Children's Home run by Cambian Childcare Limited in Devon

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 young person feels safe and is safe here because of the strong nurturing relationships that have developed. The manager and staff team work hard to provide the young person with a home that is personalised and focusses on the young person’s developing needs. The young person says they feel ‘comfortable’ with all the staff.  The young person balances time spent engaging in age appropriate activities with friends, family and staff members. When the young person is not in the home the staff monitor, record and report effectively on his whereabouts.  The manager communicates well with all people involved in the young person’s life. The home has strong links with the local police and work closely with them when a young person is reported as missing.  The young person has greatly improved health and educational outcomes. As the young person develops and matures the care plan has been reviewed and reflects accurately how their changing health, educational and

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The children's home provision is good because:

employment needs are, and will be, met. Taking part in a range of purposeful activities the young person has begun to develop useful skills as they move into adulthood.  The manager and staff respond well to challenging behaviours shown by the young person. They put emphasis on the positive choices the young person makes resulting in no need to use sanctions or physical intervention.  There are some areas for improvement including the Statement of Purpose and the development of a tool used to monitor and reflect the diversity and identity of the young person. The manager is committed and motivated to improving the running of the home and thereby ensures that the young person is consulted and included in any improvement work.

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Recommendations

To improve the quality and standards of care further the service should take account of the following recommendation(s):  Ensure that the information set out in the Statement of Purpose is an essential part of the process of agreement between the registered person and placing authority that a placement in that home is the right one for that child , and that the home will be able to respond effectively to the child's assessed needs (The Guide to the Quality Standards, page 15, paragraph 3.6)

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Information about this children's home

The home is registered to provide accommodation for a maximum of one young person with emotional and behavioural difficulties. The home is run by a private provider that also operates other children’s homes in the local area.

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Recent inspection history

Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

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Recent inspection history

04/02/2015 CH - Interim sustained effectiveness

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Recent inspection history

22/01/2014 CH - Interim Inadequate Progress

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Good

The young person benefits from highly personalised and individualised care. As a result they are making good progress, despite having to overcome some difficult situations. The young person says they feel ‘comfortable’ in the home, and likes the ‘rotation’ of staff, ‘it feels less intense’. Consequently they are happy, settled and growing in confidence and self-worth.

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Good

The staff spend a good amount of time talking and listening with the young person. As a staff group they provide a range of skills, knowledge and life experience that has enabled the young person to develop trusting and open relationships with each one.

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Good

The manager and staff team value and welcome the young person’s involvement in the day to day running of the home. They work tirelessly to overcome any barriers in achieving this and as such the young person is living in a home that is warm, homely and individualised.

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Good

The young person accesses all routine health appointments. As the young person’s physical and emotional health needs change and develop the staff team respond supportively and with encouragement. This has resulted in the young person taking more responsibility for their own health including, eating and sleeping well, stopping smoking and not misusing alcohol.

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Good

From moving to the home the young person has made good progress with their education. Achieving a number of GCSE’s and engaging in a vocational college course has ensured the young person has improved employment opportunities as they move into adulthood. The young person’s educational mentor reports that while challenges remain the young person has, from their starting point, made ‘brilliant progress’. In addition, an enthusiastic and informed staff team enable the young person to learn a range of independence skills. In doing so the young person is developing a better understanding of shopping, budgeting and self-care.

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Good

The young person has regular supervised and unsupervised visits with their family and friends. They benefit greatly from this, as staying in touch with their family members is very important to them. The staff help to make these visits successful by taking and picking up the young person and welcoming family members to the home. In addition the young person is helped and encouraged to collect personal items for example photos and certificates to store in a memory box, helping them identify and make sense of their family and their current situation. Effective partnership working with family members, the local authority and external partners means the young person is well supported. The social worker reports the young person has made good progress since living in the home and the young person is safe.

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Good

Careful and considered planning means the young people’s changing needs are addressed swiftly. The manager feels the diversity and stability of the staff team has been instrumental in the quality of the relationships between the young person and the staff group. As such no sanctions are used, the young person is no longer reporting going missing and there is no use of physical intervention. A caring and positive staff team support the young person to talk and share worries; this has resulted in the young person being more able to manage stressful situations.

