Children's Home run by Cambian Childcare Limited in Middlesbrough

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:

 Young people are carefully supported by staff and settle quickly into the home.  Young people communicate more openly and express their feelings due to the positive relationships built with staff.  Detailed care planning documents with clearly identified areas for development provide comprehensive information about young people.  Young people attend educational courses during their time at the home and gain qualifications.  Young people are encouraged to explore new hobbies and interests and are offered a wide range of activities.  Excellent individualised and detailed risk assessments are undertaken. Young people are actively involved, which leads to an increased cooperation with plans.  There is an increased awareness of dangers and a reduction in offending behaviour and missing-from-home incidents.  Effective de-escalation techniques and good use of restorative justice result in improved behaviour.

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The children's home provision is good because:

 The competent, meticulous and well-organised registered manager regularly and thoroughly monitors and reviews plans. This ensures that young people continue to make progress.  The staff team’s biggest strengths are their resilience, commitment and dedication to the young people.

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Statutory requirements

This section sets out the actions that must be taken so that the registered person 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 must comply within the given timescales.

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Requirement Due date

7. The children’s views, wishes and feelings standard (2) In order to meet the children's views, wishes and feelings standard, with particular reference to ensuring that the young person is assisted in obtaining advocacy support, the registered person must – (b) ensure that each child − (iii) is given appropriate advocacy support. 30/10/2016

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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

 The registered person should review the appropriateness and suitability of the location and premises of the home at least once a year. The review should include the identification of any risks and opportunities presented by the home’s location and strategies for managing these. This specifically relates to the areas in close proximity to the children's home, the risks that these present to young people and to making the existing locality risk assessment more localised. (‘Guide to the children's homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 64, paragraph 15.1)

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Recommendations

 Regulation 40(4) requires the registered person to notify Ofsted and other relevant persons if one of the situations specified in regulation 40((4)(a)-(d) occurs, or if there is an incident relating to the protection, safeguarding or welfare of a child living in the home, which the registered person considers to be serious (40(4)(e)). This is in respect of considering the frequency of incidents and whether their cumulative effect makes notification appropriate, even if in isolation each event would not warrant this. (‘Guide to the children's homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 63, paragraph 14.10 and 14.11)

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Information about this children's home

The home provides care and accommodation for up to three children who have 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

24/03/2016 Interim Improved effectiveness

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Recent inspection history

18/03/2015 Interim Improved effectiveness

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Good

Young people admitted to the home are provided with a detailed and informative children’s guide. Specific key-working sessions at an early stage after admission focus on enhancing young people’s knowledge of the home. This offers them reassurance and helps to alleviate any anxieties. A professional reported, ‘I have been very impressed with how much the staff have helped the young person to settle into his new environment.’ Staff respect young people’s individuality, cultures and backgrounds and take time to get to know them. Staff develop an excellent understanding of the individual young people. They provide guidance and reassurance, and trusting relationships develop. This helps with the formation of positive relationships. Young people choose to remain at the home with staff rather than spending all their time in the community. One young person said, ‘They are really nice staff.’ Young people benefit from the stability and security offered by staff. They begin to

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Good

communicate more openly and express their feelings. When talking about a young person, a staff member said, ‘He is a lovely kid, and when he opens up he will pour out his heart.’ Through young people’s participation, the completion of detailed and comprehensive care planning documents helps staff to understand the young people’s individual needs. There are clearly identified areas for development. Staff monitor and review care plans regularly to ensure that changes are accurately reflected. Young people remain engaged with staff and make progress from their starting points. A staff member said, ‘We provide a person centred approach to all young people in our care and fully support them in all aspects.’ Young people have mainly positive experiences with education. Staff have good links with the virtual head and several training providers. This offers young people a variety of educational opportunities and enhances their chances of employment

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Good

in the future. Young people successfully complete college courses and obtain qualifications. The majority of them are enrolled on further education courses. They are enthusiastic, and one young person said, ‘We went to college yesterday, and I am booked on a course.’ Staff are persistent when dealing with refusals to attend school. They provide constant encouragement and incentives to engage young people and support a successful reintegration back to school. One young person is receiving home tuition as a starting point before reintegration to mainstream school is considered. Young people explore new hobbies and interests, with a whole range of activities offered. One young person had violin lessons after he expressed an interest. They have short holiday breaks as a reward, such as going to Disneyland, Paris. This provides young people with new opportunities, experiences and physical exercise. Social interaction is promoted, and young people keep fit and healthy.

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Good

Staff encourage young people to eat healthily, particularly as part of their independent living programme. ‘Tasty Tuesdays’ have been introduced for young people to experiment with new food each week. This helps them to become more insightful of the diverse community they live in. Young people are actively involved in the day-to-day running of the home and express their views and wishes through key working and weekly young people’s meetings. A professional reported, ‘They actively encourage participation from all the young people in how the home is run and undertake activities that involve all the young people in the home.’ Young people feel listened to about the running and development of their home. Staff use the home’s excellent independence programme to provide meaningful learning opportunities for young people. They develop important skills and knowledge, which can increase self-reliance and self-confidence. One young person

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Good

said, ‘Staff help me cook. I can go to any member of staff to help me.’ Young people are fully prepared for the transition to adult accommodation. Although young people know how to complain and know about their right to independent support, staff are not always proactive at helping them to access this. This affected a young person who encountered difficulties with their social worker. Good access to independent support ensures that young people are fully involved in important decisions.

