Children's home run by Cambian Childcare Limited in County Durham

Good

The children's home provides effective services that meet the requirements for good.

p.2

The children's home provision is good because:

 Staff have a very good understanding of young people‘s needs and how to meet them. They draw up detailed plans in consultation with social workers and the young people themselves. These help young people to make sustained progress in all areas of their lives.

p.3

The children's home provision is good because:

 Relationships between staff and young people are excellent. Staff provide a homely environment where young people feel valued and respected, and are enabled to make choices. Staff ensure that young people can participate in a wide range of stimulating activities within the community.

p.3

The children's home provision is good because:

 Staff are consistent in setting boundaries for young people. This results in an orderly and happy home, and keeps young people safe.

p.3

The children's home provision is good because:

 Staff promote the value of education and celebrate young people‘s successes. All young people are engaged in full-time education and are doing well. Staff have excellent relationships with health professionals. They are proactive in supporting young people to maintain good physical and emotional well-being.

p.3

The children's home provision is good because:

 The registered manager provides her staff with sound leadership. She inspires them to place the welfare and safety of the young people at the centre of their practice.

p.3

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 ‗Guide to the children's homes regulations including the quality standards‘. The registered person(s) must comply within the given timescales.

p.4

Requirement Due date

employ an individual to work at the children‘s home; or

p.4

Requirement Due date

if an individual is employed by a person other than the registered person to work at the home in a position in which the individual may have regular contact with children, allow that individual to work at the home, if the individual satisfies the requirements in paragraph (3).

p.4

Requirement Due date

the individual is of integrity and good character;

p.4

Requirement Due date

the individual has the appropriate experience, qualification and skills for the work that the individual is to perform;

p.4

Requirement Due date

the individual is mentally and physically fit for the purposes of the work that the individual is to perform; and

p.4

Requirement Due date

full and satisfactory information is available in relation to the individual in respect of each of the matters in Schedule 2.

p.4

Requirement Due date

For the purposes of paragraph (3)(b), an individual who works in the home in a care role has the appropriate qualification if, by the relevant date, the individual has attained—

p.4

Requirement Due date

the Level 3 Diploma for Residential Childcare (England) (―the Level 3 Diploma‖); or

p.4

Requirement Due date

a qualification which the registered person considers to be equivalent to the Level 3 Diploma.

p.4

Requirement Due date

The relevant date is— 1 December 2016 in the case of an individual who starts working in a care role in a home after 1st April 2014, the date which falls 2 years after the date on which the individual started working in a care role in a home; or

p.4

Requirement Due date

in the case of an individual who was working in a care role in a home on 1st April 2014, 1st April 2016 (Regulation 32(2), (3), (4) and (5)(b).

p.5

Requirement Due date

12. In order to meet the protection of children standard, with particular reference to ensuring that play equipment is used safely, the registered person must ensure—

p.5

Requirement Due date

(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. 17 June 2016

p.5

Recommendations

To improve the quality and standards of care further, the service should take account of the following recommendation(s):  Ensure that the home provides a domestic and homely environment. Specifically, that young people are not required to sign documents such as restraint records and key-worker sessions ('Guide to the children's homes regulations including the quality standards', page 15, paragraph 3.9).

p.5

Information about this children's home

The home accommodates up to five children with learning disabilities. It is operated by a private company.

p.6

Recent inspection history

Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

p.6

Recent inspection history

16 February 2016 Interim Sustained effectiveness

p.6

Recent inspection history

10 March 2015 Interim Sustained effectiveness

p.6

Good

A high staffing ratio means that there are always sufficient adults around to provide the right level of support for young people. Staff have an excellent knowledge of each young person‘s needs and address these through detailed yet easy to understand plans. These plans are shared with young people so that they know the targets they are aiming for. Staff review targets regularly. As a result, young people make sustained progress in areas such as social relationships, self- care skills and independence. One young person who came to live at the home recently would not eat at the dining table or make eye contact with others. As a result of the persistence of staff, he now takes part in meals and is noticeably more confident. A social worker said of another young person, ‗He has taken a massive step forward. His interaction with other young people and staff is great. His communication has come on in leaps and bounds.‘

p.7

Good

The generally relaxed and happy atmosphere within the home reflects the quality of the relationships between young people and staff. Young people enjoy the company of staff, sharing experiences such as activities and holidays. A young person said, ‗I like it here, the staff are nice.‘ Young people have spent time away on caravan holidays and Disneyland Paris. Plans are being drawn up for a summer holiday to Spain. These experiences provide lifelong memories for young people and promote their inclusion into wider society.

p.7

Good

Young people make significant progress as a result of the quality of care and support that staff provide. All young people have full school attendance, and close communication between staff and teachers helps to ensure that any problems are quickly resolved. One young person proudly showed the inspector his certificates for table cricket and ‗brilliant dancing‘. Staff also have excellent working relationships with health professionals. This enables any specialist help which a young person may need to be delivered promptly.

p.7

Good

Staff value young people‘s views. They help them to express themselves, whatever their level of disability or communication needs. Young people can exercise choice in all aspects of daily life, such as how their room is decorated, what food they want or what activities they would like to try. One young person said, ‗The food is nice, I get to choose what I want to eat.‘ Staff enable young people to take part in a wide range of stimulating and healthy activities. These include Zumba, horse riding, beach walks, trips to theme parks and meals out. Staff ensure that young people remember these happy experiences, helping them to put together photo scrapbooks and wall displays. Some young people have ‗life maps‘ on their bedroom walls which record their time in the home and what they have done in a pictorial way. This is a valuable way of promoting young people‘s identity and self- esteem.