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Good

The young person is safe and protected because the manager and staff team give the highest priority to their safety and well-being. All staff receive a robust induction package and annual refresher training including child protection, CSE, first aid and safeguarding. Staff know what to do should they have a concern about the young person’s safety or well-being, and the manager uses appropriate systems when reporting complaints, allegations and concerns.

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Good

A key strength of the manager and staff team is their ability to demonstrate a solid understanding of how to report, record and manage missing persons episodes. Records indicate a significant reduction in episodes of the young person going missing and placing themselves at risk.

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Good

The manager and staff draw on a range of rewards and positive re-enforcement methods, these are recorded and documented well with evidence of the young person being included in the decision making processes. The young person understands the consequence of negative behaviours, instead thriving on the open and honest dialogue that takes place between themselves and the staff.

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Good

Staff are aware of the young person’s vulnerability when using the internet. They carefully monitor their access when in the home, whilst still ensuring age appropriate use and access is allowed for socialising and learning.

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Good

The manager ensures that all risk assessments both of the property and the young person’s behaviour are well maintained, documented, filed and reviewed. They all include the detail of how risks are managed and reduced. In addition the staff work hard to develop the young person’s understanding of any risk taking behaviours and aim to provide self-management strategies to address these. The social worker reports that the young person, with the support of the staff team, has made good progress in understanding their own vulnerabilities and the reasoning behind keep safe strategies.

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Good

The manager has developed good links with the local authority social worker, who spoke positively about the working relationship, and the local authority designated officer (LADO). Positive relationships with the local police have enabled the young person when reported as missing to be returned to the home swiftly. Staff spoken to during the course of the inspection demonstrated a good and sound understanding of all policies and procedures. All files scrutinised contain all the required information.

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Good

The home is led and managed by an enthusiastic, skilled, and knowledgeable registered manager. He has been a manager for a number of years and is suitably qualified. He is effectively supported by an extremely dedicated and committed staff team who speak highly and positively of him. This enables him to efficiently manage one other children’s home in the near vicinity.

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Good

The manager has addressed the recommendations from the previous inspection, as such in the event of any concerns or complaints the manager makes swift contact with the LADO, and staffing is appropriate to the young person’s needs.

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Good

The good level of staffing means there are always sufficient, knowledgeable and experienced staff, ensuring the young person is able to engage in a wide range of activities in the home and in the community for example, cooking, key worker sessions, crafting, visiting family and friends and decorating their home.

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Good

Since the last inspection there have been no new staff or any use of agency staff, and the young person says they ‘feel comfortable with the staff ratio’. As a result the manager and the staff team have built up a positive and trusting relationship with the young person, where inclusion and consultation remains central to the daily planning.

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Good

The manager and staff attend a wide range of training to enhance their individual knowledge, skills and professional development. Supervision is used regularly and appropriately to guide the staff members’ development, and the manager is keen to ensure supervision and appraisals are kept fresh by rotating the supervisors. In particular the manager is making good use of research and sharing good practice to further develop the quality of the care plans for the young person and the development of the home.

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Good

The manager works closely with all professionals involved in the care of the young person. They have built up strong links and their communication is reported by an educational professional and a social worker as ‘excellent’, all parties being kept up to date with the progress and the changing needs of the young person.

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Good

The manager, with the support of the staff team, maintains a good level of record keeping; all documents are up to date and provide a holistic view of the care the young person requires. The manager uses all documents to monitor, inform and review the running of the home, and the progress of the young person’s outcomes. The young person’s care and pathway plan provides an excellent level of detail, thereby assisting the staff team to support the young person in reaching their milestones. The independent visitor reports are conducted monthly and are used by the manager to scrutinise their procedures and improve the quality of care.

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Good

All policies and procedures are routinely reviewed and updated, however, the Statement of Purpose and the Equality and Diversity assessment tool both require some minor updating and therefore a recommendation was made for the manager to address these before the next inspection.

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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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