Children's Home run by Cambian Childcare Limited in Somerset

Requires improvement

The children’s home is not yet delivering good help and care for children and young people. However, there are no serious or widespread failures that result in their welfare not being safeguarded or promoted.

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because:

 Leaders and managers had failed to keep children and young people safe prior to the previous inspection of 7 and 8 December 2016. This had placed children, young people and staff at risk of harm. Leaders and managers have since taken proactive steps towards ensuring that this does not happen again. However, due to the limited number of young people at the home, and the brief period since the last inspection, there is limited evidence to demonstrate how effective these changes are.  The care planning system has been reviewed by leaders and managers and a new version viewed during this inspection was much clearer. However, in order to demonstrate how effective it is will require further time and new young people coming to live at the home.  There has been no consistent manager at the home for a number of weeks. As a result, staff have not been supported effectively in order to keep children and young people or themselves safe. The management of the

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because:

home remains in a state of flux. An interim manager has now been at the home for a short time. This manager is not registered with Ofsted.

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The children’s home’s strengths

 Leaders and managers have refurbished the home to a good standard. It is now clean and welcoming.  Learning opportunities from the previous inspection have been actively sought and supported through team meetings and staff supervisions.  Care planning, risk assessment and medication administration systems have all been streamlined to ensure that staff can access important information easily.  Referrals for new young people to come and live at the home are now more closely scrutinised, in order to promote the well-being of all young people who live at the home.

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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

5: Engaging with the wider system to ensure children’s need are met

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Requirement Due date

In order to meet the engaging with the wider systems standard, registered persons must, and must ensure that staff: (a) seek to involve each child’s placing authority effectively in the child’s care, in accordance with the child’s relevant plans; (b) seek to secure the input and services required to meet each child’s needs; (c) if the registered person considers, or staff consider, a placing authority’s or a relevant person’s performance or response to be inadequate in relation to their role, challenge the placing authority or the relevant person to seek to ensure that each child’s needs are met in accordance with the child’s relevant plans; and (d) seek to develop and maintain effective professional relationships with such persons, bodies or organisations as the registered person considers appropriate, having regard to the range of needs of children for whom it is intended that the children’s home is to provide care and accommodation.

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Requirement Due date

In particular, leaders and managers must ensure that they have effective working relationships with both professionals and family members, to ensure that the best interests of children and young people are met at all times. 31/03/2017

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Requirement Due date

7: The children’s views, wishes and feelings standard

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Requirement Due date

In order to meet the children’s views, wishes and feelings standard, the registered persons must: (2)(b) ensure that each child: (i) is enabled to provide feedback to, and raise issues with, a relevant person about the support and services that the child receives.

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Requirement Due date

In particular, return from missing discussions with children and young people must be completed in a timely manner with an 31/03/2017 independent person. It is the responsibility of leaders and managers to escalate concerns regarding the completion of these discussions with the Local Safeguarding Children Board. 12: The protection of children standard

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Requirement Due date

(2) In order to meet the protection of children standard, the registered persons must: (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; (ii) help each child to understand how to keep safe; (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; (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; (d) that the premises used for the purposes of the home are

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Requirement Due date

designed, furnished and maintained so as to protect each child from avoidable hazards to the child’s health.

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Requirement Due date

In particular, placement compatibility and risk reduction plans must be developed effectively in order to ensure that children and young people are kept safe. Staff must be able to access the above information easily, and be fully supported by leaders and managers in respect of how to implement the above. 31/03/2017

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Requirement Due date

13: The leadership and management standard

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Requirement Due date

(1) In order to meet the leadership and management standard, the registered persons must enable, inspire and lead a culture that: (a) helps children to aspire to fulfil their potential; and (b) promotes their welfare. (2) 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 31/03/2017 home’s statement of purpose; (b) ensure that staff work as a team, when appropriate; (c) ensure that staff have the experience, qualifications and skills to meet the needs of each child; (d) ensure that the home has sufficient staff to provide care for each child; (e) ensure that the home’s workforce provides continuity of care to 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

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Requirement Due date

In particular, leaders and managers must ensure that staff are able to provide consistently safe care which is of a good standard. This directly relates to the need for the responsible individual to ensure that stable and consistent management is in place.

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Recommendations

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

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Recommendations

 Staff need to have the knowledge and skills to understand each child’s education and training targets and their next steps for learning, in order to provide increased support to young people regarding educational attainment. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 28, paragraph 5.11)

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Information about this children’s home

This children’s home is registered to provide accommodation for a maximum of three young people with emotional and/or behavioural difficulties. The home is run by a private provider that also operates other children’s homes in the local area.

