present. However, she was required to oversee another home for some weeks, leaving the deputy and another manager running the home. This took away her usual impact and effectiveness and serious safeguarding concerns arose. The organisation has not responded effectively to the staffing crisis in this home. Since the last inspection, there has been a high staff sickness absence following

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requires improvement

work injuries, and a high staff turnover. Young people’s care has been affected by high levels of agency staff use: 14 different agency staff. Until recently, the manager has not had enough input into the recruitment of staff. She tried to minimise the adverse impact of using numerous agency staff. She used only one agency member per shift; used the same persons wherever possible, and included staff from other homes on her rota. The organisation have recently started a continuous recruitment programme and are involving CSE home managers directly in recruiting specifically to their homes. The manager is confident that her new full staff team are a strong, able mix who can be retained through good support, training and supervision. Matching decisions and admissions have not all gone well in the period since the last inspection. The manager has not had sufficient say about admissions decisions. Admissions went ahead at inappropriate times when the manager was

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requires improvement

not present, there were staffing difficulties, and when young people already in the home were unsettled. Senior managers in the organisation made decisions with too little information and professional insight. These mistakes have led the organisation to put matching decisions and the timing of admissions back into the Registered Manager’s hands. However, the rationale for a recent admission decided by the manager is not clearly stated on the documents she used. The manager has good systems in place to review incidents with staff and to reflect on the progress and experiences of the young people. However, formal recording provides too little detail of practice for manager monthly monitoring to identify strengths and weaknesses in staff care styles and ways of working. This means manager observations about practice are often too generalised. They fail to identify when staff may have worsened or triggered negative or unsafe behaviour

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requires improvement

in young people. This means the manager cannot ensure that the whole team learn quickly and stay up to date about what is working and not working with each young person. The manager ensures that staff are adequately trained and supported to be effective in their work. Training provided by clinicians helps staff understand more about CSE and about how to help young people recover from trauma. Training about self-harm; self-soothing; going missing from home and safeguarding are also provided. However, not all staff have received all the training. No staff have yet undertaken a dyadic developmental psychology four day course identified by the organisation as being helpful to upskill staff of CSE homes. The manager says that some staff still don’t really ‘get it’. For example, a few fail to see unhelpful outcomes produced by staff imposing negative responses and sanctions. A few staff inappropriately use banter and ‘best friend’ approaches. The

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requires improvement

manager addresses unhelpful staff practice through supervision, staff meetings and communication diaries. She has systems which prompt staff with their training and development through courses, reading and peer mentoring. She also keeps under review the quality of young people’s relationships with individual staff and makes careful decisions about key carers. This maximises young people’s experience of deeper relationships that promote improved well-being.

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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

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Information about this inspection

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Information about this inspection

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Information about this inspection

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