Children's Home run by Cambian Childcare Limited in Essex

Inspection report children’s home: 1258092 1 Registered provider: Cambian Childcare Ltd

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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 privately owned and run children’s home is registered for up to four children who may have learning disabilities and/or emotional and/or behavioural difficulties. It is one of a large number of children’s services operated nationally by this organisation.

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Information about this children’s home

Inspection dates: 13 to 14 December 2017

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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 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: First inspection

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good

Overall judgement at last inspection: Not applicable

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: None Inspection report children’s home: 1258092 2

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Key findings from this inspection

 The children are nurtured. They quickly develop trusting and valued relationships with staff.  The children feel safe.  The children make progress and grow in confidence.  The children enjoy living at the home. They enjoy making memories and having lots of fun.  Good partnership working means that the children are able to access the support that they need.  Professionals and families are complimentary about the service offered to the children.  The caring and committed staff provide very child-centred, individualised care.  The staff are well supported and enjoy their work. As a result, the children enjoy ongoing stability and familiarity.  Staff are passionate about making a difference for the children. The staff provide sensitive wrap-around support for the children.  The service is well managed.

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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

 Not all staff who are required to do so have completed a relevant level 3 diploma in residential childcare.  Only one monitoring visit has been undertaken by the independent visitor since the home was opened, and no report has been sent to Ofsted in respect of this visit.  Children are not given clear practice-based information at the point of admission on how to safely exit the building in the event of an emergency.

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Recent inspection history

Not applicable Inspection report children’s home: 1258092 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 an individual who works in the home in a care role has the appropriate qualification, the level 3 diploma in residential childcare (England) (‘the level 3 diploma’), within two years of working in a care role in a children’s home. (Regulation 32(3)(b)(4)(a)(5)(b)) 28/03/2018

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that an independent person visits the children’s home at least once each 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 promotes children’s well-being. (Regulation 44(1)(4)(a)(b)) 31/01/2018

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Recommendations

 Comply with relevant health and safety legislations. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 15, paragraph 3.19)

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Recommendations

In particular, ensure that all children are given recorded and clear fire instruction within 48 hours of admission.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

This home has a significant positive impact on the children who live there. One social worker said, ‘This home has made a massive difference for the child.’ The children consistently said that they like the home and enjoy living there. One child said, ‘The home is amazing.’ The children experience a stable nurturing environment in which they blossom. Inspection report children’s home: 1258092 4 Placements are well planned and the children quickly settle. One family member said, ‘The welcome that he [the child] got was beautiful. The other children seemed really happy, and that made him feel safe.’ This child’s social worker noted, ‘It’s quite miraculous how he has settled.’

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Within a relatively short period of time, the children develop positive attachments with the staff. The children feel that the staff are emotionally available and always have time to listen to them. The children rush up to staff when they come in from school or from an activity for a big hug and to talk about their day. The children enjoy the boundaries and routines, which make them feel safe and secure. They enjoy relaxing with staff on the sofa after dinner, snuggling up in their pyjamas to watch their favourite television shows. Families and professionals describe a real sense of a deeply caring team of people around the child. As a consequence of the good levels of support, the children improve their confidence and self-esteem, sense of personal safety, behaviour, resilience and social skills.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The children receive highly individualised child-focused care and support that help them deal with life’s challenges and minimise anxiety. One child’s court guardian described how impressed they were when staff obtained their [court guardian’s] photos and information about their role, to help prepare the child for their visit. The guardian said, ‘I’ve never seen that happen before.’ The children feel consulted on all aspects of their life. One child enthusiastically showed the inspector their bedroom, festooned with fairy lights and a bed canopy, describing how they had chosen the decor. This involvement gives the children a strong sense of pride and personal ownership in the home. As a result, damage is rare.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The children really enjoy the typical family experiences of animated debate around the dinner table and celebrating seasonal holidays. The home is a warm and welcoming environment in which the children enjoy living, and which professionals and family members enjoy visiting.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The staff recognise the importance of family in the children’s long-term futures, often managing complex family dynamics. The staff provide practical support such as transport, and they have begun to reintroduce key family members with whom a child had lost contact. One social worker said, ‘They are brilliant staff who have helped him [the child] extremely well through a very traumatic time. They have done incredibly.’

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

All of the children are healthy and are helped to live a healthy lifestyle. The manager is able to access clinical guidance on supporting the children’s emotional well-being through the organisation’s psychologist. The staff have received training in play therapy and apply this therapeutic approach in practice, helping the children gradually process and understand their life experiences. One social worker said, ‘For a child who had such low self-esteem and was negative about everything, there has been a massive improvement with self-esteem.’

