Children's Home run by Cambian Childcare Limited in Warrington

Inspection report children’s home: SC456942 1 SC456942 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 home is registered to provide care and accommodation for one child who may have emotional and/or behavioural difficulties. The home is part of a large private organisation that also offers specialist educational provision, fostering services and adult residential care services.

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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: 18 January 2017

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good

Overall judgement at last inspection: good

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report children’s home: SC456942 2

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Key findings from this inspection

 The staff team is positive, committed and has worked extremely hard to build close and trusted relationships with the young person living at the home.

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Key findings from this inspection

 Consultation with the young person is at the heart of the service. She is supported to influence the care that she receives and makes her own decisions.

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Key findings from this inspection

 The young person has made considerable positive progress in her education and is likely to be taking examinations, which was previously not considered attainable.

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Key findings from this inspection

 Healthcare planning is excellent and the young person is encouraged to lead a healthy and active lifestyle.

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Key findings from this inspection

 The staff team has successfully engaged the young person in a variety of positive, structured activities, which have helped her to gain confidence and social skills.

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Key findings from this inspection

 Incidents of challenging behaviour have reduced considerably. With the help and support of the staff team, the young person is becoming increasingly safe.

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Key findings from this inspection

 There is evidence of constructive challenge where other services are not performing as well as expected to keep young people safe.

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Key findings from this inspection

 The new manager of the home is highly supportive of the staff team, child- centred and committed to improving aspects of the service.

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Key findings from this inspection

 The placing authority has provided highly positive feedback about the quality of care delivered at this home.

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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 young person has limited unsupervised time outside of the home and has not been adequately supported to develop friendships and engage in social opportunities independently of staff.

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Key findings from this inspection

 On occasions, leaders have not provided the level of staff supervision agreed in the placement plan. This needs to be subject to regular review and monitored effectively.

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Key findings from this inspection

 Leaders need to improve monitoring and review practice to ensure that all changes to care planning, staffing and assessment of risk are reflected in the records. Inspection report children’s home: SC456942 3  The young person does not currently access the internet at the home. Staff should teach the young person how to use the internet safely.

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Key findings from this inspection

 Risk assessments could be enhanced to ensure that the day-to-day steps that staff need to take are reflective of the current staffing levels at all times.

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Key findings from this inspection

 From her starting point, the young person presents with much improved behaviour. Staff should evidence clearly the positive reinforcement of her actions and consistently reward her for her efforts.

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

18/01/2017 Full Good 19/08/2016 Interim Improved effectiveness 29/02/2016 Interim Sustained effectiveness 18/11/2015 Full Good Inspection report children’s home: SC456942 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 registered person must ensure— (b) that each child is encouraged to build and maintain positive relationships with others. (Regulation 11 (2)(b)) 30/09/2017

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must— (d) ensure that the home has sufficient staff to provide care for each child; and (h) use monitoring and review systems to make continuous improvements in the quality of care provided in the home. (Regulation 13 (2)(d)(h)) 30/08/2017

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Recommendations

 Children should have access to a computer and the internet to support their education and learning unless there are specific safeguarding reasons why this would be inappropriate. In such cases, the home should consider whether and how it can support the child to access a computer and the internet safely. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 29, paragraph 5.19)

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Recommendations

 Staff should understand factors that affect children’s motivation to behave in a socially acceptable way. Staff should encourage an enthusiasm for positive behaviour through the use of positive behaviour strategies in line with the child’s relevant plans. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 39, paragraph 8.13)

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Recommendations

 Where there are safeguarding concerns for a child, their placement plan, agreed between the home and their placing authority, must include details of the steps the home will take to manage any assessed risks on a day-to-day basis. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 42, paragraph 9.5) Inspection report children’s home: SC456942 5

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The young person living at the home continues to enjoy good-quality care delivered by a small, consistent and stable staffing team. The young person describes the staff as ‘awesome’. The home is comfortable, modern, homely and very well-maintained. The young person’s bedroom is personalised and well-equipped with age-appropriate resources for entertainment and space to study and relax. The young person has been supported by staff to choose the colour scheme for redecoration of her room, which is planned in the near future.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Education is prioritised in the home. The young person is transported and supported by staff to access full-time education and to complete homework tasks. She will be entered for GCSE examinations, which was previously not thought possible. The headteacher of the school said, ‘(The young person) has made significant progress since attending the school. I believe this is down to the positive relationship between the school and home staff and management.’ Her independent reviewing officer said, ‘Her school attendance is excellent. She had been refusing to attend in her former placement.’ This is excellent progress in this aspect of her development.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Healthcare planning is good. Staff at the home work in partnership with healthcare professionals to ensure that young people are able to access the treatment that they need. For example, staff have recently sought assistance from a dedicated healthcare professional to ensure that a specialist health appointment was expedited. The young person is encouraged to lead an active lifestyle and is provided with nutritious well- balanced meals, which have contributed to improved physical health.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff facilitate a broad range of positive and structured activities, which includes horse- riding, cheerleading and she will soon be enrolling in a local cadet group. Staff promote outings and activities such as concerts and shopping. One social worker said that the young person, ‘Consistently reports how happy she is and talks positively about the experiences she has going on days out and to concerts.’ Although the young person spends lots of positive time with staff and enjoys their company she does not have sufficient opportunities to socialise with peers and build friendships in a less structured and supervised environment. As a consequence, she has limited friendships outside of the home. The young person said, ‘I would like more free time and to be able to have friends round at the home.’ A requirement is made to address this matter.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The young person is encouraged to develop skills for independence. She is able to carry out basic household tasks and is learning to cook with the support of staff. The staff team understands the importance of contact and has worked with the local authority to change the nature and increase the frequency of arrangements in line with the young person’s preferences. Staff have also advocated for an allocated independent visitor, who has recently been successfully introduced to the young person and has provided positive feedback about the home stating, ‘From (the young person’s) perspective and mine, the placement is the best possible for her.’ Inspection report children’s home: SC456942 6

