Children's Home run by Cambian Childcare Limited in Leeds

Outstanding

The children's home provides highly effective services that consistently exceeds the standards of good. The actions of the home contribute to significantly improved outcomes for children and young people who need help, protection and care.

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The children's home provision is outstanding because:

 Young people are happy, settled and secure . They make excellent progress from their individual starting points, supported by staff who are ambitious for them to do well and have happy, successful lives.  Young people receive highly effective support which enables them to develop resilience and enjoy good emotional and psychological health.  Highly vigilant staff have an excellent understanding of young people's historical and current risks.  Intensive one-to-one work with young people and close partnership working with police and social workers is effective in reducing risks.  Young people receive nurturing, thoughtful and consistent care from staff who are committed to achieving the best possible outcomes for them.  Monitoring is highly effective in improving the quality of care young people receive. Staff are very well supported and their development and training is prioritised.

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Recommendations

To improve the quality and standards of care further the service should take account of the following recommendation(s):  The registered person's review should focus on the quality of the care provided by the home, the experiences of children living there and the impact the care is having on outcomes and improvements for the children. (The Guide to the Children's Homes Regulations, page 64 paragraph 15.2)

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Information about this children's home

This is a private children's home. It is registered to take three children with emotional and behavioural difficulties.

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Recent inspection history

Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

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Recent inspection history

12/05/2014 Interim Improved effectiveness

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Outstanding

Young people achieve significant and sustained personal, social and emotional development. This is because staff provide outstanding quality care in a safe, nurturing environment. The expertise, skill and perseverance of staff results in young people having extremely stable and settled placements. This gives them the chance to develop long-term positive attachments to adults they trust. As a result, young people are emotionally at ease with staff. They turn to them with their hurts, worries and anger and allow themselves to be consoled by the adults around them. Young people talk things through with staff to reach a resolution. In this way, they are helped to strengthen their emotional resilience and to see that it is good to share their feelings. An independent reviewing officer (IRO) noted that one young person, 'feels very settled and stable in his placement….is now much calmer and able to express his feelings appropriately

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Outstanding

without losing control of emotions…' These improvements are arrived at because of the relentless focus on young people's emotional well-being. Staff very effectively implement the guidance, tips and techniques they learn from in-house clinicians. This helps them to successfully address the psychological and emotional barriers that may prevent young people from making progress. These strategies are highly effective. Young people are enjoying life. They invest in their education and have 100% attendance at school and are working hard towards the targets set for them. They are developing a good work ethic and acquire the values they need to help them stay fully engaged in their education. Young people understand that their lives have improved. An independent reviewing officer noted that one young person, 'is thrilled that he is now doing better in placement; he enjoys the praise that he receives from the staff for his good

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Outstanding

behaviour….and at school where his behaviour has improved dramatically.' Young people eat well, sleep well and are in good health. There is a lot of good humour around which helps keep young people 'buoyant' and defuse problematic situations. Young people participate fully in the activities offered to them, both in the home and wider community. They happily taking part in long walks, board games and 'themed' nights, as well as cadets, scouts and challenges such as climbing Mount Snowdon. They need little excuse to raise money for charity, for example hosting a coffee morning to raise money for cancer support. Young people are supported to maintain relationships with people who are important to them. Priority is given to making sure these contacts are safe and worthwhile for young people. In this and all aspects of their care and decision- making, their views carry considerable weight. For example, the home's car was

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Outstanding

changed to a bigger model because of a request from young people.

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Outstanding

Young people learn about personal responsibility and skills for independence in ways that are adjusted to meet their age, needs and abilities. All young people are involved in doing small tasks in the home as a normal part of family life, such as setting and clearing away the table and helping with the laundry. These routine chores help prepare the way for further development of their independence skills.

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Outstanding

Young people who have moved on to independent living have done so successfully with the effective support of staff. They keep in touch with staff and are continuing well with their education. Their independent placements are stable which indicates they are well-prepared by the home to manage this transition.

