Children's Home run by Cambian Childcare Limited in Shropshire

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:

 The new registered manager is having a positive impact on the development of the service. He has developed a cohesive stable staff team and is working proactively with partner agencies  The placement of a second young person has been a positive experience for the young person already living at the home. This has been skilfully managed by the staff team.  Young people’s safety is promoted at all times. There has been a significant decrease in missing from care incidents and the potential risk of sexual exploitation for one young person since moving into the home.  Young people’s social skills, sense of identify and belonging are encouraged and nurtured by the staff team. Young people now have unsupervised time in the local community and have made positive friendships.  One young person is not in full time education and is therefore not being supported to reach his full academic potential.  The organisation is not giving staff equal access to specialist training on

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The children's home provision is good because:

child sexual exploitation. As a result staff who are not working at a specialist children’s home but are still supporting young people who are vulnerable are missing out on training. This would increase their knowledge and skills and benefit the young people they support.  The registered manager’s review of the quality of care provided by the home is not evaluative. Therefore does not identify strengths, areas of improvement and areas for future development to improve staff practice and outcomes for young people.

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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

In order to meet the education standard with particular reference to young people attending full time education the registered provider must ensure:

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Requirement Due date

(1) The education standard is that children make measurable progress towards achieving their educational potential and are helped to do so. 30/11/2015

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that all employees undertake appropriate continuing professional development. This specifically relates to the child sexual exploitation training already available to staff who work at the company’s home’s that specialise in this area. (Regulation 33 (1) (a)) 30/11/2015

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Requirement Due date

In order to complete a quality of care review the registered person must establish and maintain a system for monitoring, reviewing and evaluating – (a) the quality of care provided for children; (b) the feedback and opinions of children about the children’s home, its facilities and the quality of care they receive in it; and (c) any actions that the registered person considers necessary in order to improve or maintain the quality of care provided for children. This specifically relates to the evaluation of the quality of care review. (Regulation 45 (2)) 30/11/2015

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Information about this children's home

This is a privately operated children’s home. It provides care and accommodation for two young people with emotional and behavioural difficulties up to the age of 18 years old

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Recent inspection history

Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

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Recent inspection history

10/03/2015 CH - Interim Sustained effectiveness

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Recent inspection history

18/11/2013 CH - Interim Inadequate progress

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Good

Young people make good progress in most areas of their lives because they are supported by a staff team who know them well and want them to achieve their personal goals. As a result young people develop new skills in an environment where it is safe to make mistakes, learn from them and move on.

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Good

Staff understand the importance of, and work hard to form meaningful relationships with young people. The effort they take is recognised and valued by young people. One young person described staff staying with her when she first arrived at the home and was taken into hospital in an emergency. She stated: ‘I was angry and frightened. Staff stayed with me and even made sure I celebrated my birthday in hospital.’ The excellent relationships formed by such good practice enable staff to positively challenge and influence young people to make good decisions. A young person stated: ‘The manager and staff have high expectations of us and are always making sure we are safe.’

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Good

Young people lead healthy lifestyles. Staff undertake work that results in them changing their historical patterns of behaviour and cope with anxieties which increases their good health and well-being. For example, sessions focusing on healthy sleep have helped one young person establish a new routine. Another young person has been helped through therapy and staff supported familiarisation sessions to attend important hospital appointments. Staff support school attendance and academic success. One young person is making good progress. After a history of poor attendance she is now engaging well in a programme of phased introduction into her new school. The other young person’s engagement with education has decreased. He feels he no longer wants to attend his specialist placement but wants to attend the local mainstream school. From being in full time education he is now on a reduced timetable with a view to it returning to fulltime.

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Good

The registered manager is challenging education, liaising with the placing authority and advocating on the young person’s behalf. However, the delay in addressing the issues surrounding this young person’s education does not support him to successfully achieve academically in the future.

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Good

Young people feel their views and opinions are listened to and acted upon. One young person stated: ‘We have meetings and key worker sessions where we discuss and agree things. Really we talk about things all the time. The manager will sometimes ask the two of us (two young people) to discuss a topic and come to an agreement. Like how many friends we should have to the house in the evenings and at weekends.’ Young people are well informed of their rights and know who to connect if they want to raise a concern or make a complaint. Young people view the house as their home, know who their staff team are and this helps them feel safe and build resilience.

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Good

The staff team have good insight into the particular needs of young people living a long way from home. They promote family relationships and ensure visits take place and are successful. Staff respect young person’s links with their home community. They also promote their involvement in their new local community. As a result young people maintain existing relationships and develop new ones. Where contact arrangements restrict young people and cause anxieties, staff work creatively to alleviate them. For example, hosting a sibling’s birthday party at the home and supporting the young person to make a cake.

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Good

The registered manager and staff team ensure young people experience positive outcomes in their lives which are appropriate to their age. For example, the well planned matching and placement of a second young person at the home and has been a success for both young people. They talk positively about the respectful relationship they have built. They both enjoy activities and time spent together but also develop their own interests and friendships. A social worker stated: ‘Since moving into the home the young person is presenting differently. She is more confident, her self-esteem has increased and her persona is far more positive.’

