Children's Home run by Cambian Childcare Limited in Shropshire

Inspection report children’s home: SC476252 1 SC476252 Registered provider: Cambian Childcare Limited

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Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This private children’s home is part of a national organisation. It is registered to provide care and accommodation for up to five children or young people who have emotional and/or behavioural problems arising from severe trauma. Therapy is provided and a special school is available.

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Information about this children’s home

Inspection dates: 12 to 13 December 2017

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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

Overall judgement at last inspection: sustained effectiveness

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Key findings from this inspection

This children’s home requires improvement to be good because: Inspection report children’s home: SC476252 2  At times, staff struggle to manage children’s complex behaviour consistently.  Staff have insufficient training in therapeutic care.  The manager and staff are not achieving the required diplomas in residential childcare in the required time.  Managers do not ensure that records contain enough advice to guide staff on how best to support children.  Behaviour management records do not show clear evaluation.  Staff supervision records do not show that staff practice is regularly evaluated.  The outcomes to allegations and complaints that are investigated internally are not clearly evaluated.  Someone independent of the home does not offer children return home interviews after they have been missing from care.  Staff do not offer children enough opportunity to collect memorabilia and to create a personal record of their time at the home.

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Key findings from this inspection

 Children feel secure in their placement.  Staff prioritise children’s health.  Children take part in a variety of local groups, which helps them broaden their horizons, confidence and social skills.  Children make progress educationally, and some children have been able to return to mainstream school.  A few children make significant developmental progress.  Staff and the manager are dedicated, warm and attentive.  Staff prepare children well for moves out of the home.  The manager makes a strong contribution to children’s care plans.

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

09/03/2017 Interim Sustained effectiveness 02/06/2016 Full Good 04/01/2016 Interim Improved effectiveness 29/06/2015 Full Requires improvement Inspection report children’s home: SC476252 3

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Statutory requirements

This section sets out the actions that the registered person(s) must take to meet the Care Standards Act 2000, Children’s Homes (England) Regulations 2015 and the ‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’. The registered person(s) must comply within the given timescales.

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that all employees undertake appropriate continuing professional development. (Regulation 33 (4)(a)) 30/01/2018

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that staff have the appropriate Level 3 Diploma for Residential Childcare by the date which falls 2 years after the date on which the individual started working in a care role in a home. (Regulation 32 (3)(b), (4) and (5)) 30/01/2018

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that a record is made of any complaint, the action taken in response, and the outcome of any investigation. (Regulation 39 (3)) 30/01/2018

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Recommendations

 Ensure that staff have the skills to respond to each child’s individual behaviour. Where necessary they should manage conflict, maintain constructive dialogues and react appropriately if challenged by a child in their care. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 39, paragraph 8.14)  Ensure that staff are familiar with the home’s policies on record keeping and understand the importance of careful, objective, and clear recording. Staff should record information on individual children in a non-stigmatising way that distinguishes between fact, opinion and third-party information. Information about the child must always be recorded in a way that will be helpful to the child. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 62, paragraph 14.4)  In some instances, a child may express wishes that are not always in their best interests or which may conflict with the views of other children in the home.

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Recommendations

Ensure that in such circumstances, the responsible adults balance the wishes of the child against what they judge to be in the best interests of the child and reach a reasonable view about the best way forward in the interests of all. The reasons for reaching any decision will need to be carefully explained to and understood by the child or children concerned. (‘Guide to the children’s homes Inspection report children’s home: SC476252 4 regulations including the quality standards’, page 22, paragraph 4.9)  Ensure that when a child returns to the home after being missing from care or away from the home without permission, the responsible local authority provides an opportunity for the child to have an independent return home interview. Homes should take account of information provided by such interviews when assessing risks and putting arrangements in place to protect each child. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 45,

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Recommendations

paragraph 9.30)  Ensure that staff keep, and encourage children to keep, appropriate memorabilia of the time spent living at the home and help them record significant life events. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 62, paragraph 14.5)  Ensure that the records of restraint that are kept enable the registered person and staff to review the use of control, discipline and restraint to identify effective practice and respond promptly where any issues or trends of concern emerge. The review should provide the opportunity for amending practice to ensure it meets the needs of each child. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 49, paragraph 9.59)  The registered person must ensure that recruitment, supervision and performance management of staff safeguards children and minimises potential risks to them. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality

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improvement to be good

Children make some progress. However, this can be compromised because staff lack essential knowledge. For example, staff have not received therapeutic practice training, despite the home admitting children who require this specific type of care. Some staff are ill-prepared for their work with children. One member of staff said, ‘I do not know the different techniques that you can do – the children do not always know why they are kicking off. We cannot just rely on one thing, as the same thing does not always work. I think that the mix of children here is so hard – you are too tired to do it and have the right face on.’ Nevertheless, staff have had some success in helping some children to overcome severe and complex difficulties around food and toileting. Staff and the manager provide each child with the opportunities to enjoy an active lifestyle. This broadens children’s confidence and competence. For example, children

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improvement to be good

enjoy horse riding, football, golf, squash, cubs and scouts, dance, skating and playing musical instruments. Staff involve them in growing salad, cooking meals, and playing board games. Most children manage their emotions better than previously because they feel cared for. One child recently wrote a letter to staff thanking them for the months that he has had here. His social worker said, ‘I am really pleased to observe the Inspection report children’s home: SC476252 5 interactions between [child] and staff members – gentle conversation regarding his behaviour; exploring family. He is clearly feeling emotionally contained enough to explore his previous locked away thoughts and feelings. This is excellent and identifies significant progress.’

