Children's Home run by Cambian Childcare Limited in North Yorkshire

Inspection report children’s home: SC457435 1 SC457435 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 owned and managed children’s home. It is registered to provide care and accommodation for up to two children and young people who have emotional and/or behavioural needs.

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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

Overall judgement at last inspection: sustained effectiveness

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none

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Key findings from this inspection

 The staff know the young people well and know how to develop positive nurturing relationships with them.  The young people are able to access a range of activities. This offers them new leisure experiences, helping to improve emotional and physical well-being. Inspection report children’s home: SC457435 2  The young people are well supported to maintain contact with family and friends. The staff facilitate all contact. This is helping the young people to maintain and improve their relationships with their family and friends.  Staff support the young people to prepare them for their future. There is an independence programme, ‘my journey to independence’, which ensures that when the young people move on from the home they feel prepared for the practical and emotional effects of living independently.  There are very good links with other professionals. Communication is good, which means that the young people get the best possible care.

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Key findings from this inspection

 Recruitment and selection practice is robust.  The leadership and management of the home are strong. The registered manager is experienced, qualified and skilled, and has all the necessary attributes to run the home. He is supported by a highly committed staff team.  Missing-from-home episodes are gradually reducing, resulting in the young people no longer putting themselves at risk.  Risk assessments are comprehensive and reviewed appropriately. Updated risk assessments are placed on the staff ‘to sign file’, prior to being placed on the young people’s files. This ensures that the staff are continually aware of any changes.

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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

 Safeguarding should be a standard agenda item in staff supervision and team meetings.  Regulation 45 quality of care reviews should be submitted to Ofsted in a timely manner.  Pathway plans should be in place for all relevant young people.

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

02/03/2017 Interim Sustained effectiveness 29/11/2016 Full Good 22/03/2016 Interim Sustained effectiveness 08/02/2016 Full Good Inspection report children’s home: SC457435 3

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Recommendations

 The registered person should build a strong safeguarding culture in the home where children are listened to, respected and involved in both the development of the home and decisions about the home. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 43, paragraph 9.18) In particular, safeguarding should be a standard agenda item for staff meetings.

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Recommendations

 Supervision of staff practice should ensure that individual adults in the home are engaged in the safeguarding culture of the home so they understand what they would need to do if they found other staff misusing or abusing their position to the detriment of the safety of a children. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 43, paragraph 9.14) In particular, safeguarding should be a standard item on the supervision record.

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Recommendations

 The registered person should actively seek independent scrutiny of the home and make best use of information from independent and internal monitoring (including under regulations 44 and 45) to ensure continuous improvement. They should be skilled in anticipating difficulties and reviewing incidents, such as learning from disruptions and placement breakdowns. They are responsible for proactively implementing lessons learned and sustaining good practice. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 55, paragraph 10.24) In particular, the registered manager should submit his Regulation 45 report in a timely manner.

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Recommendations

 Effective care planning and strong working relationships between the staff of the home and the placing authority are essential to the success of placements. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 56, paragraph 11.2) With particular reference to ensuring that a pathway plan is in place for one young person living at the home.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The manager and the staff team work hard to develop and maintain trusting and secure relationships with the young people. There are currently two young people living at the home. A young person said: ‘This is the best home I have lived in. Staff are good.’

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The young people have both had significant disruption with education prior to coming to live at the home. Both are now on roll at a local school provided by the company that owns the home. Communication with school staff is very good, which has helped to Inspection report children’s home: SC457435 4 maintain education placements. A young person who has now left the home made significant improvements in school attendance and attainment. A member of staff said: ‘She had not attended school for over two years, but very soon after coming to live here she began to attend full time and made really good progress.’ The staff are very supportive around education, helping the young people with school work. One young person is currently finding it hard to attend education on a regular basis. The staff have encouraged him to do online testing in maths and English, at home. This will help to identify any gaps in his learning and assess his academic ability. Given that for both of

