Children's home run by Cambian Childcare Limited in Stockport

children and young people since the most recent full inspection

This home was judged good at the full inspection. At this interim inspection, Ofsted judges that it has sustained effectiveness .

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

Since the last inspection, the same young person has remained living in the home. However, she was due to move out of the home the day following this inspection. Although a transition plan is in place for her that clearly outlines the support for her transition, she only became aware of the actual placement move two days before the planned move. She was clearly quite emotional about the move and did not have much time to emotionally prepare for the move. She said, ‘I do not want to move and although I knew it was likely to happen I did not expect it to be so soon.’ Although the young person had little notice of her move, the home were fully preparing and supporting her for the move during the inspection. Staff were helping her pack her personal belongings and had been out to buy her a new suitcase for this. The home had planned a farewell meal with the young person and the staff team for that evening, and showed the inspector presents they had

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

purchased for the young person, including a scrap book that the staff had prepared with lots of photographs, cards, certificates, quotes and messages from staff. This provided the young person with some lovely memories of her time living in the home.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

The registered manager has taken effective action to address the requirements and recommendation from the last full inspection. There is a clear action plan in place outlining the strategies implemented to address the shortfalls. This demonstrates the registered manager’s commitment to the continuous improvement of the home.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

The young person’s educational attendance and attainment has declined since the last inspection when she was making good progress. During recent months her attendance has been sporadic. Unfortunately, the strategies implemented by the home to encourage and support the young person with her education have been unsuccessful. The young person has been spending quite a lot of time awake during the night on her mobile telephone, which has resulted in her being tired the following day and spending a lot of time asleep when she should be engaging in her education. This has significantly impacted on her education. However, the young person’s new placement is in the grounds of her school, and therefore the staff are hopeful that this move will enable the young person to access her education easier and successfully complete her examinations. The home has an up-to-date health plan in place for the young person outlining

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

her health needs. Although an individual work session has taken place with the young person to support and encourage her attendance at health appointments, the plan does not include information about the numerous health appointments that the young person has refused to attend and the potential impact of this. Also, the plan does not adequately demonstrate how the young person is benefiting from good health care and guidance, including about her physical and emotional health.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

The young person now has a detailed contact plan in place. The plan reflects the fluctuating contact arrangements in place for the young person. For example, contact was initially supervised. However, due to the reduction in risk and positive contact taking place, the contact then became unsupervised, but this changed back to being supervised when a safeguarding issue arose. The contact plan details the arrangements for staff supporting the young person along with the strategies that staff must implement should an issue arise. The plan contains information relating to emergency contacts should they need to be contacted, such as local hospitals, local police, the local authority and the on call manager for the home. Consequently, the young person is fully supported to maintain regular contact with people who are important to her, and have safe and productive contact with them.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

Safeguarding practice within the home continues to be robust. Despite the initial safeguarding concerns for the young person when she moved into the home in relation to child sexual exploitation and being missing from home, there have been no concerns in relation to these issues for some time. Furthermore, the incidents of self-harm for the young person have significantly reduced because the young person is well supported to use other strategies when feeling anxious. Any incidents of self-harm have been superficial in nature and staff have responded appropriately to these. The staff have also been proactive in undertaking regular room searches to minimise potential risks to the young person’s health and welfare, including those posed from misuse of alcohol and smoking in their bedroom. Items are removed and individual work sessions are undertaken to help the young person understand and manage the risks that they place themselves at.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

The staff have worked with other professionals to help build this awareness, such as making arrangements for the fire service to come and talk to the young person to highlight the fire-related risks, and working with the placing authority to address concerns about the young person being able to access alcohol. Risk management plans are detailed and include how the risks will be managed by the home. Consequently, the home is effectively safeguarding the young person and ensuring that she is aware of the risks posed to her.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

Effective partnership working with a range of professionals contributes to the support that the young person receives to meet her needs. The home is in regular communication with the young person’s placing social worker, independent reviewing officer, health and educational professionals. They have ensured a multi- agency approach in relation to planning for the young person to move on from the home so that her current needs can be met. The placing social worker said, ‘I can only give a glowing report about the home.’ The effective partnership working contributes to the care planning for the young person to ensure that her needs are being met.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

