Children's Home run by Cambian Childcare Limited in Warwickshire

Inspection report children‟s home: SC476249 1 SC476249 Registered provider: Cambian Childcare Ltd

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Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

The home is registered to provide care and accommodation for up to five young people. The home is privately owned and managed. The home provides therapeutic services.

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Overall experiences and progress of

children and young people, taking into account

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requires improvement to be good

How well children and young people are helped and protected requires improvement to be good

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requires improvement to be good

The effectiveness of leaders and managers inadequate

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requires improvement to be good

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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requires improvement to be good

Date of last inspection: 16 January 2017

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requires improvement to be good

Overall judgement at last inspection: Declined in effectiveness

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Key findings from this inspection

This children‟s home requires improvement to be good because

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Key findings from this inspection

 The safety of some young people has on occasion been compromised because Inspection report children‟s home: SC476249 2 staff have lacked the insight of young people‟s vulnerabilities.  Young people are not clear regarding expectations and consequences of their behaviour.  Safeguarding notifications and risk assessments lack consistent managerial oversight, analysis and action planning.  Staff do not use the support of partner agencies, such as the police, to help reduce young people‟s risks.  Staff do not receive regularly supervision or annual appraisal.  The registered manager does not challenge other services effectively when their responses are too slow.  Staff have not received training to support them to protect young people from radicalisation and extremism.  The registered person has not reviewed the appropriateness and suitability of the location of the premises.  Outstanding repairs detract from the overall homely environment.

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Key findings from this inspection

 Young people are not always appropriately prepared for a move from the home.

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Key findings from this inspection

 All young people are making good education progress.  One young person had a well-planned move from the home.  Staff develop positive relationships with young people.  Staff help young people to improve their physical and emotional health.  Staff provide warm and nurturing relationships to young people.  Staff ensure that young people are afforded varied activities to enhance their social development.

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

16/01/2017 Interim Declined in effectiveness 02/08/2016 Full Good 04/02/2016 Interim Sustained effectiveness 07/07/2015 Full Good Inspection report children‟s home: SC476249 3

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Statutory requirements

This section sets out the actions that the registered person must take to meet 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

Engaging with the wider system to ensure children's needs are met. In meeting the quality standards, the registered person must, and must ensure that staff—

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Requirement Due date

(b) seek to secure the input and services required to meet each child‟s needs;

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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. (Regulation 5(b)(c)) 27/06/2017

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Requirement Due date

The quality and purpose of care standard is that children receive care from staff who—

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Requirement Due date

(i) has the experience, knowledge and skills to deliver that care. (Regulation 6(1)(c)(i)) 27/06/2017

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Requirement Due date

The protection of children standard is that children are protected from harm and enabled to keep themselves safe. 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; (iii) have the skills to identify and act upon signs that a child is at risk of harm; (iv) manage relationships between children to prevent them from harming each other; (v) understand the roles and responsibilities in relation to protecting children that are assigned to them by the registered 27/06/2017 Inspection report children‟s home: SC476249 4 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

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Requirement Due date

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; (c) that the premises used for the purposes of the home are located so that children are effectively safeguarded; (d) that the premises used for the purposes of the home are designed, furnished and maintained so as to protect each child from avoidable hazards to the child‟s health; and (e) that the effectiveness of the home‟s child protection policies is monitored regularly. (Regulation 12(1)and(2)(a)(b)(c)(d)(e))

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that staff who work in the home in a care role has the appropriate qualification if, by the relevant date. (a) the Level 3 Diploma for Residential Childcare (England) (“the Level 3 Diploma”); or (b) a qualification which the registered person considers to be equivalent to the Level 3 Diploma. (5) The relevant date is in the case of an individual who starts working in a care role in a home after 1st April 2014, the date which falls 2 years after the date on which the individual started working in a care role in a home; or (b) in the case of an individual who was working in a care role in a home on 1st April 2014, 1st April 2016. (Regulation 32(4)(a)(b)and(5)(a)) 29/08/2017

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must review the appropriateness and suitability of the location of the premises used for the purposes of the children‟s home at least once in each calendar year taking into account the requirement in regulation 12(2)(c) (the protection of children standard). When conducting the review, the registered person must consult, and take into account the views of, each relevant person. (Regulation 46 (1) and(2)) 20/06/2017

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that all employees— (a) undertake appropriate continuing professional development (b) receive practice-related supervision by a person with appropriate experience; and (c) have their performance and fitness to perform their roles appraised at least once every year. (Regulation 33(4)(a)(b)(c)) 20/06/2017 Inspection report children‟s home: SC476249 5

