Children's Home run by Cambian Childcare Limited in Torbay

Good

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

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The children’s home’s provision is good because:

 Young people and staff have positive and strong relationships.  The staff team is caring, committed and proud of young people’s achievements. They have clear expectations of young people’s behaviour and support them well to achieve these expectations.  Professionals and family recognise the excellent progress that young people have made since coming to the home.  Effective systems are in place to ensure that young people have their say and can be involved in decision-making in the home.  Staff understand the risks for young people and work hard to keep them safe.  Incidents and episodes of physical intervention have reduced.  The registered manager has excellent oversight and monitoring of how the home meets young people’s needs.  Staff receive regular, robust supervision and pertinent training.  The registered manager has not escalated a concern about lack of action by children’s social care, and the concern remains unresolved.

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The children’s home’s provision is good because:

 Staff do not have an agreed procedure that is consistently implemented by staff when young people are in their bedrooms for a longer period of time than usual.  The home environment, while clean and well-maintained, is not homely in all areas.  Until recently, staff were not recording the administration of controlled medication due to a misinterpretation of health guidelines.

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

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Requirement Due date

5: Engaging with the wider system to ensure that children’s needs are met

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Requirement Due date

In order to meet the engaging with the wider system standard, the registered person must: 5 (c) if the registered person considers, or staff consider, a placing authority’s or a relevant person’s performance or response to be inadequate in relation to their role, challenge the placing authority or the relevant person to seek to ensure that each child’s needs are met in accordance with the child’s relevant plans. 09/10/2016

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Requirement Due date

6: The quality and purpose of care standard

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Requirement Due date

In order to meet the quality and purpose of care standard, the registered person must:

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Requirement Due date

6 (2)(b)(ii) protect and promote each child’s welfare, in particular ensure that clear processes are in place for staff to follow with regard to protecting and promoting young people’s welfare. 09/10/2016

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Recommendations

To improve the quality and standards of care further the service should take account of the following recommendations:

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Recommendations

 Seek as far as possible to maintain a domestic rather than ‘institutional’ impression. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 15, paragraph 3.9)  Ensure medicines are administered in line with a medically approved protocol. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 35, paragraph 7.15)

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Information about this children’s home

This home is owned by a private organisation. It is registered for the care and accommodation of two young people, irrespective of gender, with emotional and behavioural needs and/or learning disabilities.

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Recent inspection history

Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement 08/02/2016 Interim Sustained effectiveness 29/10/2015 Full Requires improvement 20/01/2015 Interim Declined in effectiveness 04/06/2014 Full Adequate

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Good

The manager and staff work tirelessly to care for young people with complex needs and to help them to reach their potential. The young people resident have made significant progress emotionally and educationally. An independent reviewing officer commented in a review report that, ‘The young person has made extraordinary progress.’ Young people and staff members have good relationships and staff are committed to maintaining boundaries to reinforce behaviour. One young person said, ‘There is nobody here that I don’t feel safe with or I don’t like.’ Incidents have decreased as young people feel more settled and secure.

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Good

Residents’ meetings occur weekly with staff and children, where discussions about the day-to-day running of the home take place. Young people air their opinions and sometimes the meetings are used as an opportunity to resolve issues that arise. Additionally, young people are aware of and feel confident to use the complaints process. The registered manager writes to the young person to confirm the outcome of conversations regarding the conclusion of complaints.

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Good

Staff help young people to explore their interests and enjoy activities, particularly those that are not technologically focused. Examples include: youth club, monopoly, football and trips out, such as a trip to the Harry Potter studios.

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Good

The manager and staff have regular communication with other professionals and have pursued involvement with the local child and adolescent mental health service for young people when involvement has been lacking. A social worker commented that, ‘Communication with the home is good and I am very happy with the care provided to the young person.’

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Good

One young person is now attending full-time mainstream school and is meeting academic age expectations. Another young person is being educated within the home as they are not ready to go to school yet. However, continual planning with other professionals enables the young person to continue their educational and social development, at a pace that is possible for the young person.

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Good

The manager ensures that regular contacts with families take place and makes extra efforts to include family. For example, staff support families with transport and send photos of young people on their first day of school. Parents praise the home highly. One parent said: ‘I really feel that my son has turned a corner because of the effort that they have put in,’ and another said, ‘It’s as about as homely and nurturing as you could possibly get.’ Judgement grade

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Good

Systems for checking young people, when they are in their bedrooms for a prolonged amount of time, rely upon individual staff’s judgement rather than an agreed procedure. Potentially, lack of an agreed, written procedure could lead to young people’s welfare being compromised.

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Good

The manager and staff understand the risks to young people, have strategies to manage these risks and keep young people safe. Young people have contributed to their own risk management documents with comments and signatures. If young people make allegations, they are listened to and safeguarding procedures are followed.

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Good

Young people have not gone missing from this home. There have been five restraints, indicating a decrease of episodes since the previous inspection. The records show that physical intervention was justified. Despite this, the registered manager reviews all physical interventions and works hard to find ways to avoid this course of action.

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Good

The registered manager has recently realised that there was an error in the recording of controlled medication: a system is now in place to ensure that two staff signatures are sought when administering such drugs, rather than just one signature. The revision of this procedure safeguards young people.

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Requires improvement

Plans and care arrangements for securing one young person’s future, as recommended by the independent reviewing officer, have not been actioned by children’s social care. The manager has not escalated these concerns beyond the social worker to local authority managers to ensure positive outcomes for the young person. In addition, children’s social care have not provided essential information about a young person’s health needs to ensure that the young person receives appropriate treatment and care. The registered manager has made extensive efforts to find this information but the shortfall has not been escalated to children’s social care managers.

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Requires improvement

The home is clean, generally tidy and is maintained regularly. However, some notices in the home give an institutional feel and some areas are sparse, in contrast with the warm and welcoming impression that staff and young people give of the home.

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Requires improvement

The registered manager has made considerable improvements to this home and has a clear vision for the future. The manager ensures that staff work as a team to support young people, and that staff know the best way to respond to young people. Regular, robust and well-recorded supervision reinforces this good practice. Team meeting records evidence meaningful and open discussions with good team planning. The manager has arranged training for staff which centres on the needs of the young people they care for.

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Requires improvement

The manager has an excellent overview of the home and monitors carefully how young people’s needs are met and the outcomes they achieve. The manager makes young people’s views and feelings a priority, and uses several methods to ensure that young people can express themselves. The manager also takes into account the independent visitor monthly reports to improve the home further.

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Requires improvement

The manager and staff members, including the maintenance worker, are caring individuals who support without judgement and ensure a warm and friendly environment that young people thrive in.

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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 children looked after 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, work- based learning and skills training, adult and community learning, and education and training in prisons and other secure establishments. It inspects services for children looked after 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

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

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Information about this inspection

T: 0300 123 1231 Textphone: 0161 618 8524 E: enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk W: www.gov.uk/government/organisations/ofsted

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