Children's Home run by Cambian Childcare Limited in North Yorkshire

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 settle quickly at the home because of the staff’s good quality care.  Young people regularly attend school, resulting in an improvement in their educational attainment.  Young people participate in a variety of activities that offer them new experiences and opportunities.  Young people feel safe living at the home, with clear safeguarding measures in place.  Missing from home episodes have reduced, which results in a lower risk of child sexual exploitation.  Staff help young people to self-regulate any negative behaviours with a reduction in aggression towards staff and in criminal damage.  A qualified, experienced and skilled manager runs the home, supported by a committed staff team.

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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 must comply within the given timescales.

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Requirement Due date

In order to meet this standard, specifically in relation to escalating concerns to the director of children’s services if needed:

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Requirement Due date

(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. 28/02/2017

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Requirement Due date

In order to meet the care planning standard, with particular reference to ensuring that pre-admission assessments demonstrate that the staff team is able to meet the child’s needs and any risk from/to other children in the home is recognised, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to ensure:

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Requirement Due date

(2)(a) that children are admitted to the home only if their needs are within the range of needs of children for whom it is intended that the home is to provide care and accommodation, as set out in the home’s statement of purpose. 28/02/2017

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Recommendations

To improve the quality and standards of care further, the service should take account of the following recommendations:  When a child returns to the home after being missing from care or away from the home without permission, the responsible local authority must provide an opportunity for the child 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 homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 45, paragraph 9.30). Specifically, arrangements should be in place when a young person moves in to the home which clarify who will be completing return-to-home interviews in the event that the young person goes missing from home.

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Recommendations

 The registered person should review the appropriateness and suitability of the location and premises of the home at least once a year. The review should include the identification of any risks and opportunities presented by the home’s location and strategies for managing these. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 64, paragraph 15.1). Specifically, the registered person should look at the areas in close proximity to the children’s home and the risks that these present to young people, to make the existing locality risk assessment more localised.

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Information about this children’s home

The children’s home is privately owned and managed. It is registered to provide care and accommodation for up to two children and young people who have emotional and/or behavioural needs.

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Recent inspection history

Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement 22/03/2016 Interim Sustained effectiveness 08/02/2016 Full Good 17/03/2015 Interim Sustained effectiveness 19/11/2014 Full Good

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Good

Both young people have been living at the home for less than six months. They have settled well because of the good quality care that staff provide. Young people make positive relationships with staff and good progress from their starting points and they are more emotionally settled. For one young person who has had multiple placements, this is the longest that they have stayed in any home. A professional reported, ‘This is the most progress (young person) has made since leaving their first foster placement.’

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Good

Young people regularly attend school, resulting in improved educational attainment. This is a significant achievement for one young person who previously had very poor school attendance. Young people enjoy and benefit from the social interaction with their peers, which develops positive self-esteem, relationship building and good social skills.

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Good

Although the local area where the home is situated is now more diverse, staff are sensitive to young people’s ethnic and cultural needs. They take young people to larger towns and cities for their health, beauty and dietary needs, leading to the promotion of young people’s identity and heritage.

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Good

Young people enjoy spending time with staff, and their participation in a variety of activities provides them with new experiences and opportunities. This promotes physical exercise and the development of new hobbies and interests. One young person is competing in national competitions, which boosts his confidence and sense of belonging with people who share his interests.

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Good

For those young people reluctant to attend medical appointments, staff provide physical and emotional support to ensure that regular health checks are completed. The children’s looked after nurse provides further encouragement by regularly visiting the home to build a relationship with the young people. This persistence is especially important for one young person whose medical background is unknown due to the number of previous moves. The company psychologist provides clinical advice to offer a holistic overview. Young people begin to have their overall health needs met.

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Good

Staff support young people to have regular family contact. There is effective communication between the home and family members, with one reporting, ‘I find them really good. They inform us what is going on.’

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Good

Young people participate in the running of the home during weekly ‘Our house get together’ meetings. Comments are actioned where appropriate. Young people feel listened to. Regular key-working sessions provide young people with practical age- appropriate information. One young person also speaks to an advocate. These forums provide young people with a voice and the opportunity to make decisions and choices about their lives, both now and in the future.

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Good

The freshly painted home is comfortable and young people personalise their bedrooms. One young person said, ‘This feels more like a home. My bedroom feels like my own.’ Young people are able to keep small pets to instil a sense of responsibility.

