Children's Home run by Cambian Childcare Limited in Barnsley

Good

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

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

 Young people make good progress from their starting points.  Young people benefit from a stable and consistent staff team. This enables young people to develop positive and trusting relationships with staff. Young people settle in well and quickly become part of the home.  Young people are supported to engage in education. Staff work with partner agencies to develop individualised education plans, ensuring that education provision is identified as quickly as possible.  Health needs are met, with staff accessing specialist support for young people when needed.  Young people develop the skills and confidence to manage their lives as adults. Preparation for independence is planned effectively, with young people being encouraged to take small steps towards acquiring new, age- appropriate skills.  Staff safeguard young people well, and respond effectively when incidents occur. In the majority of cases, the risk to young people is reduced.

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

 Staff manage behaviour skilfully and support young people to develop strategies to regulate their own behaviour. Staff provide young people with clear and consistent boundaries. Positive behaviour is reinforced through high levels of praise.  The manager provides good leadership in the home, and has developed a positive and confident staff team.  Staff work in partnership with professionals to achieve the best outcomes for young people, advocating on behalf of young people when necessary.  The home provides a safe and welcoming environment.

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Recommendations

To improve the quality and standards of care further, the service should take account of the following recommendations:

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Recommendations

 Ensure that when a young person returns to the home after being missing from care or away from the home without permission, the responsible local authority provides an opportunity for the young person to have an independent return home interview. Homes should take account of information provided by such interviews when assessing risks and putting arrangements in place to protect each child (‘Guide to the children’s home regulations including quality standards’, page 45, paragraph 9.30). This is with reference to staff being more proactive in ensuring that independent return interviews take place, rather than being offered and routinely declined by young people.

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Recommendations

 Ensure that staff are familiar with the home’s policies on record keeping and understand the importance of careful, objective, and clear recording. Staff should record information on individual children in a non-stigmatising way that distinguishes between fact, opinion and third-party information. Information about the child must always be recorded in a way that will be helpful to the child (‘Guide to the children’s home regulations including quality standards’, page 62, paragraph 14.4). This is with particular reference to recording more detail following a physical intervention when a young person has sustained an injury. Consider making the information clearer regarding any injury, and more accessible and easier for the young person to understand.

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Information about this children’s home

This home is owned by a large private provider. It is registered to provide care and accommodation for up to three young people with complex emotional and/or behavioural difficulties.

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Recent inspection history

Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement 01/02/2016 Interim Improved effectiveness 10/08/2015 Full Requires improvement

p.5

Good

Young people make good progress from their starting points. They receive individualised care which is responsive to their needs, vulnerabilities and strengths.

p.6

Good

An important feature is meeting the needs of young people coming to the home at a point of crisis in their lives. A team manager commented that she had been: ‘Really impressed with the care provided’, for a young person placed at the home.

p.6

Good

Educationally, young people typically make small but measurable progress. Young people are engaged in education tailored to their individual needs. Staff have clear expectations about attendance and engagement in education. They recognise that many young people struggle and may have had their education disrupted in the past. Small achievements are celebrated. Staff encourage aspiration and support young people in thinking about their future. Staff also recognise the stability that comes from predictable routines and expectations.

p.6

Good

Young people are encouraged to identify short-term goals and longer-term goals. Short-term and long-term objectives are detailed simply but clearly, providing a sense of direction and purpose. This enables young people to regain some control in decision-making and to shape their care. It also supports open communication between staff and young people, and the opportunity for reflective discussions.

p.6

Good

Health needs are met, with young people accessing specialist support when needed. Staff have access to an in-house clinician who provides consultation, clinical support plans and direct support to young people who need it. Consultation for staff is particularly important if young people are not directly engaging in support to address their emotional health and well-being difficulties.

p.6

Good

Young people are provided with comprehensive information about the home when they move in. In the children’s guide, young people have information about advocacy and how to complain if they are unhappy. Independent advocacy is actively encouraged.

p.6

Good

Young people have opportunities to engage in a range of activities, some independently and some with staff. Staff keep a daily log where photographs and mementos are saved and document the young person’s experience and progress.

p.6

Good

A strength of the home is preparing young people to become more independent and do this safely. Young people are encouraged to develop independent living skills appropriate to their age. This is sometimes around self-care skills and young people taking responsibility for good self-care routines and hygiene. This can also be about taking age-appropriate risks from a safe base, such as cooking independently or using public transport. Staff devise plans which consist of very small steps towards learning a new skill. Staff use high levels of praise to reward positive behaviour. A new system is in place to record and monitor transitions work with young people. This progress can sometimes be lost if not part of formal pathway planning.

p.6

Good

Staff support contact between young people and their families when it is safe to do so, and in line with their care plan. Staff supervise contact when needed and try to make contact a positive experience for young people, especially when young people have contact with siblings.

p.7

Good

There is good communication between staff and partner agencies. Young people are at the centre of practice. Staff share information with partner agencies efficiently and work in partnership to ensure that young people’s needs are met. Staff also challenge partners when they feel necessary in the young people’s best interests.

p.7

Good

Young people invariably come to the home deemed to be at high risk of harm or having suffered significant harm. Within a short period of time, the risk posed to the majority of young people is reduced. Staff help and protect young people through the implementation of risk- and behaviour-management plans.

