Children's Home run by Cambian Childcare Limited in Halton

Inspection report children’s home: SC457183 1 SC457183 Registered provider: Cambian Childcare Limited Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This privately run children’s home can accommodate one young person with emotional 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 requires improvement to be good

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good

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

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good

Date of last inspection: 16 February 2017

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good

Overall judgement at last inspection: Improved effectiveness

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Key findings from this inspection

 The young people have positive experiences and make progress living at this home. They have good relationships with the manager and staff, who clearly want what is best for them. The views, wishes and feelings of young people are central to the day-to-day arrangements at the home. Staff respond positively to Inspection report children’s home: SC457183 2 the views, wishes and feelings of young people, and either act on these or explain clearly to young people if they are unable to do so.  The health needs of the young person are known and understood by the manager and staff. A health plan is in place which clearly outlines the young person’s health needs and how these are being met. The young person has refused to attend the general practioner practice to register. However, he is being encouraged and supported to do this as soon as possible to ensure that his health needs are fully met.  Safeguarding practice at the home is robust and ensures that young people are

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Key findings from this inspection

safe from harm. Detailed risk assessments clearly outline the risks to the young person, and the strategies in place to manage these and reduce the risks to the young person.  The young people are supported to maintain positive relationships with people who are important to them. The staff encourage regular, safe contact for young people with their family and friends. Furthermore, they provide transport to and from contact and maintain communication with young people, their friends and family when contact is taking place. Contact plans and records demonstrate that young people are fully supported in relation to the contact that they have with people who are important to them.  The young person living at the home has settled in very well in the short time that he has lived there. His behaviour has improved, and he is settled and happy. He spoke positively about his experiences since moving into the home.

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Key findings from this inspection

Furthermore, a professional involved with him spoke about the positive change in the young person’s behaviour and emotional well-being.  The staff work well together and are supportive of each other. They have welcomed their new manager into the home and have confidence in her ability to effectively manage the home.  The manager and staff engage well with other professionals to ensure that young people’s needs are fully met and they have the best possible support. They are skilled in identifying areas of unmet need and actively finding the right support for the young people at the right time. They have challenged placing authorities when they feel that young people are not getting the support that they need to help them. The children’s home’s areas for development

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Key findings from this inspection

 The home must ensure that it receives and views the legal looked after children documentation prior to the placement of a young person.  The home must ensure that the records for the administration of medication are completed appropriately at the time that the medication is administered. The records at the home at the time of the inspection indicated that medication had been administered to the young person when, in fact, it had not.  The home should ensure that a suitable education plan is in place for the young person. Furthermore, it should have an education timetable in place to support Inspection report children’s home: SC457183 3 the young person with his education when he is not attending school.  The young person would benefit from having access to his own computer and the internet to support his educational needs.  Recording systems in the home need to be strengthened. Some records lack

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Key findings from this inspection

detail, and are not signed and dated by the author.  Although behaviour management at the home is effective, the records of measures including sanctions and physical interventions do not demonstrate that the measures have been undertaken in line with regulation.  Supervision records should be in place for all supervision sessions that have taken place. The supervision of staff is recorded in the home’s supervision logbook. However, a number of the records relating to these have not been updated This does not demonstrate that supervision enables the staff to review and reflect on young people’s progress and needs, their own performance and professional development, the running of the home, and how best to develop and improve the standard of care and support.  Staff training records need to demonstrate the training and development opportunities that staff have had. The training records for staff are out of date.

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Key findings from this inspection

They do not reflect the training that staff have completed. Furthermore, there is no training matrix in place to demonstrate future training opportunities for staff.  Monitoring and review systems in the home need to be strengthened. Both the internal and external monitoring systems have failed to identify the shortfalls that were found during this inspection, such as omissions from records and plans.  The home is looking tired and worn, and would benefit from redecoration. The young person described his bedroom as ‘dull and boring’. However, records in the home indicate that plans are in place for it to be redecorated to his choice of decoration.

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

16/02/2017 Interim Improved effectiveness 20/07/2016 Full Requires improvement 09/03/2016 Interim Declined in effectiveness 26/08/2015 Full Good Inspection report children’s home: SC457183 4

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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

The education standard is that children make measurable progress towards achieving their educational potential and are helped to do so.

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to ensure that- staff help each child to achieve the child’s education and training targets, as recorded in the child’s relevant plans; 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; understand the barriers to learning that each child may face and take appropriate action to help the child to overcome any such barriers; help each child to understand the importance and value of education, learning, training and employment; promote opportunities for each child to learn informally; 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;

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Requirement Due date

that each child has access to appropriate equipment, facilities and resources to support the child’s learning. (Regulation 8(1)(2)(a)(b)(c)) 21/07/2017

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Requirement Due date

13: The leadership and management standard

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Requirement Due date

In order to meet the leadership and management standard the registered person must ensure that- the registered person enables, inspires and leads a culture in relation to the children’s home that— helps children aspire to fulfil their potential; and promotes their welfare.