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improvement to be good

Young people are supported to manage their own health needs where appropriate. Staff ensure that young people are registered with primary healthcare and specialist services. This means that young people can access services and receive treatment without undue delays. This in turn helps to enhance young people‟s physical, emotional and psychological well-being. There are recent improved links with specialised clinical services to meet the emotional needs of young people. A child and adolescent psychotherapist told the inspector that, „(The home) and the clinical team have a strong collaboration. This is evidenced through clinical attending/arranging workshops/ training and specific consultations.‟ This collaborative approach supports staff to understand young people and their emotional health. Staff are continually developing skills to engage young people. Staff work with young people to help them make progress in a

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improvement to be good

range of areas including social development, understanding their identity, life skills, personal hygiene and managing emotions. A social worker told the inspector, „Huge change has been seen in (young person‟s) behaviour, to the point he has begun to accept his dual heritage, something he was in denial about previously.‟

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improvement to be good

Staff give practical and emotional support to help young people to engage in education. Positive relationships are used to encourage and support young people to work through the barriers that impact on their learning. A social worker told the inspector, „(Young person) is now back in a school setting, which would not have been possible a year ago.‟ Staff work in partnership with schools and placing authorities to make sure that tailor- made education packages are completed. This gives young people the best opportunity to progress in their education.

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improvement to be good

Staff notice the different aspects of a young person‟s development and enthusiastically celebrate all achievements. For example, young people recently attended an awards ceremony and all received awards for their individual achievement. Young people respond positively to praise, and their confidence and self-esteem are increased because of this practice.

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improvement to be good

Young people do not always experience well-planned transitions from the home. Since the interim inspection, two young people have experienced transitions. One young person‟s experience was very positive. He successfully moved on to a foster placement. However, the other young person‟s experience was not sufficiently planned and resulted in an emergency move. This practice does not support the emotional well-being of young people.

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improvement to be good

Staff encourage young people to express their views through young people‟s meetings and informal conversations. Young people say that they understand how decisions are made and the degree to which they are able to influence these. This enhances their day- to-day experience of living in the home. Inspection report children‟s home: SC476249 6 Staff ensure that opportunities exist for young people to participate in community activities. Staff recognise the importance of encouraging a range of activities to help develop young people‟s emotional well-being and self-esteem. For example, some young people enjoy community-based activities such as horse riding and going to the cinema. These daily experiences help young people to develop a sense of self-worth and to have a positive connection with their community.

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improvement to be good

Staff speak highly of the young people and want the very best for them. Staff provide warm and nurturing relationships to young people. It is these relationships that help and support young people to invest in the placement. Staff support and value young people‟s contact with their families and others that are important to them. This helps to ensure that young people sustain meaningful relationships with people who are important in their lives.

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improvement to be good

Staff are committed to ensuring that the home is well maintained. However, due to some challenging behaviours of some of the young people and the absence of effective leadership, the overall presentation of the home has declined since the last inspection. The home is in need of some re-decoration and repair throughout. Staff continue to be frustrated that repairs are not routinely completed in a timely manner.

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improvement to be good

Staff are trained in appropriate safe-care practice. The staff mainly refer any safeguarding incidents to the relevant professionals. The registered manager does not always support staff to make appropriate referrals to local authorities, police and Ofsted. For example, two incidents have not been appropriately notified to the local authority, the police and to Ofsted. This omission leaves professionals without key information and young people vulnerable to harm.

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improvement to be good

When young people go missing from care, staff implement the missing-from-care protocol and are aware of how to safeguard young people from going missing. The protocol specify the actions to be taken by staff and others. Return-from-missing interviews are available to young people.

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improvement to be good

Staff do not sufficiently understand the risks surrounding online safety and exploitation. The staff lack professional curiosity and miss the opportunities to ensure that young people receive the help and support they need. Key-work opportunities are not sufficiently used to support young people to make safe decisions and to be protected from becoming involved in negative and potentially exploitative relationships. Specialised training around radicalisation and extremism is absent and this leaves staff without the knowledge required to safeguard young people in this area.

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improvement to be good

Young people‟s complex needs mean that they can at times display extremely difficult and challenging behaviour. Some young people have been involved and witnessed Inspection report children‟s home: SC476249 7 physical assaults on staff. On occasion, and despite their best efforts, staff have been unable to manage the levels of violence and safeguard everyone involved. Since the last inspection, there has been an increase in physical interventions. There have been improvements in the recording of such incidents. On occasions when restraint is necessary to prevent serious harm, there is now a careful debrief and analysis of each incident. Records made by staff when a physical intervention has occurred receive management oversight, and young people have the opportunity to talk about the restraint. This is helping to ensure that the use of restraint is proportionate and that staff and young people are receiving opportunities to reflect on incidents. There is, however,

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improvement to be good

a lack of individualised behaviour management plans in place and a general lack of clarity of expectations and consequences for young people. This has meant that practice has on occasion become crisis-led in its approach, and opportunities for deescalating are not always fully used.

