Children's Home run by Cambian Childcare Limited in West Northamptonshire

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 happy and settled in the home. They make good progress from their starting points.  Young people are engaged in education and aspirational about the future.  Young people benefit from a stable staff team. They receive consistent care and are able to develop trusting, positive relationships with staff.  There is a reduction in harmful behaviour. Staff utilise comprehensive behaviour management plans, resulting in a reduction in risk to young people.  Staff respond to safeguarding concerns swiftly and effectively. They work in partnership with other professionals to keep young people as safe as possible.  There is a good independence skills programme. Staff support young people to develop the necessary practical skills, and to develop the emotional maturity needed to successfully move into independence. Transitions are carefully planned.  Information sharing is good. Staff work positively with families and other

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The children's home provision is good because:

professionals.  An experienced and skilled manager, who empowers young people to achieve their potential, leads the home.  Young people almost always refuse to speak to someone independent from the home following a period of being missing from care. This is a missed opportunity to safeguard young people and to understand the reasons why they go missing from the home.  A recommendation has been made to ensure that new staff receive supervision in line with the home’s statement of purpose.

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Statutory requirements

This section sets out the actions which must be taken so that the registered person(s) meet(s) the Care Standards Act 2000, Children's Homes (England) Regulations 2015 and the ‘Guide to the children's homes regulations including the quality standards’. The registered person(s) must comply within the given timescales.

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Requirement Due date

12. The protection of children standard (2) In order to meet the protection of children standard, the registered person is required to: (a) ensure 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; and (ii) help each child to understand how to keep safe. 21/11/2016

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Requirement Due date

To improve the quality and standards of care further, the service should take account of the following recommendation:  As set out in regulations 31-33, the registered person is responsible for maintaining good employment practice. They must ensure that recruitment, supervision and performance management of staff safeguard children and minimise potential risks to them (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 60, paragraph 13.1). This is in relation to ensuring that all staff receive regular supervision, particularly during probationary periods.

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Information about this children's home

The home is registered to provide care and accommodation for up to six children and young people who have emotional and behavioural difficulties. It is owned by a large private provider.

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Recent inspection history

Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

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Recent inspection history

18/11/2015 Interim Improved effectiveness

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Recent inspection history

06/01/2015 Interim Declined in effectiveness

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Good

Young people living in the home are happy and settled. They are making good progress. All young people are in education that is tailored to their individual needs. Staff support young people who may be anxious about school or college. This assists them to participate and reach their potential. Staff intervene quickly when education is not going well and work in partnership with schools to bring about good outcomes. Young people’s health needs are met, and staff access specialist support for young people when needed. There is a stable staff team. As well as providing consistent care, this enables young people to form trusting, secure relationships. Staff show genuine warmth towards young people and celebrate their achievements. Young people respond well to positive and consistent care and begin to make better choices. They grow in self-confidence and self-esteem. Young people have a voice in the home and are offered many opportunities to

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Good

have their say. Young people are aware of the complaints process and have access to independent advocacy. The home environment is welcoming and homely. Young people clearly take pride in their home. Bedrooms are personalised and decorated to each young person’s taste. Young people are encouraged to have friendships in the community and can bring friends to the home. Young people can also stay with their friends, subject to robust risk assessment and agreement by the young person’s social worker. Young people have access to a range of activities outside the home. One young person is an accomplished dancer, appearing in shows locally. Staff support young people to try different activities so that they can find something that they really enjoy. Young people develop the skills and confidence to manage their lives as adults. They have the opportunity to work meaningfully with staff on independent living skills and are prepared emotionally for moving on. Some young people have part-

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Good

time jobs. Young people increasingly take responsibility for transport, making appointments and making decisions, with staff on hand to support them as necessary. Young people can take age-appropriate risks from a safe base. One young person who left the home recently made the following comments: ‘It felt like your home, a proper home and I still call it home now. There were staff changes, but I always felt well cared for and supported.’ Staff actively support family contact and assist young people and their families to rebuild relationships. One parent commented that staff communicated with her very well and let her know when her son had done something really good, rather than just when negative things had happened. She commented that the staff are ‘amazing’ and that her son had so many opportunities as a consequence of living at the home.

