Children's Home run by Cambian Childcare Limited in Torbay

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:

 The manager has not considered all of the known and potential risks to young people from unsafe activities in the local area. For example; to gain entry to the home, staff are required to drive through a car park frequently used by adults who engage in consensual sexual activity.  The records maintained by the home require further review to ensure that the records of restraints, incidents and sanctions are clear, concise, and factually accurate, and do not include the personal views of staff.  Although maintenance work has commenced, ongoing work is required to ensure the home is comfortable, warm, welcoming and well-furnished throughout.  The staff team do not always respond to the views, thoughts and feelings of young people. Young people do not always receive feedback when they express a concern or frustration. This has led to problems with their engagement in house meetings and one-to-one sessions.

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The children's home strengths

A new manager has been appointed and has processed an application to register with Ofsted. She recognises the weaknesses in the home and is using her knowledge and experience to remedy these and make improvements. In a short period she has introduced new systems and structures to review the home’s records and ensure they reflect the current needs, wishes and feelings of young people. A placing social worker commented positively on the manager’s contribution to multi agency work. Communication and reporting of incidents has significantly improved since the manager’s appointment. Positive feedback has been received from external professionals about the help young people receive from staff. A social worker said ‘staff work hard to try and encourage the young person to engage in education and activities’. A youth offending officer said ‘individually and as a team they could not have done any more to safeguard the young person. They followed protocols requested by the

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The children's home strengths

local authority and police to ensure the young person was safe’.

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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 children's view's, wishes and feelings standard the registered person must ensure that staff- (2) (i) ascertain and conceder each child's view's, wishes and feelings, and balance these against what they judge to be in the child's best interest when making decisions about the child's care and welfare; (ii) help each child to express view's wishes and feelings; (iii) help each child to understand how the child's view's, wishes and feelings had been taken into account and give the child reason's for the decision in relation to the child; (iv) regularly consult children, and seek their feedback, about the quality of the home's care 11/12/2015

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Requirement Due date

11: The positive relationships standard In order to meet the positive relationship standard the registered person must continue to

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Requirement Due date

(ii) help each child to develop socially aware behaviour; (iii) encourage each child to take responsibility for the child's behaviour, in accordance with the child's age and understanding; (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 11/12/2015 supportive or harmful;

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Requirement Due date

13: The leadership and management standard

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Requirement Due date

In order to meet the leadership and management standard the registered person is required to enable, inspire and lead a culture in relation to the children's home that-

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Requirement Due date

(2)(h) uses monitoring and review systems to make continuous improvements in the quality of care provided in the home. 11/12/2015

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Requirement Due date

46: Review of premises The registered person must review the appropriateness and suitability of the location of the premises used for the purposes of the children's home at least once in each calendar year taking into account the requirement in regulation 12(2)(c) (the protection of children standard). (Regulation 46)(1)) 11/12/2015

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Recommendations

To improve the quality and standards of care further the service should take account of the following recommendation(s):

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Recommendations

Ensure that children have access to a computer and the internet to support their education, learning and employment opportunities; unless there are specific safeguarding reasons why this would be inappropriate. In such cases, the home should consider whether and how it can support the child to access a computer and internet (The Guide to the Quality Standards, page 29, paragraph 5.19)

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Information about this children's home

The home is owned by a private organisation. It is registered for the care and accommodation of two young people, of either gender, with emotional and behavioural needs.

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Recent inspection history

Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

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Recent inspection history

20/01/2015 CH - Interim Declined in effectiveness

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Recent inspection history

23/10/2013 CH - Interim Satisfactory Progress

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Requires improvement

Work has recently commenced to improve the home the young people live in. On- going planned works include; the re-decoration of the home’s communal areas and a new kitchen. The manager has purchased new curtains and soft furnishings and is eager for any new young people admitted at the home to contribute to the selection of pictures and activity resources. The manager is determined and aspires for the home to be warm and welcoming. Since her appointment the manager has identified that the view’s, wishes and feelings of young people need to be evidenced more effectively. She has revised the young people’s meeting agenda to ensure they are not adult led. The revised format promotes opportunities for young people to express their views. Staff will record and discuss the feedback at the following team meeting. The staff team are now required to provide young people with feedback on their requests, concerns

