Children's home run by Cambian Childcare Limited in Stockport

Inspection report children’s home: SC457434 1 SC457434 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

This home is owned and operated by a private company. It is registered to provide care and accommodation for one child or young person who has emotional and/or behavioural difficulties. The registered manager has been in post since 2017 and has a recognised qualification in leadership and management.

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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 good

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requires improvement to be good

The effectiveness of leaders and managers requires improvement to be good

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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: good

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requires improvement to be good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report children’s home: SC457434 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

26/06/2018 Full Good 08/08/2017 Full Outstanding 31/01/2017 Interim Improved effectiveness 02/06/2016 Full Outstanding Inspection report children’s home: SC457434 3

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improvement to be good

Children and young people have experienced difficulties when living in this home. Some have had involvement with the police for the first time. Others have had increasing mental health problems. Members of staff have been unable to influence the outcomes for children and young people in their care, despite their best intentions.

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improvement to be good

The progress of children and young people has been affected by being placed from out of the area. Too often, social workers and other professionals have not prioritised the needs of those children and young people. Staff have been unable to challenge this shortfall and as a result the needs of children and young people have been overlooked.

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improvement to be good

Children and young people are often placed at this home in an emergency. Placements have ended early because of difficulties that staff have been unable to manage. These unplanned transitions affect the ability of children and young people to form and maintain positive relationships. This has a negative effect on their self-esteem.

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improvement to be good

Some children and young people have not had their educational needs met. Their learning has been affected and they lack structure to their day. As a result, their behaviour has deteriorated as they have not been able to follow a routine.

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improvement to be good

Members of staff encourage children and young people to engage in activities, in and out of the home. Children and young people enjoy these activities. They will recall them positively when they reflect on their time in this home.

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improvement to be good

Members of staff have supported children and young people to explore key aspects of their identities. Members of staff attended training to improve their knowledge and skills. Children and young people do not feel judged, which is important for their confidence and self-esteem.

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improvement to be good

The views of children and young people are sought and where possible acted upon. This includes their preferences for menus, activities and holidays. Members of staff try to work with children and young people to address difficulties. Children and young people learn that their views are important, and they have the capacity to influence their world.

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

Children and young people rarely go missing from this home. For one child, this is evidence of progress. When children or young people are missing, members of staff followed local protocols closely, including searching the local community.

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

Members of staff understand safeguarding risks for children and young people. Risk assessments are pertinent and appropriately reviewed. Staff ensure that the home is a Inspection report children’s home: SC457434 4 safe place for children and young people. When required, they search the home and remove items that present a risk. Children and young people know their carers want to protect them and keep them safe.

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

Children and young people do not misuse substances, or engage in criminal activity or antisocial behaviour. Members of staff understand the risks that children and young people could face from criminal and sexual exploitation. The children and young people in this home are generally safe because of the knowledge and actions of their carers.

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

Members of staff struggle to place appropriate boundaries around children and young people who present with challenging behaviour. Children and young people do not experience their carers as being confident. This leads to increasing and more significant problems. Children and young people risk involvement with youth justice as a result. A requirement was made at the last inspection but was not fully addressed and this has been repeated.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

Children and young people are routinely admitted to the home based on incomplete information. Their complex needs are unclear, and staff are unable to provide the level of care required. Placements have ended early as a result. A recommendation is made that the registered manager improves the processes around admissions to the home.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

Leaders and managers are not exacting enough in their expectations of other professionals. The registered manager does not appropriately escalate concerns about poor responses. Children and young people have missed out on a school placement and health support because of a lack of challenge. A requirement is made.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

The registered manager has not provided members of staff with the skills to understand and respond to challenging behaviour. Members of staff have training on trauma and attachment as part of their induction, but this is not subsequently updated. As a result, members of staff react to children and young people who are in crisis in a way that does not reflect their needs. A recommendation is made.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

The registered manager has not sought adequate feedback from a range of people, including children and young people. The quality of care provided to children and young people is not well evaluated. The registered manager has not understood emerging patterns and addressed potential difficulties. As a result, the same issues have been repeated for a number of children and young people. A requirement is made.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

The statement of purpose does not reflect the care provided at the home. It has not been updated appropriately. Because of this, children and young people have been placed in a home that is not equipped to meet their needs. A requirement is made.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

Members of staff, including the registered manager, are appropriately qualified. There is a low turnover of staff, and agency workers are not used. Holiday and sickness cover is provided by existing staff, or occasionally, from other homes in the company. Children Inspection report children’s home: SC457434 5 and young people know their carers well and can build positive relationships with them.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

The registered manager accepts the shortfalls in the provision of care to children and young people and is committed to making improvements immediately.

