Children's home run by Cambian Childcare Limited in Stockport

Inspection report children‟s home: SC457506 1 SC457506 Registered provider: Cambian Childcare Ltd Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

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

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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: 6 September 2017

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good

Overall judgement at last inspection: not judged Inspection report children‟s home: SC457506 2 Enforcement action since last inspection: none

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Key findings from this inspection

 Young people have formed positive relationships with the staff team during their time at the home.  Young people say that they feel safe and as a result, their incidence of missing from home have decreased since their initial placements.  Staff promote attendance at education well. They work in partnership with education providers and the placing authorities to enable the young people to access appropriate education. Where education placements are not identified, staff provide appropriate challenge and advocate on behalf of the young people. As a result, young people who have previously not attended school on a regular basis are being supported to do so.  Placing social workers say that the manager and staff work in partnership with them and other agencies to support young people to reduce behaviours that place them at risk.  Young people say the home „feels like a home‟ and they are comfortable living

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Key findings from this inspection

there.  Staff say that they feel supported by the manager to fulfil their role. They say the staff work well together, enabling them to provide a consistent approach for the young people living there.

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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 review of the home‟s quality of care report lacks detail and does not take into account the views of children, parents, social workers and other professionals. This does not enable the manager to have a comprehensive overview of whether the home is providing consistent and effective care for young people.  The manager has failed to notify the regulator of some significant events. This does not enable independent oversight of the responses and the action that has been taken to support and safeguard young people.  Some staff have not completed their level 3 diploma for residential childcare in the required timescales.  Safer area risk assessments are not used effectively to consider the impact of community issues when placing young people at the home.

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Recent inspection history

Inspection report children‟s home: SC457506 3

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

06/09/2017 Interim Not judged 08/02/2017 Interim Sustained effectiveness 02/08/2016 Full Good 08/03/2016 Interim Sustained effectiveness Inspection report children‟s home: SC457506 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

Ensure that an individual who works in the home in a care role has the appropriate qualification, if by the relevant date, the individual has attained the Level 3 Diploma for Residential Childcare (England) (“the Level 3 Diploma”); or a qualification which the registered person considers to be equivalent to the Level 3 Diploma. (Regulation 32(4)(a)(b)) 31/05/2018

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must notify HMCI and each relevant person without delay if an incident requiring police involvement occurs in relation to a child which the registered person considers to be serious; or there is any other incident relating to a child which the registered person considers to be serious (Regulation 40(4)(b)(e)) 28/02/2018

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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. After completing a quality of care review, the registered person must produce a written report about the quality of care review and the actions which the registered person intends to take as a result of the quality of care review (“the quality of care review report”). 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)(3)) 28/02/2018

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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)  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 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: SC457506 5

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Young people feel happy and settled at the home. In the relatively short time that young people have lived here, they have been making progress from their initial starting points. This includes a reduction in behaviours which placed them at risk of harm. Young people say that they feel valued by staff and as a result are developing positive and secure attachments.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff work in partnership with other professionals who speak positively about the support they provide for the young people. One social worker said, „Since [name of young person] has been living at the home it is encouraging to see that they have a sense of belonging, are making progress and feel positive about living there. It is the first place they have said they wish to continue living prior to moving on to independence. The young person attended their review and voiced this very clearly.‟ Another social worker said, „The manager and staff work well with me to support [name of young person]. This is providing stability following a turbulent time for [name of young person]. Risks are clearly identified and together we have developed risk management strategies to support the young person.‟

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Young people say that they are consulted about their care and the support that they receive. Young people have regular individual discussions with the staff to talk about their wishes and feelings. Young people also attend regular group meetings where they are consulted with about how the home operates and the support available for them. However, one young person said, „I don‟t always want to do this and would rather do this on my own.‟ As a result, young people‟s meetings have been individualised to meet this request, with a view to supporting young people to engage together in the future.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Education is supported well. As a result, one young person has started to attend a local school on a part-time basis, with a view to increasing to full time. This is a significant step for this young person and one which they are exceptionally proud of. Where there is no educational placement identified, the manager and staff are tenacious in securing one through relevant discussions with the virtual headteacher and placing authorities. Additional work is sourced from education to support the young people while they are awaiting a suitable school placement.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The healthcare needs of young people are clearly identified and supported. When young people do not wish to engage in routine medical appointments, staff ensure that further appointments are made, and discuss this during individual key-working sessions to enable the young people to understand the importance of maintaining good health. When young people engage in substance misuse, staff support referrals to relevant drug and alcohol teams.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Some young people who have previously had a history of being involved in criminal activity are supported to attend their youth offending meetings. As a result of this support, there has been a reduction in negative and criminal behaviour. Inspection report children‟s home: SC457506 6 Staff encourage and support the young people to take part in a range of activities. This includes the use of community leisure facilities, as well as activities within the home. Young people gave examples of going to the cinema, shopping and out for meals, as well as playing on the game consoles in the house and making use of the young people‟s games room. One young person said, „I enjoy taking part in activities here. Previously I didn‟t and just used to hang around with mates. This wasn‟t always a good thing because that‟s when I got into trouble because we were bored.‟

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff understand the importance of young people remaining in contact with their families, friends and other significant people. Staff work in accordance with agreed arrangements. They maintain contact with families, working in partnership to secure positive outcomes for young people. They encourage young people to develop positive friendships with peers from school or the community and young people say that they feel able to invite their friends to the home if they wish to do so.