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to— 21/07/2017 Inspection report children’s home: SC457183 5 lead and manage the home in a way that is consistent with the approach and ethos, and delivers the outcomes, set out in the home’s statement of purpose; ensure that staff work as a team where appropriate; ensure that staff have the experience, qualifications and skills to meet the needs of each child; ensure that the home has sufficient staff to provide care for each child; ensure that the home’s workforce provides continuity of care to each child; 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 of care provided in the home; demonstrate that practice in the home is informed and improved by taking into account and acting on – research and developments in relation to the to the ways in which

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Requirement Due date

the needs of children are best met; and feedback on the experiences of children, including complaints received; and use monitoring and review systems to make continuous improvements in the quality of care provided in the home. (Regulation 13(1)(a)(b)(2)(a)(b)(c)(d)(e)(f)(g)(h))

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Requirement Due date

In order to meet the care planning standard the registered person must ensure that children receive effectively planned care in or through the children’s home; In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to ensure— that each child’s relevant plans are followed. (Regulation 14(1)(a)(2)(c))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, this relates to the home having the relevant documentation in place for looked after young people. 21/07/2017

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Requirement Due date

35: Behaviour management policies and records

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that within 24 hours of the use of a measure of control, discipline or restraint in relation to a child in the home, a record is made which includes – the name of the child; details of the child’s behaviour leading to the use of the measure; the date, time location of the use of the measure; a description of the measure and its duration; details of any methods used or steps taken to avoid the need to use the measure; 21/07/2017 Inspection report children’s home: SC457183 6 the name of the person who used the measure (‘the user’) and any other person present when the measure was used; the effectiveness and any consequences of the use of the measure; and a description of any injury to the child or any other person, and any medical treatment administered, as a result of the measure; Within 48 hours of the use of the measure, the registered person, or a person who is authorised by the registered person to do so (‘the

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Requirement Due date

authorised person’) - has spoken to the user about the measure about the measure; and has signed the record to confirm it is accurate; and within 5 days of the use of the measure, the registered person or the authorised person adds to the record confirmation that they have spoken to the child about the measure. (Regulation 35(3)(a)(b))

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must make arrangements for the handling, recording, safekeeping, safe administration and disposal of medicines received into the children’s home. In particular the registered person must ensure that - a record is kept of the administration of medicine to each child. (Regulation 23(1)(2)(c))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, medication records should be completed at the time that medication is administered. 21/07/2017

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that all employees - undertake appropriate continuing professionals development; receive practice-related supervision by a person with appropriate experience; and have their performance and fitness to perform their roles appraised at least once every year. (Regulation 33(4)(a)(b)(c)) 21/07/2017

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Requirement Due date

44: Independent person: visits and reports

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that an independent person visits the children’s home at least once a month. The independent person must produce a report about a visit (‘the independent person’s report’) which sets out, in particular, the independent person’s opinion as to whether- children are effectively safeguarded; and the conduct of the home to promote children’s well-being. 21/07/2017 Inspection report children’s home: SC457183 7 (Regulation 44(1)(4))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the reports should provide accurate information.

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must maintain records (‘case records’) for each child, which include the information and documents listed in schedule 3 in relation to each child: are kept up to date and are signed and dated by the author of each entry. (Regulation 36(1)(a)(b)(c)) 21/07/2017

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Recommendations

 For children’s homes to be nurturing and supportive environments that meet the needs of their children, they will, in most cases, be homely, domestic environments. (‘Guide to the children’s home regulations including the quality standards’, page 15, paragraph 3.9) In particular, ensure that the home is well maintained.  The registered person must ensure that the necessary support is given to children to enable them to access their education or training. Support may include, for example, putting in place practical arrangements such as transporting the child to school, support by staff to learn how to use public transport confidently and safely, or the use of technology to connect with on-line learning. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 28, paragraph 5.13) In particular, the home should ensure that young people have a computer and access to the internet for education purposes.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Transition planning in the home is individualised and adapted to meet the needs of each young person. Since the last inspection, one young person has moved to a new placement and another young person has moved into the home. For the young person moving on from the home, there were difficult circumstances and barriers were encountered throughout the transition process due to the placing authority failing to identify a suitable placement. However, the staff continued to provide direct support to the young person as he settled into his new home and ensured that he was kept fully included and updated. For the young person moving into this home, although he did not have the opportunity to visit prior to his move in date, the acting manager spent time with the last placement and social worker to ensure that she had a clear overview of the Inspection report children’s home: SC457183 8 young person’s needs. Staff also ensured that the young person was welcomed into the

