Children's Home run by Cambian Childcare Limited in Rochdale

Inspection report children’s home: SC456419 1 SC456419 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 children’s home is one of a number of homes operated by a private organisation. It is registered to provide care and accommodation for one young person who has emotional and/or behavioural difficulties.

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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: 20 December 2017

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good

Overall judgement at last inspection: Improved effectiveness

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: Not applicable Inspection report children’s home: SC456419 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

20/12/2017 Interim Improved effectiveness 13/06/2017 Full Requires improvement to be good 15/03/2017 Full Good 06/09/2016 Interim Sustained effectiveness Inspection report children’s home: SC456419 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 quality and purpose of care standard is that— In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to ensure that staff— Help each child to develop resilience and skills that prepare the child to return home, to live in a new placement or to live independently as an adult. (Regulation 6(2)(b)(vi)) This particularly refers to the promotion of life skills relative to the young person’s age, ability and level of understanding. 01/06/2018

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Recommendations

 Staff should be familiar with the home’s policies on record keeping and understand the importance of careful, objective, and clear recordings. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, April 2015. Page 62, paragraph 14.4) Specifically, this relates to ensuring that welfare checks in daily logs capture pertinent information.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The young person is well supported and has excellent relationships with staff who act as positive role models. Staff are ambitious for the young person and treat him with unconditional positive regard at all times. Consequently, the young person feels valued, settled and happy living at the home. The young person has responded well to living in a solo placement. He is making good progress in many aspects of his life, including better decision-making about keeping himself safe and improved confidence and self-esteem. The young person commented: ‘I’m not getting into trouble now and that’s because staff care about me. It’s not just a job to them, and I feel much happier living here.’ Staff work closely with teachers and other professionals to ensure that the young person Inspection report children’s home: SC456419 4 receives the most appropriate education for his needs. As a result, the young person has

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

re-engaged in education after a considerable absence and is making good progress. Staff help young people to aim high and make good use of incentives and rewards to encourage participation. Over time, this focus on education has enhanced the young person’s confidence and belief that he can reach his future goals. Leaders and managers have taken positive action to make it clear to the young person that it is not acceptable to spend lengthy periods of time watching television in his bedroom. As a result, the young person is more engaged in recreational activities, hobbies and interests. The young person is developing skills to assist with his transition to adulthood. This includes budgeting, cooking and keeping his room tidy. Every effort is made to help prepare the young person for his next steps. However, independence plans lack clarity and do not provide staff with specific guidance on how to address identified needs. This

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

hinders the manager’s ability to measure progress in this area. The young person’s health needs are identified and support is in place to enable him to attend all necessary appointments. The young person is steadily learning how to improve his health through support with issues such as quitting smoking and healthy eating. Staff promote contact when it is safe to do so and in the young person’s best interest. Staff work closely with the social worker to ensure that the parameters and arrangements for safe and purposeful contact are agreed, and that they are in the best interests of the young person. The home presents as a lived-in family home. It is warm, welcoming and comfortable. This is a welcoming environment where the young person feels relaxed and safe.

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

The young person is becoming increasingly safe as a result of the actions that staff take to support him. His social worker confirmed that the young person is making excellent progress and said: ‘His state of mind is more settled, he is happier and I’m astonished with how settled he is. Staff understand him and his triggers and manage the risks well. I’m really happy with how he has progressed, staff are doing an amazing job.’

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

Staff understand the dangers associated with risk-taking behaviour such as substance misuse, going missing, criminality and anti-social behaviour. The young person feels safe and this is reflected in his strong sense of investment in the home, with all risk-taking behaviours reducing significantly. Daily logs lack pertinent information. For example, when welfare checks are required, records fail to capture the action taken by staff, including the time and frequency of each welfare check. This means that staff do not have a complete picture of events and what further action may be necessary to manage risk to the young person. The rate of missing from home incidents is low. There has been a significant drop in the frequency of these episodes. However, when this has occurred staff follow agreed protocols and are proactive in their response. This ensures that the young person Inspection report children’s home: SC456419 5

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

returns home as quickly as possible. Behaviour management is consistent and well considered by staff. This enables the young person to think about his behaviours and modify them when necessary. Appropriate behaviour is encouraged through incentives and talking things through. This has been effective in helping the young person to understand the impact of his behaviour on himself and others. Staff receive regular safeguarding training that enables them to recognise and respond to child protection concerns. Managers and staff respond quickly when concerns arise and liaise well with partner agencies. This helps protect the young person from harm. Managers ensure that safe recruitment practice is in place and that all staff are subject to essential checks before starting work, thus promoting young people’s safety.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Young people benefit from a home that is managed efficiently and effectively. The registered manager and deputy manager work well together and demonstrate effective leadership qualities. Staff confirm that they are well supported in their day-to-day practice and that they receive regular supervision that is beneficial to their individual and professional development. Staff participate in regular training. This ensures that they are well equipped to meet the individual needs of the young person placed at the home. The team work collaboratively with all professionals, agencies and relatives. This effective partnership working is supporting consistency in the young person’s care. Managers understand the strengths and weaknesses of the home and have a clear improvement plan in order to address identified shortfalls. The registered manager is continually looking for ways to improve the experiences and outcomes of the young

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

person in her care. The registered manager has used learning from previous inspections to good effect. For example, the process for managing referrals has been strengthened and is now used effectively to ensure that the home has appropriate matching protocols. Monitoring activity is generally good. The independent monthly visits are sufficiently detailed and provide the manager with an overview of the quality of care and protection in the home. The registered manager acts to address any concerns raised. The home is achieving it aims and objectives as set out in its statement of purpose, which is kept up to date and provides useful information to families and placing authorities about the service.

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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: SC456419 6 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: SC456419 7

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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

Ceri Evans, social care inspector Inspection report children’s home: SC456419 8 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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