Children's Home run by Cambian Childcare Limited in Lancashire

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 feel safe and happy at this home, and comfortable enough to enjoy taking part in age-appropriate activities.  This staff team treats and respects young people as individuals in their own right, and provides highly personalised care.  Young people are empowered to contribute positively to their daily lives and to make informed and difficult decisions about their futures.  The staff are strong and effective advocates for young people.  A key strength of this home is securing excellent school attendance for all the young people, some of whom were not in education prior to admission.  This staff team has a proven ability to re-establish and maintain constructive family contact arrangements for all the young people, and to ensure that it remains a positive experience for all involved.  Staff clearly place the well-being of all the young people at the centre of their practice, irrespective of the challenges that they present.

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The children's home provision is good because:

 This staff team effectively de-escalates some extremely challenging behaviours without the use of restraint and/or resorting to police intervention.  Despite staff turnover, a core team has remained committed and resilient throughout a particularly challenging period, resulting in good progress by all the young people from their individual starting points.

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Areas for development:

 There are six requirements and two recommendations arising from this inspection.  The requirements and recommendations are made to improve recording within the home, ensure that independent return interviews are undertaken and to improve the timeliness of fire drills, staff supervision and appraisals, and impact risk assessments.

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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

Since the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order applies to the home— (b) the registered person must ensure that the requirements of that order and any regulations made under it are complied with.

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Requirement Due date

This is with specific reference to the home’s fire safety risk assessment and the timeliness of fire drills. (Regulation 25(2)(b)) 30/11/2016

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Requirement Due date

13: The leadership and management standard

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that staff have the experience, qualifications and skills to meet the needs of each child. (Regulation 13(2)(c)) 31/03/2017

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that all employees receive practice-related supervision by a person with appropriate experience at the frequency prescribed in the home’s own policy, and have their performance and fitness to perform their roles appraised at least once every year. (Regulation 33(4)(b)(c)) 30/11/2016

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Requirement Due date

The registered manager’s quality of care review must ascertain and consider the opinions of placing authorities. In order to complete this review, the registered manager must ensure that an effective system is in place for monitoring, reviewing and evaluating the quality of care provided in the home, and in particular; the quality of records. (Regulation 45(2)(5)) 28/02/2017

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Requirement Due date

44: Independent person: visits and reports

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Requirement Due date

Reports following independent monitoring visits to the home should demonstrate consultation with parents and relatives. 30/11/2016 (Regulation 44(2)(a))

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must maintain case records for each child that include the information and documents listed in schedule 3 in relation to each child. (Regulation 36(1)(a)) 30/11/2016

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Recommendations

To improve the quality and standards of care further, the service should take account of the following recommendation(s):  To meet the care planning standard, the registered manager must demonstrate that the home only accepts a placement once they are satisfied that the home can respond effectively to the young person's assessed needs and after a full assessment of the impact on the existing group of young people. (‘Guide to the children's homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 56, paragraph 11.4)  To meet the protection of children standard, there must be a system in place to ensure that a timely independent return interview takes place when a young person returns to the home after being missing from care. The home should then take account of this information when reassessing risks and putting strategies in place to try to prevent a recurrence. (‘Guide to the children's homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 45,

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Information about this children's home

This is a private children’s home, registered to provide care and accommodation for up to five children and young people who are experiencing emotional and/or behavioural difficulties.

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Recent inspection history

Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement 07/01/2016 Interim Sustained effectiveness 15/07/2015 Full Good 11/02/2015 Interim Not judged

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Good

The young people currently living at this home are happy and settled, and are making good progress from their individual starting points. Comments included: ‘It’s all right here and I feel safe. I like my bedroom. The meals are good and we get to choose our favourites. I get on with all the staff and the other young people’, ‘I enjoy living here and I like the staff a lot. I feel happy and get to do some fun things’, and ‘I like it here and it’s closer to my family. My stepdad came to visit me here and we have spent a weekend together.’ On request, staff also arranged for this young person to see his granddad at the weekend for the first time since coming into care, which they are both very excited about.

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Good

This staff team has a proven ability to re-establish and maintain constructive family contact arrangements for all the young people, and then ensure that contact remains a positive experience for all involved. This strengthens their sense of identity.

