Children's Home run by Cambian Childcare Limited in Norfolk

Inspection report children’s home: SC459168 1 SC459168 Registered provider: Cambian Childcare Limited

p.1

Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

p.1

Information about this children’s home

This home provides care and accommodation for up to four children who have emotional and/or behavioural difficulties. The home is owned by a private organisation.

p.1

Overall experiences and progress of

children and young people, taking into account

p.1

good

How well children and young people are helped and protected good

p.1

good

The effectiveness of leaders and managers good

p.1

good

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

p.1

good

Date of last inspection: 20 December 2016

p.1

good

Overall judgement at last inspection: declined in effectiveness

p.1

Key findings from this inspection

 The children have built positive relationships with the staff.  The manager has developed a team of staff who are working well together to improve the children’s experiences.  The staff are proactive in sourcing and encouraging the children to access Inspection report children’s home: SC459168 2 specialist support.  Increasingly, the children are more settled and their negative behaviours are reducing in frequency and duration.  The staff creatively provide learning opportunities for the children.

p.1

Key findings from this inspection

The children’s home’s areas for development:

p.2

Key findings from this inspection

 Not all of the eligible staff have completed the required level 3 diploma.  Staff are not receiving supervision in line with the home’s policy.  The quality of care review has been completed, but has not been provided to Ofsted.  There are incomplete entries in the children’s files.

p.2

Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

20/12/2016 Interim Declined in effectiveness 17/05/2016 Full Good 22/02/2016 Interim Sustained effectiveness 26/11/2015 Full Requires improvement Inspection report children’s home: SC459168 3

p.2

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.

p.3

Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that an individual who works in the home in a care role has the appropriate qualification, the level 3 diploma for residential care (England) (‘the level 3 diploma’), or a qualification which the registered person considers to be equivalent to the level 3 diploma, by the relevant date. (Regulation 32(4)(5)) 09/01/2018

p.3

Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that all employees receive practice-related supervision by a person with appropriate experience. (Regulation 33(4)(a)(b)) 09/12/2017

p.3

Requirement Due date

The registered person must complete a review of the quality of care provided for children (‘a quality of care review’) at least once every 6 months. The registered person must supply to HMCI a copy of the quality of care review report within 28 days of the date on which the quality of care review is completed. (Regulation 45(1)(4)(a)) 09/12/2017

p.3

Recommendations

 Ensure that case records are kept up to date and signed and dated by the author of each entry. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 62, paragraph 14.3) In particular, ensure that the staff fully complete entries in records.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The children have individualised care and placement plans that detail their objectives and targets. These plans are formatted to enable the staff to highlight progress that the children have made.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

One of the children had not attended school for an extended period before moving to the home. At the time of the last inspection, this child was taking his mock GCSE exams. Inspection report children’s home: SC459168 4 He successfully sat his GCSE examinations this summer. One child has just commenced his choice of vocational training. Children who are not in education undertake life-skills- based work that incorporates educational tasks such as the calculation of budgets for shopping. During the inspection, one of the children who is currently awaiting an education placement was helping staff in the garden. He was tasked with calculating the cost of replanting some of the garden area. Tasks such as this enable the children to develop their numerical and written skills without feeling that they are doing school work.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The children have a good rapport with the staff. They are able to identify a member of staff with whom they would speak if they had any worries or concerns, or wish to complain. The children say that they feel well cared for and safe at the home.

p.4

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The children are supported to improve their well-being. The staff encourage the children to access specialist support for matters such as substance misuse and self-harmful behaviour. These types of behaviour are decreasing because of the support that the children access. The children have regular key-work sessions, which are used to discuss progress, plans and concerns. The sessions provide the children with space to reflect on their behaviour.

p.4

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The staff are clear and consistent with the children, and maintain boundaries. These boundaries offer the children a secure base to work from, because the staff are clear about the consequences of negative behaviour. The staff work with the children to build on the positive aspects of their behaviour. This is gradually reducing the duration and frequency of incidents. The children are responsive to the use of positive incentives. The staff are successful in using positive rewards to improve the children’s levels of engagement, and in helping them to address negative behaviours. The number of rewards greatly outweighs the number of consequences or sanctions. The staff work with the children to try and make each day a fresh start. This is helping the children to recognise the positive changes in their lives.

p.4

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The weekly children’s meetings provide a forum in which the children can discuss their views about the home and the care that they receive. The children can also contribute to menus and activity planning. This consultative approach ensures that the children’s views are incorporated into the running of the home.

p.4

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The staff provide good support for children moving into and out of the home. They work with the children to build the level of their independence skills to assist with preparing them for their adult lives. The staff provided outreach sessions for a child who moved into a semi-independent placement. This continuity of care helps the children to better manage the period of transition.