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Outstanding

The caring and committed staff provide young people with a safe, stable and nurturing home environment. Young people feel safe at the home. Staff are realistic about the risks that young people need to take as part of their social and emotional growth. There is increased cooperation by young people as they feel involved and listened to. Increased time at the home provides young people with more opportunities to discuss adolescent issues. Staff actively challenge young people in key working and informal sessions to consider their risk-taking behaviours. They use relevant research and information to educate young people, enhanced by support from external agencies, such as the fire brigade. This results in an increased awareness of dangers and a reduction in offending behaviour. Young people who have a history of extended time away are now spending significantly more time at the home. Staff are extremely adept at negotiating and

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Outstanding

agreeing acceptable levels of free time with young people. As a result, young people begin to make the right choices and actively change peer groups. This has led to a reduction in substance misuse. Staff are persistent and undertake welfare checks when young people are away from the home. This enables them to meet the young people’s associates and better understand their behaviours. Staff’s diligence is effective, and young people cooperate with these checks. They are also self-motivated to contact staff of their own accord. Missing-from-home episodes have drastically reduced due to the compromises reached. One professional reported, ‘Staff listen to the young person and offer good advice. They ensure that they know the young person's whereabouts at all times.’ This approach has led to young people feeling safer in their community. Staff and young people have good access to the provider’s psychologist. This

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Outstanding

person provides clinical advice, support, training and information to staff, helping them to understand young people’s emotional difficulties. One young person’s self- harming behaviour has significantly reduced since their admission to the home. Self-confidence and self-esteem increase through staff’s positive reinforcements. Young people contribute to the individualised and comprehensive behaviour management plans. These effectively equip staff with vital information about each young person. A consistent approach and clear strategies help young people to improve their negative behaviours. This is partly a result of the effective use of positive incentives, which include young people being bought pets, such as a tortoise. This not only provides a reward for good behaviour but also helps young people to develop nurturing skills. They enjoy the companionship, and this facilitates a sense of responsibility for their pets.

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Outstanding

Staff adopt a reflective and responsive culture in the home. This has led to their moving away from being reactive to individual behaviours to being more attuned to young people’s feelings and thoughts. Staff use effective de-escalation techniques. One staff member reported, ‘Going through role plays and different scenarios has helped me become better at dealing with difficult behaviour.’ When needed, staff effectively use restorative justice approaches to address negative behaviour. Staff focus on reparation and reaching agreements with young people about acceptable outcomes to improve behaviour. One professional reported, ‘The staff have been extremely supportive and given the young person sound advice. The young person is extremely remorseful, and this is due to the discussions he has had with staff at the home.’ Judgement grade

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Outstanding

The registered manager is suitably qualified and experienced to fulfil his role. He is very competent, meticulous and well organised. He has held registered manager status for nearly eight years and has been the manager of this home since May 2013. He also has oversight and is registered to manage another small home within the same organisation, which is located nearby. This means that he is able to respond quickly to any concerns. The manager has the full support of an experienced senior staff team that effectively deputises in his absence. A staff member said, ‘The seniors have been first class since I’ve been here. They are very committed to their jobs and are very hard-working people, and above all show passion for the job.’ The approachable manager is very supportive of the staff team that benefits from his expert guidance. He has the respect of his staff team that holds him in high regard. One staff member said, ‘The manager has very good communication skills,

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Outstanding

and I feel he takes my views and opinions on board.’ His visible presence in the home ensures that he gets to know the young people well. He is highly child focused and has a comprehensive knowledge and understanding of the young people. This is evident when looking at the impact risk assessments for young people referred to the service. Consultation takes place with the staff team, one of whom reported, ‘All staff members are involved ¡n the decisions to some degree and have an input into whether we think a new young person would have a detrimental effect on current residing young people.’ Regular and thorough monitoring and review of young people’s records ensure that they are updated to reflect their changing needs and promote continued progress. Effective monitoring systems clearly demonstrate this and highlight when changes need to be made to improve outcomes further. The resilience, commitment and dedication of staff are some of their biggest

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Outstanding

strengths. The manager reported, ‘Sickness levels are low, and retention levels are high.’ Agency workers are not used. This means that young people benefit from a stable staff team and relationships are not disrupted. Regular and thorough supervision sessions support staff in their development. Team meetings provide a reflective platform and include discussions about relevant research and recent developments affecting young people. These equip staff to stay abreast of any new research and findings that may affect the way staff care for young people. Staff develop and maintain active working relationships with family members and relevant agencies. A professional said, ‘They send weekly updates and are generally pretty good with email contact, as well as ringing the duty worker in my absence.’ Valuable links with other professionals, such as the police and education and health professionals, further improve communication and promote the benefits

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Outstanding

of multi-agency working. This includes the manager’s attendance at regional safeguarding meetings that provide vital safeguarding information, some of which is appropriate to incorporate in the home’s locality risk assessment. The manager has effective systems to obtain feedback about the service that feeds into his biannual review of the quality of care provided to young people. His innovative methods include the development of an online survey for professionals. The further development of an online children’s guide and comments section is in its infancy. This aims to capture young people’s views about the service. Extra staffing resources are utilised when needed, for example, when young people who have complex needs need additional support. Young people are involved in and consulted about their care. This planned response reduces the risk of unnecessary moves and further disruption of relationships. There is a positive

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Outstanding

ending for young people. When talking about a recent incident, a professional said, ‘Staff are excellent. They are really supportive and have done everything they can to engage with [young person]. The staff are so professional. Their main concern was for [young person]’s safety.’

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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

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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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