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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

In meeting the quality standards, the registered person must, and must ensure that staff— seek to involve each child’s placing authority effectively in the child’s care, in accordance with the child’s relevant plans; seek to secure the input and services required to meet each child’s needs; if the registered person considers, or staff consider, a placing authority’s or a relevant person’s performance or response to be inadequate in relation to their role, challenge the placing authority or the relevant person to seek to ensure that each child’s needs are met in accordance with the child’s relevant plans; and seek to develop and maintain effective professional relationships with such persons, bodies or organisations as the registered person considers appropriate having regard to the range of needs of children for whom it is intended that the children’s home is to provide care and accommodation. (Regulation 5

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Requirement Due date

(a)(b)(c)(d)) In particular, the registered person must ensure that local authority social workers, health and education representatives, fulfil their responsibilities towards children and young people. Where this does not happen, the registered person must escalate concerns. 30/06/2019

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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— 30/06/2019 Inspection report children’s home: SC457434 6 that staff— meet each child’s behavioural and emotional needs, as set out in the child’s relevant plans; help each child to develop socially aware behaviour; encourage each child to take responsibility for the child’s behaviour, in accordance with the child’s age and understanding; help each child to develop and practise skills to resolve conflicts positively and without harm to anyone; communicate to each child expectations about the child’s behaviour and ensure that the child understands those expectations in accordance with the child’s age and

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Requirement Due date

understanding; 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 how those relationships can be supportive or harmful; help each child to develop the understanding and skills to recognise or withdraw from a damaging, exploitative or harmful relationship; strive to gain each child’s respect and trust; understand how children’s previous experiences and present emotions can be communicated through behaviour and have the competence and skills to interpret these and develop positive relationships with children; are provided with supervision and support to enable them to understand and manage their own feelings and responses to the behaviour and emotions of children, and to help children to do the same; de-escalate confrontations with or between children, or potentially violent behaviour by children; understand and communicate to children that bullying is

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Requirement Due date

unacceptable; and have the skills to recognise incidents or indications of bullying and how to deal with them. (Regulation 11(1)(a)(b)(c)(2)(a)(i)(ii)(iii)(iv)(v)(vi)(vii)(viii)(ix)(x)(xi)(xii) (xiii)) The registered person must— keep the statement of purpose under review and, where appropriate, revise it; and notify HMCI of any revisions and send HMCI a copy of the revised statement within 28 days of the revision. (Regulation 16(3)(a)(b)) 31/05/2019

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must complete a review of the quality of 31/05/2019 Inspection report children’s home: SC457434 7 care provided for children (‘a quality of care review’) at least once every 6 months. In order to complete a quality of care review the registered person must establish and maintain a system for monitoring, reviewing and evaluating— the quality of care provided for children; 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 children. The system referred to in paragraph (2) must provide for ascertaining and considering the opinions of children, their parents, placing authorities and staff. (Regulation 45(1)(2)(a)(b)(c)(5))

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Recommendations

 The registered person must challenge (under regulation 5(c)) any placing authority who asks them to accept a child in the absence of a complete and current relevant plan, as the expectation that a placement of a child without the necessary information would go ahead (in circumstances other than an emergency) is inadequate in relation to their role. It is essential that homes understand what will be required of them before they accept responsibility for a child’s placement, to avoid disruption and instability for the child in future and for other children in the home. For non-looked-after children, the home should ensure they have sufficient information from the child’s ‘placing authority’ (usually their parents/carers) and other relevant agencies to effectively assess whether they can meet the child’s needs before agreeing to the placement. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 56, paragraph

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Recommendations

11.5)  The relevant plan may include a strategy for a particular type of care, treatment or intervention (for example therapy relating to neglect or abuse). The care staff will need to understand the purpose of any such care and the way in which the past experiences of abuse or neglect may manifest itself in the day to day life of the child. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 16, paragraph 3.15) In particular, any training undertaken should be updated so that members of staff can continue to provide care that meets the needs of children and 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 Inspection report children’s home: SC457434 8 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: SC457434 9

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Cambian Childcare Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: 4th Floor, Waterfront Manbre Wharf, Manbre Road, Hammersmith, London W6 9RH

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Inspector

Jane Titley, social care inspector Inspection report children’s home: SC457434 10 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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