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improvement to be good

Staff ensure that all young people have internal care plans, which include important information about their care. Nevertheless, there are parts, especially in risk assessments, that fail to capture key information for some young people. The registered manager and staff do not consistently review and update risk assessments following serious incidents. This leaves staff without clear, consistent guidance, and consequently leaves some young people at reoccurring risk of harm. This results in some young people not having all aspects of their risk assessed and managed in ways that enhance their well-being and safeguards them from harm.

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improvement to be good

Young people are protected by the organisation‟s robust recruitment practice. This practice helps to promote the safety of the young people by preventing unsuitable adults from working with them.

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improvement to be good

Staff undertake regular health and safety checks, routinely servicing equipment to ensure that the home is safe for young people. Staff are trained in fire safety procedures, and they ensure that young people take part in fire evacuation drills so that everyone understands how to leave the home safely in an emergency.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

The registered manager has recently left the organisation. The home is currently being managed by a regional manager until a more permanent arrangement can be put into place. There is a clear recognition of the shortfalls identified within this report and a willingness from senior managers and staff to take immediate action to improve standards. The requirements from the last inspection have been met.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

There are eleven members of staff, all of whom are enrolled onto the necessary level 3 diploma in residential childcare. The deputy manager is due to complete this award in June 2017. Not all staff completing their reward are within the regulatory timeframe for completion. Without this qualification staff do not have the opportunity to develop their knowledge and skills required when working with young people in a residential childcare setting. Inspection report children‟s home: SC476249 8 The regional manager is aware of the strengths of the home and the areas for development, inclusive of the shortfalls identified during inspection. Staff report that there has been a lack of formal support and guidance from the registered manager. They have not received regular supervision or annual appraisals. This hinders the opportunity for staff to sufficiently explore professional development and reflect on their

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

individual practice. Morale has been low, and staff have not felt that their views have been valued. Despite this, staff remain committed and motivated in their care of young people

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

The statement of purpose provides clear information about the level of service provided. The children‟s guide is in an accessible format. This means that young people are clear about the services that the home provides.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

The registered manager has failed to ensure that the home‟s location risk assessment is reviewed on an annual basis. This means that staff do not have access to local intelligence regarding risks in the community. This hinders the opportunity for staff to protect young people from known areas of risk in the community.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

The registered manager has not monitored or reviewed practice effectively. Internal and external quality assurance processes have not been effective as they have not identified the shortfalls in the home. The registered manager has failed to take action to adapt staff practice around behaviour management to ensure that young people have the support they need to progress in all areas of their lives. She has also failed to ensure that all young people‟s behaviour management plans are individual to their needs. This practice has left young people with a lack of continuity in their care.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

There has been a lack of consistent managerial oversight and review in respect of managing safeguarding incidents. This has meant that risks have not been effectively managed, leaving some young people vulnerable and at risk of harm.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

The registered manager has recognised concerns relating to the effectiveness of statutory care planning for one young person. Despite recognising this, she has not sufficiently challenged and escalated these shortfalls with the local authority to bring about the necessary change in the best interests of young people in a timely fashion. This has created a missed opportunity to advocate for young people.

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Information about this inspection

Inspectors have looked closely at the experiences and progress of children and young people. Inspectors considered the quality of work and the difference made to the lives of children and young people. They watched how professional staff work with children and young people and each other and discussed the effectiveness of help and care provided. Wherever possible, they talked to children and young people and their families. In addition, the inspectors have tried to understand what the children‟s home knows about Inspection report children‟s home: SC476249 9 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.

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Information about this inspection

Using the „Social care common inspection framework‟, this inspection was carried out under the Care Standards Act 2000 to assess the effectiveness of the service, how it meets the core functions of the service as set out in legislation, 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‟. Inspection report children‟s home: SC476249 10

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Cambian Childcare Ltd

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Cambian, Waterfront, Hammersmith Embankment, Chancellors Road, London W6 9RU

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Children’s home details

Responsible individual: Alison Blyth-Bishop

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Inspector

Lisa Walsh, social care inspector Inspection report children‟s home: SC476249 11 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, further education and skills, adult and community learning, and education and training in prisons and other secure establishments. It assesses council children‟s services, and inspects services for children looked after, safeguarding and child protection.

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Inspector

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Inspector

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Inspector

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