Children's Home, Residential special school run by Cambian Autism Services Limited in Dorset

Inspection report children’s home: SC065261 1 SC065261 Registered provider: Cambian Autism Services Ltd Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This private national organisation provides care and accommodation for up to 60 children who have autistic spectrum disorders and/or learning disabilities. This service operates as a residential special school which also provides accommodation for a number of children 52 weeks of the year. It is therefore registered as a children’s home. Care is provided in nine houses, of which eight are within the grounds of the school and one is situated in the local community.

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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 requires improvement to be good

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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: 27 - 29 June 2017

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requires improvement to be good

Overall judgement at last inspection: inadequate Inspection report children’s home: SC065261 2

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Enforcement action since last inspection:

A monitoring visit was conducted on 16 August 2017 to monitor progress against the requirements set at the previous inspection.

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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 requirements from the previous inspection are not all met. However, progress is notable in some key areas. This is improving the quality of the care that children receive.  Leaders and managers have not consistently dealt with child protection concerns effectively. On two occasions, designated safeguarding leads commenced investigations into allegations about staff before consulting with the local designated person. Leaders and managers have not notified Ofsted of these allegations. These shortfalls predate the new principal whom has conducted a review of child protection processes.  Children’s accommodation requires improvement. A development plan is in place to improve homes and reduce the restrictions imposed on children, such as locks on cupboards.  Not all staff receive regular practice-related supervision. This is an ongoing shortfall and is a repeated requirement from the previous three inspections.

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Key findings from this inspection

Some staff have not had their performance appraised annually.  Leaders and managers cannot ensure that there is always a member of staff on duty with a suitable first aid qualification, as only a small proportion of care staff have received training in first aid.  The recruitment processes for new staff are not sufficient. One member of staff has an unexplained gap in their employment history. Leaders and managers failed to identify this gap. These shortfalls predate the new principal whom has conducted a full review of recruitment processes.  The senior leadership team has been in post since the new term. The principal has development plans to drive improvement. These are yet to come to fruition; more time is required to make changes and to embed new systems.

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Key findings from this inspection

 Staff and children have positive relationships with each other. Care staff have a good understanding of the children’s individual needs.  Staff identify and celebrate the progress that children make on a daily basis. Inspectors observed staff praising children frequently for their achievements. Each child has an individual set of targets linked to their individual education plan. Inspection report children’s home: SC065261 3  The house that is separate from the school site is a valuable resource. It provides children with a homely environment and lots of outside space to enjoy.  Children have a dedicated support team that helps them to express their views about significant events relating to their behaviour. The speech and language team finds ways to help each child to communicate their feelings. Leaders and managers use this information to inform children’s support plans.

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

16/08/2017 Monitoring N/A 27/06/2017 Full Inadequate 01/02/2017 Interim Sustained effectiveness 14/06/2016 Full Requires improvement 16/03/2016 Interim Improved effectiveness Inspection report children’s home: SC065261 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

6: The quality and purpose of care standard

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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

In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to—

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Requirement Due date

ensure that the premises used for the purposes of the home are designed and furnished so as to—

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Requirement Due date

enable each child to participate in the daily life of the home

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Requirement Due date

In particular, continue to improve the quality of the homes and review any restrictions imposed on children. 13/12/2017

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Requirement Due date

12.—(1) The protection of children standard is that children are protected from harm and enabled to keep themselves safe.

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to ensure—

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Requirement Due date

understand the roles and responsibilities in relation to protecting children that are assigned to them by the registered person;

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Requirement Due date

In particular, ensure allegations about staff are reported to the designated person and await their instruction before conducting any internal investigations. 15/11/2017

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Requirement Due date

31: Staffing of children’s homes 15/11/2017 Inspection report children’s home: SC065261 5 (2) The registered person must ensure that—

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Requirement Due date

(a) at all times, at least one person on duty at the home has a suitable first aid qualification. 32: Fitness of workers

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Requirement Due date

32.—(1) The registered person must recruit staff using recruitment procedures that are designed to ensure children’s safety.