The monitoring and review systems in the home need to be strengthened. Although the most recent independent visitor report has resulted in the registered manager taking action on the recommendations made, this needs to be consistently done so that the actions raised at each visit are addressed. The registered manager has liaised with the independent visitor to ensure that she is fully involved in future visits so that she can address any identified shortfalls in practice or the quality of care provided immediately. Therefore, some improvement in this area was evident at the time of the inspection.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

The registered manager and staff team have developed good relationships with the young person. The young person feels fully supported in the home. She said, ‘This home is amazing, I love everything about it and I will miss everyone when I move out tomorrow.’ It is reassuring for the young person that the registered manager and staff will continue to support her and maintain contact with her when she moves to her new placement. The positive relationships and ongoing support for the young person will support her in a smooth transition from the home.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

The registered manager of the home is supportive of her staff team. She promotes the continuous professional development of staff by giving them various training and development opportunities. The professional development of staff is an element of every supervision session. Supervision takes place on a regular basis and staff report this to be reflective in nature and supportive of their professional practice and the quality of care they provide to the young person in the home. A member of staff said, ‘The manager is very supportive, she is contactable most of the time for advice, support and guidance if necessary.’ The staff team works well together and regularly reflects together on their practice. A member of staff said, ‘We are like one big family.’ Another member of staff said, ‘This is the best job I have had in ten years. I love coming to work and knowing I am making a difference to the young person’s life.’ The support of the registered manager and

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

staff team means that the professional practice and quality of care provided to the young person is good.

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Information about this children’s home

This privately run children’s home can accommodate one young person who has emotional and/or behavioural difficulties.

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Recent inspection history

Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement 17/11/2016 Full Good 22/02/2016 Interim Sustained effectiveness 13/10/2015 Full Good 03/12/2014 Full Adequate

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Statutory requirements

This section sets out the actions which must be taken so that the registered person 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 with the given timescales.

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Requirement Due date

In order to meet the education standard the registered person must ensure:

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Requirement Due date

1) that children make measurable progress towards achieving their educational potential and are helped to do so. (2) In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to ensure: (a) that staff— (i) help each child to achieve the child’s education and training targets, as recorded in the child’s relevant plans; (ii) support each child’s learning and development, including helping the child to develop independent study skills and, where appropriate, helping the child to complete the independent study; (iii) understand the barriers to learning that each child may face and take appropriate action to help the child to overcome any such barriers; (iv) help each child to understand the importance and value of education, learning, training and employment; (v) promote opportunities for each child to learn informally; (vi) maintain regular contact with each child’s education and training provider, including engaging with the provider and the

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Requirement Due date

placing authority to support the child’s education and training and to maximise the child’s achievement; (vii) raise any need for further assessment or specialist provision in relation to a child with the child’s education or training provider and the child’s placing authority; (viii) help a child who is excluded from school, or who is of compulsory school age but not attending school, to access educational and training support throughout the period of exclusion or non-attendance and to return to school as soon as possible; (ix) help each child who is above compulsory school age to participate in further education, training or employment and to prepare for future care, education or employment; 19/05/2017 (x) help each child to attend education or training in accordance with the expectations in the child’s relevant plans; and (b) that each child has access to appropriate equipment, facilities and resources to support the child’s learning.

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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 the registered person actively seeks independent scrutiny of the home and make best use of information from independent monitoring (under regulation 44) to ensure continuous improvement. (‘Guide to the children’s home regulations including the quality standards’, page 55, paragraph 24)

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Recommendations

 Ensure that each child’s day-to-day health and well-being needs are met. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’ page 33 paragraph 7.3) In particular, they should ensure that children’s individual health plans set out the day-to-day arrangements for meeting all their health and well-being needs.

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Recommendations

 Ensure that staff help each child to prepare for any moves from the home, whether they are returning home, moving to another placement or adult care, or to live independently. This includes supporting the child to develop emotional and mental resilience to cope without the home’s support. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 17, paragraph 3.27)

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What the inspection judgements mean

At the interim inspection we make a judgement on whether the home has improved in effectiveness, sustained effectiveness or declined in effectiveness since the previous full inspection. This is in line with the ‘Inspection of children’s homes: framework for inspection’.

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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 focused on the effectiveness of the home and the progress and experiences of children and young people since the most recent full inspection.

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Information about this inspection

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 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 0300 123 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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