Children's Home run by Cambian Childcare Limited in Devon

Requires improvement

The children’s home is not delivering good help and care for children and young people. However, there are no serious or widespread failures that result in their welfare not being safeguarded or promoted.

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because:

 Shortfalls were identified during this inspection in respect of keeping children and young people safe. A lack of knowledge, skills and experience of staff compounded and increased some risks for children and young people.  Children and young people have experienced multiple changes in staff and management in the home over recent months. Poor decisions by senior leaders have recently compounded this issue. Young people raised this as an issue to inspectors and spoke of missing staff who had moved on to other homes within the organisation.  A recent decision made by the organisation in respect of education for one young person was inappropriate. Challenge by the manager was evident. However, the matter, which resulted in distress and trauma for one young person, had not been resolved in full. In part, this was due to the education provision being part of the same organisation.  Some aspects of care provided to children and young people lack clear

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because:

strategies. This results in inconsistent approaches to care that, at times, are not in the best interests of the children and young people.

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The children’s home strengths

 Children and young people living in this home have done so for a long period of time. They are settled and see this as their home. Good relationships have been built with staff who have been working in the home for a period of time. Nurturing care was observed during the inspection.  The children and young people speak about their home with warmth. They are able to identify adults who work in the home whom they trust and could speak to if they were concerned or worried about anything. This supports them in feeling safe living here.  The recently appointed manager has identified some poor practice concerns and has taken steps to address these. Inspectors could see some progress since his appointment.  Children and young people are provided with toys and games, arts and crafts in different areas of the home. Staff were observed playing floor tennis with one young person and laughter could be heard running through

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The children’s home strengths

the house. The environment felt relaxed.

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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

6: The quality and purpose of care standard

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Requirement Due date

In order to meet this standard, the registered person must ensure: (1) that children receive care from staff who: (a) understand the children’s home’s overall aims and the outcomes it seeks to achieve for children (b) use this understanding to deliver care that meets children’s needs and supports them to fulfil their potential. (2) In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to: (b) ensure that staff: (ii) protect and promote each child’s welfare (iv) provide personalised care that meets each child’s needs, as recorded in the child’s relevant plans, taking into account each child’s background (v) help each child to understand and manage the impact of any experience of abuse or neglect (ix) make decisions about the day-to-day arrangements for each child, in accordance with the child’s relevant plans, which give the child an appropriate degree of freedom and choice. (3)(b) ensure that the care meets the child’s needs

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Requirement Due date

(c) that the care is delivered by a person who: (i) has the experience, knowledge and skills to deliver that care and (ii) is under the supervision of a person who is appropriately skilled and qualified to supervise that care. 01/12/2016

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Requirement Due date

In order to meet this standard, the registered person must ensure: (8)(1) that children make measurable progress towards achieving their educational potential and are helped to do so. In particular, ensure that any arrangements made with education provisions are appropriate and in line with children’s care 01/12/2016 planning. In addition, ensure that care staff are not used as educational staff or undertake any supportive roles that should be provided by education. 12: The protection of children standard

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Requirement Due date

In order to meet this standard, the registered person must ensure: (1) that children are protected from harm and enabled to keep themselves safe. (2) In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to ensure: (a) that staff: (i) assess whether each child is at risk of harm, taking into account information in the child’s relevant plans, and, if necessary, make arrangements to reduce the risk of any harm to the child (ii) help each child to understand how to keep safe (iii) have the skills to identify and act upon signs that a child is at risk of harm (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. 01/12/2016

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Requirement Due date

13: The leadership and management standard

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Requirement Due date

This standard is that the registered person: (1) enables, inspires and leads a culture in relation to the children’s home that: (a) helps children aspire to fulfil their potential and (b) promotes their welfare. (2) in particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to: (c) ensure that staff have the experience, qualifications and skills to meet the needs of each child (e) ensure that the home’s workforce provides continuity of care for each child (f) understand the impact that the quality of care provided in the home is having on the progress and experiences of each child and use this understanding to inform the development of the quality of care provided in the home (g) demonstrate that practice in the home is informed and improved by taking into account and acting on: (i) research and developments in relation to the ways in which the needs of children are best met (h) use monitoring and review systems to make continuous

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Requirement Due date

01/12/2016 improvements in the quality of care provided in the home. 19: Behaviour management and discipline

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Requirement Due date

In order to meet this requirement, the registered person must ensure that: (1) no measure of control or discipline which is excessive, unreasonable or contrary to paragraph (2) may be used in relation to any child. (2) the following measures may not be used to discipline any child: (b) any punishment involving the consumption or deprivation of food or drink. 01/12/2016

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Requirement Due date

In order to meet this requirement, the registered person must: (a) take adequate precautions against the risk of fire, including the provision of suitable fire equipment in the children’s home. In particular the home’s tumble dryer and any other appliances that could present as a fire risk are maintained on a regular basis. 01/12/2016

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Information about this children’s home

The home is registered to care for up to two children and young people who may have additional behavioural and emotional difficulties. The home is part of a large national company.

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Recent inspection history

Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement 01/02/2016 Interim Sustained effectiveness 03/08/2015 Full Outstanding 10/03/2015 Interim Improved effectiveness 05/08/2014 Full Good

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Requires improvement

Some areas of the home were not clean, in particular the bathrooms. Not all children and young people have been supported to keep their bedrooms clean and tidy to an acceptable standard. While arrangements are in place to support children to clean their bedrooms each week, this has not been effectively achieved. One young person had used sanitary items in their drawers that had been left for over a month.

