Children's Home run by Cambian Childcare Limited in Shropshire

Good

The children's home provides effective services that meet the requirements for good.

p.2

The children's home provision is good because:

 Young people make progress. Staff support young people’s educational progress. They work with young people’s schools and are consistent in their approach.

p.3

The children's home provision is good because:

 Young people are safe and their risk-taking behaviours decrease. Young people are supported in how to become safer. Key-working sessions are good. Staff work closely with the clinical team to promote and support young people’s safety.

p.3

The children's home provision is good because:

 Safeguarding incidents are rare. When they do happen, staff learn from them.

p.3

The children's home provision is good because:

 Relationships between young people and staff are good. Staff use these relationships to promote young people’s safety and well-being in the home.

p.3

The children's home provision is good because:

 Staff listen to young people and they put into place any changes that young people want to make to the home. The home is welcoming and personalised. Young people invest in their placements.

p.3

The children's home provision is good because:

 A stable and consistent staff team provides good-quality individualised care to young people. Staff are committed to the young people and support them to achieve.

p.3

The children's home provision is good because:

 Communication with other professionals provides young people with a collaborative approach to their care planning. Young people’s admissions and transitions are good and young people are involved in them.

p.3

The children's home provision is good because:

 A child-focused registered manager is in post. Staff said that their support from the registered manager is ‘fantastic’.

p.3

The children's home provision is good because:

 One requirement has been made as a result of this inspection.

p.3

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.

p.4

Requirement Due date

In order to meet the protection of children standard, the registered person must ensure that they:

p.4

Requirement Due date

(2)(a)(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. 23/12/2016

p.4

Information about this children's home

This home is registered to provide care and accommodation for up to four young people with emotional and/or behavioural difficulties. The home works alongside a clinical team and specialises in providing care for young people who have experienced child sexual exploitation.

p.5

Recent inspection history

Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement 05/02/2016 Interim Sustained effectiveness 14/10/2015 Full Good 10/02/2015 Interim Improved effectiveness 03/06/2014 Full Good

p.5

Good

Young people make progress. Staff encourage young people with their education. A school staff member said: ‘As a school, we have started building communication with the staff. Staff stay in school with the young people when needed. Boundaries are much clearer. The young people and staff respect school and vice versa. The school staff and home staff are all here for the same reasons and this all impacts positively on the young people.’ Staff support young people to re-engage with learning in a way which meets young people’s individual needs while they are waiting for a further education placement. For example, one young person has been learning how to care for the deputy manager’s dog and has completed a care plan outlining how she will meet the dog’s individual needs. The young person said that she enjoys this.

p.6

Good

Staff listen to young people and they act on young people’s wishes. For example, at young people’s request, they have been able to enjoy spending time in a large splash pool in the back garden over the summer holidays; they have been on holiday; and young people have pets. Young people help staff care for the home and they have input into how their home is decorated and maintained. The garden now has a ‘fairy garden’ in it as well as a themed part of the garden. During the inspection, staff had created a remembrance garden with laminated poppies in the themed section of the garden. The house feels like a home and young people invest in it.

p.6

Good

Young people experience well-planned and good admissions into the home. They visit prior to moving in, and staff make sure that the young person’s bedroom is personalised ready for when the young person moves in. Young people are welcomed into the home when they arrive by all of the staff and other young people. One young person had a cake and tea party when she arrived. The registered manager matches young people to one another carefully and recognises the importance of this. A young person said: ‘I get on really well with all the young people here and always have done. The registered manager does a good job of getting the right girls in.’

p.6

Good

When it is time for young people to move out of the home, staff plan young people’s transitions well in advance. Young people are involved with their transition planning. Staff use visual aids with the young people, such as calendars, with clear tasks outlined on them, to help young people see the progression of their transition planning. The registered manager makes sure that information is shared with parents and professionals when young people leave. For example, the registered manager provides support guides for parents with information about support services and therapeutic techniques, such as self-soothing, which young people have learned during their placement.

