Children's Home run by Cambian Childcare Limited in Devon

Good

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

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The children's home provision is good because:

 The registered manager has the skills, experience and knowledge to lead and inspire the team to help young people to fulfil their potential. When the service is no longer supporting progress for young people, the registered manager can identify this and works well with other agencies to identify more appropriate services.  Relationships between young people and staff are positive. When issues have been identified, the registered manager has tackled them head on, to ensure that young people are at the heart of practice. The registered manager is able to hold difficult conversations with those staff who fail to meet her expectations. As a result, current relationships are built on trust and mutual respect.  The registered manager is open and transparent about how effectively the home functions. She is able to offer a vast amount of evidence of good outcomes for and positive achievements of young people. Achievements are

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The children's home provision is good because:

celebrated, and there is a sense of pride among the staff when young people are doing well. The registered manager is also able to accept when things could have been done better and is willing to make changes that will enrich the lives of the young people she cares for.  Staff working in the home know young people well. They are dedicated to ensuring that young people have positive experiences of parenting. Staff are aware of how they can raise any concerns that they might have in respect of practice and are not afraid to do so.  The home is situated in a peaceful and tranquil location. Young people appreciate their surroundings and make the most of the outdoor space available to them.  How well children are helped and protected requires improvement. As a result, requirements have been made in respect of risk assessments and behaviour management.

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Statutory requirements

This section sets out the actions that 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

12: The protection of children standard In order to meet this standard, the registered person must ensure: (1) that children are protected from harm and are enabled to keep themselves safe. In particular, they must ensure that all managers undertaking internal investigations in respect of allegations made by young people have the skills, knowledge and experience to report accurately and in a child-focused way. In addition, they must ensure that all investigations are shared in full with the local authority designated officer so that they can consider the investigation in its entirety. 01/12/2016

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Requirement Due date

In order to meet this standard, the registered person must ensure that children: (1)(a) receive effectively planned care in or through the children’s home. In particular, care planning and risk assessment and reduction documentation should reflect the current risks and needs of the child. The plans should be clear and focused, to ensure that young people receive consistent care in line with their needs. 01/12/2016

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Requirement Due date

20: Restraint and deprivation of liberty

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Requirement Due date

(1) Restraint in relation to a child is only permitted for the purpose of preventing: (a) injury to any person (including the child) and (b) serious damage to the property of any person (including the child). 01/12/2016 (2) Restraint in relation to the child must be necessary and proportionate. In particular, staff should be provided with clear expectations in respect of behaviour management that considers de-escalation techniques to prevent the necessity for physical interventions. Physical intervention should not be used to move young people from one place to another. Staff should not impinge on young people’s liberty by blocking doorways.

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Information about this children's home

The home is registered for up to three children and young people who may have some emotional and/or behavioural issues. The home is part of a large national organisation.

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Recent inspection history

Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

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Recent inspection history

18/03/2015 Interim Sustained effectiveness

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Good

Young people moving on from this home have been supported to do so in a positive and planned way. The registered manager is child focused and advocates well, to ensure that young people are supported appropriately. This has resulted in no other young people currently being admitted to this home, to ensure that staff have been available to support one young person with their move. Young people attend school and engage well. They are making good progress in their education. A bespoke education plan has been put in place that is supporting one young person to make good progress in vocational studies. This has supported improved self-esteem and has provided the child with some aspirations for the future. Staff report good working relationships with young people. This is further evidenced by reflective sessions that young people are involved in, following any significant incidents in the home. There is also evidence that young people feel

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Good

able to verbalise their views, worries and concerns to staff. As a result, current relationships are built upon trust and mutual respect. Young people are provided with and encouraged to take part in a good selection of leisure activities. This has provided them with positive experiences like camping trips over the summer holidays. Young people have taken part in experiences that are new to them. They appreciate and enjoy this approach to their care. Young people are supported to have good-quality and meaningful contact with their families. Staff have the skills to manage complex family situations in order for these times to be positive for the young people. Young people are encouraged and supported to spend time with their friends outside of the home and they bring friends into the home. This allows positive friendships to develop. The registered manager and current staff team know the young people they care

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Good

for well. They are able to talk about subtle nuances that cannot be picked up from paperwork but take time to know and understand. The staff met by inspectors during the inspection are motivated and committed to ensuring that young people are well looked after, protected and provided with experiences that will build lasting positive memories. Physical intervention incidents have reduced significantly during the last three months. This, in part, can be attributed to changes in personnel. These changes have provided young people with a more child-centred and consistent approach to their care. Some aspects of young people’s care are not appropriate. For example, the lounge door was locked when inspectors arrived on site. Staff on duty advised that this was a thought-through and planned approach to managing a young person’s behaviour.

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Requires improvement

The quality of internal investigations has improved since the last inspection. However, it is concerning that, in one investigation, a manager from another home who undertook this stated that it was their belief that allegations raised by one young person are false. This demonstrates a lack of understanding and raises questions about their knowledge of the investigation processes concerning the protection of children and young people. Risk assessments for young people do not reflect proportionate or current presenting risk. The documents do not offer staff clear expectations in respect of risk management, and they are confusing. The current documentation provides an incorrect perception of one young person and labels them incorrectly. The registered manager took steps to address this shortfall during the inspection. A number of physical interventions that have taken place in the home may have been prevented if staff had not been so confrontational or rigid in their approaches.

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Requires improvement

Some incidents could have been avoided if triggers had been identified at an earlier point. One young person is craving some physical attention at times, and when staff are not forthcoming or present as dismissive an incident can occur. It is of concern that some of the physical interventions have taken place in one young person’s bedroom. The registered manager has failed to pick this up as an issue in her monitoring. Concerns raised about staff have been swiftly managed and appropriately reported to the local authority designated officer and shared with the appropriate agencies. The safety of children has been the focus of all allegations. Not all internal investigations have been shared in their entirety. This has prevented the designated officer from having full oversight of internal safeguarding processes. The staff are dedicated to ensuring that young people are not criminalised due to their challenging behaviours. Instead, restorative approaches and reflection are

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Requires improvement

used to promote positive behaviour management. The general safety of young people is considered effectively. For example, staff understand the risks associated with the use of the internet. Appropriate strategies have been put in place to support risk reduction in this area for young people. When concerns are raised in respect of bullying, staff are proactive in addressing these with other agencies, resulting in a child-focused multi-agency response.

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Good

The registered manager leads the home efficiently and has a clear focus on the progress, outcomes and well-being of the young people. For example, a risk was recently identified at school, which the registered manager challenged. This resulted in the risk for the young person being significantly reduced. Overall, the registered manager has good systems in place to monitor and review the quality of care provided in the home. This has resulted in her being able to identify poor practice and to address this both formally and informally. The registered manager provides regular and meaningful supervision to staff. She is not afraid to have difficult conversations with staff when she identifies poor or unacceptable practice. Her approach to staff is both nurturing and assertive. Ongoing training and development are encouraged, to support good care for children. The registered manager has built up effective professional relationships with other

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Good

agencies. This has been crucial in supporting one young person to actively engage in education and to start making good progress. The registered manager identified that this home was hindering progress for one young person who had lived here for some time. As a result, an alternative placement was identified, and that young person is now making good progress. The registered manager makes child-centred decisions about children coming to live at the home. The registered manager is able to challenge her senior leadership team effectively, to ensure that any placements are in the best interests of all concerned.

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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 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 that 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 whom 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

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

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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