Children's home run by Cambian Childcare Limited in Stockport

Inspection report children’s home: SC359818 1 SC359818 Registered provider: Cambian Childcare Limited

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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 home is part of a very large organisation providing care services. The home provides care for up to four young people. It is situated in a busy, multicultural and ethnically diverse suburb. The statement of purpose indicates that staff provide young people with structure, boundaries, care, and support. Staff will help young people prepare for the next step in their lives, whether it is a return home, a move to another placement, or the transition to independence. The home has not had a registered manager since June 2017. It had been managed by the deputy manager until May 2018, when a new manager started work. He is currently going through the process of registration with Ofsted.

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Overall experiences and progress of

children and young people, taking into account

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requires improvement to be good

How well children and young people are helped and protected requires improvement to be good

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requires improvement to be good

The effectiveness of leaders and managers inadequate

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requires improvement to be good

The children’s home is not yet delivering good help and care for children and young people. However, there are no serious or widespread failures that result in their welfare not being safeguarded or promoted.

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requires improvement to be good

Overall judgement at last inspection: requires improvement to be good

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requires improvement to be good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report children’s home: SC359818 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

02/01/2018 Full Requires improvement to be good 07/09/2017 Full Inadequate 22/02/2017 Interim Sustained effectiveness 09/11/2016 Full Good Inspection report children’s home: SC359818 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 leadership and management standard is that the registered person enables, inspires and leads a culture in relation to the children’s home that helps children aspire to fulfil their potential; and promotes their welfare. In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to lead and manage the home in a way that is consistent with the approach and ethos, and delivers the outcomes, set out in the home’s statement of purpose. (Regulation 13(1)(a)(b)(2)(a) 20/06/2018

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Requirement Due date

The protection of children standard is that children are protected from harm and enabled to keep themselves safe. In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to ensure that staff help each child to understand how to keep safe. (Regulation 12(1)(2)(a)(ii)) 20/06/2018

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Requirement Due date

The education standard is that children make measurable progress towards achieving their educational potential and are helped to do so. In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to ensure that staff maintain regular contact with each child’s education and training provider, including engaging with the provider and the placing authority to support the child’s education and training and to maximise the child’s achievement. (Regulation 8(1)(2)(a)(vi)) 20/06/2018

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Requirement Due date

The positive relationships standard is that children are helped to develop, and to benefit from, relationships based on mutual respect and trust; an understanding about acceptable behaviour; and positive responses to other children and adults. In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to ensure that staff help each child to develop and practise skills to resolve conflicts positively and without harm to anyone; and help each child to understand, in a way that is appropriate according to the child’s age and understanding, personal, sexual and social relationships, and 20/06/2018 Inspection report children’s home: SC359818 4 how those relationships can be supportive or harmful. (Regulation 11(1)(a)(b)(c)(2)(a)(iv)(vi))

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Recommendations

 Children who wish to keep and take their own medication should be supported to, if they are able to do so safely. Staff should be mindful that children holding their own prescribed medication must only use it for themselves in accordance with the prescription. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 35, paragraph 7.16)  The registered person should ensure that, in line with their individual health plans and the ethos of the home, children are offered advice, support and guidance on health and well-being. Staff should have the relevant skills and knowledge to be able to help children understand, and where necessary work to change negative behaviours in key areas of health and well-being such as, but not limited to, nutrition and healthy diet, exercise, mental health, sexual relationships, sexual health, contraception and use of legal highs, drugs, alcohol and tobacco. (‘Guide

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Recommendations

to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 35, paragraph 7.18)  Staff should understand the importance of careful, objective, and clear recording. Staff should record information on individual children in a non-stigmatising way that distinguishes between fact, opinion and third-party information. Information about the child must always be recorded in a way that will be helpful to the child. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 62, paragraph 14.4) This is with respect to writing records that are useful and informative to children and to staff so that everyone is clear about how staff are helping.  Children must feel safe and be safe. Staff should support children to be aware of and manage their own safety both inside and outside the home to the extent that any good parent would. Staff should help children to understand how to protect

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Recommendations

themselves, feel protected and be protected from significant harm. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 43, paragraph 9.9)

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improvement to be good

Two young people are currently living at the home. They are both settled in the home and get on well together. However, their overall progress is slow. Staff still do not have the level of skill, insight, creativity and coordination to help young people to make progress in their social, emotional and educational development. For example, young people are about to sit important exams, but staff are not being effective in their Inspection report children’s home: SC359818 5 communication with teachers. As a result, staff do not know where or when each exam will be sat, or the details of the special arrangements that should be in place. Young people continue to struggle with relationships and they do not manage their emotions well. Individual work with young people is still limited and simplistic. Staff do not know enough about, or build on, the work that others have done. Young people’s care plans are not well written or used by staff for the benefit of each

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improvement to be good

young person. This means that staff often do not know what is happening, when it will happen, and how this will benefit the young person. For example, one young person has received no input about his expressed interest in various religions, despite this being written in his care plan. Young people do not get enough consistent, insightful help about their health. For example, staff do not give young people appropriate guidance on taking on a safe level of responsibility for their own medication. Although young people’s self-image and personal hygiene have improved, they do not know enough about healthy sexual relationships, diet and exercise. More positively, young people are being prepared for their futures more than previously. For example, they have learned to use public transport and/or bicycle to get to appointments and school. They are doing more cooking, budgeting and seeing their relatives. Young people’s confidence has improved and they are enjoying more quality time with

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improvement to be good

staff over meals, days out to the beach, or playing games and watching films at home.

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improvement to be good

Young people can become angry, frustrated and sometimes violent when staff use unhelpful and punitive behaviour management strategies. Physical attacks on staff occasionally occur because the support and care that some staff provide is not always insightful and skilled enough. Staff rely on community police and youth offending workers to provide young people with guidance, advice and help. Staff do not undertake high-quality work themselves or build on what others have done. For example, one young person received a single session on racism, anger and legal consequences from a police officer. However, staff have not carried this work on. Young people remain vulnerable to being exploited and exploiting others, both through social media and out in the community. Staff do not pick up on issues or work in a coordinated way in response to specific incidents or young people’s ongoing difficulties. For example, a single conversation with one young person about gangs and groups was

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improvement to be good

too simplistic and did not teach the young person enough about how to stay safe when he is on his own. Despite the ongoing concerns, young people are not placing themselves at risk by going missing from home. They are enjoying doing activities with staff and this diverts them away from anti-social behaviour. Equally, young people are causing less damage in the home because staff are involving them more in choosing decorations and keeping the Inspection report children’s home: SC359818 6 home clean and tidy.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

A senior member of staff has managed the home for almost one year. This has left the home with a registered manager for a long period. This means that the effectiveness of leaders and managers is judged as inadequate, and has had an impact on the overall judgement. A newly appointed manager has been in post for a few weeks. He is an experienced manager with a good track record. He has quickly made positive relationships with staff and young people alike. However, he is only just getting to know staff and other relevant professionals. Senior staff have now completed their required childcare training and have remained in post. Staff have benefited from group learning about therapeutic care from the organisation’s psychologist. Staff morale is good and young people are now getting better continuity of care than they were in 2017. Staff meet regularly to discuss their work with young people. They are supervised

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

regularly and receive annual appraisals. The new manager’s agenda is to improve the quality of staff’s planning, organisation and direct work with 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: SC359818 7

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Cambian Childcare Limited

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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: Alison Blyth-Bishop

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Inspector

Rachel Britten, social care inspector Inspection report children’s home: SC359818 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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