p.7

Good

Staff are confident and take a proactive approach to safeguarding. They work in partnership with professionals and with families. They also challenge and escalate concerns when necessary. Communication with social workers and other professionals is good. The local authority’s designated officer commented on how responsive staff are, and added that staff will contact her to check things out.

p.7

Good

Staff manage challenging behaviour well. They understand the difficult emotions being expressed when young people are challenging or engage in harmful behaviour. Staff are very honest and direct with young people and will say if behaviour is unacceptable, particularly if their behaviour is having an impact upon another young person.

p.7

Good

Some young people express their feelings through self-injurious behaviour. All staff are trained to recognise and respond to this appropriately, with senior staff having additional training in this area. The in-house clinician provides support and advice to staff in managing this behaviour and ensuring that young people are cared for as safely as possible. Staff are also offered support in managing their own emotional responses to a young person’s self-injurious behaviour.

p.7

Good

Staff support young people to develop strategies to regulate their own behaviour. This process starts when young people first come to live at the home. Young people are encouraged to express what the triggers or antecedents to unwanted behaviour might be, and are also encouraged to tell staff how they need to be supported at these times. Young people contribute to their own plans, and begin to take responsibility for their behaviour.

p.8

Good

Bullying is not tolerated, and staff are alert to signs of bullying behaviour. Young people learn to get along with each other, and when arguments occur, staff encourage a restorative approach to resolve tensions.

p.8

Good

Staff sometimes use physical intervention to manage behaviour when there is a risk to the young person or to others. In situations when physical intervention becomes necessary, staff use this safely and record it appropriately. Staff provide a written account of the situation and the hold used. They also use visual accounts of the hold, providing clarity about where a young person was held. On one occasion, a young person sustained bruising where he was held. This injury was not adequately recorded and a recommendation has been made to address this should the situation arise again.

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Good

Debriefs for young people and staff are in place and young people can reflect on the incident and express any negative feelings they have about being restrained.

p.8

Good

Missing from care incidents are managed effectively. For the majority of young people, incidents of being missing from care become less frequent as a result of living in this home. When a young person goes missing, staff respond appropriately and follow procedures well. All relevant parties are informed and staff do all they can to bring about the young person’s safe return.

p.8

Good

Following a missing from care incident, young people are almost always offered an independent return interview. This enables young people to speak to someone independent of the home about anything that might be worrying them. In almost all cases, young people decline this interview, so staff are unable to implement any learning that may have come from the young person. A recommendation has been made to ensure that staff are much more proactive about independent return interviews taking place, rather than just recording that an interview was offered and declined.

p.8

Good

Recruitment practices are robust and the company ensures that all pre- employment checks are satisfied before new staff start work at the home. This helps to prevent unsuitable adults working with young people. Once in post, new staff are subject to high levels of supervision and thorough probationary reviews.

p.8

Good

A recommendation made at the last inspection highlighted the need for staff to have access to a range of training to support their work with young people, and, in particular, to source formal training for staff about gang culture and working with young people who have experienced gang culture. Staff have received training in this area, but would still benefit from accessing more formal training to develop their understanding of gangs and the experience of some young people in their care.

p.9

Good

A further recommendation was for the registered person to review the appropriateness and suitability of the location and premises of the home at least once a year. In particular this review should take into account the local railway line. This recommendation has been met. The home has a good quality safe area report, which makes reference to the local railway line and also includes consultation with young people.

p.9

Good

The registered manager is suitably skilled and experienced, having several years of residential care experience at a management level. She is currently working towards the level 5 diploma in leadership and management. The manager has a sound understanding of young people’s individual needs, and provides strong leadership for staff in meeting those needs. The manager has good oversight of the home and uses a range of monitoring tools and checks to improve the service continually. The manager is aware of the strengths and weaknesses of the home and uses a development plan to drive up standards and improve the experience and progress of young people.

p.9

Good

The home benefits from a stable staff team, with minimal staff turnover. This stability means that young people can develop secure and trusting relationships with staff, and care is consistent. The use of short-term and long-term goal-setting with young people helps to keep plans on track, and enables staff to review plans if they are not progressing in between formal review meetings. Staff are ambitious for young people. They work in partnership with others through positive professional relationships to ensure the best possible outcomes for young people.

p.9

Good

The home is welcoming and staff work hard to ensure that it is a homely place where young people can relax. Young people speak positively about the home. The home benefits from having a stable staff team. Staff are appropriately skilled and experienced and deliver consistent and dependable care. Staff are confident and highly motivated, instilling confidence in young people and helping young people to feel safe. Staff encourage young people to develop trusting and secure relationships. Positive relationships are evident between the staff and young people, with lots of emotional warmth and good humour.

p.9

Good

Staff receive appropriate training, with much of this accessed on-line. Staff can request additional bespoke training to meet the specific needs of the young people in the home. Staff have received training in responding to young people’s self-harm and senior staff have had additional training in this area. The manager plans to develop staff through supporting specialisms, with staff up-skilling in chosen areas and becoming a champion for other staff.

p.10

Good

Staff induction processes are good, providing a firm foundation for staff development while ensuring safe practice.

p.10

Good

Staff have regular supervision, ensuring that they can reflect on practice and have the opportunity to discuss their own professional development.

p.10

Good

Case records are maintained to a high standard and young people are encouraged to contribute to their plans. The daily logs are written in a way that is very accessible to young people and illustrate their progress, achievements and experiences very well.

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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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