Children's Home run by 4d Care Ltd in Cambridgeshire

Inspection report children’s home: SC064557 1 SC064557 Registered provider: 4d Care 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

A private organisation runs this home. The home offers care for up to six children who may have experienced trauma, neglect or abuse, and family or placement breakdowns.

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Information about this children’s home

Inspection dates: 25 to 26 February 2019

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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: outstanding

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

11/07/2017 Full Outstanding 02/02/2017 Interim Sustained effectiveness 28/06/2016 Full Good 23/02/2016 Interim Sustained effectiveness Inspection report children’s home: SC064557 2

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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

If the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005(a) applies to the home—

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Requirement Due date

the registered person must ensure that the requirements of that Order and any regulations made under it, except for article 23 (duties of employees), are complied with in respect of the home. (Regulation 25 (2)(b))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, ensure that the fire risk assessment is accurate and current. 22/03/2019

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that all employees—

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Requirement Due date

receive practice-related supervision by a person with appropriate experience. (Regulation 33 (4)(b)) 22/03/2019

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Requirement Due date

The independent person must produce a report about a visit (‘the independent person’s report’) which sets out, in particular, the independent person’s opinion as to whether—

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Requirement Due date

children are effectively safeguarded; and

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Requirement Due date

the conduct of the home promotes children’s well-being. (Regulation 44 (4)(a)(b)) 22/03/2019

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must complete a review of the quality of care provided for children (‘a quality of care review’) at least once every 6 months.

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Requirement Due date

In order to complete a quality of care review the registered person must establish and maintain a system for monitoring, reviewing and evaluating—

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Requirement Due date

the quality of care provided for children;

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Requirement Due date

the feedback and opinions of children about the children’s home, its facilities and the quality of care they receive in it; and any actions that the registered person considers necessary in order to improve or maintain the quality of care provided for 22/03/2019 Inspection report children’s home: SC064557 3 children.

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Requirement Due date

supply to HMCI a copy of the quality of care review report within 28 days of the date on which the quality of care review is completed. (Regulation 45 (1)(2)(a)(b)(c)(4)(a))

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Recommendations

 Provide a nurturing and supportive environment that meets children’s needs. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 15, paragraph 3.9) In particular, maintain and decorate the home to a good standard.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children benefit from good-quality individualised care. Plans are clearly set out and detail strategies to guide staff in working with children effectively. Staff update children’s plans to reflect incidents and progress. They tailor the care to each child’s needs well. Children attend regular house meetings. Ongoing discussion and mealtime chats between staff and children inform planning.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

High-quality, trusting relationships contribute to the family-style environment at this home. Easy, genuine and warm interactions between staff and children were observed during the inspection. Children were animated in their discussion about the activities that they do with staff. External professionals provided highly positive feedback about the care and the progress that children make.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children make good progress in all aspects of their health. Aspects such as physical fitness, healthy eating, personal hygiene and managing emotional health are all a feature of the care that children receive. Staff support children with smoking cessation. Although this has not been successful for some children, staff continually strive to raise children’s awareness of the dangers of smoking. Health plans set out clearly children’s needs and strategies to support them. The staff work closely with multi-agency health professionals to review needs and to make joint support plans.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children benefit from regular support from a clinical psychologist. The sessions are needs led. They enable the children to explore their emotions and anxieties so that they can understand the links between how they are feeling and how they behave.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff motivate children to attend and engage in education. Individual education plans Inspection report children’s home: SC064557 4 and very small classes mean that children receive a good level of support during the school day. Staff understand the importance of education and use incentives to encourage attendance. Attendance levels are generally good. Close working between the onsite school staff and the residential staff means that all the staff understand children’s predicted grades and potential. School staff work hard to reduce children’s anxieties about taking exams. They use effective strategies to prepare children well over considerable time prior to exams.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children have excellent opportunities to engage in a range of exciting experiences. They have been on a plane for the first time, taken part in wild-camping holidays and been to Poland, France and Derbyshire. There are plans to do a three peaks challenge, which children are training for. Staff encourage individual interests such as boxing, swimming and roller skating. One child plays football locally. Staff use activities as a distraction from negative behaviour to encourage children to develop a positive self-view.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff understand the importance of family relationships. They also understand the negative impact that some contact can have. The staff work hard to help children develop their resilience and rebuild their confidence and self-esteem when visits are difficult. Staff go above and beyond to let children know that they are cared for whatever their circumstances.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Some areas of the home require redecoration to ensure that the environment is of a good standard throughout.

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

Children benefit from the safe, consistent and nurturing environment. The well- established staff work cohesively with each other and with external professionals to provide children with clear boundaries and expectations. Consequently, children feel safe.

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

Staff understand the risks that children face. They have clear plans to manage risks. Children’s records reflect the progress that they make. The staff work exceptionally well to provide unfailing support to a child who is at particularly high risk of harm. A social worker described the home as the stabilising element in this child’s life.

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

The positive and nurturing relationships that staff have with children have enabled children to develop their trust and to engage with the support that staff offer. Staff use humour and de-escalation to manage behaviour effectively. Sanctions are proportionate and justified. Children are asked for their views on the sanctions.

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

Restraint is used when it is justified and necessary. Records of restraint show that managers reflect with the staff on each incident to look at whether there are lessons to be learned. Staff benefit from regular training in behaviour management, which is delivered by an in-house trainer.

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

Incidents of unauthorised absence are infrequent and short in duration. Staff record the Inspection report children’s home: SC064557 5 incidents well. They reflect with children on why they left the home without permission. Staff work with children to help them to develop other ways to manage their behaviours.

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

Incidents of bullying are rare. The records of incidents show that staff address concerns and seek to understand the behaviours of all of the children involved. The staff work with children to help them to understand the impact of their behaviour on others.

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

There have been no complaints since the last inspection.

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

The fire risk assessment contains some out-of-date and inaccurate information. Although the impact is minimal, the document requires updating. In particular, the reference to the site being a no-smoking site is incorrect.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager is experienced, knowledgeable and qualified. He leads the team well. He is a good role model to the staff and children. The responsible individual is present and approachable, joining children for meals and taking part in activities with them.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The staff at the home realise the importance of effective, multi-agency working to meet the needs of the children. They build strong relationships with families and professionals. Feedback is consistently positive. A social worker said, ‘They have been brilliant with him. That has been his stability. They have done some excellent work with him. He has a massive network of professionals caring for him and he is making good progress.’

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The staff team is well established and experienced and works very well with the onsite education staff. The staffing is complemented by regular visits from a clinical psychologist. Children can see that the home is run by adults who genuinely care about them and want them to achieve well.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The staff benefit from good training. They feel well supported by the management team. The presence and visibility of managers mean that staff have access to support when they need it. Staff are clear about their roles and the impact that they have on children. They understand children’s needs well.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Although staff feel well supported, supervision does not consistently take place regularly. This means that staff do not always benefit from formal, documented opportunities to review their practice.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The reports by the independent visitor do not meet regulatory requirements. The visitor does not give their opinion of whether children are safeguarded. This does not provide clarity to the manager, responsible individual and Ofsted about how well the home protects children.

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Information about this inspection

Inspection report children’s home: SC064557 6 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: SC064557 7

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: 8a New Road, Mepal, Ely, Cambridgeshire CB6 2AP

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Inspectors

Ricky D’Arcy, social care inspector Louisa Bayley, social care inspector Inspection report children’s home: SC064557 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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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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