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

home, and spent time talking to him, providing detailed information relating to the home and the expectations of the placement. Consequently, the acting manager and staff managed the barriers during both transitions well and provided the young people with appropriate support to make their transitions as smooth as possible.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The young person living at the home has developed positive relationships with the staff team and acting manager. He spends time with staff talking, cooking and watching television. Staff listen to the young person and respond appropriately to his views, wishes and feelings. The young person attends team meetings so that he can make his opinions known to the staff, who provide him with an appropriate action or response. Furthermore, the young person has regular key-work sessions to discuss and address issues that are specific to him, for example the decoration of his bedroom and his education needs. The young person said, ‘It is OK living here. The staff are fine and I get on well with them all. They spend a lot of time with me, talking and listening to me.’ This demonstrates satff’s strong commitment to including the young person in all decisions about his life, and that his views, wishes and feelings are central to the running of the

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Unfortunately, there has been a delay in the young person accessing a suitable education provision. However, the acting manager has been in regular communication with the company school to arrange for the young person to start there at the earliest opportunity. The young person has also had the opportunity to visit the company school and meet the headteacher. Arrangements were reported to be in place, with a proposed start date. However, the home has not met the young person’s educational needs in the interim. Staff do not have a suitable education plan in place that outlines the arrangements for his education or an education timetable to support his education while he has not been attending school. Furthermore, the home did not provide the young person with a computer and internet access to support his learning. This does not demonstrate that the home is meeting the education needs of the young person.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The staff team has a clear understanding of the health needs of the young person. A health plan is in place which clearly outlines his health needs and how they will be met. The home has taken appropriate action to register the young person with the dentist and optician. Staff have also completed the relevant paperwork to register the young person with a general practitioner. However, at this time he has refused to attend his new patient medical. The staff are doing their utmost to encourage and support the young person to do this and have held a key-work session with him in relation to this. During the inspection, the acting manager explained that they are taking steps to contact the looked after children’s nurse to gain advice and to ensure that the young person is registered with a general practitioner so that his heath needs are fully met.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The home fully supports young people to develop and maintain positive relationships with friends and family. Good contact plans show that the arrangements agreed for young people to see the people who are important to them are fully promoted and managed in a safe way. Records clearly outline the times of contact, as well as the transport and communication arrangements, throughout the contact period. Regular Inspection report children’s home: SC457183 9 communication takes place between the staff, young people, and their friends and family during contact sessions to check on the welfare of the young person.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The home is looking tired and worn, and the young person’s bathroom was unclean. This does not provide the young person with a clean and welcoming environment. In addition, the young person described his bedroom as ‘dull and boring’. During discussions with the acting manager, she took immediate action to ensure that the bathroom was cleaned. Furthermore, she explained that there are development plans in place to refurbish parts of the home, including the young person’s bedroom.

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

Safeguarding practice in the home is robust and results in young people being safe from harm. Young people feel safe living at the home. The staff team has a good level of knowledge and understanding of the risks that young people face, including substance misuse, being missing from home and radicalisation. They are aware of the strategies to manage and reduce risks. Furthermore, risk assessments and risk management plans effectively support and guide staff in providing good safeguarding practice.

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

In light of recent terrorist attacks in England, the home has implemented a risk management plan to address this issue and to ensure that appropriate strategies and safeguards are in place, should further incidents occur. Furthermore, a key-work session has taken place to ease the young person’s anxiety in relation to terrorist attacks and raise his awareness of the issue. The home addressed this issue with the young person sensitively, without instilling fear in him, and made him aware that it is very unlikely that he would personally be involved in such attacks. This demonstrates that the home has taken appropriate action in a timely manner to recent events to ensure that the young person is less anxious and well prepared to deal with and respond to any future such attacks.

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

The procedures in place for when young people go missing from home are robust. When young people are missing, the staff do all that they can to locate the young person, including liaising effectively with the police, family and friends of the young person and placing local authorities to secure the young person’s safe return. When young people return, they are welcomed home and staff check on their welfare. Independent return interviews take place to gather information from the young person as to the reasons why they were missing, the risks they faced and how further missing from home episodes can be avoided. The application of the robust procedures by staff helps to ensure that young people are safeguarded.

