Children's Home run by Cambian Childcare Limited in Birmingham

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 make good progress based on their starting points, particularly with regard to their self-awareness and their commitment to achieving a positive, independent future through education and healthy relationships.  A consistent and skilled staff team works well together and provides high- quality care that meets young people’s needs.  Young people are encouraged by staff to take part in leisure activities in their community.  The registered manager and staff have high expectations of what young people can achieve. They practice innovatively and sensitively, which enables young people to make meaningful and measurable progress.  Young people receive individualised help to keep themselves safe.  Staff work well with local authorities and other providers to get young people the help and support that they need. This improves their health and education.  Staff are extremely nurturing, positive and sensitive in their daily care of

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The children's home provision is good because:

young people.  The registered manager is an exceptional and proactive practitioner and leader.  The registered manager trains, supports and shows her experienced staff team how to reflect, sustain and build on their already high standards of care. This includes using research to inform practice.  Staff ensure that young people’s voices are not only heard, but that every source of help is provided to them.  The registered manager is extremely well respected by stakeholders and providers of services, because she is child-centred, organised, well informed and innovative.

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Information about this children's home

The home provides care and accommodation for up to four young people with emotional and/or behavioural difficulties and complex needs. The home is owned by a private provider.

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Recent inspection history

Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement 23/03/2016 Interim Sustained effectiveness 07/01/2016 Full Good 05/02/2015 Interim Sustained effectiveness 17/07/2014 Full Good

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Good

Staff have a very positive view of the young people and work hard to engage them. Staff have a ‘never give up’ attitude and continue to create daily opportunities to engage young people to make meaningful progress, despite challenge and resistance from some young people. A high level of consideration is given to placing the ‘right’ young people at the home. Placement matching documentation highlights this and ensures that the staff team is able to meet a young person’s needs before a new young person is admitted. All young people are activity engaged in full-time education. The staff have worked collaboratively with educational providers and placing authorities to create tailor- made educational packages that enable young people to achieve their educational potential. Young people benefit from individual education packages that reflect their learning needs and challenge any barriers that they face. Staff engage well

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Good

with education providers. This includes attending parents’ evenings and all relevant meetings, to ensure that education providers are maximising each young person’s potential achievement. A family support worker commented, ‘All staff worked together in union with my client’s transition and encouraged positive encouragement during the move back into education. The staff genuinely are/have been devoted to supporting my client and being consistent in the care that they give to the children that live at the home.’ Staff offer consistently caring approaches towards the young people, who can highlight specific staff that they feel comfortable with. Relationships observed are relaxed and young people enjoy being in the company of staff. Activities are tailored towards the interests of young people. Young people enjoy many trips out, including visits to the beach and a recent day trip to an adventure park. Activities

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Good

help to develop young people’s self-esteem and to promote healthy lifestyles. For example, the young people have regular opportunities to go on bike rides with staff. The staff ensure that they have good links with health agencies, including specialist mental health services, and staff use these links to enhance young people’s physical, emotional and psychological health. Where appropriate to do so, young people are encouraged to develop their level of responsibility in preparation for the transition to adulthood. This is reflected in the key skills that young people have developed. For example, some young people are supported to plan, shop for and cook their own meals. Young people are also encouraged and supported to manage a budget for their money and to make plans for the future. This ensures that young people are able to improve their own resilience and life skills. Staff encourage young people to express their views through young people’s

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Good

meetings and informal conversations. Young people say that they understand how decisions are made and the degree to which they are able to influence them. This enhances their day-to-day experience of living in the home. When young people make complaints, the manager ensures that they are promptly addressed. This highlights the manager’s diligence towards listening to young people and ensuring that they are happy. Young people are listened to, and their views are responded to well. Staff ensure that key work sessions are recorded well. These show that staff give young people the time to talk about a range of issues, relating to both the home and their own plans. The quality of the key working is good. All sessions have a clear focus on a young person’s specific needs, including, where required, sensitive discussions about healthy relationships and sexual health. This means that young people are supported to make safer choices and are protected from becoming involved in

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Good

negative or exploitative relationships. Where appropriate, staff promote relationships between the young people and their families and friends. Staff are also very in tune with family circumstances and use their knowledge to help to plan for potential difficulties for the young people.

