Children's Home run by Cambian Childcare Limited in Devon

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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because:

 Not all young people are in education, employment or training.

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because:

 Young people frequently going missing from home, often overnight. Despite efforts made to search for them, staff are not always aware where they are or who they are socialising with.

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because:

 One young person who spends time with friends in the community is not at home most evenings. She rarely eats a main meal at the home. There is a lack of oversight of her dietary needs.

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because:

 The home’s recording systems are complex the records are duplicated making management oversight of recording systems unwieldy.

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The children's home strengths

Young people live in a welcoming and homely environment, their bedrooms are personalised. The care team say they feel supported by the manager who is readily available and approachable. The manager spends time working directly with children. This allows him to model good practice with staff and have additional oversight of care practice. Young people are encouraged to achieve through an approach that praises progress. They are encouraged to identify their own incentive programme and to work towards individual targets. This supports some young people to make positive choices. The manager and staff have good relationships with parents and professionals. Parents are positive about the support they receive from the staff team. They say that communication is regular and good. They are happy with the care that is provided for their children.

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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 the registered person must ensure that staff-

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Requirement Due date

(2)(ii) support each child's learning and development, including helping the child to develop independent study skills and, where appropriate, helping the child to complete independent study (2)(iii) understand the barriers to learning that each child may face and take appropriate action to help the child to overcome any such barriers 29 Jan 2016

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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 (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 supportive or harmful; 29 Jan 2016 12: The protection of children standard

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Requirement Due date

In order to meet the protection of children standard the registered person to ensure that staff—

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Requirement Due date

(2)(a)(i) assess whether each child is at risk of harm, taking into account information in the child's relevant plans, and, if necessary, make arrangements to reduce the risk of any harm to the child; (2)(a)(ii) help each child to understand how to keep safe; (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. 29 Jan 2016

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Requirement Due date

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). 29 Jan 2016

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Recommendations

To improve the quality and standards of care further the service should take account of the following recommendation: Ensure all incidents of control, discipline and restraint are subject to systems of regular scrutiny to ensure that their use is fair and the principle’s as set out in 9.5 are respected. (The Guide to the Quality Standards, page 46, paragraph 9.36)

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Recommendations

Ensure that all staff are familiar with the home's policy on record keeping and understand the importance of careful, objective and clear recording. Staff should record information on individual children in a non-stigmatising way that distinguishes between fact, opinion and third party information. Information about the child must always be recorded in a way that will be helpful to the child. (The Guide to the Quality Standards, page 62, paragraph 14.4)

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Information about this children's home

The home is operated by a private company and is currently registered to provide care and accommodation for up to three young people.

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Recent inspection history

Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

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Recent inspection history

19/03/2015 CH - Interim sustained effectiveness

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Recent inspection history

12/09/2013 CH - Interim Inadequate Progress

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Requires improvement

Young people living in this home have complex behavioural and emotional needs. Outcomes for young people are mixed, with some doing better than others. Handover’s and team meetings provide opportunities for staff to share information about their approach to managing young people’s high risk behaviours. Some young people are, on occasion, verbally abusive and disrespectful to care staff. Despite this young people generally enjoy good relationships with staff. They say some care staff are ok and can identify a member of staff who they enjoy spending time with. The staff team have been unsuccessful in encouraging one young person who refuses to engage in formal education. High levels of missing from home episodes have impacted on her availability to attend education. She is rarely home in the evenings and is not taking an evening meal at the home. As a result her overall dietary needs are not suitably monitored to ensure good health.

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Requires improvement

Young people do not currently join in with weekly house meetings. Staff have not sought more creative ways to engage young people nor have they examined the value in continuing to impose these.

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Requires improvement

Staff understand how important memories are, all young people have a memory photo album. This will help the young people to remember their time at the home positively, and will promote their emotional well-being into the future.

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Requires improvement

Two young people have been admitted to the home, and one young person has left since the previous inspection. Good transition and planning arrangements were maintained for all young people.

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Requires improvement

The home requires improvement because some of the shortfalls identified within this inspection have a potential impact on the young people’s welfare and safety.

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Requires improvement

Staff have not fully explored strategies to persuade and prevent young people from making risky decisions. In addition, some decisions made by staff are poor and fail to consider the young person’s safety and development. For example, staff allow a young person to have free time during school hours. They provide transport for free time when they are not aware of the whereabouts and activities that the young person is engaged in.

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Requires improvement

Staff follow missing from home protocols when young people do not return home. When reported as missing, staff actively search all known areas. They do not settle until young people return home. Young people appreciate this approach to their care. However, return home interviews conducted with a young person do not always explore why they went missing, where they were and what they were involved during the absence. The locality risk assessment is not sufficiently comprehensive to consider the risks prevalent in the local area against the current young person’s needs. For example the impact of transport links, crime, exploitation and radicalisation. Young people have age appropriate access to the internet including social networking sites. The staff provide proper oversight, support and guidance to educate young people in the safe use of social media. The manager has acted upon recommendation made at the last inspection. The

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Requires improvement

recruitment checks for all staff are maintained by the home.

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Requires improvement

Extensive and complex recording systems maintained in the home are unwieldy and as a result, they not robustly monitored by the manager. The duplication of records results in staff not always recording details within the correct document. In addition, not all information is clear, concise and comprehensively completed. For example; sanctions and daily living records lack the required information. The home’s development plan is now in place. This focuses on the current provision; there is a lack of creativity and challenge for future development.

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Requires improvement

Staffing numbers allow for each young person to receive one-to-one support. The team provide good quality, continuity of care, shift vacancies are predominately filled by core team members. When this is not possible shifts are filled by other staff from within the same company who are known to the young people. Arrangements for the support, supervision, and training of members of the staff team are good. Supervision is provided on a regular basis and all members of staff have an annual appraisal of their work practice. This includes setting personal development targets. The Registered Manager has extensive experience working with children who have complex behavioural needs. He holds a Level four National Vocational Qualification (NVQ) in Health and Social Care Management. His continued professional development has not been formally reviewed within his annual appraisal. Staff meeting’s take place monthly, a set agenda focuses on a wide range of

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Requires improvement

subject’s. Young people’s current behaviour’s and needs are referenced. However, the team do not consolidate the information discussed at handover to reflect on their practice, they do not explore alternative or effective behaviour management strategies. Staff say they say they feel valued and enjoy working together as a team.

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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

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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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