Children's Home run by Cambian Childcare Limited in Warwickshire

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:

 Young people enjoy being at the home and are positive about the care that they receive.  Staff work well to get to know the differing needs of the young people and respond to these effectively.

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The children's home provision is good because:

 The quality of relationships between staff and young people is a core strength of the home.

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The children's home provision is good because:

 Staff provide a good balance between consistent boundaries reminding young people of the expectations of the home and nurturing them.

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The children's home provision is good because:

 Good safeguarding arrangements help to ensure that risk taking behaviours are appropriately responded to.  Behaviour management systems promote positive behaviours with personalised targets for improvement.

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The children's home provision is good because:

 Strategies to respond to young people that go missing are well known and link well to police protocols.  Good links are in place with the professionals that are associated with the young people.

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The children's home provision is good because:

 Information is shared well and social workers are positive about the progress that young people make.  The home is managed well and staff are consistently supported. They are positive about the management team and receive a good level of training.  Some development is required in records relating to rewards and young people’s meetings.

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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 positive behaviour and relationships are reinforced, praised and encouraged, with a greater clarity of rewards recorded. (The Guide to the Quality Standards, page 35, paragraph 8.8)  regularly consult young people on their views about the home's care, with this information support continued improvement in the quality of care provided. Children should be able to see the results of their views being listened to and acted upon. (The Guide to the Quality Standards, page 19, paragraph 4.11)

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Information about this children's home

This home is registered for up to five young people who may have emotional or behavioural problems. The service is owned by a large private company and is within a semi-rural setting.

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Recent inspection history

Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

p.5

Recent inspection history

18/03/2015 CH - Interim Improved effectiveness

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Recent inspection history

23/10/2013 CH - Interim Inadequate Progress

p.5

Good

A dedicated, enthusiastic staff team who implement structures and effective frameworks for care, safety and behaviour look after the young people. The safety and individual needs of young people are placed in the centre of all practice in the home. The staff promote a stimulating and nurturing environment for young people to successfully progress and are committed to engaging, developing and maintaining respectful relationships with the young people.

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Good

Consultation arrangements are good and young people take part in differing forums for staff to gain their views including key work sessions and weekly meetings. The format of which has recently changed and no longer includes a response from the manager. This development does not show that young people are being consistently responded to.

p.6

Good

Young people are aware of how to raise concerns about their care. Complaints are responded to well including letters to the young people to show their involvement in the decision making process.

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Good

Contact arrangements are appropriate and developed from the point of young people’s admission. Staff ensure that where contact needs to be supervised this is completed.

p.6

Good

Young people enjoy a range of activities which provide excitement, physical challenges and learning. This includes going swimming with staff or engaging in their favourite pastimes such as fishing and cycling. They are supported by staff and are enriched by the positive experiences. An excellent game of monopoly was enjoyed over the inspection period.

p.6

Good

Young people have their physical and medical health care needs met well. Robust plans highlight the specific areas of need and how these will be addressed. The role of the key-worker is central to the way that care is provided. For example, in taking a lead in ensuring all routine appointments are completed, including a range of dental appointments to support orthodontic procedures. They act as advocates for young people. As such, they drive the progress that young people make in relation to their health.

p.6

Good

The home works well with a range of educational placements and young people develop their academic abilities while being at the home. Staff are enthusiastic about education and the opportunities that this brings to young people. They worked well to improve a young person’s attendance at school from complete refusal to 92% over a six-month period.

p.6

Good

Young people have highly individualised care plans, which contain all information relevant to them. Files are clear, easily accessible and up to date. Each young person has agreed targets and staff regularly record information to evidence progress.

p.7

Good

The home provides young people with a good standard of accommodation which is maintained well. Bedrooms provide appropriate furnishings and comfort with young people being encouraged to personalise them. There is no damage or graffiti with the living environment, offering a homely feel throughout.

p.7

Good

Arrangements for transition help to develop young people’s independence skills well. They are encouraged to look after themselves with their personal care and be involved with aspects of life around the home that will support them in later life, such as completing their laundry, developing menus and cooking.