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Good

A high number of placements have ended in notice being given by the provider. This is due to the complex needs of young people, which are not fully understood at the time of admission. This is a result of the home’s pre-admission risk assessments and matching process not being robust.

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Good

Young people feel safe living at the home. The individual crisis management plans are highly effective at identifying and addressing risk. Young people benefit from the clear safeguarding measures in place. Staff’s knowledge of the young people’s vulnerabilities ensures that they are vigilant and quick to respond, especially when young people leave the home without permission. Ongoing safeguarding training ensures that staff understand safe care practices. This is enhanced through links with a charity specialising in tackling child sexual exploitation who provide staff with information and advice.

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Good

Safeguarding information provided by staff at key-working sessions equips young people with skills to keep themselves safe. Young people agree to stay in contact with staff during their free time in the community. Discreet visual spot checks made by staff make young people feel safe. One young person said, ‘I feel safe because staff keep me safe. I will also keep myself safe.’

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Good

Behaviour management plans provide clear and consistent strategies. Staff use de- escalation methods appropriately, and the use of physical intervention is a last resort to keep young people safe. Reflective practice undertaken during team meetings, with input from the company psychologist, allows staff members to explore their responses to any negative behaviours. As a result, behaviour management plans are amended, which ensures that the implementation of strategies helps young people to self-regulate any negative behaviours. This results in fewer episodes of aggression towards staff and damage to property. Young people show more remorse for their actions. A professional said: ‘(Name of young person) has really challenging behaviour. It has not been easy. What has worked is the consistency of staff.’

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Good

There has been a reduction in missing from home episodes. One young person is no longer regularly missing from home, although this was a frequent occurrence in their previous placements. Staff’s vigilance, knowledge of the area and connections with the local police ensure that a prompt and effective response quickly locates young people. As a result, the risk of child sexual exploitation has reduced. Confusion as to who completes the return-to-home interviews has resulted in some young people not always having a timely independent interview. This means that the home and professionals are unable to evaluate any themes arising from the missing episodes.

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Good

The manager’s attendance at the ‘vulnerable, exploited, missing and trafficked’ meetings provides locality information and intelligence about unsafe areas and individuals. This provides extra safeguarding for young people. Staff have a very good understanding of dangerous areas frequented by young people. However, this information is not yet included within the home’s locality risk assessment.

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Good

The registered manager has been in post since April 2015 and became registered in April 2016. He has considerable experience in residential childcare, previously working in a local authority children’s home for 11 years. The manager is suitably qualified and uses his knowledge, skills and experience effectively to run the home. He is also the registered manager for a neighbouring sister home that opened in June 2016.

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Good

The company’s recruitment, training and induction process ensures that staff are recruited who can provide the care that young people with complex needs require. A mix of new and experienced staff provides a good quality service to young people. One staff member said: ‘Our strength is that we are a small, friendly staff team. We are dedicated and are there for each other.’

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Good

Staff have faced a turbulent year due to the demanding and challenging behaviour of some of the young people placed. In recognition of this, the manager has held additional team meetings to offer support and guidance to staff. Staff benefit from regular supervision and support. The manager is approachable and staff openly discuss practice or personal issues. He addresses these effectively and promptly to ensure that staff continue to provide the best care to young people. One staff member said: ‘The highest praise I would give is that the support is there from managers.’

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Good

The manager spends time with the young people to get to know them well. He maintains a good oversight of their behaviour, needs and progress. The monitoring systems in place are effective and feed in to his informative and evaluative quality of care review.

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Good

Staff work in close partnership with families and agencies, developing links in the community with schools, health services and police, which provides a collaborative approach to working. This ensures effective communication, with one family member reporting, ‘If there is anything we need, staff are there and are accommodating.’

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Good

Other managers within the organisation undertake thorough audits of the practice and systems at the home. This robust approach ensures safe and transparent practice takes place and highlights any potential shortfalls. This is in addition to the independent visitor’s regular monthly monitoring visits, which offer independent scrutiny of the home to ensure that young people receive the best quality care.

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Good

The manager has had to take considerable action to safeguard a young person, due to the inadequate responses of the placing authority. Although the manager challenges placing local authorities, further escalation of the concern would result in a planned and timely move for young people.

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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’. 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

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What the inspection judgements mean

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 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 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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