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:

 The young person has made good, firm and trusting relationships with staff. This has allowed them to focus on their difficulties and they have made good progress across all areas. A professional commented, ‘I am really pleased with the care that she receives and the progress she has made.’  The young person has left school after attaining some exam results and is doing well at her college placement. She has also completed a curriculum vitae and is actively looking for part time work. She has ambitions for her future and of working within the beauty industry.  The young person’s health has significantly improved because staff have liaised with the looked after nurse to ensure that all outstanding medical needs have been completed.  The young person has benefitted from increased contact with her family. This is down to staff advocating on her behalf and ensuring her views are heard. The homes placement plan discusses the contact arrangements but

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The children's home provision is good because:

does not identify restrictions put in place. by the local authority. This does not ensure that she is fully safeguarded from unsuitable adults.  The young person is safe. She has not been reported missing from home for a significant period of time. This is because staff have welcomed her friends into the home and she is learning to take more responsibility for the choices she makes.  There is a new manager in place at this home. He received a good handover from the previous manager. He has spent time getting to know the young person, staff and the way the home runs. As part of the home’s development, he is currently looking at reducing the amount of paperwork and files that he and the staff feel are unnecessary. He said, ‘I would like more streamlining and concise recording so that staff do not feel burdened by the amount of writing.’ Staff say they will benefit from this by spending more time with the young person.

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The children's home provision is good because:

 The home has an independent visitor who monitors the quality of care on a monthly basis. But, the record often has overall statements rather than an evaluation of the record viewed. Further to this, the record has not highlighted when the author has not signed documents or that there is a lot of scribbling out within the records. This does not assist the manager to improve the service.

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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

14. In order to meet the care planning standard the registered person must ensure:

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Requirement Due date

(2) (d) that contact between each child and the child's parents, relatives and friends, is promoted in accordance with the child's relevant plans. This is specifically in relation to including any restrictions to unsuitable adults within the plan. 31/12/2015

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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 case records are kept up-to-date and signed and dated by the author. (The Guide to the Quality Standards, page 62, paragraph 14.3)

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Recommendations

 Ensure that information is clearly recorded. This is specifically in relation to not scribbling out information within the records. (The Guide to the Quality Standards, page 62, paragraph 14.4)

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Recommendations

 Ensure that the independent person makes a rigorous and impartial assessment of the home. This is specifically in relation to evaluating the records. (The Guide to the Quality Standards, page, 65, paragraph 15.5)

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Information about this children's home

This privately owned children’s home can accommodate one young person with emotional and/or behavioural difficulties.

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Recent inspection history

Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

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Recent inspection history

03/02/2015 CH - Interim sustained effectiveness

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good

The young person was given several opportunities to engage in this inspection but she declined, although she did say she was happy and safe here.

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good

The young person has been in this home for a good period of time. She has built strong relationships with staff, has matured and settled into a good routine. These routines are detailed in her placement plan and they show the progress she has made.

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good

Staff value the young person’s views, wishes, and feelings and believe this is the basis of her progress. One staff said, ‘We have always listened and tried to make things happen but this is more important now as she is becoming an adult.’ One example of this, is the young person’s contact with her mother was set by the courts. The home advocated on her behalf and assisted her to raise this issue in her review. As a consequence of this, she is seeing her mother more often and has just begun to have overnight stays. These visits have gone extremely well and she is looking forward to spending a sometime, at home over Christmas. The home has also ensured that when her family visit that they receive a warm welcome and they provide a warm meal and snacks. However, the young person’s placement plan talks about contact in several places but these new arrangements have not been drawn into a plan. Further to this, the local authority has some restrictions to other

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good

family members. These restrictions are not included within the plan. This does not ensure that everyone knows what the new arrangements are or what action to take to protect the young person from unsuitable adults.