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Good

Young people living in the home are likely to have been at risk of, or subject to, significant harm prior to moving to the home. Staff, along with other professionals, produce comprehensive risk management and behaviour management plans based on the young person’s individual needs. Staff regularly update plans as risks change. Staff work with young people to help them to feel safe in the home. One young person commented that she always felt safe and said, ‘If there were any issues staff would always deal with them.’ Staff provide a strong response to all safeguarding concerns, from bullying issues to risks in the community. They support young people to develop awareness of potential hazards and make safer choices by encouraging them to contribute to their own plans. Over time, young people become less vulnerable to sexual exploitation. In addition, incidents of self- harm, drug and alcohol use, and missing from care reduce in most cases. One

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Good

young person who has used drugs in the past now volunteers to support other young people in the community to reduce or cease their drug use. Occasionally, young people’s risk in the community escalates. Staff pick this up very quickly and work alongside social workers to devise plans to minimise potential harm. Staff receive appropriate training and feel confident about their safeguarding roles. They have access to a good range of training opportunities and recently received specialist training in caring for young people at risk of child sexual exploitation. Staff manage behaviour skilfully and support young people to develop strategies to regulate their own behaviour. Young people are rewarded for positive behaviour and making safe choices. Behaviour is very rarely managed through physical intervention. When this is used, staff provide a detailed written account of the incident so that managers and safeguarding agencies can monitor practice.

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Good

Debriefs take place. This enables young people to reflect on the incident and to express any negative feelings that they may have. Staff follow robust procedures when young people go missing from the home. Independent return interviews are offered to young people but rarely take place. This is a missed opportunity to safeguard young people and to understand the push/pull factors affecting the young person. A requirement has been made to address this. Recruitment and selection processes are robust. All pre-employment checks are completed before staff can begin their induction at the home. The physical environment is made safer through regular health and safety checks and fire audits. The home provides an additional service for emergency placements of up to 24 hours’ duration. This is offered in a part of the home that is completely separate from the main home. The organisation of this resource is thorough. Careful

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Good

consideration is given to matching, due to the potential impact on young people who permanently reside in the home. To date, young people using the emergency placement have not met any young people permanently placed in the home.

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Outstanding

The registered manager is suitably qualified and experienced. She has developed a strong management team that shares her unwavering commitment to supporting young people to achieve and to be aspirational for themselves. The manager promotes a strong ethos for the home, with young people being central to everything that the staff do. One member of staff commented on changes over the last year and said, ‘The manager has promoted a strong focus on the care of children, keeping them safe, getting the right mix of young people. There are welcoming bedrooms, which are really thoughtfully prepared for children coming to the home.’ Staff have commented on the benefits of being able to spend more time with young people, following the recent streamlining of recording systems. This is acknowledged as very positive for staff and young people. Case recording is of a high standard. A key strength of the home is the culture of high aspiration for young people. The

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Outstanding

registered manager inspires a belief in the positive progress that young people can make from their starting points. She is determined that young people have a positive and enriching experience growing up in the home. The manager sets high standards for the home and leads by example. Staff are well trained, having access to a broad spectrum of training opportunities provided in house and externally. There is evidence of research informing practice, and this is particularly helpful for staff in relation to specialist areas, such as child sexual exploitation. Informal training and development opportunities are very well planned and recorded. There is a clear investment in staff. Induction processes are good, providing a firm foundation for staff development while ensuring safe practice. Supervision for staff after their probationary period takes place regularly. However, some staff in their probationary period do not receive formal supervision as

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Outstanding

frequently as is set out in the home’s statement of purpose. Staff feel well supported by the manager and they work well together. There is a strong management team that provides consistency in the absence of the registered manager. The home’s development plan is excellent, outlining staff training and development for the year and underlying the ethos of the home. The requirement made at the last inspection has been met. This referred to a lack of monitoring and review following an incident. As a result, staff and managers had not had the opportunity to consider lessons learnt or fully reflect on practice. The systems for review have improved. This is evident in reflective workshops, team meetings and the manager’s own monitoring systems and reports. The manager has good insight into the strengths and weaknesses of the home. She works in partnership with other professionals to continually improve the experiences of

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Outstanding

young people, providing challenge when needed on young people’s behalf.

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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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