Children's Home run by Cambian Childcare Limited in Essex

Inspection report children‟s home: SC471153 1 SC471153 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

The home is registered for up to two children. The home and its staff can offer support to children who have social, emotional and behavioural issues. The suitably experienced and qualified temporary manager was registered on 2 May 2018. However, she has been managing the home since November 2017 to cover the manager‟s maternity leave.

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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: 24 October 2017

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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: SC471153 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

24/10/2017 Full Good 09/02/2017 Interim Sustained effectiveness 05/07/2016 Full Good 09/03/2016 Interim Improved effectiveness Inspection report children‟s home: SC471153 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

For the purposes of paragraph (3)(b), an individual who works in the home in a care role has the appropriate qualification if, by the relevant date, the individual has attained—

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Requirement Due date

the Level 3 Diploma for Residential Childcare (England) (“the Level 3 Diploma”); or

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Requirement Due date

a qualification which the registered person considers to be equivalent to the Level 3 Diploma.

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Requirement Due date

in the case of an individual who starts working in a care role in a home after 1st April 2014, the date which falls 2 years after the date on which the individual started working in a care role in a home; or

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Requirement Due date

in the case of an individual who was working in a care role in a home on 1st April 2014, 1st April 2016. (Regulation 32 (4)(a)(b)(5)(a)(b) and (6)(a)(b)) 24/09/2018

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Requirement Due date

ensure that each employee completes an appropriate induction. (Regulation 33 (1)(a)) 30/07/2018

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Recommendations

 Ensure that all incidents of control, discipline and restraint are subject to systems of regular scrutiny to ensure that their use is fair and the above principles as set out in 9.35 are respected. („Guide to the children‟s homes regulations including the quality standards‟, page 46, paragraph 9.36) In particular, ensure that there is a suitable review of each sanction and restraint by someone who was not involved in, or witness to, the incident.  As set out in regulations 31-33, the registered person is responsible for Inspection report children‟s home: SC471153 4 maintaining good employment practice. They must ensure that recruitment, supervision and performance management of staff safeguards children and minimises potential risks to them. („Guide to the children‟s homes regulations including the quality standards‟, page 61, paragraph 13.1)  Ensure that staff understand the importance of careful, objective and clear

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Recommendations

recording. Information on individual children should 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)

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The children enjoy living at the home. They feel safe and are well supported by staff, and as a result they thrive. A social worker said, „It‟s been a brilliant placement for her [the child]. She has grown a lot in confidence.‟ Another said that the staff have, „helped her [the child] to reflect on what was going on in her life and to make positive changes‟.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The children like the small cosy house and say that they are delighted to have a pet hamster and rabbit. The children enjoy active lives. They regularly enjoy activities such as horse riding, roller-skating, army cadets and trips out in the community. Such activities promote the children‟s social skills, confidence and self-esteem. One child described the home as „brilliant‟. She said, „It is a 9 out of 10 because I would never give anything a 10 out of 10.‟

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The staff are child-focused. The children feel valued and are consistently consulted on everything. As a result, the children develop strong attachments with the staff, who they can talk to about any worries. The children identify staff for whom they have a particular fondness. For example, one child nominated a favourite staff to wear a crown, „because she is bonkers, she‟s just so funny‟.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The staff support the children to develop their skills and maintain optimum physical and mental health. The staff are highly aware of the children‟s particular needs and personalities. The staff are able to talk to them about important issues, such as relationships and their future plans. As a result, the children are better prepared for adult life. One social worker said, „The home has got her on the right path and there is more chance of her building a positive relationship in the future.‟

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Despite the encouragement of staff, one child refuses to enrol at a school. The staff understand why this is the case and have strongly challenged the local authority to provide suitable interim arrangements. As a direct result, the child now receives 15 hours a week of tutoring. The staff continue to promote learning in the home. They read with the children, take them to the library and encourage the children to use freely available internet packages. One child volunteers at the local riding centre for the disabled Both of the children benefit from this individual support and are progressing well. For example, they now have 100% educational attendance, and engagement in learning has improved. The staff help the children obtain suitable college places and Inspection report children‟s home: SC471153 5 seek part-time work.

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

The children feel safe. The staff have taken appropriate action to support the children though a phase of bullying at the home. The children say that staff‟s actions have made them feel safe and have increased their confidence in the staff. The children who are currently at the home get on very well together and have developed a positive friendship. The children‟s views are listened to, and when they raise concerns these are addressed.

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

The staff have received suitable training in safeguarding, and it remains a regular topic in supervision, team meetings and workshops. This support ensures that the staff fully understand their pivotal role to keep the children safe. The staff are skilful in understanding, interpreting and managing risk. Individual risk assessments and safety plans are well detailed.

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

The staff work effectively in partnership with partner agencies to promote the children‟s safety and well-being. The children choose to spend their time with the staff, therefore there is a significant reduction in risky behaviour. The children were regularly going missing before they moved into the home, however there have been no incidents since. One social worker said, „It is a testament that she stayed there [the home] without going missing for 2 to 3 months. This is previously unheard of.‟

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

The staff use praise, rewards and discussion to promote positive behaviour. These strategies are effective, and the children now rarely receive a sanction as a consequence of negative behaviour. Staffing levels are high and flexibly arranged to meet the individual and changing needs of each child. The high staffing levels help staff to address antisocial or unsafe behaviour effectively.

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

The suitably trained staff only use physical intervention to maintain the safety of the child or others. The manager reviews all incidents of restraint, including one occasion when she was involved in the restraint. Personal involvement limits effective independent reflection and reduces the manager‟s ability to contribute to meeting the ongoing and changing needs of the child.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The temporary but experienced manager has provided effective leadership of the home. The manager leads by example, ensuring child-focused care which meets the children‟s individual needs effectively.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Partner professionals and the children hold the staff in high esteem. The staff speak warmly about the children and are proud of the progress they make. One said, „She [the child] has changed a lot so we must be doing something right.‟ Social workers refer to „perceptive and reflective‟ staff who are committed to the children. One said, „I‟ve seen great progress in the year that she [the child] has been there.‟ Inspection report children‟s home: SC471153 6 The staff and manager advocate effectively for the children. The manager does not hesitate to challenge local authorities or health services when she believes they are not fulfilling their responsibilities to the children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The staff feel well supported by the manager. They benefit from regular team meetings and effective supervision arrangements. The staff can access counselling to help them deal with traumatic situations such as a serious assault by a child. The organisation provides a good variety of suitable training for the staff which ensures that experienced staff understand their roles and responsibilities. However, the organisation has not ensured that the qualifications of one new staff member were verified. Furthermore, there is no record of induction having taken place for a new member of staff. This means that some newer staff may not have the expected skills and knowledge for the role.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The staff do not consistently maintain all of the records to a high enough standard. Sometimes this impacts on the ability of the staff to evidence the care and support given to individual children. For example, one child‟s care plan said staff would monitor her every 30 minutes to ensure her safety and positive mental well-being. There are no records that such checks took place.

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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: SC471153 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, Waterfront, Hammersmith Embankment, Chancellors Road, London, Middlesex W6 9RU

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Children’s home details

Registered managers: Sara Stoker and Carmel Willis

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Inspector

Joanna Heller, social care inspector Inspection report children‟s home: SC471153 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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