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improvement to be good

Children make some educational progress in school, but their behaviour and emotional problems limit their capacity to concentrate and learn. Staff try hard to support and encourage children with their learning, but many children remain unable to catch up or make significant progress. One child said, ‘I want to try harder to stay in class and in English. I am going to try to not get involved in people’s issues.’ The manager has worked with the local authority to facilitate another child’s move into mainstream school after two years at the organisation’s school. This child told the inspector, ‘I want to go to a school around here and get a foster home near here.’

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improvement to be good

Many of the children’s records do little to help them. For example, most records are not given to children and are seldom read by them. Staff do not make clear in their records what advice, information, or support they have given to a child. Staff do not record the reasons behind their decisions or how they have explained this to the child. Staff rarely record how a child responded or what the child understood or intends to do next. Records do not say what worked well. Opportunities to measure and maximise children’s progress are therefore lost. Children are sometimes confused and frustrated because staff responses can come over as unfair, and do not make sense to the children.

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improvement to be good

During 2017, two children moved to new placements after living here for a number of years. A former member of staff fostered one child. The child enjoyed a well-planned move, including a party to mark a successful ending. She has continued to make good progress.

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improvement to be good

Staff keep daily diaries for each child. However, these are kept in the office and are not routinely shared with children or given to them when they leave. Photos and memorabilia are displayed around the home, but staff do not help each child to collect individual memorabilia and reminisce about it as a regular part of life in the home.

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improvement to be good

Children get help with their behaviour from some staff who use the child-friendly behaviour support plan to guide them in how best to support each child. One child said, ‘I used to be a real brat and I used to swear all the time and hit out, but yeah, they’ve really helped me.’

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improvement to be good

The number of times that staff need to physically restrain children to prevent serious harm or damage has fallen dramatically. This seems to be linked to new children settling down as the months go by. However, the manager’s oversight and review of behaviour management records is not yet good enough to help to identify practice issues or trends in behaviours. Inspection report children’s home: SC476252 6 Some staff are more insightful and nurturing than others. One child’s social worker said, ‘There was a direct and friendly approach used’ to deal with a particular piece of behaviour. However, some staff do not skilfully look for ways to meet children’s needs and overcome risks through education, discussion and careful planning. For example, records of conversations are not used well enough to help children learn about social media safety, safe sex and relationships, and how to stay safe outside the home. Staff

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improvement to be good

sometimes fall back on unhelpful explanations, such as ‘this is to keep you safe’ or ‘make good choices’. These practices sometimes lead to angry and unsafe behaviour, such as children going missing from care or assaulting others. The practices can also inflame behaviour that is threatening to become angry and unsafe.

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improvement to be good

Children sometimes go missing with other children from the home. Staff always follow and search for them, and often successfully persuade them to return home. Staff work well with local police and neighbours to help children learn about safety in the locality. However, the manager and staff have not established a way of ensuring that each child is offered a return interview with someone independent of the home.

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improvement to be good

Children feel confident to complain about staff if they feel unfairly treated. However, the manager and organisation do not always ensure that they take all necessary steps to improve practice and prevent reoccurrences. For example, therapeutic practice training has been identified as necessary for some staff following complaints made by children. However, this training has not been provided. Equally, summaries of complaints and outcomes are not always written up and given to those concerned. Staff and children are therefore unclear about how complaints have concluded.

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

Children go to the manager frequently throughout the day. He said, ‘It’s a pleasure to come in here every day and work with the children. Their resilience, given their level of trauma and where we’re at now with them – what an amazing journey we’ve been on – I wish I’d done it five years ago.’ However, the manager is not experienced in residential childcare management. He is about one year into the role, but the organisation has only just enrolled him onto the required level 5 diploma in residential childcare. The manager prioritises working directly with children. He advises and supports staff well on a day-to-day basis. However, the manager and deputy do not prioritise individual supervision and training for members of staff. Staff supervision is not regular and helpful, and does not ensure that staff continue to improve their practice and skills. For example, points for individual learning following complaints are not clearly followed up

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

with staff in supervision sessions. Some staff have not completed required professional training despite working for over two years in residential childcare. This is due to the organisation not providing this training for many months. The manager has learned to use the home’s recording systems over time. He makes a good contribution to children’s care planning because he communicates well with social workers and other professionals in the team around each child. He makes good use of external scrutiny from the home’s monthly visitor and from Ofsted. However, he does not evaluate the quality of staff practice well enough to ensure that all staff learn from Inspection report children’s home: SC476252 7 mistakes and know what practice works best for each child.

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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: SC476252 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 Group, 4th Floor Waterfront Building, Chancellors Road, Hammersmith Embankment, London W6 9RU

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Inspector

Rachel Britten, social care inspector Inspection report children’s home: SC476252 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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