Children's home run by Cambian Childcare Limited in Stockport

children and young people since the most recent full inspection

This home was judged Requires improvement at the full inspection. At this interim inspection Ofsted judge that it has improved effectiveness .

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

The staff and manager have created a happier home since the last inspection. They provide good quality care for the three young people. One young person said, ‘staff are cool – they’re calm. It’s nice to have banter without unsettling people – I can relax and be myself.’ The manager said, ‘the girls have so many positives – they don’t want to go back.’

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

The home required improvement at the full inspection in September because two young people had experienced further instances of sexual exploitation on an occasion when they went missing from the home. Since then, the manager has ensured that the staff group caring for young people is composed of dedicated, well trained, effective persons who have made strong relationships with young people. Agency and relief staff have not been used. The manager has also ensured that admissions to the home are well planned and match well with the existing young people living in the home. As a result, the two young people here since August and December 2015 are thriving. Young people want to be here. They feel well supported both in the home and at school. They know that staff will help them be safe. One young person said, ‘I feel I have progressed lots since the last time I had a review. I have started to have time with a therapist who I feel does help and I am trying really hard with not

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

going missing from care. I have tried really hard with attending school every day although I find this hard.’ This young person has done some project work around mental health and children in care, giving her a greater insight to the difficulties children face and what provision and support is available to meet their needs. Since November 2015, both the young people in placement have made significant progress. The incidence of going missing, walking out of the home and self-harm are almost nil. Young people are enjoying one another’s company and have appropriate and safe friendships with other peers. They are keeping healthy and enjoying outdoor pursuits and gym attendance. One young person has completed a triathlon. Young people go with staff on trips to the seaside, and have had subtle, age-appropriate hair and beauty treatments. Their self-confidence and social skills have blossomed. Young people are enjoying being in the home and participating in its upkeep. They

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

have rearranged the communal rooms, chosen new décor and upgraded and personalised their bedrooms. They are having more frequent and more positive contact with their families, both face to face, and by phone. They are more confident about the future and are working towards money and phones ‘in hand’, free time, and ultimately, returns to their own community. A young person said, ‘it’s a 50/50 thing and it’s part me and part because the staff support me. It means a lot to me to have support.’ Young people are preparing a welcome for a young person newly matched to the home: they are going to cook her favourite meal for her first night and have placed her name on the diary board. Two young people who left the home in 2015 are doing well back in their home areas. They are holding down employment and study. One young person is speaking to professionals who are training to help young people who are suffering exploitation.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

The staff team continue to build on their skills and experience. They are highly committed and motivated because of the progress of young people. Previous issues with sickness and absence to help in other homes no longer undermine the quality of staff’s relationships with young people. Staff use four principles in their daily practice: playfulness, acceptance, curiosity and empathy. Staff make sure young people know how well they are progressing and how rewarding this makes staff’s work. The deputy manager wrote to young people, ‘thank you – I love coming to work - you go to bed on time and you are respectful.’ Staff debrief, review and talk about their practice responses regularly. They do this with the organisation’s clinicians, in team meetings and in individual supervision sessions. However, staff’s recording of the detail of their practice is still too general, including lacking any analysis.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

During October and November 2015, young people continued to grapple with their experiences of exploitation and their emotional and behavioural difficulties. They particularly struggled in school. They tried to run away a few times and there were episodes of self-harm at school and in the home. Staff sometimes needed to use physical intervention to avoid serious harm. Staff worked insightfully and sensitively to help young people during these periods. They use vigilance and safety measures sensitively and are usually successful at de-escalating situations. There were two incidents where a young people and staff members suffered injury. There were also events where complaints and allegations were made about police and teachers. A young person suffered serious injury jumping from her bedroom window one night in November. She was unable to return to the home due to her injuries. The manager was involved in planning a move to a solo

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

placement nearer to home where she is doing better. The manager has learnt lessons about better matching from this inappropriate placement. She has also ensured that the best tamper-proof window restrictors are fitted to all bedroom windows.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

The registered manager’s commitment and energy continue unabated. Since the last inspection she has had full control over admissions to the home. The mix of young people and the timing of their admissions is therefore much better planned and executed. For example, staff are visiting young people who are coming to the home and are gaining much more detail about their needs. The manager is convinced that the house and staff are most effective with no more than three young people placed. This is because there are four bedrooms upstairs and young people say they feel safer when at least one member of staff sleeps upstairs. Staff also say they can hear and respond better than when two staff are both sleeping downstairs.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

The manager is liaising closely with school staff to develop more consistent and helpful responses to young people’s anxieties. This includes providing staff from the home to support young people in school. This is successfully reducing the number of walk-outs, self-harm and physical interventions happening at school. The provision of assessment and therapy is also working more consistently to help young people work through their emotional difficulties. Furthermore, the manager is ensuring that therapists are liaising closely and regularly to help staff interpret and respond helpfully to young people’s needs.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

The manager is focusing on developing staff practice so that the impact of young people’s exploitation experiences are addressed helpfully through all aspects of daily living. However, the manager’s written development plan for the home is lengthy, general, and too broad in scope. She has not come up with prioritised, targeted improvements that best develop the home. This is partly because she does not make sufficient use of messages from her own reviews of the quality of care or the recommendations of the home’s monthly visitor.

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Information about this children's home

This is a privately operated children’s home forming part of a large national provider. The home accommodates up to four children or young people with emotional or behavioural difficulties. It specialises in care for young people who have experienced CSE.

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Recent inspection history

Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

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Recent inspection history

25/09/2015 CH - Full Requires improvement

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Recent inspection history

03/03/2015 CH - Interim Sustained effectiveness

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Recent inspection history

14/04/2014 Re-registration Not applicable

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Recommendations

Ensure that staff supervision enables staff to reflect and act upon how their own feelings and behaviour may be affected by the behaviour of the children they care for. Specifically, extend the recording of staff practice and use it more effectively to review and reflect on what practice works well and less well. (The Guide to the Quality Standards, page 39, paragraph 8.15) Decide what each review should focus on, based on the specific circumstances of the home at that particular time and any areas of high risk to the children that the home is designed to care for, such as missing or exploitation. Consider what information or data recorded in the home will form part of the evidence base for your analysis and conclusions. The whole review process and the resulting report should be used as a tool for continuous improvement in the home. This is with particular respect to ensuring the home's development plan uses relevant information and targets

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Recommendations

improvements to best support the recovery of young people from who have suffered child sexual exploitation. (The Guide to the Quality Standards, page 65, paragraph 15.4)

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What the inspection judgements mean

At the interim inspection we make a judgement on whether the home has improved in effectiveness, sustained effectiveness, or declined in effectiveness since the previous full inspection. This is in line with the Inspection of children's homes: framework for inspection.

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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 focused on the effectiveness of the home and the progress and experiences of children and young people since the most recent full inspection.

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Information about this inspection

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 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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