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good

Staff have safely supported the young person to maintain and develop friendships so that friends are incorporated into her life. They are invited for tea, are included in activities, and stay overnight. She also stays out overnight at friends. Staff say this gives her the same opportunities as her peers and she has matured with the responsibility. For example, she will often phone when plans have changed or if she is going to be late.

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good

The young person is fully involved in all aspects of the home. She has her own weekly meeting were she can discuss any issues from the previous week and also discuss plans for the forth coming week. She also attends the monthly staff meeting. The manager within the weekly meeting book responds to any agreements, plans, or suggestions in writing. Therefore, she is very clear on what has been agreed and is respected with a formal response. She has made no complaints about the home. She has access to a range of people, including an independent advocate if she wished to raise or discuss any concerns.

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good

The young person’s health has significantly improved. When she was first placed her medical records were not up to date. She had outstanding immunisations, dental and optical care needs. The home was extremely proactive and worked closely with the looked after nurse for the local area. She is now up to date with her immunisations, has contact lenses and glasses, and is awaiting an orthodontist appointment. Staff have completed some good individual sessions with her on the importance of being in good health both personally and sexually. In conjunction with this, they have built up her self-esteem and confidence. As a result, she often takes responsibility for her own medication and health appointments. All staff are qualified first aiders and have received regular medication training. This ensures that they can deal with emergencies and that young people receive their medication in line with their prescription.

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good

Before coming to this home the young person was a poor attender of education. A good education plan has seen her move from being tutored at home, to attending a mainstream school and onto a college course. Her attendance previous to September was excellent but fell a bit this term. However, staff have worked closely with her and the college and contacts have been put in place around her bursary money. The home has also introduced incentives for attending and explained the consequences of missing out on her education. Consequently, her attendance is improving again. She has completed a curriculum vitae and has a part-time job. But, felt that it was not for her. However, she regularly looks for other job opportunities and has ambitions to become a beauty therapist.

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good

At the young person’s last review clear decisions were confirmed on the priority areas of support. This was sensitively managed so that they did not feel under too much pressure. This plan allows the her to focus on her college placement and relationship with her mother while working on acquiring independence and socialisation skills. As a result, she is now confidently using money, cooking, and is maintaining positive relationships. Her next review, early in the new year will focus on a transition plan into semi independence.

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good

Over time and with exceptional support and guidance from staff, the young person has significantly reduced the concerns that adults had for her. Staff have effectively tackled issues around child sexual exploitation and she is now classed as low risk by safeguarding professionals. This is because she has significantly reduced her episodes of being missing from care and staff have worked closely with her so she understands the risks and the strategies that she can use to keep herself safe. The young person regularly telephones staff if there are any changes to her plans or if she is going to be late. This means that she is taking responsibility and acting maturely. Safeguarding professionals say that staff are proactive in reporting concerns and following procedures to keep young people safe. In addition, staff have completed an e-safety course to increase their knowledge and awareness around protection issues in regards to social media.

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good

Staff have purchased and gone through specific DVD’s that address issues of grooming on line and the sharing of sensitive information that can be used negatively. This means that the young person is well supported to understand and be fully aware of the risks when going on line.

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good

The young person behaves very well and responds to the firm but fair boundaries and structured daily routines in place. The stable staff team and detailed discussions within staff team meetings ensures that she receives consistency of care. As a result, sanctions for negative behaviour are minimal. This is because the young person is given the opportunity to make things right. Staff say this encourages her to reflect and understand that there are consequences for her actions. In contrast to this, staff recognise and reward all positive behaviour and achievements. For example, she has received additional money for attending additional lessons at college and for behaving maturely.

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good

Good risk assessments address the vulnerabilities of the young person. They are reviewed regularly and the young person is given the opportunity to reflect and comment on them. As a result, staff have been able to identify when some risks have reduced and that they no longer require recording. Therefore, they remain individual to the young person and only address on-going concerns. Staff pride themselves on being able to work closely with young people, giving good advice that is supported by professional training and the relationships that they build allow for honest and open discussion.