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Requires improvement

Staff do not always demonstrate that they have the skills to parent children and young people effectively through difficult situations. For example, inspectors found items of food locked away from children during the inspection. The manager advised that this is a strategy to stop children eating all of the food shopping at once. Young people are unhappy about this approach to their care.

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Requires improvement

The care that children receive is not reviewed in a timely way. Risk assessments for children and young people do not reflect proportionate or current presenting risks. The documents do not offer staff clear expectations in respect of risk management. The current documentation provides an incorrect perception of children and young people that labels them incorrectly. This means that care planning is not current and does not promote progress and outcomes for children and young people as well as it should.

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Requires improvement

Staff lack a clear understanding of the children’s and young people’s complex emotional needs. The care they receive is not supported or underpinned by a therapeutic or considered approach. This has an impact on children’s and young people’s emotional development.

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Requires improvement

The arrangements in place for education for one young person are not suitable. The current arrangement resulted in the young person going missing and becoming distressed. While the manager took some steps to address the situation, not enough was achieved to ensure that this does not happen again. Children are making progress in education and attend regularly.

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Requires improvement

Young people are encouraged to have positive, regular contact with family members. Much work has been done to promote this contact for one young person. That young person really appreciates this time with their family and the contact continues to increase.

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Requires improvement

Children were observed to have close relationships with the staff who care for them. Inspectors noted really good positive interactions with staff during the inspection. It is evident that these relationships are built on trust and respect. Children speak fondly of staff who look after them and there is a good rapport and fun to be had.

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Requires improvement

Children who were not taking part in any leisure activities are now spending time in clubs with peers of their own age. Prior to the arrival of the current manager there were a number of restrictive rules in place for children that he reviewed. This has supported social development and age-appropriate independence. Children enjoy this time and look forward to these activities.

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Requires improvement

Staff fail to monitor children’s and young people’s computer use to a sufficient standard, despite this being a key risk for one young person. The home computer is situated in an isolated room, preventing staff from monitoring online activity effectively and failing to keep children and young people safe.

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Requires improvement

There is an inconsistent approach to online safety and concerns in respect of child sexual exploitation. In part, this is due to a lack of skills and knowledge held by the staff team. When a concerning incident occurred that staff observed, staff failed to intervene to keep the young person safe. The safeguarding risks linked to this situation were not identified or passed on to appropriate agencies.

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Requires improvement

A failure to maintain and clean out the filter on the home’s tumble dryer presented a serious and significant risk of fire. The extent of debris found raised a significant cause for concern that required immediate attention

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Requires improvement

Young people who go missing from home are actively looked for by staff. This aids early and safe return. Young people are afforded return from missing interviews that are provided by the local authority. This ensures that they have an external person to talk to should they have any worries or concerns about their home.

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Requires improvement

Children and young people can identify adults that they can talk to if they are worried or concerned. They have developed good relationships with staff who have been working with them over long periods of time. This supports them feeling safe in their home.

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Requires improvement

The manager identified that the process in place at the home for managing allegations against staff was not appropriate when he arrived at the home. The manager challenged this arrangement to ensure that any concerns about staff are dealt with through the correct processes.

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Requires improvement

The risks for one young person in respect of smoking continue to reduce. This is due to staff being clear about expectations in this area of practice. This has reduced the risk of harm in the community and benefits their longer-term health outcomes.

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Requires improvement

The organisation has a number of blanket policies in place that are used in the care of children and young people. The manager stated that he has been directed to use these policies for all children and young people. These policies are not always required and can leave children and young people with labels and risk assessments that are inappropriate and are not required.

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Requires improvement

Not all recommendations made at the last inspection have been met. In particular, staffing of the home continues to be problematic. Senior leaders have made staffing decisions that are not child-focused. This has resulted in four staff moves in this home that could have been avoided. This decision failed to consider the impact on the children and young people. One young person stated that they had lost three members of staff that they felt close to within a short space of time and this made them unhappy.

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Requires improvement

Leaders and managers fail to review and monitor the quality of care provided to children and young people in a timely way. Some care arrangements are based upon risks that have not occurred for a long period of time. This could be restrictive and may prevent children and young people from taking age-appropriate risks and making progress.

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Requires improvement

The manager has failed to ensure that he is adequately reassured that young people’s friends on Facebook and other social media sites are safe and suitably vetted. He had not made any efforts to consider risks or review the profile of other young people who could possibly be adults or present risks. The system he has in place at this time is superficial and ineffective. The manager does not demonstrate that he knows these applications well enough to ensure the safety of children and young people.

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Requires improvement

The manager has a good relationship with the children and young people. He knows them well and takes the time to talk to them when they come home from school. He is interested in them and their day. Children and young people speak warmly of the manager and respect him.

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Requires improvement

The manager has supported one young person to write a welcome guide for other children and young people coming into the home. This provides evidence that young people are consulted, involved and really like their home.

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Requires improvement

Since coming into post the manager has been able to identify some areas of practice that were not appropriate. He has addressed these and this has supported some positive changes for children.

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Requires improvement

The manager provides regular lengthy supervision sessions to staff. New staff receive increased supervision and report that they feel supported. There is evidence that the manager does talk about relevant practice issues with staff.

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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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