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outstanding

Young people feel safe and secure here. They are helped to stay safe by highly vigilant staff who have an excellent understanding of young people's historical and current risks. Intensive one-to-one work with young people and close partnership working with police and social workers is effective in reducing risks.

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outstanding

Staff provide a reassuring presence to young people. They stay close to hand, ready to listen and alert to any concerns. As a result, young people rarely go missing. A recommendation to agree local protocols with the police has been met.

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outstanding

There is no involvement in sexual exploitation and no bullying in the home. Internet safety is overseen by an 'e-champion' and the home limits the access that young people have to internet sites.

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outstanding

One of the aims of the statement of purpose is to 'support young people to develop resilience and understand their behaviours.' This is successfully achieved and young people respond well to the boundaries put in place for their protection and to improve their behaviour. A placing social worker commented that for one young person, 'life is generally far more settled in placement and this reflects on his behaviour in school.' The occasional testing of these boundaries is managed well. Incidents of physical restraint are rigorously scrutinised and have reduced considerably since the last inspection.

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outstanding

There are exemplary audit trails detailing how staff have been challenged to improve practice around restraint, including the involvement of the local authority designated officer. Recording of restraints is improved and the requirement set at the last inspection is met. This supports improvement in practice as well as protecting young people in these situations.

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outstanding

Comprehensive impact assessments are effective in ensuring that new admissions to the home will not have a detrimental effect on those already living here. Risks are carefully considered before a decision is made about whether the home can meet the young person's needs.

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outstanding

Young people are protected by robust recruitment procedures. This ensures only those who pose no risk to children are employed at the home. This is an improved area of practice and the recommendation set at the last inspection is therefore met.

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outstanding

Young people benefit from living in an environment that is comfortable, homely and spacious. The house is decorated and furnished to a very high standard and its location provides a safe setting for young people.

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outstanding

The registered manager has managed this home since October 2013. She is on the verge of completing her Level 5 management award.

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outstanding

The manager provides strong leadership and management to the team. She ensures that the home fulfils its aim to, 'support young people in gaining confidence and self-esteem to enable them to reach their full potential as well as guiding and nurturing them.' A requirement set at the last inspection for the home to work within its statement of purpose is met.

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outstanding

The manager achieves this by providing strong management and leadership, heading a team of highly competent and well-trained staff. Together they bring to the role a mixture of very practical skills, intelligent creativity, unflappability and a dogged perseverance.

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outstanding

The team uses reflective practice to make their interventions more effective. Training is prioritised, especially in those areas of need that may be new to staff, such as foetal alcohol syndrome. Along with stability and consistency, these elements combine to provide young people with a nurturing environment where they thrive and lead happy fulfilling lives.

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outstanding

Underpinning staff practice is the thread of strong partnership working with a range of other agencies, particularly education and social workers. This ensures that care planning remains current and relevant in meeting young people's needs. The quality of recording is good and a requirement set at the last inspection to ensure documents are consistently signed off is met.

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outstanding

Requirements to improve the quality of monitoring are met. Staff give constant attention to the detail of young people's lives. There is daily scrutiny about how young people will be managed, how their needs will be responded to, and what may need to be done differently to meet those needs. This level of monitoring enables swift and decisive adjustments to be made if things are not going well for young people. It gives the manager the oversight she needs to maintain the highly individualised care planning which young people clearly benefit from. The manager is supported in this task by the independent visitor who consults widely with young people and others. This helps to inform her view as to whether young people are safe and their welfare is being promoted. The quality of the independent visitor's report has improved and these are sent on time to Ofsted. The requirement set at the last inspection is therefore met.

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outstanding

The manager's monitoring of the home's performance is robust but the six monthly report does not fully evaluate her findings. The document is too descriptive and would benefit from clearly reflecting what the manager does in practice; that is to evaluate what impact the care is having on outcomes and improvements for young people. This would do better justice to the actions of staff and enable the manager to set clearer actions to further improve the quality of care. A final requirement to ensure records are dated and signed is met. Practice is now more consistent and ensures that there is a clear audit trail for any incident or event.

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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

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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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