Children's Home run by Cambian Childcare Limited in Shropshire

Inspection report children‟s home: SC454647 1 SC454647 Registered provider: Cambian Childcare Limited Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

The home provides a minimum 12-month, full-time treatment programme for children who have experienced or are at risk of sexual exploitation. Ofsted registered the manager in 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 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: good

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report children‟s home: SC454647 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

22/08/2017 Full Good 03/05/2017 Full Inadequate 17/01/2017 Interim Declined in effectiveness 28/06/2016 Full Good Inspection report children‟s home: SC454647 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 registered person must compile in relation to the children‟s home a statement (“the statement of purpose”) which covers the matters listed in Schedule 1. (Regulation 16 (1)) This is specifically with regard to stating the rights that children have and clearly describing the restrictions that are applied to them. 25/06/2018

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Recommendations

 As part of reviewing and revising where appropriate the statement of purpose (regulation 16(3)(a)), the registered person should review and update the children‟s guide as necessary, and make sure children are given an explanation of any changes. („Guide to the children‟s homes regulations including the quality standards‟, page 24, paragraph 4.23)  Children‟s home staff should take reasonable precautions and make informed professional judgements based on the individual child‟s needs and developmental-stage about when to allow a child to take a particular risk or follow a particular course of action. („Guide to the children‟s homes regulations including the quality standards‟, page 42, paragraph 9.7) This is specifically about helping children to administer all their medication, when it is appropriate.  It is good practice for a note of the content and/or outcomes of supervision sessions to be kept and to ensure that both the person giving the supervision and

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Recommendations

staff member have a copy of the record. („Guide to the children‟s homes regulations including the quality standards‟, page 61, paragraph 13.4)

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children make good and sometimes exceptional progress. For example, they progress so well with their learning that they pass examinations and obtain college courses. As a Inspection report children‟s home: SC454647 4 result of the integration of care, education and therapy, their rates of progress and achievement are often higher than their peers. The school that most children attend is on-site. The strong collaboration between adults means that children receive consistent messages from the adults. For example, about staying safe and becoming more independent. This benefits their behaviour and social skills.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The children, who are all female at present, feel happy and safe in the home. One girl said, „It‟s a good placement that helps a lot.‟ The children enjoy individual and group activities. When it is safe enough, they have free time in local towns. They have strong bonds with the staff. Several children are completing independence programmes and for some children this includes undertaking work experience.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The house provides comfortable accommodation in a quiet location. Children have access to a large back garden. The manager is currently considering ways to get more benefit for the children from this space.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children restore meaningful relationships with their families.

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

Children make excellent progress in keeping safe. External professionals feel very positive. One social worker said, „It‟s such a good service. It appears laid back but in reality [staff] are applying therapeutic responses.‟ A specialist police officer said, „The relationship that the manager and staff team have with the police is excellent… the lack of calls to [us] shows that the home has a positive impact on the well-being of the [children].‟

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

However, the service has strict expectations of new children in particular, which new children find difficult to accept. Nevertheless, the rural location, lack of mobile telephones, high staffing levels and controlled contact with friends and families, for example, makes them reflect on their previous lifestyles. The substantial restrictions deprive children of many of the liberties that they have come to expect. Because of the extremely high risks previously faced by most children, their social workers sometimes apply to the court for Deprivation of Liberty orders. The statement of purpose and children‟s guide do not clearly reflect all the controls that occur. This means that although all admissions occur in planned ways rather than in emergencies, some social workers and new children are insufficiently aware of the implications of the programme. The children‟s guide has minor shortfalls in the same regards.

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

As children progress, staff gradually reduce the majority of the restrictions. However, staff do not always apply sufficient proportionality. For example, older children who are moving imminently to semi-independent settings may store and administer their own medication except their painkillers. This means that when they leave, they are not sufficiently well prepared to face this hazard.

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

The manager ensures that children test their new abilities to stay safe in realistic situations. One family member said, „I like the system – it breeds safe behaviours.‟ This Inspection report children‟s home: SC454647 5 is a vital part of the programme. There is evidence of discharged children maintaining reasonable levels of safety. The manager is considering ways to improve this valuable evidence of the service‟s effectiveness.

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

The low number of children who going missing from the home means that children remain safe, build good relationships with staff and spend time undertaking positive activities. This is the basis of their excellent progress.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The statement of purpose provides an adequate summary of the service. However, it has errors. For example, it does not describe the restrictions that are placed on children clearly enough. Similarly, it has a poor description of the rights that children can expect staff to uphold.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

In May 2017, Ofsted found this service to be inadequate. At a subsequent full inspection in August, Ofsted judged the service to be good. Since then, the manager has sustained a consistent and competent staff team. She and the company continue to make improvements to the service. Suitable arrangements are in place to provide cover for her impending maternity leave.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The location of the home means that the staff team is predominantly white. Some children have raised concerns about this deficit and the company is addressing it appropriately. Children use the home‟s proximity and easy access to large towns to experience the culturally mixed communities with which they identify.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff receive training and regular formal and informal supervision. They feel positive about this support, which contributes to their high levels of competence. However, they do not automatically receive copies of their supervision meetings. In a small number of cases, this has placed staff at a disadvantage because they do not have written evidence about the reasons for senior staff‟s decisions.

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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 Inspection report children‟s home: SC454647 6 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: SC454647 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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Inspector

David Morgan: social care inspector Inspection report children‟s home: SC454647 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 looked after children, safeguarding and child protection.

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Inspector

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Inspector

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Inspector

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