Children's Home run by Cambian Childcare Limited in Plymouth

Inadequate

There are serious and/or widespread failures that mean that children and young people are not protected or their welfare is not promoted or safeguarded.

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The children’s home’s provision is inadequate because:

 A failure to escalate a concern and allow for the proper investigation of a serious allegation made by a child against a member of staff means that the arrangements to safeguard children are not robust or effective.  The registered manager is unable to demonstrate that he has the right skills and knowledge to identify and respond to poor care practice and safeguarding concerns.  Electronic monitoring equipment is used in the home. These arrangements are intrusive and a lack of rationale for the continued usage of such devices means that children are being subject to unnecessary intrusion in their daily lives.  The registered manager has failed to ensure that the requirements made at the previous inspection have been fully met.  Leaders and managers have focused on managing allegations made by children rather than believing them.

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The children’s home’s strengths

 Some of the members of staff are skilled and nurturing in their care of the children.  The member of staff on duty during this inspection was able to demonstrate an effective approach to caring for children. They had taken time to get to know the children and established a considerate and thoughtful approach.  Children are making progress in some areas of their lives. In particular, one child who was struggling to attend school is now motivated, attends school regularly and is making good progress.  Communication between the educational staff and the care staff is good. Educational staff understand the needs of the children and act upon them in a positive way. For example, a bespoke care plan allows one young person to engage in a meaningful way with school.

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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

11: The positive relationships standard:

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Requirement Due date

In order to meet the positive relationship standard the registered person should: (2)(a) ensure that staff: (i) meet each child’s behavioural and emotional needs, as set out in the child’s relevant plans; (iv) help each child to develop and practise skills to resolve conflicts positively and without harm to anyone; (v) communicate to each child expectations about the child’s behaviour in accordance with the child’s age and understanding; (vi) help each child to understand in a way that is appropriate according to the child’s age and understanding, personal, sexual and social relationships and how those relationships can be supportive or harmful; (ix) understand how children’s previous experiences and present emotions can be communicated through behaviour and have the competence and skills to interpret these and develop positive relationships with children. 09/01/2017

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Requirement Due date

12: The protection of children standard *

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Requirement Due date

In order to meet the help and protection standard the registered person should: (1) ensure that children are protected from harm and enabled to keep themselves safe. (2) In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to ensure: (a) 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; (ii) help each child to understand how to keep safe; 09/01/2017 (iii) have the skills to identify and act upon signs that a child is at risk of harm; (v) understand the roles and responsibilities in relation to protecting children that are assigned to them by the registered person; (vi) take effective action whenever there is a serious concern about a child’s welfare; and (vii) are familiar with, and act in accordance with, the home’s child protection policies;

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Requirement Due date

(b) that the home’s day-to-day care is arranged and delivered so as to keep each child safe and to protect each child effectively from harm; (e) that the effectiveness of the home’s child protection policies is monitored regularly.

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Requirement Due date

13: The leadership and management standard *

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Requirement Due date

In order to meet the leadership and management standard the registered person should: (1) enable, inspire and lead a culture in relation to the children’s home that: (a) helps children aspire to fulfil their potential; and (b) promotes their welfare. (2) in particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to: (a) lead and manage the home in a way that is consistent with the approach and ethos, and delivers the outcomes set out in the home’s statement of purpose; (c) ensure that staff have the experience, qualifications and skills to meet the needs of each child; (f) understand the impact that the quality of care provided in the home is having on the progress and experiences of each child and use this understanding to inform the development of the quality of care provided in the home; (g) demonstrate that practice in the home is informed and improved by taking into account and acting on:

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Requirement Due date

(i) research and developments in relations to the ways in which the needs of the children are best met; and (ii) Feedback on the experiences of children, including complaints received, and (h) use monitoring and review systems to make continuous improvements in the quality of care provided in the home. 09/01/2017

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Requirement Due date

19: Behaviour management and discipline 09/01/2017 In order to meet this requirement the registered person should ensure that: (1) No measure of control or discipline which is excessive or unreasonable or contrary to paragraph (2) may be used in relation to any child. (Regulation 19 (1))

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Requirement Due date

In order to meet this requirement the registered person should ensure that: (1) The registered person may only use devices for the monitoring or surveillance of children if: (a) the monitoring or surveillance is for the purpose of safeguarding and promoting the welfare of the child concerned, or other children. (Regulation 24 (1)(a)) 09/01/2017

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Requirement Due date

In order to meet this requirement: The registered person must maintain records (‘case records’) for each child which: (b) are kept up to date. (Regulation 36 (1)(b)) In particular this relates to placement and healthcare plans 09/01/2017

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Requirement Due date

* These requirements are subject to statutory requirement notice.