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

Positive behaviour is promoted at the home. Risk management plans include prevention and de-escalation strategies that provide good guidance to staff to manage behaviour and support the young person. Consequences are imposed for minor issues. However, consequence records fail to demonstrate that the young people are supported to learn from behaviours or that an independent overview of the consequence has taken place. The use of physical intervention at the home is rare. However, when this is required it is only ever as a last resort to ensure that young people are safe from harm. The record of Inspection report children’s home: SC457183 10 one physical intervention in the home did not include all of the required information, specifically the duration of the intervention and whether there had been an independent overview of the incident. Therefore, the quality of the recording of consequences and physical interventions needs to be strengthened. Improved recording and review of the

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

measures used will enable the manager and staff to identify effective practice and, if necessary, change it to ensure that practice meets the needs of the young person.

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

The procedures and records relating to the administration of medication in the home are poor. During the inspection, it was identified that records had been completed in advance of the actual administration of medication for the young person. This means that medication is not safely administered, and that records are inaccurate or potentially falsified.

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

The home’s location risk assessment has been reviewed and updated since the last inspection. It now includes details of the known risks in the community and how these are to be managed. Consequently, the location risk assessment supports staff to keep young people safe in the community.

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

All health and safety checks are carried out robustly, and fire alarm testing and evacuations are routinely carried out in the home. These measures ensure that the home is a safe environment to live in and that everyone knows what to do if an emergency were to occur.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

The registered manager of the home has now resigned and is working elsewhere within the company. A suitably experienced acting manager has been in post for approximately one month. She has worked for the company in excess of 10 years, five of those in a management capacity. The acting manager is enrolled on her level 5 leadership and management qualification. She hopes to complete this at the earliest opportunity. She is also currently working on her registered manager application to Ofsted and understands the timescales for completion.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

The home has a full team of staff in place who work well together and are supportive of each other. A member of staff said, ‘This is the best team that I have ever worked with’. All staff have a recognised childcare qualification. Staff meetings are held on a monthly basis and are reflective in nature. Furthermore, they demonstrate key discussions about all areas of residential care. The young person’s voice is clear throughout and the young person is always invited to attend part of the meeting. There are clear actions and timescales for all identified issues to be addressed, and their progress is reviewed at subsequent meetings. Consequently, team meetings enable staff to reflect on practice, respond to the views, wishes and feelings of the young person, and discuss current issues relating to residential care in order to influence and improve practice.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

Although staff reported that they had received formal supervision, the records in the home do not show that supervision is recorded in line with the home’s own policies and procedures. This does not demonstrate that staff are given the opportunity to reflect on Inspection report children’s home: SC457183 11 their practice and identify areas for improvement while working safely and consistently. Furthermore, it does not show that the personal and professional development needs of staff have been addressed. Regular and effective supervision is of vital importance to improving the quality of care provided to young people.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

Training records need improvement to show that staff are afforded regular opportunities to promote their continuous professional development. They also need to show that all staff are fully equipped with the relevant knowledge, skills and understanding to ensure that they provide a good quality of care to meet the needs of young people. For example, the training records currently indicate that some mandatory staff training is out of date. The acting manager assured inspectors that this was a recording error and that all staff were actually up to date with mandatory training.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

Recording systems in the home are not robust. Some relevant plans are not in place, and some records and plans lack sufficient detail. Furthermore, plans and records do not always include details of the author or the views of the young person. Consequently, they do not reflect the journey of the young person and the plans for him.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

The monitoring and review systems in the home need to be strengthened. The systems in place have not identified some of the shortfalls in staff supervision, training, children looked after documents or recording systems. Strengthening monitoring and review systems would enable the manager to effectively review the quality of care provided to young people. Furthermore, it would enable her to identify areas for development and take action to address any shortfalls.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

Partnership working between the home and other professionals is good. Records demonstrate regular communication between the home and other professionals, including social workers, independent reviewing officers, health and education professionals and the youth offending service. The manager challenges external professionals effectively to ensure that young people receive the highest levels of support and intervention. For example, she has challenged the local authority in relation to the poor quality of a personal education plan of a young person and challenged another in relation to the delay in identifying an alternative placement for a young person who was moving on from the home. This shows that young people are well supported and that the home works collaboratively with a range of professionals to ensure that young people receive the best possible support and intervention to meet their needs.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

The home is working and operating in accordance with its statement of purpose, which clearly outlines the aims and objectives and ethos of the home. The statement of purpose has recently been updated to reflect the change of manager and will be forwarded to HMCI within the 28-day timescale set out in regulation.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

The acting manager of the home has a good understanding of the strengths and weaknesses of the home, and accepted the shortfalls identified during the inspection. She demonstrated enthusiasm and commitment to address the shortfalls as a priority. She is keen to ensure that there are continuous improvements at the home to support Inspection report children’s home: SC457183 12 the staff and to ensure that the young person has improved outcomes.

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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 whom 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: SC457183 13

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Cambian Childcare Limited

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Children’s home details

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

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Inspectors

Lisa Mulcahy, social care inspector Inspection report children’s home: SC457183 14 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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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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