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Recent inspection history

Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement 07/12/2016 Full Inadequate 10/03/2016 Interim Improved effectiveness 20/10/2015 Full Good 14/01/2015 Full Good

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Requires improvement

The home is clean and welcoming. It has been refurbished to a good standard. Food is no longer being locked away. The damaged car, which had been parked in the driveway, has been replaced with a new, damage-free car. This all provides a more homely environment for young people. The office door is still boarded, although it is evident that action has been taken to ensure that it is fixed.

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Requires improvement

After the previous inspection, two young people left the home quickly amid poorly planned transitions. As a result, the outcomes for these young people were poor.

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Requires improvement

One young person who remained at the home is now safe and is being provided with an improved standard of care. This young person is attending education regularly, and is being actively supported by staff to reach their personal goals regarding their independence.

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Requires improvement

Leaders and managers were unable to clarify what the young person is studying or the educational support which they are currently providing. Young people would benefit further from increased support in respect of educational achievement.

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Requires improvement

Leaders and managers have started to develop links with wider support systems, such as education and social workers. The benefit to young people of these improved links remains to be demonstrated. Therefore, the requirement made in reference to this is not yet met.

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Requires improvement

Leaders, managers and staff have not had the opportunity to demonstrate that they are able to support young people to develop healthy and non-harmful relationships. Therefore, this requirement also remains to be met.

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Requires improvement

The young person living at the home is given regular opportunities to share their views. House meetings, one-to-one sessions and the regular offer of an advocate are all consistently provided. Judgement grade

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Requires improvement

Leaders and managers have developed a new system to ensure that young people are given access to an independent visitor, and what to do if there is a difficulty in accessing this provision. However, staff could not locate this document easily, and were not aware of the process outlined within it.

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Requires improvement

A new impact risk assessment tool has been developed, which demonstrates that leaders and managers are seeking to promote more robust and child-centred assessment of risk. This new template is yet to be used. However, a verbal account was provided regarding how risk had been assessed in respect of a recent referral. A safe decision was made not to accept this referral in order to safeguard the young person who currently lives at the home.

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Requires improvement

Care planning has been streamlined. Important information is now more easily accessible to staff. Young people’s needs, such as health and behavioural support, are very clear.

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Requires improvement

A visual tool has also been developed to promote school attendance. This tool is designed to help staff identify any patterns regarding young people’s attendance, which are either positive or negative. This is aimed at enabling staff to provide the correct support to young people.

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Requires improvement

Further use of the new care planning system is required in order to determine how effective the new system is.

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Requires improvement

The monitoring system for providing young people with medication has also been improved. This system is also much easier for staff to view, which will reduce the possibility of mistakes.

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Requires improvement

One complaint has been received since the last inspection regarding a communication issue. This matter was addressed appropriately by leaders and managers, and the staff member was supported to reflect upon this concern. An appropriate apology letter was also sent to the individual who made the complaint.

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Requires improvement

One allegation made by a young person since the last inspection has been handled robustly by leaders and managers, and the young person was spoken with independently of the home.

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Requires improvement

There have been no significant safeguarding issues since the last inspection. Judgement grade

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Requires improvement

The management of the home remains in a state of flux. An interim manager has now been at the home for a very short time. This manager is not registered with Ofsted. Therefore, the requirement regarding the importance of consistent and stable management in order to provide a safe and good standard of care is not met.

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Requires improvement

An independent reviewing officer (IRO) spoken to during the inspection commented that the registered manager had been ‘an absolute rock’ to the young person who currently lives at the home. The IRO also gave the opinion that the interim management was also of a good standard.

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Requires improvement

Leaders and managers have facilitated one team meeting since the last inspection. The record from this meeting is very detailed and demonstrates a great deal of reflection and learning taken from the concerns identified at the last inspection.

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Requires improvement

Supervision is also more reflective and child-centred. This is also an ongoing area for development given the current lack of challenges faced by staff at the home.

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Requires improvement

Leaders and managers have ensured that there is an effective system in place in order to monitor the training needs of staff. All staff training is in date and is appropriate in order to meet the current needs of the young person living at the home.

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Requires improvement

It is positive that the organisation is not placing pressure on the leaders and managers of the home to allow new young people to move in, until a new staff member has been employed and the positive changes have been consolidated.

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Requires improvement

Leaders and managers have taken effective action to improve the standards of care provided to young people and to provide a positive environment in the home. This is further evidenced by feedback from staff. The same staff spoken with during both inspections reported a significant difference in the home, and that it is now a much calmer environment.

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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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