p.7

Good

Daily life in the home promotes young people‘s independence. Staff prompt young people to carry out simple tasks such as clearing the table or bringing their laundry downstairs. They support young people to develop self-care skills, such as cutting their own nails. Young people‘s planned targets can also focus on skills that they will need as they approach adulthood, such as going to the local shop and counting out their money to buy sweets. Staff also manage transitions into the home well. They assess the needs of new young people, even those admitted in an emergency, to ensure that they will not have an adverse impact on the existing group and vice versa.

p.8

Good

Staff are good at promoting contact between young people and their families. They are particularly skilled at helping parents and carers to develop better relationships with their children by offering advice and support. As a result, many young people see people who are important to them more often and experience a better quality of such contact. A social worker said, ‗Staff are excellent at promoting contact and do it safely.‘ Another commented, ‗The young person‘s mum and dad have a really strong view of the quality of care that he is receiving, and how their relationship with them has improved.‘

p.8

Good

Plans for young people take full account of the need to keep them safe. They assess potential risks and what strategies are used to manage them. For example, the e-safety policy is put into practice through individual work with young people, and ensuring that their access to the Internet is appropriate and safe. Young people are not at risk from child sexual exploitation. Entrances to the building are controlled so that young people cannot put themselves in danger by straying onto the road. This measure in no way restricts the liberty of young people. They have access to the large garden, and come and go to and from the home with staff support. The home has recently replaced its garden trampoline with a new model, at the request of young people. A risk assessment sets out how it is to be used safely, but at times more than one young person has been on it at the same time. This is potentially dangerous and contravenes the guidance given to staff.

p.8

Good

There have been no incidents where young people have gone missing from the home. When young people go out, for example on activities or simply shopping, they are supported by staff. Nevertheless, staff know the home‘s policy and procedures should a young person go missing. They are also confident in knowing what to do in respect of any other safeguarding issue, even in the absence of the registered manager. This level of competence means that the safety of young people is assured at all times. There is no bullying. One young person said, ‗I like the other kids. I get on with all of them.‘ Another, when asked if he felt safe here, said ‗yes, definitely.‘

p.8

Good

Staff employ a system of positive incentives, individual to each young person, to encourage acceptable behaviour. Sanctions are not used. Day-to-day living is structured so that young people know what they need to do at any particular time. Some young people are provided with picture symbols of their daily routines. The staff timetable, with their photos, is displayed for young people to see. This information is important in maintaining predictability, and provides young people with assurance and emotional security.

p.9

Good

Staff are consistent in setting and maintaining appropriate boundaries for young people. A social worker said, ‗The young person is in receipt of consistent boundaries and routines which are explained using picture symbols.‘ This is important for all, but particularly for those young people whose lives prior to coming here had little structure. The ethos of the home provides a framework within which young people can build meaningful social relationships, and develop their emotional resilience and self-confidence. It also reduces the incidence of challenging behaviour. Staff‘s deep knowledge of each young person enables them to be alert to signs that they are becoming agitated or distressed. When this happens, staff intervene quickly to offer support and comfort. Infrequently, staff need to hold a young person to keep them safe. Staff monitor the number of incidents, including those which did not culminate

p.9

Good

in restraint. It is evident that the number of times that challenging and potentially harmful behaviour is successfully averted greatly outnumbers the restraints. A social worker observed, ‗The young person is difficult to ―read‖, but staff can do it – they know him so well and because of this there are many more times when incidents are de-escalated than when they lead to restraints.‘

p.9

Good

The registered manager is appropriately qualified and experienced. She is continuing to develop professionally, for example by attending advanced training on safeguarding and autism. She leads the staff team with an evident commitment to ensuring the welfare, happiness and safety of young people. Relationships between staff at all levels and other professionals are productive. One social worker said, ‗Staff always keep me informed about what is going on. They have been so helpful in working with the parents, as well. The home is doing excellent work.‘ Staff have access to a wide range of training opportunities, both online and face to face. New staff undergo an intensive induction programme before they begin working with young people. Staff are supported through regular formal supervision, which also enables managers to ensure that they are working effectively to promote young people‘s welfare. Staff meetings are well recorded

p.9

Good

and show that the large majority of the discussion is around the young people, their individual progress and how to improve it. A significant minority of staff (42%) have not attained the necessary qualification within the timescale required by regulation (April 2016). They are working towards this and are expected to achieve it by December 2016.

p.10

Good

The quality of the registered manager‘s monitoring of both the home and the progress of young people is excellent. Her reports make use of extensive consultation with young people, social workers, parents and staff. This enables her to be aware of areas which might be improved to build on strengths. In addition, monthly monitoring of other indicators helps the registered manager to address any concerns. For example, an evaluation of restraints (what behaviour triggered each incident, time of day, staff involved and so on) ensures that any patterns and trends are identified, and corrective action taken if necessary.

p.10

Good

The premises are attractive and reasonably well maintained. Young people‘s bedrooms are particularly welcoming and comfortable, providing them with a sense of security and that they are valued. The requirement that young people sign certain documents, such as restraint records, is somewhat institutional, and detracts from the overall impression of homeliness.

p.10

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‘.

p.11

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.

p.11

What the inspection judgements mean

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 harmed or at risk of harm or result in children looked after not having their welfare safeguarded and promoted.

p.11

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.

p.12

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 ‗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 0300 123 4234, or email enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk .

p.12

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, work- based 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,

p.13

Information about this inspection

The National Archives, Kew, London TW9 4DU, or email: psi@nationalarchives.gsi.gov.uk .

p.13

Information about this inspection

Interested in our work? You can subscribe to our monthly newsletter for more information and updates: http://eepurl.com/iTrDn .

p.13

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

p.13