Children's home run by Cambian Childcare Limited in Stockport

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

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Information about this children’s home

The statement of purpose indicates that staff provide young people with structure, boundaries, care and support. Staff help young people to prepare for the next step in their lives, whether it is a return home, a move to another placement or the transition to independence.

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Information about this children’s home

The home has had no registered manager since 10 January 2019. A new manager from within the staff team is currently going through the process of registration with Ofsted.

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Information about this children’s home

Judgement at last inspection: requires improvement to be good

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Information about this children’s home

Enforcement action since last inspection: none

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and young people since the most recent full inspection

This home was judged requires improvement to be good at the last full inspection. At the interim inspection, Ofsted judges that it has sustained effectiveness.

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and young people since the most recent full inspection

Five male young people were living here since the last inspection in May 2018. In August 2018, one young person moved out following his arrest for serious damage caused at the home. The other four young people are making some progress towards their plans Inspection report children’s home: SC359818 2 for adult life. Young people receive care from staff who are interested in them and spend time with them. Staff plan ongoing support to young people who are planning to move into independent living.

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and young people since the most recent full inspection

One young person regularly attends school but is struggling to maintain his placement due to his presenting challenging behaviour. Other young people regularly refuse to attend the different education settings that staff and managers have identified for them. Staff give young people some practical support and encouragement to try different education providers. However, staff do not help young people to overcome the real underlying reasons that compromise their willingness to attend school. As a result, young people’s achievements and prospects remain limited.

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and young people since the most recent full inspection

Staff have warm relationships with young people. They advise them on practical skills such as doing their laundry, planning, going shopping and cooking. However, staff lack tenacity and creativity when it comes to helping young people develop emotional resilience, good social behaviour and healthy lifestyles. Young people still struggle to interact calmly and make good use of their time. They do not take good care of their own bedding and/or their own clothing. A few young people go cycling with staff and enjoy trips out to places of interest. However, young people are still unmotivated to stop smoking and continue to eat too much processed food in preference to healthy meals.

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and young people since the most recent full inspection

Staff do not use the written word to make their advice and support clearer to young people. Young people are unsure of their plans, do not keep their goals in mind and forget staff’s advice. This holds back their pace of progress.

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and young people since the most recent full inspection

Social workers are pleased with the regular updates that they receive about their young person. They are very satisfied with the support that young people are receiving to become independent and to re-establish better relationships with their families. However, staff and social workers are not working together to encourage friendships that are suitable and discourage those that are risky. One young person has repeatedly been reported missing from the home to the police when staff know that his whereabouts and activities are safe. This practice frustrates young people unnecessarily, impairs their relationships with staff and sometimes boils over into serious incidents of damage and harm in the home.

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and young people since the most recent full inspection

The manager who registered during 2018 left in January 2019. Before leaving, he helped the new manager, promoted from within the home, to learn about the role. The new manager enjoys the support of the staff team.

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and young people since the most recent full inspection

The manager has some sensible plans for developing the skills and input of staff. She encourages reflective practice. She welcomes advice from the organisation’s clinicians about how to use therapeutic care practice to help to meet young people’s underlying needs.

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and young people since the most recent full inspection

However, the manager does not review staff’s work with young people with enough skill to identify when practice needs to improve. For example, she does not review all behaviour incidents effectively. This means that not all sanctions and consequences Inspection report children’s home: SC359818 3 given to young people for their negative behaviour work well. Similarly, the manager does not evaluate records of missing incidents sufficiently thoroughly to identify when records do not show sufficient detail about staff’s actions.

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and young people since the most recent full inspection

The manager is not yet consulting well enough with young people to ascertain their thoughts and feelings. She is not yet acting on research and developments in relation to the ways in which the needs of young people are best met.

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

09/05/2018 Full Requires improvement to be good 02/01/2018 Full Requires improvement to be good 07/09/2017 Full Inadequate 22/02/2017 Interim Sustained effectiveness

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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 education standard is that children make measurable progress towards achieving their educational potential and are helped to do so.

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to ensure that staff understand the barriers to learning that each child may face and take appropriate action to help the child to overcome any such barriers. (Regulation 8 (1)(2)(a)(iii)) 20/04/2019

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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. 20/04/2019 Inspection report children’s home: SC359818 4 In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to understand the impact that the quality of care provided in the home is having on the progress and experiences of each child and use this understanding to inform the development of the quality of care provided in the home. (Regulation 13 (1)(a)(b)(2)(f)) 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.

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to demonstrate that practice in the home is informed and improved by taking into account and acting on research and developments in relation to the ways in which the needs of children are best met; and feedback on the experiences of children, including complaints received. (Regulation 13 (1)(a)(b)(2)(g)(i)(ii)) 20/04/2019

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Recommendations

 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 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.

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Recommendations

(‘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 children are clear about how staff will help them.  As the home will have a day to day understanding of young people’s capabilities and needs, children’s homes staff will have a valuable contribution to make to the pathway planning process. They should actively seek to make the fullest contribution, working with other relevant persons. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 17, paragraph 3.28) Inspection report children’s home: SC359818 5  Decisions about overnight stays with friends should be delegated to children’s homes staff by the placing authority for looked-after children. The level of delegated authority should be recorded in the placement plan. Where children

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Recommendations

wish to stay overnight with friends, staff should carry out the same kind of checks that responsible parents might make in similar circumstances to seek reassurance that the child will be well cared for and safe. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 38, paragraph 8.9)  The registered person should 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)  Records must be kept detailing all individual incidents when children go missing from the home (regulation 36 (schedule 3(14)). This information should be shared with the placing authority and, where appropriate, with the child’s parents. Evaluation of missing incidents should be undertaken to identify any

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Recommendations

gaps in training, skills or knowledge for staff or to record and retain evidence of what worked well. This evaluation should inform the review of the quality of care. (see paragraph 15.2) (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 45, paragraph 9.31)

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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

This inspection focused on the effectiveness of the home and the progress and experiences of children and young people since the most recent full inspection.

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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 6

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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 Childcare Limited, 4th Floor, Waterfront Manbre Wharf, Manbre Road, Hammersmith, London, Middlesex, W6 9RH

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Inspector

Rachel Britten, social care inspector Inspection report children’s home: SC359818 7 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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