p.4

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The house was fully redecorated some months ago. Pictures of the children and the staff, along with motivational statements and inspirational quotes, are displayed on the wall and help to enhance the homely feel. Inspection report children’s home: SC459168 5

p.4

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

The manager has addressed the shortfalls raised at the last inspection. She has updated the children’s risk assessments with any known and new risks. This update provides the staff with the information that they need to work with the children to reduce these risks. The protocol for the verification of agency staff documentation has been revised. The process now requires the manager to authorise the use of any agency staff member who has an offence listed on their police check. This additional layer of verification safeguards children. The established staff team has received training in supervising contact. The manager has updated the statement of purpose to detail how the home addresses positive gender role modelling.

p.5

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

When children go missing from the home, the staff are proactive in searching for them, both locally and in their home areas. The staff make repeated attempts to contact the children. The staff have generally been successful in their work with the children to reduce this behaviour. One child has been missing for an extended period. The staff have been to his home area to search for him, despite the significant distance. The child’s family and social worker are positive about the measures and lengths that the home has gone to in a bid to locate him.

p.5

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

The staff successfully use de-escalation techniques. Consequently, physical intervention is very rarely used, with only one such intervention in the past 10 months. The staff have undertaken an increased number of room searches over recent months. These searches have been required to safeguard the children.

p.5

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

Training includes courses that help the staff to recognise and work positively with vulnerable children, including those who are at risk of bullying or sexual exploitation. These courses ensure that the staff are working with an awareness of current knowledge and legislation. The staff are aware of the home’s whistleblowing procedure, and say that they would report any concerns should they arise.

p.5

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

The location risk assessment identifies the known risks and how these can be addressed or reduced.

p.5

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager has been in post since June 2016. She holds a relevant level 3 qualification and is currently undertaking a relevant level 5 qualification. A new manager is due to start in post as the current registered manager is due to leave imminently. A brief handover period is planned to minimise any disruption to the home.

p.5

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager has filled the vacancies and now has a stable but relatively new staff team. There have been some internal transfers into and out of the home. The staff are enthusiastic about their roles, and speak with and about the children with great warmth. Inspection report children’s home: SC459168 6 The staff work together cohesively. The manager views this as a strength of the home. She recognises that, as the staff team is relatively new, there are areas that would benefit from improvement as the staff develop into their roles. These areas include improving the thoroughness of some records. Some of the records on children’s files are incomplete because they have not been signed or dated. These omissions are not in keeping with the majority of the records. The manager spoke positively about the experience that staff gain through covering shifts at other homes. The staff describe their induction as thorough, and say that they feel supported by the manager and the

p.5

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The staff have not been receiving supervision sessions at the frequency outlined in the home’s policies and procedures. This means that the staff do not consistently have the space and opportunity to reflect on their practice. One staff member has failed to complete a relevant level 3 qualification within two years of commencing work at the home, as required by regulation.

p.6

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager and the staff work together to set aims and targets that are designed to help the children to meet the objectives of their placement. The manager has a clear understanding of the progress that the children are making towards these targets.

p.6

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The independent visitor’s monthly reports are detailed, and highlight the events that occur in the home each month. The manager has undertaken a review of the quality of care. This was not been supplied to Ofsted as required to provide Ofsted, as the regulator, with a current view of the home.

p.6

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager ensures that the children have an active voice at the home, and that they are able to share their views with the staff on an ongoing basis. The manager uses the children’s feedback to help to shape the activities and events at the home.

p.6

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The positive partnership working with families and professionals provides the children with all-round support for their development. Feedback from professionals is positive, and they are complimentary about how the home builds relationships with the children and their families. A family member spoke positively about the care that the children receive. She said, ‘They [the staff] are fantastic. I can’t thank them enough. They [residential homes] rarely get any praise.’

p.6

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 Inspection report children’s home: SC459168 7 after.

p.6

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: SC459168 8

p.7

Children’s home details

Registered provider: Cambian Childcare Limited

p.8

Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Cambian Group, 4th Floor Waterfront Building, Chancellors Road, Hammersmith Embankment, London W6 9RU

p.8

Inspector

Sonia Hay, social care inspector Inspection report children’s home: SC459168 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.

p.8

Inspector

If you would like a copy of this document in a different format, such as large print or Braille, please telephone 0300 123 1231, or email enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk . You may reuse this information (not including logos) free of charge in any format or medium, under the terms of the Open Government Licence. To view this licence, visit http://www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence , write to the Information Policy Team, The National Archives, Kew, London TW9 4DU, or email: psi@nationalarchives.gsi.gov.uk .

p.9

Inspector

Interested in our work? You can subscribe to our monthly newsletter for more information and updates: http://eepurl.com/iTrDn .

p.9

Inspector

T: 0300 123 1231 Textphone: 0161 618 8524 E: enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk W: http://www.gov.uk/ofsted

p.9