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

All of the children, who had struggled in education prior to living at this home, have made progress from their individual starting points. One of the children is now enjoying Inspection report children’s home: 1258092 5 full-time attendance and participation at a local mainstream school, where they are beginning to make new friendships. Staff reflect that this is something the child is very proud of and never thought was possible. The social worker said, ‘She [a child] is now in school every day, which is amazing. She is 99% of the time in class now, whereas before she was out 99% of the time. She is now engaging in and enjoying her education.’ When children do not have suitable education arrangements in place, the manager is proactive in advocating for the children, involving partner professionals such as the virtual school headteacher. The staff ensure that the children who are not in school receive planned and useful education support on site. The children enjoy talking about

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

their day and what they have been learning, which is a significant improvement for these children who were previously reluctant learners.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The children are constantly busy during the day engaging in the wide variety of activities provided. They enjoy playing games together as well as trips to the zoo and museum and going swimming and horse riding. These opportunities ensure that the children have a clear structure to their day, are positively engaged in learning in preparation for more formal educational arrangements and have fun.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The children are helped to learn basic independence and personal-care skills that they have not previously learned. The staff sensitively help the children to cope with difficult situations in the community, promoting their dignity and helping them to develop life skills. The children enjoy getting involved in cooking and other household activities appropriate to their ages and development.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

One child has moved on as a result of the home not being able to meet their particular needs. This child described how she feels that the manager ‘fought [her] corner’ to help her to achieve her desire to move onto a solo placement.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The children consistently said that they like the home. One child said, ‘I like it. They are really nice staff. It’s a nice big house and everybody gets on well.’ Another child said they would rate the home ‘5247 out of 10!’ When asked, if the home was on ‘X Factor’, what would get the gold buzzer, one child said, ‘All the staff, cos they’re all amazing… ‘No-one gets the red buzzer.’

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

The children feel safe and secure. One family member said, ‘The home is absolutely fantastic. You can see the children are happy. It’s a nice happy place.’

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

Effective safe caring is embedded into staff practice. The manager has arranged to enhance staff awareness of the wider aspects of safeguarding through organising training in managing child sexual exploitation and preventing radicalisation.

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

The manager and staff have successfully addressed some issues of bullying and intimidation. The children, as a result, gained greater confidence in staff members’ commitment to their welfare. Inspection report children’s home: 1258092 6 The staff are clear about what actions they should take in respect of any welfare concerns. They have built positive inter-agency partnerships, which help to keep the children safe. Local partner professionals and families hold the service in high regard. Their comments include:  ‘[The child] seems really happy. The staff are really lovely. Seriously, I’ve got no worries.’  ‘He [the child] has really calmed. He really likes the staff and feels safe.’  ‘She [the child] is attaching to members of staff, which is new for her.’  ‘He [the child] clearly has a really nice relationship with his key worker, and he clearly feels safe.’

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

The manager takes a proportionate approach to risk management that reflects each child’s age and stage of development. The children are safer because they live at this home. There have been no incidents of children going missing from the home or other risky behaviours, despite most children having a history of these.

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

When violent incidents have occurred, the staff have acted to de-escalate the situation. Physical intervention has been used only to keep the child or staff safe. The children said that when they have been restrained they have felt safe. There has been reflective discussion with the children about how they can be helped to manage their emotions, reducing the likelihood of future restraint. One child identified that it might be helpful if staff encouraged them to be ‘the bigger person’. A child who has since left the home said that the staff members’ approach to managing difficult situations ‘was helpful and calming’. Because of this positive approach, some children have made such good progress in managing their behaviour that one would not recognise them from their pre- placement information.

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

The building is safe and well maintained. Fire prevention arrangements are robust. However, not all children undertake a fire evacuation in a timely manner to ensure that they know how to exit the building safely in an emergency.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

This new home is well managed and led. The manager is highly experienced in working with traumatised children. This is her first post as a registered manager.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager, in close partnership with her deputy, shares the home’s vision effectively with the staff. The managers monitor care practice to ensure that the children receive good-quality therapeutic-style care and support in accordance with the home’s statement of purpose.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager has high expectations of and aspirations for the children. She advocates for them effectively if they do not receive the good quality of support that they are entitled to. Consequently, the children make good progress. One social worker said, ‘The home is brilliant. They [staff] have been really, really helpful and have invested in him [a child] from day dot.’ A court guardian said, ‘I’m very impressed with the home. The staff Inspection report children’s home: 1258092 7 consistently talk about him [a child] in a positive way and know him really well.’

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staffing levels are high and meet children’s individually assessed needs. The staff are well supported through effective induction and regular supervision. There is a comprehensive training programme that ensures that the children are supported by a competent and able team. The vast majority of staff who have been working with children in a children’s home for over two years have completed a relevant level 3 diploma. However, some eligible staff have not. There is no demonstrable negative outcome of this for the children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The children benefit from an enthusiastic and dynamic staff team that enjoys its work. The staff work highly effectively in partnership with parents and professionals, who hold the manager and staff in great esteem. One social worker said, ‘[The manager] and staff are very insightful.’ A family member said, ‘The manager is great. What they are doing there is absolutely brilliant. I’m really happy he [the child] is there.’

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The individual interactions between the children and staff demonstrate the close relationships that underpin the children’s success. These relationships are at the heart of the care provided. The children, without exception, spoke very fondly of the staff, whom they described as lovely staff, and said that the crown for best staff goes to everyone.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The organisation has not implemented suitable quality monitoring systems in accordance with regulatory requirements. Only one monthly visit to the home has been undertaken by an independent person since the home was registered in August 2017. This means that the manager and responsible individual do not have a full independent picture of the strengths and areas for development in the service. However, the potential impact of this is reduced due to the manager’s effective internal quality assurance mechanisms.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Although some requirements and recommendations have been set at this inspection, the quality of care and support that the children receive remains of a high standard. One child’s thoughts about the home were summed up by, ‘This place is amazing!’

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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 Inspection report children’s home: 1258092 8 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: 1258092 9

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Cambian Childcare Ltd

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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

Joanna Heller, social care inspector Inspection report children’s home: 1258092 10 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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