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Good

The staff are strong and effective advocates for young people. This has ensured, for example, that they all receive education that promotes their individual potential and the specialist services that they require to meet their specific and more complex needs best.

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Good

Young people enjoy taking part in a wide range of stimulating leisure activities. Recent examples include membership of the local gym, watching a table-tennis tournament, canoeing, ice skating and paddle boarding. Two young people who have formed a strong and positive relationship enjoyed a city break together as their chosen summer holiday, and they had a great time. All these constructive opportunities are in sharp contrast to their negative experiences prior to admission, due to gang affiliations. One young person found that he is able to release his intense feelings and emotions, having joined a local boxing club, which has also served to strengthen his sense of belonging.

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Good

Interests and talents are actively encouraged and supported, which increases self- esteem and confidence. Comments from young people included: ‘I like all the activities that we get to do here, and I am good at football and pool’, and ‘We get money to buy clothes, toiletries and for activities. I really like having my nails done and going to the cinema. When one member of staff is on duty, we are never in the house. She takes us shopping or to the beach. She also sorted out contact with my family as soon as I came, which was really important to me.’

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Good

Young people know how to complain and have exercised that right. They are listened to, their concerns are fully investigated and outcomes are reached in a timely manner. This demonstrates to them that their views and opinions are genuinely valued, which further increases their confidence and self-esteem. One young person said, ‘The meals in the home have got better since we complained to Ofsted’.

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Good

A key strength of this home is the proven ability to secure excellent school attendance for all the young people. This includes young people who were previously not in education for a significant period of time prior to admission. The staff are noticeably ambitious for all the young people and do challenge schools to ensure that they maximise their full potential. Consequently, all the young people are making good academic progress from their individual starting points and have positive future ambitions.

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Good

The majority attend the company’s school. Staff transport them and stay with them throughout the school day. This effectively ensures a consistent approach in supporting the unique learning, emotional and behavioural needs of each young person. One young person recently achieved five GCSEs, which is an excellent achievement of which she is rightly proud. Consequently, she is now a positive role model for new admissions. Comments from young people include, ‘I go to school every day now. I hadn’t been since February before I came here’, ‘I respect what staff have done for me at school and college’, and ‘I have applied for a paid job at college as an ambassador’.

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Good

This staff team treat and respect young people as individuals in their own right and provide highly personalised care. They are actively empowered to contribute positively to their daily lives and are supported to make informed decisions about their futures. Since the last inspection, two young people have returned home, which was always their expressed wish. One young person said: ‘I have decided to keep my baby, which has been the hardest decision that I have ever made. Now I am going to start eating healthier’, and ‘I am well cared for and staff listen to my views. For example, I wanted a female to take me to see my mum, because I feel uncomfortable alone with males, and they sorted it.’

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Good

Staff ensure that young people have opportunities to develop the practical and social skills needed to manage their lives successfully as adults. They are, therefore, already competent in doing their own laundry and using public transport, and are really enjoying food shopping, cooking and baking. They have good personal hygiene, and take pride in their appearance and in keeping their bedrooms clean and tidy. One young person self-medicates and has secured herself a part-time job. Another young person took part in interviewing new staff. These examples demonstrate a significant increase in their self-esteem and confidence since moving to this home. Judgement grade

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Good

All the young people feel safe and relatively settled at this home. They get on well with their peers and confirm that there is no bullying. For the majority of the young people, they are simply enjoying being children again and taking part in age- appropriate activities. One young person is revelling in the chance to be pampered. This is in sharp contrast to their past experiences prior to admission, when they were embroiled in gangs, drugs and knife crimes, and had to be moved for their own protection.

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Good

Drug misuse has demonstrably reduced at this home, which impacts positively on physical health, behaviours and emotional well-being.

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Good

Young people have benefited from clear and consistent routines, in comparison to previously chaotic lifestyles. Consequently, for example, while on admission one young person was regularly up until 2am in the morning, before she was discharged to a specialist placement she was settling at 10pm every night. This means that she was less tired and better able to concentrate at school.

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Good

Comments from young people included: ‘The staff here do what they say they are going to do, which makes me feel safe’, ‘Nowadays, I feel safe here, and I have a close friendship with one of the other young people, but it was not nice when another young person was here. She was racist and aggressive, and some of the staff couldn’t manage her’, and ‘I came in January and it was very up and down, at first. Now it is generally good, and so I feel safe here and want to stay.’