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

Since the last full inspection, the home has had a period during which there have been no young people placed. This was as a result of previous significant damage to the property. As a consequence of the damage, a programme of refurbishment has been undertaken. This has included new windows, internal redecoration and refurbishment, and maintenance to the external areas of the property. As a result of this, the home provides a warm, welcoming and safe environment for the young people.

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

The initial settling-in period for one young person saw a rise in damage to the home, with window restrictors being removed and some initial behaviours which required involvement of the police. However, staff have provided support to engage this young person effectively and, as a result, there has been a significant reduction in behaviours which placed the young person, staff and others at risk. This young person is now settled at the home, has forged positive relationships with the staff, is engaging in education and, overall, is adhering to agreed boundaries. The young person said, „This home actually feels like a home. The staff are good and are helping to make a difference for me. I feel settled here and want to stay.‟

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

Another young person has recently moved into the home. The manager ensured that consideration was given to the effective matching of the young people and their individual needs. She has appropriately challenged the placing authority to obtain further information when limited information was provided. This has enabled the staff to understand the young person‟s vulnerabilities and develop risk management strategies for managing individual behaviour. These strategies are kept under review. They are consistently implemented in order to minimise known and emerging risks.

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

Young people are supported to understand and take responsibility for their behaviours. Agreed consequences are implemented for any negative behaviours. However, staff recognise and reward young people when they have taken positive action to manage Inspection report children‟s home: SC457506 7 their behaviour. One young person said, „It is not all about what you have done wrong. Staff recognise when I have done something good and this makes me feel good about myself.‟

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

Staff demonstrate a good understanding of safeguarding, and have all completed relevant training in relation to this. In addition, the manager has provided additional safeguarding training that relates to specific incidents, to ensure that staff know how to manage these. She has also requested specific training in relation to self-harm and ligature training. However, staff who attended this training felt that some aspects of the training did not address their learning needs. The manager has raised this with the organisation‟s training department.

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

The organisation follows safer recruitment practice. This means that the organisation takes appropriate steps to employ staff who have been vetted to ensure that they are suitable to work with children and young people.

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

Since the last inspection, the manager has been registered with Ofsted. She has previously worked with children and young people, as well as vulnerable adults, and is currently completing the level 5 qualification in leadership.

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

Staff report that they feel supported by the manager. They also feel that the ethos of the home is child centred, and that their practice reflects this. They attend training to enhance their knowledge and skills. They receive individual and group supervision to enable them to reflect on incidents, discuss team responses and use this learning to continue their development. The manager structures team meetings to also deliver informal training sessions to underpin staff knowledge. Some staff have yet to complete their level 3 diploma in the required time frame. This has been a source of frustration for staff, due to a change in the providers delivering this. The manager has raised this with organisation, and has been reassured that this is being addressed. This training will further enhance the staff‟s skills in supporting young people.

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

The manager is aware of the areas for development and is addressing these. However, there have been some incidents within the home where police and emergency services have been required. Although procedures were implemented to notify relevant placing authority social workers and the designated officer, HMCI was not notified of these in a timely manner. This does not enable the regulator to have clear oversight of events and how these have been managed.

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

The manager has completed an area risk assessment. However, when planning admissions to the home, the impact assessments do not fully consider community risks. There have been some concerns expressed by local residents in relation to the behaviour of some previous residents of the home, and subsequent disturbances at the home. The manager has been proactive in addressing these, in consultation with senior managers from the organisation, the designated officer and councillors. A further meeting is Inspection report children‟s home: SC457506 8 planned, during which senior managers from the organisation will provide an organisational response to the concerns identified.

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

The manager‟s report on the quality of care is not sufficiently detailed. The previous report lacked analysis and evaluation of the service. The views of young people, their parents and other professionals were not included. This did not enable the manager to demonstrate how the home is securing improved outcomes for the young people placed. The latest report has yet to be finalised and has not been passed to the regulator in the time frame required, to demonstrate that these shortfalls have been addressed.

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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: SC457506 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

Responsible individual: Sureeta Nayyar-Abbassi

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Inspector

Sarah Oldham: social care inspector Inspection report children‟s home: SC457506 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 children looked after, safeguarding and child protection.

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Inspector

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Inspector

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Inspector

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