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

The young person living at the home reports that she feels safe. There has been a significant reduction in incidents of challenging behaviour, which the young person’s social worker describes as ‘a sign of sustained stability and continued progress’. There have been a few instances where staff have felt it necessary to intervene physically, after significant attempts to de-escalate the situation. This has occurred only as a last resort in order to safeguard the young person. On all occasions, the incidents were effectively recorded and debriefed with both staff and the young person. Staff work proactively with the young person to help her understand the impact of her behaviour and to devise strategies to regulate her emotions and behave in a more positive and socially acceptable way in the future. There is limited evidence of positive reinforcement for good behaviour. A best practice recommendation is made in relation to this issue.

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

There are detailed risk management plans with clear strategies for staff to safely manage any difficult behaviour. At present, the young person’s supervision levels are high. The risk management plans could be improved to ensure that when it is felt appropriate to reduce supervision levels, the actions for staff to take are altered accordingly to ensure safe arrangements for instances of lone working. On occasions where lone working has occurred, staff were aware of the procedures to follow in the event of any challenging or difficult behaviour. This was not reflected in the records. A best practice recommendation is made to enhance those arrangements.

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

There has been one allegation made against a member of staff. This was reported to the appropriate authorities and handled in accordance with the organisation’s safeguarding procedures. Leaders provided constructive challenge to other professionals when it was felt that the matter should be investigated internally. This is an example of excellent practice. Staff know how to report concerns about a young person’s safety and their training is regularly refreshed. They receive enhanced training in areas such as around child sexual exploitation, radicalisation awareness and dealing with self-harm. Staff have not yet begun to teach the young person about how to use the internet safely. This recommendation was made at the last inspection and is repeated.

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

The physical environment in the home is regularly checked for hazards and routinely well-maintained. Regular safety checks and planned fire evacuations are undertaken to ensure that the safety of young people and staff safety are prioritised.

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

The manager of the service is new to the position and in the process of applying for registration with Ofsted. She had been in post for two weeks at the time of the inspection. She is experienced in caring for children and has worked at the home for four years, three of which she was the deputy manager. She is enthusiastic, child-centred and dedicated to her role. She is working towards her level 5 diploma in leadership and management. Staff report that they are happy with the recent change in leadership and continue to feel well-supported. The young person at the home is also pleased about the Inspection report children’s home: SC456942 7 appointment of the new manager of the setting.

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

All staff at the home either hold or are enrolled on a relevant level 3 diploma qualification. Staff have access to a broad range of training opportunities to enhance their skills, above the mandatory training requirements. Training is tailored to the needs of the young person in the home and is accessed frequently. This means that the team has the qualifications and skills to provide high-quality care. There is an annual programme of development for leaders and staff, which is well implemented.

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

The service is largely meeting the aims and objectives outlined in the statement of purpose, although contingencies detailed for ensuring appropriate staffing within the home were not followed. Where there were insufficient staff to meet the scheduled rota, leaders made the decision to work with the young person on a one-to-one basis. This was appropriately risk-assessed but not sufficiently planned or recorded. This decision was taken due to a lack of resource as opposed to being driven by effective care planning processes. Furthermore, leaders did not identify the shortfalls in recording in their regular monitoring and review of the service provided, indicating a lack of rigour in the process. Requirements are made in both areas.

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

The new manager of the service is aware of the development areas identified in this report and was open and reflective in discussion during the inspection. She has not yet addressed the shortfalls but has plans in place to do so. The manager cites the strengths of the service as being the staff team and the consistency of care that they provide for the young person. Leaders work well with partners and placing authorities to achieve the best outcomes for young people. One independent reviewing officer said, ‘We continue to be very pleased regarding the quality of care received.’

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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 differences 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: SC456942 8

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Cambian Childcare Limited

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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

Nicola Thomas: social care regulatory inspector Inspection report children’s home: SC456942 9 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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