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Good

Staff know how to keep the young people safe, and work well with other professionals, including the police and social workers to manage risks. Staff ensure that risk assessments clearly identify potential risks to young people in the community and highlight the strategies used to reduce these risks. These assessments are subject to ongoing monitoring and review by staff to reflect any changes in young people’s needs and emerging risks. This demonstrates that the welfare and safety of young people continue to be priorities. Young people’s complex needs mean that they can at times display extremely difficult and challenging behaviour. Staff have a good understanding of these behaviours and know what action to take to address them. This ensures that young people, including the most vulnerable, benefit from effective support and protection. The use of negative sanctions is low, because staff deploy a strength-

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Good

based approach to support young people to take responsibility for their behaviour. The emphasis is always on verbal de-escalation. Staff receive training in the appropriate use of physical restraint, but only use it as a last resort. There have been no incidents of physical restraint of the current young people. Despite clear risk management plans, some young people continue to engage in risk-taking behaviours such as criminal activity and going missing from the home. However, incidents of young people going missing from the home are well managed by staff. Young people’s safety is promoted through detailed ‘missing from home’ plans. These specify the actions to be taken by staff and others to ensure that young people are returned to the home as quickly as possible. Staff understand the risks to young people of child sexual exploitation. They know the signs and symptoms, and proactively monitor all young people. This integrated

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Good

approach to protecting young people means that young people become increasingly safe. The registered manager ensures that location risk assessments include local statistical data regarding crime and community resources. This includes specific information around the risk of radicalisation. This ensures that local areas of risk in the vicinity are known. This information assists staff in supporting young people to keep safe during free time in the community. Young people are protected by the organisation’s robust recruitment practices. Staff are vetted and assessed as suitable before any appointment is confirmed. These procedures promote the safety of the young people by preventing unsuitable adults from working with them. Staff undertake regular health and safety checks, routine servicing of equipment and robust risk assessments to ensure that the home is safe for young people. The accommodation in which young people live is well maintained and decorated to a

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Good

high standard. Young people have the opportunity to personalise their bedrooms, enhancing their sense of identity and belonging.

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Outstanding

The registered manager is an exceptional leader who ensures that the staff team is dedicated to provide a caring and professional service. The registered manager successfully completed her registered manager’s award in April 2009 and has been managing the home for over five years. Since the interim inspection, the registered manager has strengthened practice and procedures in the home. Consequently, the requirement and recommendation made at the time have been addressed and young people are now better protected. The registered manager sets very high standards for the care. This includes ensuring that staff receive regular training and have the skills and competencies necessary to meet the diverse needs of the young people. All staff have or are working towards the necessary level 3 diploma in residential childcare within the expected timescales. Young people’s records are extremely detailed and present an excellent overall

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Outstanding

picture of their experiences and progress to date. Records are maintained to a very high standard. Staff ensure that they are routinely checked for consistency and content. This in turn ensures that all recorded details are in place, guidance is clear for staff and consequently, young people receive continuity of care. High standards are maintained through strong role modelling and effective supervisions. The staff team uses reflective practice, research and clinical input to challenge its own practice and introduces new strategies to meet young people’s needs better. This enables staff to identify patterns or trends that negatively impact on young people’s development and the opportunity to devise action plans to address identified shortfalls. Consequently, the service continues to evolve to reflect young people’s individual needs and to ensure that the high standards of care in the home are maintained.

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Outstanding

Recently, staff developed a range of bespoke resource packs to support direct work with young people. This work enables young people to consider the issues and risks around matters such as gang culture and sexual health and to build appropriate strategies to be able to keep themselves safe. Each folder provides carefully sourced local knowledge and support services available to young people. This evidence-based practice means that the care that young people receive is based on well-informed data. An independent visitor undertakes monthly visits and produces reports. These visits, together with other internally developed systems, enable the registered manager to monitor the quality of care. As a result, young people benefit from consistency of care that achieves better outcomes than previously. The registered manager has an excellent understanding of the strengths of the service and the areas for further development. She challenges health, local

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Outstanding

authorities and education professionals when she sees decisions being made which are not sufficiently child-focused. Close liaison with school and staff ensures that services are coordinated in order to meet young people’s needs. Effective team meetings ensure good communication and consistency of practice across the staff group. The registered manager ensures that the statement of purpose clearly demonstrates the aims and objectives of the home. This makes it possible for parents or placing authorities to have a clear understanding of the services available.

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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 looked after children 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 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, 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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