p.6

Good

Staff and young people enjoy good relationships with one another. Staff care for the young people and provide them with nurturing care. Staff are committed to the young people. They feel passionate about helping young people to be safe and to make progress. Staff achieve this through the relationships that they have with young people and the way that they work with them. A staff member said: ‘While the young people are here we stabilise them, get them into a routine, get them back into school or education and then we make them safe. We make young people trust us and we know that we are safe. We do this by putting into place structures, routines, boundaries, and by telling the truth and not lying. We are non- judgemental.’ Staff work closely with the clinical team, sharing information and reviewing young people’s progress. This then feeds into young people’s individualised behaviour management plans.

p.7

Good

Young people are safe and their risk-taking behaviours reduce. Staff are consistent in their approach to young people as well as in the boundaries and expectations of young people. Staff talk openly with young people about risks, such as substance misuse and child sexual exploitation. Outside agencies have delivered training to the staff team on these issues to support staff in their knowledge and to support them to keep young people safe.

p.7

Good

Young people’s risk assessments are individualised and they give staff clear guidance as to how to keep individual young people safe, as well as enabling them to make progress. A young person said: ‘I feel safe and happy here. They ask me to sign things and go through plans – I like this as then I know what is being said about me.’ Incidents in the home are rare. This is due to staff consistently communicating with young people, and because staff have the skills and knowledge of the young people to know when young people are upset or anxious.

p.7

Good

Good-quality partnership working helps to keep young people safe. When young people have gone missing there has been a well-coordinated, multi-agency approach to finding young people and supporting them back into the home. Prior to young people going on new activities, the registered manager has shared important information with external agencies so as to keep young people safe.

p.7

Good

Staff encourage young people to take well-planned risks to help them make progress, such as young people having free time, safely using a mobile phone and going away on residential trips with external agencies. Although the registered manager has provided clear, evidence-based risk assessments before young people have had new experiences, she has not always made sure that she has taken into account subtle changes in young people’s behaviours and explored the meanings behind this. She has not always assessed the impact on young people of the location that they are visiting or the influence of other people. This led to a significant safeguarding incident. Learning from safeguarding incidents is good. The registered manager is reflective and implements learning into practice quickly. Consequently, safeguarding incidents are infrequent in this home.

p.7

Good

There is a registered manager in post who is qualified up to national vocational qualification level 4 in leadership and management. The registered manager has the residential manager award level 4. A deputy manager is in post who supports the registered manager. Out of the 14 members of staff, nine are qualified up to NVQ level 3 in residential childcare. All of the staff are trained in first aid.

p.8

Good

Management oversight is good. The registered manager is committed to the staff team and the young people. She recognises the importance of having a well- supported and well-skilled staff team in order for young people to receive good- quality care. She encourages staff to be innovative in the support that they provide to young people and she allows them the autonomy to do this. As such, young people receive individualised care.

p.8

Good

Supervisions for staff are good. They are regular and focus on the progress of young people. Frequent staff meetings offer staff a further opportunity to reflect on their practice as a group as well as review significant incidents and learn from them. The registered manager encourages staff to be reflective. A staff member said: ‘My support as a member of staff is fantastic. As a team, we talk constantly. The registered manager and deputy are constantly accessible. As a staff group, we trust each other. Trust is a massive thing in the whole house. Kids need to be able to trust us and we need to trust each other. The registered manager looks after us, we look after each other and this then filters down to the young people. The young people pick up that we operate as one.’

p.8

Good

Good communication with other professionals and good partnership working have helped young people make progress. The registered manager and deputy manager communicate effectively with other professionals to share information. This means that risk assessments are informed and collaborative. The registered manager and the clinical team have good working relationships, and the two parts of the placement work effectively alongside one another. The home’s statement of purpose is being met.

p.8

Good

The registered manager is child-focused, and she and the deputy are strong advocates for the young people in their care having the best opportunities and experiences. When young people do not receive the help or support that they need, the registered manager appropriately escalates her concerns. Young people feel listened to.

p.9

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’.

p.10

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

p.10

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.

p.10

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 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

p.11

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 .

p.11

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,

p.12

Information about this inspection

The National Archives, Kew, London TW9 4DU, or email: psi@nationalarchives.gsi.gov.uk .

p.12

Information about this inspection

Interested in our work? You can subscribe to our monthly newsletter for more information and updates: http://eepurl.com/iTrDn .

p.12

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

p.12