p.7

Good

Young people’s safety is consistently promoted. External professionals are also confident in staff’s ability to keep their young people safe, one social worker stated that ‘we work well together to make sure (the young person) is well and the staff are aware of the risks relating to him.’ Staff know young people well and fully understand the complexities of their behaviour. Effective risk management measures such as high levels of staff supervision help to further support them.

p.7

Good

Good health and safety arrangements ensure that young people and the staff team are safe within the home and when out on activities.

p.7

Good

Effective training in safeguarding gives staff a high awareness of the necessary responses should concerns arise relating to the welfare of young people. Good procedures respond to allegations or disclosures. Where these have been raised, the management team are involved with differing professionals to support the welfare of young people. Appropriate chronologies and records show that staff work well together. The lack of information relating to risks, regarding a recent admission has been responded to well, with the manager supporting a move to a home that is better able to meet the young person’s needs. The Registered Manager has raised concerns relating to the admissions process to increase the organisations awareness of the ability of the home to respond to specific needs.

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Good

Young people occasionally go missing from the home. Effective procedures and good staff training help to support young people in these situations including debriefs and discussions with young people regarding the circumstances for their actions. The Registered Manager works well with the local police and there is a common awareness of current protocols for each young person. Strategy meetings help to develop ways of working with young people in such events including individualised risk management plans.

p.8

Good

Behaviour management focuses on addressing specific areas of concern, with staff using the strength of relationships to help young people to behave appropriately. Key workers skilfully address young people’s life experiences including feelings of frustration and anger. As they learn better social skills, they grow in confidence. Key-work sessions enable staff to praise young people so that they begin to understand their own strengths and the progress they are making. Recorded rewards are few however. Incidents that require restraint are rare, highlighting the good level of relationships between young people and staff. When these events occur they are well written and include debriefs with the staff and young people to examine how situations could be better managed by all involved. No young people raise concerns relating to bullying.

p.8

Good

Care is taken to employ staff of high calibre and relevant experience. Recruitment procedures and checks are robust, ensuring appropriate appointments that adhere to safer recruitment procedures at all times.

p.8

Good

A Registered Manager that is qualified up to level five and has been in post since 2012 leads the home. They have a high awareness of the young people, their needs and how these are responded to. This helps to support the young people’s development. All members of staff spoken with gave positive comments about the manager’s strong and supportive leadership of the service; ‘she is always available and can always give advice. She makes the staff team work so well together. It’s good to have her knowing the kids so well.’

p.8

Good

The Registered Manager has a clear appreciation of the strengths and weaknesses of the home and the areas to consolidate and improve upon. A detailed development plan encourages the improvement of the home’s positive care provision. It also examines the physical environment, highlighting changes that will enhance young people’s lives at the home. No requirements or recommendations were made at the last inspection specifying areas needing development. The awareness of the staffs ability’s ensures that it provides care that is in line with its statement of purpose.

p.8

Good

A good approach to evaluating the quality of care ensures routine monitoring procedures are completed, which take an in depth assessment of how well the home is functioning. This enables her to highlight patterns and trends in the behaviour of young people and the practice of adults who care for them. External monitoring is completed on a monthly basis by an independent person and provides a reasonable overview of the level of care provided.

p.9

Good

Links with parents, social workers and a range of professionals are strong and promote a collaborative approach to meeting young people’s needs. Staff are in frequent contact with key people and provide regular updates on how their children are doing.

p.9

Good

The staff are clearly motivated by their enjoyment of working with the young people and watching them progress. There is enough staff on duty to provide safe care and this enables staff plenty of opportunities to spend quality time with the young people. The management provide a good level of support, including regular supervisions and appraisals that include developmental points. Staff meetings develop further staff’s awareness of the young people’s needs, and action points help to give direction to necessary work to be completed. They are also used to further train the staff. The staff feel that the training provided is of a good quality and has enabled them to implement their skills and knowledge into practice. An up to date training matrix shows that all staff receive a good level of basic training and this is supplemented with additional courses pertinent to the needs of the young people.

p.9

Good

The Registered Manager is aware of the need to notify differing professionals following significant events. These show the work that is completed with each occurrence to support young people.

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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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