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Good

Comments from staff included: ‘The impact that one young person had on the home was quite profound and, at times, really challenged the most experienced staff’, and ‘We have come through a very challenging time, frequently being up until 3am in the morning. Now it is settled and we have enjoyed a nice, relaxing few weeks. For example, on Saturday night we all sat together enjoying a takeaway and watching movies together. It was a lovely evening.’

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Good

At one point, there were five young people in placement with diverse and complex needs. The manager has reflected on this extremely challenging few months and has stood firm, resisting new admissions if it was not in the best interests of the young people already in placement.

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Good

Staff clearly place the well-being of all the young people at the centre of their practice, irrespective of the challenges that they present. Their sustained resilience is now resulting in positive experiences and outcomes for the young people, who are noticeably investing in this placement. This means that significant and sustained criminal damage has now ceased at the home. Moreover, the young people currently living in the home help with household chores and choosing items to make it more homely. They say they want it to look nice, which demonstrates an increased sense of belonging.

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Good

Mindful that this is a large house, a maintenance man has just been employed to ensure that ongoing minor repairs are efficiently addressed.

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Good

Young people particularly like their bedrooms, which are highly personalised. Comments included: ‘I painted it myself’, ‘I was given money when I came to buy things for my room’, ‘I am moving to another room, now another young person has left. This is my favourite bedroom and staff say, because I have kept my bedroom clean and tidy, this is my reward. It has been redecorated and has a new carpet’, and ‘I am happy with my bedroom and I can see the sea from my window.’

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Good

All the required health and safety checks are undertaken at the required frequencies to ensure a safe environment for young people, staff and visitors. There have also been significant improvements to the home since the last inspection. These include redecorating all of the ground floor and installing a new fire alarm system. However, a fire drill did not take place within 72 hours of a new admission, in line with this company’s own policy. This is important as a means of ensuring that all young people know exactly what to do in the event of a real fire.

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Good

This staff team effectively de-escalates some extremely challenging behaviours without the use of restraint and/or resorting to police intervention. Consequently, there have been no restraints in respect of the young people currently living at this home. Previously, when a physical intervention was necessary, as the records show, the least restrictive intervention was always used after exhausting the de- escalation techniques and no injuries were sustained. Most commonly, staff effectively guide a young person away from an unsafe situation. Also, the young people and staff both have separate opportunities to reflect on the incident and explore if lessons can be learned to avoid a recurrence. One young person, in particular, actively chose to remove himself from negative incidents at this home, which demonstrates a growing maturity.

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Good

There has been a two-thirds increase in young people receiving positive rewards for good behaviours and efforts since the last inspection. This has had the desired effect. All the young people are on individualised incentive charts and are actively involved in negotiating sanctions. One young person said, ‘I get lots of rewards here for being good, like going out for a meal, a top up for my phone or a new hairstyle. I am proud of myself.’ There remains a high number of missing from care incidents at this home, resulting in one young person being moved for his own safety. In contrast, another young person has not gone missing at this home. This is excellent progress, given the fact that eight previous placements had broken down due to going missing. This home has established particularly good working relationships with the local police, and the manager is now an active member of a multidisciplinary early action

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Good

group. Local intelligence is shared, enabling them to safeguard and protect all young people better. Examples include the effective serving of harbouring notices. A youth offending worker also confirmed good collaborative working with this home, stating that ‘The weekly updates greatly assist my sessions with the young person.’

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Good

One young person said: ‘I finally got my contact sorted. I had to run away, for my social worker to realise how important it was for me. I know running isn’t the answer, but I kept in touch with staff all the time and came back when I said I would. I just wanted to see my family and friends.’

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Good

One young person is currently missing, having returned to his home town to attend a trial. He was a prolific absconder prior to admission, involved in drugs and criminality. To his credit, he has only had one prior missing from home incident and was shocked that the staff immediately contacted the transport police to apprehend him. He said, ‘No one has ever done that before, so I decided not to bother again.’ He then settled at this home and in education, and was engaged in positive activities. Records show sustained collaborative working between the home, the police and his family to try to ensure his safe return. They have also maintained contact, but he says he is afraid to return now because he may receive a custodial sentence. dy.

