Children's Home run by Cambian Childcare Limited in Cambridgeshire

Inspection report children’s home: SC456846 1 SC456846 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

A private organisation owns and operates this home, which provides care and accommodation for three young people who have emotional and/or behavioural difficulties.

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Overall experiences and progress of

children and young people, taking into account

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good

How well children and young people are helped and protected good

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good

The effectiveness of leaders and managers good

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good

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

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good

Overall judgement at last inspection: Improved effectiveness

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Key findings from this inspection

 Children’s high-risk behaviours have reduced because they live at the home.

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Key findings from this inspection

 Children have settled into the home because of the gentle and nurturing Inspection report children’s home: SC456846 2 approach from the staff.

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Key findings from this inspection

 Children have made good progress with their education. They are working towards recognised qualifications, which will help them to access further education.

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Key findings from this inspection

 The children develop trusting relationships because of the diligent work of the staff.

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Key findings from this inspection

 The staff help the children to improve contact with their extended families.

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Key findings from this inspection

 The staff share information effectively with each other, which ensures that a good level of consistent care is provided to the children.

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Key findings from this inspection

 Good-quality individual risk assessments and care plans provide the staff with the information that they need to provide safe care.

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Key findings from this inspection

 The manager motivates the staff effectively through regular supervision.

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Key findings from this inspection

 Good management oversight helps to ensure that the children receive good- quality care.

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Key findings from this inspection

 The manager reviews the children’s case records regularly, to ensure that they are clear and that they reflect the children’s progress.

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Key findings from this inspection

The children’s home’s areas for development

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Key findings from this inspection

 The manager has not achieved a relevant level 5 qualification within the required timeframe.

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

14/03/2017 Interim Improved effectiveness 18/10/2016 Full Requires improvement 18/02/2016 Interim Improved effectiveness 20/10/2015 Full Outstanding Inspection report children’s home: SC456846 3

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Statutory requirements

This section sets out the actions that the registered person(s) 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(s) must comply within the given timescales.

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Requirement Due date

A person may only manage a children’s home if the person has the appropriate experience, qualification and skills to manage the home effectively and lead the care of children. For the purposes of paragraph (1)(b)(i), a person has the appropriate experience and qualification if the person has by the relevant date, attained the level 5 diploma in Leadership and Management for Residential Childcare (England) (‘the Level 5 Diploma’) or a qualification which the registered provider considers to be equivalent to the level 5 diploma. The relevant date is in the case of a person who was managing a home on 1st April 2014, 1st April 2017. (Regulation 28 (1)(b)(i)(2)(c)(i)(ii)(3)(b)) 16/12/2017

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

This warm and welcoming home provides care and accommodation for up to three children who have emotional and/or behavioural difficulties. Some of the children who live at the home have experienced previous placement breakdowns. In some cases, the children have experienced difficult early years, which has had a negative impact on their lives. Staff take time and care to develop trusting relationships with the children.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Observations, during the inspection, of the interactions between staff and children show a calm and nurturing approach. A great deal of fun was also seen in the interactions. Staff use various communication methods to help them to engage with the children. This leads to a sense of genuine warmth in the home. The children talked about the arrangements that they had made to prepare to celebrate a member of staff’s birthday. The children had made a cake and decorations were set out for a tea party. The staff group and the children reminisced about the event affectionately.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

These positive relationships are supported by in-depth care plans, which are informed by up-to-date risk assessments. This provides a step-by-step guide and reinforces safe-care practices for the staff. Direct work with the children takes place in both planned and unplanned sessions. Staff make themselves available for the children. For example, staff Inspection report children’s home: SC456846 4 engaged with a child during a trip out to discuss concerns about the child’s safe-care plan. This provided the child with an opportunity to develop an understanding of safe- care issues with a staff member who knows and values the child’s individual needs. One child commented, ‘I have a good attachment with the staff, especially my key worker.’ Another said, ‘The staff are laid-back and calm, which is good.’