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Information about this children’s home

The home is registered to care for one child or young person that may have emotional and/or behavioural difficulties. The manager of this home has dual registration and responsibility for another home, owned by the same company in the adjoining road. The home is owned by a large national organisation.

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Recent inspection history

Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement 12/01/2016 Interim Sustained effectiveness 29/09/2015 Full Good 23/02/2015 Interim Sustained effectiveness 06/08/2014 Full Good

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Inadequate

There is a lack of any effective analysis with regard to the challenging behaviour of some children. This means that staff are not provided with up-to-date information about patterns of behaviour, triggers or themes that might contribute to children exhibiting worrying behaviour. This lack of information hinders the quality of care that staff can provide to support children and prevents children from making effective progress.

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Inadequate

Sanctions are not routinely used. However, when they are used, they do not always take into account the child’s cognitive and emotional development. For example, on two occasions, a child who was described as functioning at pre-school level was expected to write a letter of apology to a member of staff following an incident. This was despite the child verbally apologising to staff and hugging them after the incident.

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Inadequate

Not all areas of the home are well presented. For example, the curtains in the main living room were not opened properly during the inspection and they were not adequately secured to the curtain pole.

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Inadequate

Electronic monitoring and surveillance devices are used in the home. These arrangements are intrusive. There is a lack of rationale for the continued usage of such equipment. As a result, children are being monitored unnecessarily.

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Inadequate

Children who were once struggling to attend full-time education are now motivated to attend school and are making good progress. Communication between the care staff at the home and the school is good. This provides effective oversight of the children’s educational needs.

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Inadequate

Children have access to specialist services to help improve their emotional and social well-being. For example, one child has regular psychotherapy sessions to help them to understand and to come to terms with past events that they have experienced and to better manage some challenging emotions. Incidents for one young person have dramatically reduced as a result of the intense support provided.

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Inadequate

One child has exercise built into their daily routine. This promotes a more settled evening for them and allows a clear break between school and home. This aspect of care works well and children benefit from the level of support provided. Judgement grade

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Inadequate

The arrangements in place to safeguard children who make allegations against members of staff are not effective. Not all safeguarding allegations made by children are investigated in line with working-together procedures. A serious allegation made by a child about a member staff was not escalated to the manager on duty. As a result, the member of staff remained on duty caring for the child on his own until the following day.

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Inadequate

Not all internal safeguarding enquiries are investigated effectively. The lack of rigour and management oversight means that there is no real understanding of what has happened or what has led to an incident occurring. Following an allegation of a serious physical assault and the young person withdrawing it, the focus of the incident moved to protecting staff from further allegations rather than trying to understand why an allegation was made.

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Inadequate

Despite the organisation investing in safeguarding training for leaders and managers, the shortfalls identified during this inspection were not recognised. The registered individual and the registered manager were involved in one serious allegation that was not managed safely or effectively.

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Inadequate

One young person is assessed as presenting a risk to himself through self-harming behaviours. Staff have not been given clear strategies on how to deal with this eventuality should it occur. In response to an incident when a young person placed a cord around his neck, the manager purchased a ligature kit. However, neither the manager nor the member of staff on duty could find it during the inspection.

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Inadequate

Not all requirements made at the previous inspection have been met. Care planning documents are not kept up to date. Aims and goals are not clearly identified. As a result, it is difficult to track and find evidence of the progress made by children.

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Inadequate

The registered manager is unable to demonstrate a sound understanding of how to protect children from harm.

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Inadequate

The registered manager has focused on the implications for the organisation when considering allegations made by children. Subsequently, reports written for other agencies have further labelled a young person as making ‘malicious allegations’.

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Inadequate

The registered manager fails to identify and challenge poor care practice. For example, one incident escalated further when a member of staff locked themselves in the office leaving a child banging and kicking at the door. This was not recognised as poor practice by the manager and therefore has gone unchallenged. Training has not been offered to support the developmental needs of the member of staff concerned. Similarly, how the member of staff felt during this incident has not been addressed through supervision or training.

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Inadequate

The registered manager has not ensured that notifications to Ofsted have always been made when significant events have taken place in the home.

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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 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, work- based learning and skills training, adult and community learning, and education and training in prisons and other secure establishments. It inspects services for children looked after 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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