Children's Home run by Cambian Childcare Limited in Rochdale

Inspection report children’s home: SC456850 1 SC456850 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 is a privately run children’s home that provides care and accommodation for one young person who has emotional and/or behavioural difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

Inspection dates: 18 to 19 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 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: 19 January 2017

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good

Overall judgement at last inspection: sustained effectiveness

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: Not applicable

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Key findings from this inspection

 The young person benefits from living in a small solo home, and consequently receives a highly individualised care package, with good levels of support every day.

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Key findings from this inspection

 The young person has forged good relationships with the staff team. This is because the team has remained consistent during her time at the home. Inspection report children’s home: SC456850 2  The young person feels settled and happy in the home, and appears relaxed and content when interacting with staff.

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Key findings from this inspection

 Professionals are positive about the quality of care provided. One social worker said: ‘I have been impressed with how quickly the staff team have grasped [young person’s name]’s needs and vulnerabilities. She has settled in well and has developed good relationships with the staff team.’

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Key findings from this inspection

 Staff work in partnership with education providers and the placing authority to ensure that the young person accesses appropriate education.

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Key findings from this inspection

 The registered manager and staff work very well and in full partnership with other agencies to help keep the young person safe.

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Key findings from this inspection

 Staff say they feel well supported by the manager. They report that the manager is approachable, supportive and child-focused.

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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’s case records do not hold all the necessary statutory documentation, such as an up-to-date care plan, statutory health assessment and reviews. As such, the manager cannot be assured that she and the staff team are meeting, or addressing, all the young person’s identified needs.

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Key findings from this inspection

 A small percentage of the staff team have not completed their level 3 diploma for residential childcare in the required timescale.

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Key findings from this inspection

 The annual appraisal of staff competency and conduct is not routinely undertaken by the manager. This hinders the manager’s ability to review care practices, identify development needs and utilise performance management tools.

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Key findings from this inspection

 Impact assessments and safer area risk assessments are not used effectively. For example, the manager has not fully considered the impact of wider community issues when matching a young person to the home.

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Key findings from this inspection

 The review of the home’s quality of care report lacks feedback from social workers, young people and parents. These shortfalls restrict the manager in identifying whether the care that the home provides is effective.

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

19/01/2017 Interim Sustained effectiveness 11/08/2016 Full Good Inspection report children’s home: SC456850 3 10/03/2016 Interim Improved effectiveness 02/12/2015 Full Requires improvement Inspection report children’s home: SC456850 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 that all employees receive practice-related supervision by a person with appropriate experience and have their performance and fitness to perform their roles appraised at least once every year. Specifically in relation to ensuring that appraisals are used effectively to support and develop practice. (Regulation 33(4)(c)) 02/02/2018

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must maintain records ("case records") for each child which include the information and documents listed in Schedule 3 in relation to each child; are kept up to date; and are signed and dated by the author of each entry.

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Requirement Due date

In particular, ensure health information, care plans and placement plans are accurate and up to date. (Regulation 36(1)(a)(b)(c) Schedule 3) 02/02/2018

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Requirement Due date

In order to complete a quality of care review, the registered person must establish and maintain a system for monitoring, reviewing and evaluating, and the system must provide for ascertaining and considering the opinions of children, their parents, placing authorities and staff. (Regulation 45(5)) 02/02/2018

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Recommendations

 All staff in a care role, including external agency or bank staff, must have the qualification in regulation 32(4) within the relevant timescales in regulation 32(5). (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, April 2015, page 22, paragraph 10.2)

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Recommendations

 The registered person should review the appropriateness and suitability of the location and premises of the home at least once a year. The review should include identification of any risks. The assessment should include details about the home’s strategies for managing identified risks. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards, April 2015, page 64, paragraph 15.1) Inspection report children’s home: SC456850 5

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Members of the staff team invest in the young person and show genuine care and interest for her well-being. Staff are not fazed or overwhelmed by challenging behaviour, and respond consistently with warmth, affection and empathy. An unquestionable strength of this home is the dedication and commitment of the staff team. As a result, the young person is settled and happy at the home.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Professionals validate the positive relationships that the young person has forged with staff, and confirm that the staff team provides a good level of individual care. The young person feels relaxed and comfortable in their home, and shares a positive relationship with the staff team. Consequently, the young person is making some progress against her own individual targets and goals.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

High staffing ratios allow the young person to benefit from lots of individual attention. This is particularly apparent at bedtimes, when she enjoys a story or a chat about the day, which helps her to settle.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

There is evidence to demonstrate that the young person’s wishes and feelings are central to how the home is run. For example, she has made choices about what she would like for Christmas dinner, daily activities and the décor of her room. The young person confirmed that she knows how to complain, and staff support her to speak out constructively. Any concerns she may have are dealt with promptly and taken seriously, so that she knows her views are respected.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Educationally, the young person has made good progress from her starting point. Staff actively promote and value education, and maintain good links with the school. They promote a collaborative approach to supporting the young person’s education. As a result, the young person is now achieving 100% attendance. This represents a significant improvement from her starting point. Formal education is further supplemented by informal learning opportunities in the home and the wider community. Trips to a museum and the local library help to build self-esteem, confidence and belief in her abilities to achieve.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Practical arrangements are in place to meet the young person’s known and emerging physical health needs. The young person is registered with a doctor, dentist and optician, and is supported and encouraged to attend her routine health appointments at the point of admission.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Records in relation to health management are not kept up to date. For example, the young person’s care plan does not contain accurate information in relation to prescribed medication. At the time of the inspection, this had not had a detrimental impact on the well-being of the young person. However, this is not good practice and requires immediate amendment. Inspection report children’s home: SC456850 6 Staff encourage and support the young person to engage in a variety of activities in the home and out in the community. Favourite pastimes include cooking, baking, swimming, watching films and trampolining. These opportunities and experiences help build self- confidence and expand the young person’s social experiences.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The young person maintains contact with her family, as identified within her agreed plans. Staff are aware of the arrangements and ensure that these are followed. They have a good understanding of the impact that contact can have for the young person, and ensure that support is provided. Staff maintain open communication with families, working in partnership, and thereby support the young person’s best interests.

