Children's Home run by Cambian Childcare Limited in Middlesbrough

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 make significant progress as a result of the individualised, high-quality care provided.  Young people are kept safe and protected by staff. A number of risks at admission are no longer present.  Episodes of going missing from the home have significantly reduced in frequency and duration.  The staff team builds positive relationships with young people and provides a caring and nurturing environment.  Research-based practice is used by all staff to improve care planning for young people.  Young people are actively encouraged to take part in decision making within the home.  There are excellent monitoring forms and procedures in place.  The manager and staff are supported in their personal growth and development to improve their skills and practice.  There are good professional working relationships with others to ensure the best possible care, experiences and outcomes for young people.

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Information about this children's home

The home provides care and accommodation for one child or young person aged between eight and 18 years old with emotional and/or behavioural difficulties. It is operated by a private company.

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Recent inspection history

Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

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Recent inspection history

8 March 2016 Interim Sustained effectiveness

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Recent inspection history

17 February 2015 Interim Improved effectiveness

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Outstanding

Young people make significant progress as a result of the individualised, high- quality care provided. The enthusiastic staff team are motivated and keen to help young people succeed. Staff consistently provide support to help young people improve their life chances. Young people know what is expected of them due to the provision of detailed, useful information about the home. Locality information is also provided to encourage young people’s involvement in the community. This promotes a sense of belonging for young people from the moment they arrive at the home. Care planning takes a holistic approach with the staff team completing a thoroughly detailed care plan and chronology using relevant and reliable research. Input from the in-house psychologist provides staff with a comprehensive picture of the young person and their needs. For one young person this identified the need for visual charts, which has greatly improved her independent living skills.

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Outstanding

All staff are involved in the care planning and review process to collectively capture information about young people. Regular monthly core group meetings take place with family and professionals to robustly review care plans. This ensures consistent all-round support to young people. The staff team builds extremely positive relationships, with one young person reporting that ‘staff are alright’. Significant progress and outcomes continue to be made from young people’s starting points. Young people are actively encouraged to access education and staff provide a high level of ongoing support. This involves attendance at meetings, contact with the training provider and support in key worker sessions. This has resulted in 100% attendance for the current young person and has empowered her to attend further education. Staff develop excellent working relationships with young people’s families, which has been instrumental in the increase in family contact. One parent said, ‘The

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Outstanding

manager will take any suggestions on board and discusses (young person) with you.’ The committed staff team attends medical appointments with young people and provides encouragement to take any prescribed medication. Staff seek medical advice when needed. They provide advice, information and practical support to help educate young people to lead a healthy lifestyle. One young person reports that she has stopped smoking. Staff actively promote engagement with physical sports and activities. This provides young people with endless opportunities for social interaction and increases their confidence and self-esteem. Staff use a number of methods to ensure that young people express their views and opinions in respect to decision making within the home. Young people also have access to an independent advocate. This gives them the additional support to raise any concerns and make their views known. The staff team has designed an

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Outstanding

independent living award programme to make young people more knowledgeable and proficient in how to provide for, care for and support themselves in independence. Staff are supportive and nurturing of young people. A professional reports the home as being ‘a homely, caring environment’. The current young person has personalised her bedroom and other areas of the home and chooses to spend evenings at the home with staff rather than out with friends. This demonstrates the good relationships that exist between them.

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Outstanding

Robust and comprehensive risk assessments outline the potential risks to young people. Staff respond to these by ensuring appropriate safety measures and strategies are in place. Reflective practice takes place during supervision and within team meetings where the staff team discusses control measures and their effectiveness. All staff are responsible for regularly updating the risk assessment. Risk taking, poor decision-making and offending behaviours have reduced. The staff team actively educates young people about the dangers involved with their behaviours and provide a consistent approach to incidents. This leads to revised action plans after consulting with young people. For one young person, a number of risks that were apparent at the time of admission are no longer present, with the social worker reporting that ‘many of the immediate risks have been eliminated’. Incidents involving young people misusing substances have reduced. This is a

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Outstanding

result of staff providing information and research to young people, which has developed their understanding of the risks and consequences. In addition, the staff team’s knowledge is increased through regular training and consultation with a drugs worker who reports, ‘Looking at where (young person) was and where she is now, there are massive changes.’ The risk of child sexual exploitation is low. Episodes of going missing from the home have reduced significantly in frequency and duration. Staff have a good knowledge of safeguarding issues such as an awareness of child sexual exploitation. Safeguarding training is updated. Staff are aware of the home’s child protection and whistleblowing procedures. Complaints and allegations are taken seriously, investigated thoroughly and appropriate action taken. The manager and staff learn from these outcomes. Staff have effective links with the local authority designated officer. This provides them

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Outstanding

with advice and support and helps ensure timely action when necessary. A detailed and comprehensive template related to missing from home incidents triggers staff to capture and record significant details about a young person. The manager ensures that the social worker or independent advocate conduct return home interviews. Staff also detail any subsequent conversations with the young person. This provides a comprehensive picture of the missing from home incidents and looks at associated risks such as child sexual exploitation. The manager requests and takes part in strategy meetings. This ensures that there is a well- coordinated response to concerning behaviours and incidents. A parent said that the children’s home is, ‘Definitely by far the best place who [that] have kept her the safest in the last 18 months.’ The current young person has a strong sense of safety and well-being. She has a good relationship with staff.

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Outstanding

The staff team work alongside local police and other safeguarding agencies to obtain up-to-date information about local crime or drug misuse in the area. This proactive approach keeps the home up to date with any new safeguarding issues and puts staff in a stronger position to protect young people.

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Outstanding

The manager has the relevant experience, qualifications and skills and has held registered manager status at the home since 2014. He also manages another children’s home within the organisation, but this has no impact on the services delivered to the young people. An annual review of his personal development plan takes place at his appraisal. This looks at how the registered manager’s skills, experience and practice can be developed further. The registered manager’s strong yet approachable leadership style encourages staff development through supervision, care planning and training. Senior staff are empowered to make decisions. The staff’s active involvement in the care planning process enables the manager to monitor deficiencies in staff knowledge. Regular, high-quality supervision and team meetings take place with a clear agenda and reflection about the young person. The manager has made positive changes within the home through the update of

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Outstanding

monitoring procedures. Staff use a range of chronologies to provide instant access to information about young people. These are specific to the young person and can include behaviour management, missing from home episodes and drug and alcohol misuse. Progress and deterioration in behaviours can be easily tracked, monitored and analysed. This assists with the review of risk assessments and enables staff to identify themes in behaviours and respond accordingly. Improvement in the quality of reports and care plans has resulted in highly effective care planning and review of the young people’s care. The enthusiastic manager reports that he is, ‘constantly striving to make further improvements for young people’. The staff team shares the same child-focused and caring ethos as outlined within the statement of purpose. This relates to keeping young people at the centre of their practice. Staff bring a range of skills and experiences to make a diverse staff team. These

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Outstanding

are enhanced through a comprehensive induction-training programme, with ongoing training and development opportunities. Staff use up-to-date research information to inform and improve practice. The manager said, ‘Everyone wants to learn and develop. There is a real positive attitude of staff.’ The small, close-knit staff team feels valued and supported. One new staff member said, ‘I can ask anything. At handovers everyone checks you are okay.’ Professional relationships with others ensure the best possible care, experiences and outcomes for young people. This commitment extends to when the young person is ready to leave the home with the manager challenging decisions on their behalf. This ensures that the young person gets the most appropriate housing and practical and emotional support upon entering independent living. Staff provide outreach support. Due to the positive relationships formed, young people stay in

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Outstanding

contact with staff after they have left the home.

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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 that 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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