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Requires improvement

The registered manager of this home is suitably qualified and experienced. She is child focused, leads by example and is not afraid to challenge partner agencies to ensure that young people receive the specialist services that they require in a timely manner.

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Requires improvement

The main challenge that she faces is the retention of staff, which has been unsettling and upsetting young people, as they now have to build new relationships. Comments included: ‘Staff come and go here, so most of the good staff left whom I talked to and trusted’, ‘So many staff have left, including my key worker who I trusted. It really affects us. It’s heart breaking’, and ‘There are hardly any drivers and I’m not comfortable around males. So many staff call in sick, and it makes us feel that we are not important.’

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Requires improvement

This is all genuinely acknowledged by the manager, and sickness levels are being closely monitored and disciplinary action taken to address them. That said, she is confident, moving forward, that she now has a team of staff who are passionate and committed to their roles. Certainly, the core of experienced staff has demonstrated resilience throughout a challenging few months. One member of staff said, ‘We are short staffed due to sickness and vacancies, but the team has pulled together and worked through it well, so there has been no major impact on young people.’

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Requires improvement

All new staff receive eight days’ induction prior to commencing three shadow shifts. This ensures that they complete the company’s nine compulsory courses. However, the recent high turnover of staff has resulted in a team with very few individuals with the required qualification for their respective roles. The majority are unqualified, most have no previous relevant experience and only a limited number can drive. In response, this organisation has recently contracted a new training provider that offers a much wider range of opportunities to enhance personal development and career progression. Moreover, new staff will enrol on the required level 3 qualification after three months of employment rather than six. This is to improve the timeliness of completion of the required qualifications.

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Requires improvement

The staff confirm clear direction, ongoing support and involvement in the development of the service, which is a strong motivator. Comments included: ‘We get involved in reviewing the quality of care provided in supervision and team meetings’, ‘I really enjoy working here and I am well supported. We have monthly team meetings and I definitely feel comfortable to talk in them’, ‘We are a good team and the manager is great, really supportive. She has given me more responsibilities, which has boosted my confidence. I feel valued and trusted’, and ‘ I’ve been here since March and it has been a steep learning curve, but I like that and I have been well supported.’

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Requires improvement

Formal individual supervision sessions and annual appraisals do not consistently take place at the frequency prescribed in this company’s own policy. This is despite this regulatory shortfall being identified in the manager’s report in July, following a six-month review of her service. The report is an honest appraisal, clearly showing the strengths and weaknesses of the service. However, it does not include the views of placing authorities. Similarly, the detailed monthly reports of independent monitoring visits to the home do not consistently demonstrate consultation with parents and relatives.

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Requires improvement

The registered manager accurately concludes her review with: ‘There is still much work to do to get staff to the level that they need to be at in respect of reflective and timely reporting.’ This means that established good practice is not always evidenced in the records and therefore requires more stringent monitoring. Examples include fire, medical, educational and activity records. Also, some key documentation is not on young people’s files, including a personal educational plan and details of significant illnesses and required immunisations. This means that staff are not equipped with essential information about each young person’s assessed needs and targets which then inform their internal placement plans.

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Requires improvement

The three requirements raised at the last interim inspection on 7 January 2016 have been satisfactorily addressed. This means that sanction records are now in good order, the manager’s report following a review of the quality of care provided in the home was received by Ofsted in a timely manner, and a system is now in place for reviewing, and revising placement plans every month to ensure that the contents are up to date and accurate.

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Requires improvement

However, the two recommendations made at the last inspection are repeated. This is because the records suggest that, although impact risk assessments are detailed, they are not always completed prior to each admission. These documents are an essential part of care planning as a means of demonstrating a robust matching process to try to avoid disruptions. This shortfall is balanced by the fact that the manager has refused a significant number of referrals recently, despite pressure to admit. Also, the home is purposely not full. This is to ensure a sustained period of stability and to enable new staff to build trusting relationships with the young people.

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Requires improvement

There is still a marked lack of independent return interviews. This is an important process to reassess risks and consider strategies to prevent a recurrence. It is acknowledged that, following the last inspection, the home did arrange for a children’s rights service to visit one young person, but he refused to engage. One social worker sends the form for the staff to complete, which is not appropriate. Consequently, moving forward, the local police officer assigned to this home has agreed to undertake them all.

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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’. 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

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What the inspection judgements mean

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 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 0300 123 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 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

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

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