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Good

Young people develop the practical and social skills they require to move on from the home. Staff use good parenting skills to ensure young people’s development is appropriate to their age and abilities. A social worker stated: ‘This has in recent months involved an increased level of risk, as the young person has developed friendships outside of the house and organisation. However, these risks have been carefully measured and the young person supported well as he has developed and grown as a young man within his community.’ As a result of new friendships one young person proudly described going on sleep-overs for the first time. Another young person described how staff encourage her to bring friends back to her home and invite them out of trips and activities. These experiences increase young people’s self-esteem and develop their sense of belonging.

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Good

The registered manager and staff team identify risks for young people before they move into the home. These risks are monitored and regularly reviewed. Staff effectively use the information they gather to promote new experiences and independence while keeping them safe. They successfully help young people learn skills to cope with and change their historic behaviours. For example, through discussions and support self-harming incidents and the number of physical interventions have reduced.

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Good

The registered manager and staff team promote the well-being and safety of young people at all times. Their working knowledge of safeguarding procedures is supported by regular good quality training. This ensures they are able to meet the individual needs of young people and work effectively in partnership with other agencies.

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Good

Young people who have a history of going missing from care and being at risk of child sexual exploitation feel safe at the home. Staff are well informed and aware of warning signs that might indicate a young person is unsettled. As a result incidents have significantly reduced. When incidents do occur staff act quickly and work effectively in partnership with external agencies. The nurturing and counselling undertaken by staff with young people to ensure they understand risks is having a positive impact. For example, young people are remaining in phone contact when away from the home. This enabled the registered manager to encourage an early return from a recent incident. The police community support officer stated: ‘When either of the residents have gone missing, everything possible is done to locate them and minimise a repeat of it happening again.’ Both young people acknowledge the concern they cause to staff when they return late from

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Good

unsupervised time or go missing. They also recognise the lessons they have learnt from staff input.

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Good

Staff effectively support young people to learn new strategies to cope with anxieties and significantly reduce inappropriate behaviours. Young people develop their confidence and skills and now successfully participate in social settings and are making new positive friendships. A social worker stated: ‘I am very pleased with the progress that the young person has made within this high quality care placement. At times, he has been a very challenging young person for the care staff to work with and I have been impressed with their commitment to him, their resilience and the quality of the care they provide.’

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Good

The registered manager and staff team have good oversight of pattern of behaviours and strategies used to reduce incidents. The use of physical interventions and consequences are low. Any increases are analysed and discussed with the young people.

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Good

The home and garden are well presented and maintained. Young people have been actively involved in the decoration of the house. They have hung wallpaper in the sitting room with staff and purchased Buddha themed pictures and aliments for the rooms downstairs. This all adds to the very homely environment. The registered manager continues to develop the home and has included future plans to refurbish the kitchen, build a breakfast bar and refurbish the upstairs bathroom in the home’s development plan. Judgement grade

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Good

Since the last inspection a new registered manager has been appointed in post. He has substantial relevant residential experience. He holds a level 5 diploma in leadership in children and young people health and social care and NVQ 3 in health and social care with children and young people. In addition, he and his deputy are completing the organisation’s own management and development programme.

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Good

The registered manager and staff team monitor young people’s progress and the impact of their care on their outcomes. They use reflective practice to challenge their own practice and introduce new strategies to better meet young people’s needs and ensure they continue to achieve good outcomes. A social worker stated: ‘The manager is competent and determined to get the best out of the staff team and to achieve positive outcomes for the young people. I can’t fault the staff team and the RM’s dedication to his post is above and beyond.’

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Good

A consistent stable staff team provides young people with excellent continuity of care and stability in placement. The core team moved to the home with the first young person. The second half of the team have been specifically recruited to meet the needs of the second young person. A social worker stated: ‘The stability and clear management of the team provided by the manager and deputy, has in my view brought a clear focus for the team and has directly resulted in the progress that the young person has made.’

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Good

Staff are appropriately qualified or in the process of undertaking training. They have a wide range of experience. They develop their practice through detailed induction, established training, structured team meetings and regular supervision. Staff are positive about the environment they work in, the support they receive from managers and the good progress of young people.

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Good

Where additional staff learning needs are identified the registered manager organises team training sessions. For example, sessions are booked in for self- harm and child sexual exploitation. This organisation runs some children’s homes which specialise in supporting young people who are at risk of or have experienced child sexual exploitation. The staff teams in these homes attend a course of specialist training. The staff team at this home do not have access to this training. Access to it would enhance their learning and inform their practice when working with the young people currently placed and help them achieve even better outcomes.

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Good

The registered manager and staff team use development plans and internal and external quality assurance systems to monitor and improve practice and outcomes for young people. The registered manager has just completed the first quality of care review which he has shared with Ofsted. The format is good and the data it contains is very detailed. However, the evaluation of the data is not robust and does not reflect the insight the registered manager, deputy and staff team clearly have of the service’s strengths and weaknesses.

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Good

The registered manager and staff team have good relationships with partner agencies and parents. All are positive about the quality of communication and partnership work. A social worker stated: ‘They keep me well informed of the young person’s progress. Reports are detailed. If I require further information it isn’t a problem. They have bent over backwards to facilitate things like family contact.’

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Good

The registered manager is proactive in acting on behalf of young people and this results in positive change. For example, agreeing that a young person can sleep- over at friend’s houses with his social worker. The registered manager is currently challenging education professionals with regard to the standard of education one young person is receiving.

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Good

Overall, the new registered manager and staff team continue to re-evaluate and improve their practice and the service. As a result young people are making good progress in areas of their lives they historically struggled.

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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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