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

Since the last inspection, the home has had an unsettled period with one previous resident exhibiting challenging and often risky behaviour out in the community. For example, he engaged in antisocial behaviour in close proximity to the home. Staff took appropriate action, including notifying police, placing authorities and Ofsted of the event. The manager and the staff team worked closely with all the relevant agencies to try and reduce the risk of harm. However, interventions proved ineffective and the decision was made to move the young person from the home due to increasing concerns about his safety and well-being.

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

Outside of this difficult period, good progress is noted. The young person currently living at the home is settled, and is developing positive relationships with the staff team. The manager promotes a positive culture in which the young person knows that her needs are understood, and that her views and experiences are valued and listened to.

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

Staff are consistent in their care of the young person. They demonstrate a thorough understanding of the young person’s identified risks and vulnerabilities, and offer a good level of care in their attempts to keep her safe. Individual crisis management plans and risk assessments are sufficiently detailed and clearly identify the young person’s strengths, needs and vulnerabilities. This helps to ensure that strategies to mitigate risk are consistently implemented by staff.

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

There is a good focus on encouraging the young person to take responsibility for her behaviour in a way that is appropriate to her age and understanding. Sanctions are rarely used, as rewards and incentives for positive behaviour are more effective. The young person is encouraged to participate in, and agree on, the home’s rewards schemes. For example, she helped to devise an incentive plan called the ‘golden ticket’. This involvement promotes and encourages her to moderate inappropriate behaviour.

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

Staff are appropriately trained in safeguarding, and understand their roles and responsibilities in keeping young people safe. Established systems are followed effectively in response to any arising allegations, unsafe practice or suspicion of abuse. The manager ensures that the relevant partner agencies are informed, and appropriate action is taken. Inspection report children’s home: SC456850 7 Young people, staff and visitors benefit from a physically safe home environment. This is achieved through regular health and safety assessments and environmental checks.

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

There are some weaknesses in the effectiveness of leadership and management that require improvement. The manager understands the strengths and weaknesses identified in this report, and has already taken steps to address some of the shortfalls.

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

The home is well resourced in terms of staffing. Staff have a broad range of experience and skills that enable them to meet the everyday challenges of caring for the young person. Staff spoken with during the inspection say that they feel well supported by the manager. One member of staff said: ‘The manager is very hands-on. She’s supportive and approachable. She is always available no matter what time of day it is.’

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

The staff develop their knowledge and skills, and improve their practice, through reflecting on incidents in one-to-one supervision and team meetings. Recent improvements to the structure of team meetings have resulted in more focused discussions. This ensures that everyone is updated, and that staff are working consistently with the young person. However, the system for the annual appraisal of staff practice is less robust. Not all staff receive appraisals at appropriate intervals. This has the potential to hinder the manager’s ability to routinely monitor, and help improve, staff’s performance, competency and conduct. The manager has acknowledged this shortfall and has already taken some action to address the matter.

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

A small percentage of staff who have worked at the home for a number of years have not yet completed their level 3 diploma for residential childcare. The manager has taken some action to address this shortfall. However, a recommendation is made to ensure that all staff obtain the qualification within the necessary timescales.

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

The manager has taken appropriate action to address some of the concerns raised by neighbours in relation to recent disturbances in the vicinity of the home. She facilitated a meeting with the police, members of the community and the local councillor. This enabled the manager to address some of the concerns, and has helped to improve interactions with the community.

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

The manager has completed a safer area risk assessment. However, this document is not sufficiently robust. For example, the manager has not considered how recent community risks impact on the safety of young people, staff and visitors. Additionally, little thought has been given to how community peer-group relationships can be managed safely in the future. Moving forward, the manager has acknowledged this shortfall and is in agreement that community matters and peer dynamics must always be considered as part of the home’s admission process.

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

The monitoring systems to review the effectiveness of the home’s record-keeping are adequate. Not all records are kept up to date. For example, the young person’s care plan is out of date. In addition, some records have not been signed by staff. This makes it Inspection report children’s home: SC456850 8 difficult to track the author of the record. This is not good practice and does not demonstrate effective monitoring.

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

The manager’s report on the quality of care does not meet regulation. The report lacks in-depth analysis and evaluation, and does not contain the views of parents, staff and professionals. This does not assist the manager to understand the effectiveness of the approaches in securing improved outcomes for young people.

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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: SC456850 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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Children’s home details

Registered manager: Post vacant Abbie Marron

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Inspector(s)

Ceri Evans, social care inspector Inspection report children’s home: SC456850 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(s)

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Inspector(s)

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Inspector(s)

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