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good

The staff have built excellent relationships with a range of safeguarding professionals including the police, local authority safeguarding team and designated officer. The local community support officer from the police calls regularly on informal basis. They also discuss local issues so staff are aware of any concerns within the community. These good arrangements ensure the young person safety within the home and whilst out in the community.

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good

Health and safety checks are robustly carried out in the home. This means that all safety equipment and appliances are regularly checked and are appropriately certificated. Staff and the young person complete monthly fire evacuations so they can respond to a fire quickly. Visitors are taken through this procedure on entering the home. These good arrangements help to ensure that the home is a safe environment. Judgement grade

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good

The manager has recently been registered with Ofsted. He has responsibility for three single bed children’s homes. Before taking up the role as the registered manager he worked alongside the previous manager for a month. As a result, he had a good handover and was clear of the dynamics within each home. He previously worked within the company and has progressed through the development opportunities provided. He has suitable qualifications in child care and is registered on an appropriate Leadership and Management course.

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good

The homes Statement of Purpose reflects the service and clearly identifies the admission procedure to the home. The manager has been looking at the development plan and has been completing an audit of paperwork and consulting with young people, staff, and professionals to develop the home. For example, he recognised that there was an imbalance of very experienced and new staff across the homes. One of his first duties was to consult with young people and staff in having a balanced staff team across the three homes. The young people knew all the staff because they have covered annual leave and sickness when necessary. The young people are happy with their choices and the staff team in place. This has also opened opportunities for some staff to apply for a team leader role and develop within the service. One staff said, ‘It has been great, the young person now has a balanced team in experience, ethnicity, gender and age. Therefore, she

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good

identifies with different staff for different things. She will ask me if she wants support at a health appointment but will go to ….. (name) to go clothes shopping because she is younger and understands teenage trends.’

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good

Staff are supported to fulfil their roles through ongoing and effective training, supervision, appraisals, and staff meetings. Staff say supervision and staff meetings are an open forum to discuss practice, their own development, and the home. Young people attend staff meetings and contribute by providing an agenda to discuss. The manager ensures that relevant and current research is discussed and they look at how this can be put into practice. For example, they have looked at how the new Children’s Homes Regulations 2015 will inform their practice and the impact on evidencing good outcomes for young people.

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good

Five staff are fully qualified in caring for young people and one staff has nearly completed this award. They receive regular training either from a provider or through online training packages. Their knowledge and understanding of online training is checked within supervision. This gives the manager an opportunity to assess whether this is the best form of training for them. He said, ‘We do not all learn the same way so it is important to know that online training is useful and that staff retain the learning.’ These means that staff have the skills and knowledge to meet young people’s needs. The manager, senior managers, and staff know the young person well and actively encourage her to be involved in her care. They have an open door policy, which means that the she can talk with any of them at any time. Staff encourage her to attend her reviews and she is well prepared for them. Because of this good

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good

consultation, staff can advocate on her behalf when necessary. The young person has seen the benefits of this with increased contact with her mother.

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good

On the whole, the young person’s information demonstrates the progress they have made since living at this home. However, there are many files and subsequent duplication of information. The manager is in the process of streamlining this. Recordings within documents are mostly of good quality with the manager maintaining good oversight of the effectiveness of the plans. This allows identification of any possible emerging trends and patterns. For example, he has noted that consequences would be more effective if given at the weekend rather than in the week. As a result, behaviour has improved. However, some recordings have been scribbled out making the information illegible. There are some documents such as the placement plan that have not been signed by the manager, author, parent, or the social worker. This does not ensure that all parties are in agreement with the plans.

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good

The manager and an independent visitor, on a monthly basis evaluate the quality of care in the home. Ofsted receives these reports timely. But, the independent reports mostly contain overall statements or a list of dates rather than identifying what record has been looked at and what the quality of the record is like. For example, there is a list of dates when a sanction has been applied but they have not noted that several sanctions contain scribbling out or changes of information. Likewise, they have not identified that several documents have not been signed.

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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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