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Requirement Due date

(d) full and satisfactory information is available in relation to the individual in respect of each of the matters in Schedule 2.

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Requirement Due date

In particular, ensure satisfactory recruitment checks are undertaken prior to employing staff in the home. 15/11/2017

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Requirement Due date

(4) The registered person must ensure that all employees—

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Requirement Due date

(b) receive practice-related supervision by a person with appropriate experience; and

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Requirement Due date

(c) have their performance and fitness to perform their roles appraised at least once every year. 13/12/2017

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Requirement Due date

(4) The registered person must notify HMCI and each other relevant person without delay if—

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Requirement Due date

(c) there is an allegation of abuse against the home or a person working there. 15/11/2017

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Inspection judgements

Inspection report children’s home: SC065261 6

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improvement to be good

The quality of the children’s accommodation is improving to become more homely. Work completed so far is widespread and includes the replacement of flooring and new mattresses, curtains and soft furnishings. Staff are empowered to take ownership of the homes and introduce their own personal touches. Children are purchasing items for their homes and bedrooms. Some homes still require further attention to bring them up to a good standard. Leaders and managers have plans to replace bathrooms and furniture, and review the use of the outside areas.

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improvement to be good

Children are able to move around their homes and the outside space more freely. Staff have removed over 500 locks from cupboards, gates and kitchens. This enables children to access their homes more independently. Some houses continue to have restrictions in place, such as televisions in large locked and boxed cabinets.

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improvement to be good

Children are accessing more activities than previously. A member of staff said, ‘We have enough staff now so every child can go out.’ The care team is actively finding out children’s interests and providing them with new opportunities and experiences. A parent said, ‘My child is getting out a lot more than they used to, but there is still room for improvement.’

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improvement to be good

The care team has become more consistent and the use of agency staff is reducing. Night staff now work in a designated home, which helps them to get to know the children they are caring for. The care team knows the children well and has a good understanding of children’s needs. The quality of care is good; children receive care that nurtures them and they are treated with dignity and respect.

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improvement to be good

Children have set targets that link to their education plans. The care team supports children to achieve these; they monitor children’s progress daily. This is a new system which leaders and managers are yet to review. Children’s targets link to their individual needs and support them with tasks that will increase their independence.

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improvement to be good

Families report that the quality of care given to their children has improved. Families feel more involved and the care team is communicating with them more frequently. The relocation of the family room provides a better-quality and more homely environment for families when they come to visit their children.

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improvement to be good

Children have access to a good range of health services to meet their needs. The school employs a nurse and runs health clinics with general practitioners and consultants. The care team also supports children to visit health services outside of the school. The school has its own therapy service, which includes occupational therapy, speech and language therapy and clinical psychology.

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improvement to be good

Children and their families have a dedicated member of the team to support them to explore options for when they move on from the home. This person coordinates the child’s move with the child and other agencies. Leaders and managers review children’s Inspection report children’s home: SC065261 7 progress once they move on, to monitor how successful the move has been.

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improvement to be good

On some occasions, leaders and managers have not followed the child protection policy. The designated safeguarding leads commenced investigations into allegations about staff before making a referral to the local designated officer. There is no evidence of how leaders and managers assessed the risk, to enable staff to continue working with children while an allegation was under investigation. Leaders and managers do not notify Ofsted of allegations about staff. Since the new principal commenced her post, she has conducted a review of child protection processes, and has made changes to address these shortfalls.

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improvement to be good

There is a new system for recording bruising on children where the cause is unknown. The care team has a good understanding of the new process. Leaders and managers share information about child protection concerns with the relevant agencies. All care staff have received up-to-date training in child protection.

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improvement to be good

A total number of 16 care staff have training in first aid. This is an insufficient number to ensure that there is always a member of staff on duty with a first aid qualification. Leaders and managers made plans to rectify this shortfall during the inspection and booked dates for additional first aid training.