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Requires improvement

and comments at the next house meeting or in one-to-one sessions. The manager confirmed that although a young person was encouraged to express his thoughts, feelings and views informally, his engagement in house meetings and one-to-one sessions became problematic due to the high level incidents of the young person missing from home. The manager did state that although the house meeting records did not identify actions taken, the young person’s repeated request to have the home’s computer repaired and a bike track made in the garden, had been dealt with. The young person’s health care needs are appropriately met. The manager has been successful in securing the services of the Child Mental Health Services (CAMHS). A medication review has taken place and an assessment of the young person’s emotional and behavioural needs has commenced. The manager and staff supported a young person to attend all health appointments. Their encouragement and support enabled a young person to join in

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Requires improvement

with purposeful and fun activities which had a positive effect on the young person’s health and well-being. Judgement grade

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Requires improvement

Missing from home incidents are high, the young person who lived at this home had been at risk of harm and exploitation. The manager and team assessed and recognised that they could not continue to meet the young person’s needs and keep him safe. As a result, the organisation served notice on his placement to the local authority. The young person has very recently moved to a specialist provision. The manager has developed and maintained effective links with all agencies; she regularly attends multi-agency meetings and contributes to them effectively. Actions and decisions made following these meetings are incorporated into the young person’s missing from home protocols, policies and procedures. These records support staff to understand the current risks, inform them where to search for the young person and the actions they should take, including who to contact if the young person did not return from free time.

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Requires improvement

Records show that the care team had responded well to all missing from home incidents so the young person was quickly returned to safety. A social worker said, ‘the staff team could not have done any more’. The young person’s social worker facilitated 14 out of 16 independent return home interviews. However, the information the social worker gained was not shared with the manager and care team. The manager did not challenge this omission in sharing key information. As a result, the opportunity to gain detailed information that may have helped staff in their work with the young person was limited. Restraint records pre-dating the manager’s appointment do not contain all of the required information. Since her appointment, three post restraint discussions have taken place. However, the records lack quality, content and value. The manager is aware this is an area that requires further development and greater scrutiny.

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Requires improvement

The manager and team have developed good links with the local authority designated officer (LADO), who spoke positively about their working relationship. All staff undergo safeguarding and child protection training and their knowledge and understanding of the policies and procedures are discussed and explored within formal supervisions and annual appraisals.

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Requires improvement

A newly appointed manager has been in full time day-to-day control of the home since June 2015. She has previous experience of similar management roles. Registration with Ofsted is in process. Since her appointment the manager has made considerable improvement in the short space of time towards meeting the regulatory failures identified at the interim inspection in February 2015. She has reviewed the records maintained by staff, introduced new monitoring systems, devised new documents and organised training for staff to improve the quality and content of information they record. Prior to the manager’s appointment, the quality and accuracy of record keeping was poor. For example, during a discussion following an incident of physical intervention a young person made an allegation against a member of staff. The details of this allegation and the actions taken could not be identified within the records in the home. As a result, the manager immediately contacted the LADO

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Requires improvement

who confirmed that for the dates and details provided the young person’s allegation had not been formally reported. He did however confirm that two subsequent allegations raised by the same young person had been reported by the staff and the actions taken were appropriate. The manager has yet to review the home’s location risk assessment. She acknowledges that the current assessment does not explore known risks within the local area that may have a detrimental impact and influence on the safety of young people. The manager promotes opportunities for all staff to reflect on their practice and share effective strategies to manage the young person’s high-risk behaviours. All staff now receives meaningful and reflective formal supervision and team meetings are well attended. A revised monitoring system has enabled the manager to scrutinise the home’s records, observe staffs practice, and evaluate outcomes for young people. From

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Requires improvement

this monitoring she has created a clear and concise development plan that focuses on developing the services of the home, the quality of care provided and the safeguarding young people from harm. A social worker commented that she has seen a significant improvement in communication and information sharing since the appointment of the new manager.

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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 had 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 had 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 had 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

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Information about this inspection

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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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