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

the current young people participation in education has been particularly difficult, they have both made progress. The staff fully understand the young people’s difficulties and have put in place a number of incentives to encourage attendance. They are very committed to ensuring that the young people make progress in their education.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The young people are healthy. They are encouraged to exercise and have a healthy diet. The staff support the young people to attend routine medical appointments and health checks. One young person had not been to the dentist for a long time, but with staff help and support he has now had a check-up and a course of treatment. This gave him a sense of achievement and greatly enhanced his confidence. There are good links with the looked after children’s nurse and the specialist nurse for sexual health. Both visit the home, and the relationships they build with the young people help the young people to understand how to stay safe and healthy. The company psychologist provides clinical advice and support. This gives the staff further understanding into the emotional and mental health of the young people. It equips them to help and support the young people in a structured and knowledgeable way.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The staff know the importance of ensuring that the young people are supported and prepared to move on to independence. The ‘my journey to independence’ programme is in place. This programme is based on the assessed needs of the young people and is tailored to their ability. The young people are encouraged to budget, plan, buy food and cook meals. The programme also covers the emotional aspects of preparing to move on to independence. One young person does not have a pathway plan. There is evidence that the assessment prior to completing the pathway plan has been completed. The manager has requested the plan from the placing authority. The pathway plan needs to be in place to ensure that the young person will have a planned and positive move on from the home.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Care planning is good. Records and risk assessments are comprehensive, and include the needs, wishes and feelings of the young people. The young people have a ‘my plan’, which is a child-centred document that encourages them to take an active part in their care plan. ‘My plan’ documents are updated by the young people on a weekly basis, with the support of their key workers. This means that the young people feel valued and their views and wishes are taken into account.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The young people’s guide has regular updates, in line with the statement of purpose. It outlines the boundaries and expectations of the home. It also contains information on how to make a complaint and how to have access to an independent advocate. The manager and staff work closely with the young people and try to accommodate their Inspection report children’s home: SC457435 5 views and opinions wherever appropriate.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Regular young people’s meetings take place. These meetings are facilitated by the staff. They enable the young people to give their views on the home and how it can improve. Key workers also carry out weekly reviews with the young people. Review documents are colourful and are personalised by the young people. These meetings and reviews encourages the young people to take part in plans for activities, and gives them the opportunity to discuss anything that may be worrying them.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The staff support all contact plans. They facilitate, transport and provide supervision if needed. A social worker said: ‘The staff have been really great and support all contact. It is a long drive and they prepare the young person well for his contact.’ The staff work closely with family members and are flexible in arranging contacts, when the need arises. This positive work with families helps the young people to improve their relationships for the future.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Working with other professionals is well established. This ensures that the young people can be offered appropriate services when required. A social worker said: ‘My young person has a very difficult history and has been in a number of placements. The staff have helped him to progress and settle well. I am really pleased with the work the staff are doing and the relationships they are building with him.’

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

The young people feel safe living in the home. The staff have a good understanding of the young people’s vulnerabilities. This knowledge is recorded in the individual crisis management plans that clearly identify risks. This means that the staff are very quick to respond to risk-taking behaviours. Sanctions are used infrequently, and when they are given they are discussed with the young people. This ensures that they can reflect on the effects of their behaviour and gives them a sense of responsibility for their actions.

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

Physical interventions are used appropriately, to help the young people regulate their behaviour. Records are detailed, and they are signed off by a senior member of staff. Discussions with the young person and member of staff are recorded. Effective behaviour management plans contain strategies to de-escalate behaviour. The company psychologist provides regular input into staff meetings. Sessions on trauma and attachment help staff to reflect on the reasons behind the young people’s negative behaviour. This means that behaviour management plans are based on individual need, with consistent strategies that can help the young people to understand and regulate negative behaviours.

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

There has been a gradual reduction in missing-from-home episodes. One young person who had a history of going missing from previous placements had a prolonged period of being missing from this home. The manager worked well with the police and his social worker to try and locate him. Following his return to the home, lots of work was carried out with him regarding the risks when he is missing from home. This has worked well Inspection report children’s home: SC457435 6 and his missing episodes have greatly reduced. Staff know the local area well, and when the young people go missing staff respond quickly, looking for the young people and working closely with the local police. As a result, young people can be located quickly and risks are minimised.

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

The manager is a member of the ‘vulnerable, exploited, missing and trafficked’ (VEMPT) multi-agency group. He attends regular meetings and is able to gain valuable and up-to- date information and intelligence about unsafe areas and individuals. The police lead for VEMPT, who is also the coordinator for the community impact team, said: ‘The manager is an active participant in all meetings. He has helped to highlight the needs of children looked after within the group. He has also helped to involve other agencies, which has strengthened the group. He is a real asset to the group.’ This close involvement with other agencies enables the manager to provide an extra level of safeguarding for the young people.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager is suitably qualified and has a wealth of experience in children’s residential care. He has been in post since April 2015. He has used his skills, knowledge and experience to establish a supportive and caring staff team.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The company has a very thorough recruitment and selection process, which ensures that suitable staff are recruited. There is a formal induction and training programme that prepares new staff well. A member of staff said: ‘I enjoyed my induction. It really helped me to understand the young people and gave me confidence to begin work.’ Staff morale is good. Staff report that they have regular supervision and appraisal. They feel well supported and state that the manager has an open-door policy. He is always willing to discuss any problems they may have, offering advice and support. Currently safeguarding is not a standard agenda item during supervision. This means that staff do not have the opportunity to discuss and reflect on safeguarding on a regular basis.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager uses an effective monthly monitoring tool. This means that he can identify any gaps in recording and ensure that they are rectified quickly. He completes his Regulation 45 reports on a regular basis, however they are not always sent to Ofsted in a timely manner.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager knows the young people well. He spends time with the young people on a daily basis. This ensures that he has a very clear understanding of their needs, behaviour and the progress that they are making.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff meetings take place on a monthly basis. They give the opportunity for the staff to discuss all of the young people, and also include discussions on staff development and practice. However, safeguarding is not a standard agenda item, which means that staff do not regularly have the opportunity to discuss the safeguarding culture in the home.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Training is good and there is a training matrix in place to track when updates are Inspection report children’s home: SC457435 7 necessary. A member of staff said: ‘Training is helpful and keeps me up to date with current practice. I felt that I need to be updated with attachment training. I asked for this and it was arranged for me.’

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The home’s statement of purpose is kept up to date and forwarded to Ofsted appropriately. It clearly outlines the ethos of the home and what it hopes to provide for the 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: SC457435 8

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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: Susan Fitzsimmons

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Inspector

Dot McGough, social care inspector Inspection report children’s home: SC457435 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 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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