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improvement to be good

Leaders and managers have failed to meet a requirement about recruitment checks that was set following the previous inspection. In one case, recruitment records for one member of staff showed an unexplained gap in employment history. It is not evident how leaders and managers deemed this member of staff to be suitable. Since her appointment, the new principal has introduced procedures to follow when recruiting staff, to ensure that all the required checks are carried out. More recently, there have been some good examples of leaders and managers undertaking further checks on potential candidates.

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improvement to be good

Leaders and managers are currently revising children’s support plans. The new format provides staff with clear information about the child and how to support them. The system currently in use has an over-reliance on generic strategies for managing risk. As a result, staff are not provided with sufficient guidance to help them deliver personalised care.

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improvement to be good

When children are at risk of harming themselves or other people; as a last resort the care team use physical restraint. The use of restraint is reducing. Some of the restraints used include holding children on the ground. These occur when a child pulls a staff member to the floor and does not release the grip immediately. The occurrences of floor holds are decreasing significantly. The behaviour support coordinator reviews records of children’s behaviour with leaders and managers daily. This monitoring and review system enables leaders and managers to continuously review the impact of restraint and Inspection report children’s home: SC065261 8 the care they provide for children.

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improvement to be good

The approach taken by the care team to ensure that children have an effective debrief following an incident is a strength of the home. Each child has their own speech and language assessment to detail the most effective method of gathering their views. The views of children inform their support plans. Members of the care team also have the opportunity for a formal debrief when they have been involved in an incident and/or restraint. This is a good opportunity for the care team to reflect on and develop its approach.

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

The members of the senior leadership team are all relatively new in post. Since the last inspection, the manager has undergone a fit person interview with Ofsted, and is now registered. The registered manager is suitably qualified for his role. The principal and vice-principal commenced their posts at the beginning of the new term in September 2017. The senior leadership team has a strong and ambitious vision for the home.

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

Since the formation of the senior leadership team, they have created detailed development plans. These plans prioritise the key areas that require immediate change and focus, such as child protection, staffing and maintenance of the homes. The principal is determined to drive improvement and said, ‘I aim to enrich children’s lives here as much as possible.’ The care team feels supported and motivated by the new senior leaders.

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

Leaders and managers have not met all of the requirements from the previous inspection. This is a shortfall; however, since the new senior leadership team formed, its members have been implementing some positive change. There are new systems in place to monitor children’s progress and also monitor the autonomy of the care staff and the quality of homes. These are in their infancy and, due to this, leaders and managers are not yet in a position to monitor their effectiveness.

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

Children and their families have the opportunity to express their views about the home and the service they receive. Leaders and managers listen to children, and are introducing more opportunities for children to become involved in decision-making about their home. Children recently attended a governance meeting. Leaders and managers have plans to develop parent forums and parent representation on the governance board. Leaders and managers are attempting to build positive relationships with families. There have been no new complaints since the previous inspection, but a parent said, ‘I am not fearful of complaining; if I needed to, then I would.’

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

The care staff are not yet receiving regular supervision from leaders and managers. This has been an ongoing requirement from a number of previous inspections. The registered manager said, ‘Supervision is not where we need or want it to be; but it is a lot better than it was.’ Some staff do not have the opportunity to discuss their performance in an annual appraisal. Leaders and managers have implemented a three-year workforce Inspection report children’s home: SC065261 9 development plan that details staff training and areas for further development.

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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 Inspection report children’s home: SC065261 10 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: SC065261 11

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Children’s home details

Provision sub-type: Residential special school

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Cambian Autism Services Ltd

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Children’s home details

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

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Children’s home details

Responsible individual: Virginia Bellard

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Inspectors

Nicola Lownds: social care inspector Wendy Anderson: social care inspector Inspection report children’s home: SC065261 12 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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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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