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Some of the children have made good progress with their education. The staff from the home work well with local schools to ensure that important information is shared. As a result, some children are working towards recognised qualifications, which will help them to access further education or skills-based training and the world of work. Staff and the provider’s in-house education service support other children, who have found it more difficult to engage in formal schooling. Individualised education packages, including work experience, are developed to help the children to develop skills and knowledge. A professional from a local school commented, ‘This child is making expected progress across all of their subject areas. They are making exceptional progress in their drama subject. They have matured and have been able to build relationships in the school with their peers. Communication is good between the home and the school, and staff at the

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

home have been helpful with working together to support this child.’ Older children are encouraged to develop independent living skills. The staff support them to develop budgeting and cooking skills, to help the children to become confident in these areas, ahead of any planned move into the community.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are involved in day-to-day decisions in the home. Regular community meetings held with the staff help the children to devise a healthy weekly menu and to choose activities, such as day trips to the beach, shopping outings, and cinema trips. The children have made requests for garden-based play equipment, including a football goal, which has been purchased.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff work with the children to maximise the children’s contact with their extended families. As a result, the children maintain appropriate relationships with these important people. Staff travel with the children to ensure that contact is as positive as possible. Families are welcomed into the home when this is considered a safe and more suitable venue for contact.

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How well children and young people are helped and protected: good

Children have made good progress since living in this home. Some children who had received in-patient psychiatric services and were assessed as being at high risk of self- harm have been helped to reduce incidences of self-harm. They have been supported gently and with dignity to settle into this home. Staff understand the children’s specific needs. Consequently, the children begin to feel at ease. Children say that they feel safe. One child commented, ‘It has been really good for me here. The best thing about this home is that they have kept me safe.’ Individual risk assessments and care plans provide the staff with the information that they need to provide safe care. There have been no physical interventions since the last full inspection. This is because the staff have developed alternative strategies and diversion skills to work with children, and de- escalate situations which may lead to children harming themselves or others.

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How well children and young people are helped and protected: good

Inspection report children’s home: SC456846 5 There have been two notifiable incidents. The manager has contacted Ofsted regarding safeguarding referrals to local authorities. One of these referred to historical incidents, while the most recent followed a period when a child was missing from the home. The manager has reviewed these events and ensured that the staff have followed the appropriate safeguarding processes. The manager and staff are acutely aware of the risks in the community for children who are missing from care. The staff follow the provider’s procedure to alert the police and other agencies, and staff will go out into the community to try to locate the children. Staff have completed direct work with the children to provide information and to help children to make positive choices.

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How well children and young people are helped and protected: good

Staff make and support the children to keep important appointments with health professionals, such as doctors and dentists. The staff use the provider’s in-house therapeutic services. This offers the staff a therapeutic view on the children’s issues and helps the staff to reflect on the approaches that they use to meet the children’s needs.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager holds a level 3 qualification in childcare services and has worked in the home since 2014. Although she has suitable experience and knowledge, she has not completed a relevant level 5 qualification within the required timeframe.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager works proactively with the independent visitor to ensure that the services provided are in line with the statement of purpose. The visitor provides monthly feedback to the manager, who highlights the issues raised and ensures that any shortfalls are rectified quickly.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The provider has an induction and training programme for the staff to follow. All eligible staff have achieved the required level 3 diploma qualification. This means that the staff have the knowledge and skills required to meet the children’s needs.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager monitors practice and motivates the staff through regular supervision. In particular, she reviews the children’s case records to ensure that they are clear. She has high expectations of the staff, particularly in respect of the quality of the relationships that the staff have with the children. The manager is keen that the staff evidence how they have built good relationships with the children using individual child-centred methods. Helping the staff to achieve this is an area of focus for the manager. She considers that the staff team is growing in its knowledge of the children, and she is working to support the staff to improve their work to achieve the best outcomes for the children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Shift handover notes are used effectively to share information between the staff. Team meetings provide a further opportunity for staff to pool their knowledge and report on the progress that children are making. Consequently, a good level of consistent care is provided to the children. The manager has contacted local community-based resources to help to support the children’s understanding of issues such as awareness of internet safety, positive relationship choices and health matters. This means that the children are Inspection report children’s home: SC456846 6 better informed and enabled to consider these subjects and make positive choices.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Placing social workers speak positively about the services provided for the children. One worker’s written feedback to the home said, ‘The changes for this child have been very positive. Their confidence has increased and their ability to talk about the things that are worrying them has improved.’

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager has worked effectively to challenge a placing authority to provide relevant information to prepare a child for a 72-hour post-placement meeting. The manager has a positive relationship with placing authorities and has made suitable enquiries with other professionals to ensure that the home has the resources to meet the children’s needs.

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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 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: SC456846 7

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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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Inspector

Michael Mulvaney, social care inspector Inspection report children’s home: SC456846 8 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 looked after children, safeguarding and child protection.

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Inspector

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Inspector

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Inspector

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