Children's Home run by Cambian Childcare Limited in Manchester

Inspection report children’s home: SC043972 1 SC043972 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 children’s home is one of a number of children’s homes run by a large private organisation. It is registered to offer care and accommodation for up to five young people who may have emotional and/or behavioural difficulties. The manager was registered by Ofsted in May 2019 . The manager is also registered to manage another of the organisation’s homes.

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Information about this children’s home

Inspection dates: 23 to 24 September 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: sustained effectiveness

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report children’s home: SC043972 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

12/03/2019 Interim Sustained effectiveness 22/05/2018 Full Requires improvement to be good 29/11/2017 Full Good 24/03/2017 Interim Sustained effectiveness Inspection report children’s home: SC043972 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 protection of children standard is that children are protected from harm and enabled to keep themselves safe.

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to ensure–

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Requirement Due date

that the premises used for the purposes of the home are designed, furnished and maintained so as to protect each child from avoidable hazards to the child’s health. (Regulation 12(1), (2)(d))

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Requirement Due date

This is with particular reference to the kitchen and front gates. 31/12/2019

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Recommendations

 For children’s homes to be nurturing and supportive environments that meet the needs of their children, they will, in most cases, be homely, domestic environments. (‘Guide to the children’s home regulations including the quality standards’, page 15, paragraph 3.9) This is with particular reference to young people’s bedrooms.  When a child returns to the home after being missing from care or away from the home without permission, the responsible local authority must provide an opportunity for the child to have an independent return home interview. Homes should take account of information provided by such interviews when assessing risks and putting arrangements in place to protect each child. (‘Guide to the children’s home regulations including the quality standards’, page 45, paragraph 9.30)  The registered person should ensure that they and their staff engage proactively with the placing authority to contribute fully to the relevant plans for the child’s

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Recommendations

care on an ongoing basis. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 56, paragraph 11.3) In particular, the registered manager should obtain from the placing authority completed delegated authority agreements and care plans.  Staff should be familiar with the home’s policies on record keeping and understand the importance of clear and objective recording. Staff should record Inspection report children’s home: SC043972 4 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 which is helpful to the child. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 62, paragraph 14.4) Specifically, this is in relation to the recording of the purpose of one-to-one sessions.  The home’s records on each child represent a significant contribution to their life

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Recommendations

history. Children and their parents should be supported to understand the nature of records kept by the home and how to access them. Staff should understand their role in encouraging the child to reflect on and understand their history according to their age and understanding. Staff should keep and encourage children to keep appropriate memorabilia of the time spent living at the home and help them record significant life events. (‘Guide to the children’s home regulations including the quality standards’, page 62, paragraph 14.5) Inspection report children’s home: SC043972 5

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Young people of dissimilar cultural heritages and differing childhood experiences receive a good quality of individual care which helps them to make progress in all areas of their lives.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The views of young people who feel ready to move on from the home are listened to. Young people are supported to have their say and contribute to their care planning. Young people are, on the whole, able to move on at a pace which suits them.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Where endings are unplanned, young people are helped to understand the reasons for the decisions that have been made. Young people are supported in their move to new settings. One parent told the inspector: ‘When my child left, they really helped us. They didn’t stop caring about him after he had gone.’

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Young people are actively encouraged to participate in education. There are good links to virtual school teams and education providers to make sure that young people are receiving the education that meets their needs. The home advocates for young people when the appropriate provision is not in place. Young people know that the home has high aspirations for them. This, in turn, helps them to believe in themselves.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Young people have the opportunity to take part in a variety of community activities. These contribute to healthier lifestyles. Young people have contributed to the local community through their involvement in a bike repair scheme organised by the local police. The police community support officer (PCSO) told the inspector how the young people’s confidence and self-esteem had visibly grown through their involvement in the project.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Young people who have experienced significant trauma have the specialist support that they need to address their emotional health needs. Good communication between the home and therapeutic services means that all adults involved with the young person can work together to provide consistent care and support.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Young people are not provided with clear ways to collate and understand the experiences that they have and the progress that they make in the home. The need for the home to contribute to young people’s understanding of their life stories has been recognised by the registered manager. There has been delay in making progress with this. This work is important to enable young people to gain a sense of their history as they move into adulthood.

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

Young people have positive and trusting relationships with staff in the home. It is clear from the interactions seen between young people and staff that young people are able to talk to staff about important issues. This is also evidenced in the written records kept Inspection report children’s home: SC043972 6 in the home and the feedback from young people, parents and professionals. Risks to young people are quickly identified and acted upon. Staff understand their role in the wider safeguarding network. Staff contribute well to risk assessments and help to formulate plans to reduce risk. Young people are encouraged to take age-appropriate risks. This helps them to develop independence skills and build self-confidence.

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

Young people who go missing from care receive a robust response from the home. There are good links with the local authority and the police. Not all young people are provided with independent return-home interviews from their local authorities. This is not pursued actively enough by the home. Young people are therefore missing out on the opportunity to have this external, independent support.

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

Young people are rarely physically restrained. The staff understand what they need to do to de-escalate negative behaviours. This promotes a positive and non-confrontational culture. This, in turn, helps young people to develop their own ways of managing conflict in a more constructive manner.

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

The home has excellent working relationships with the police. The local PCSO came to the home to meet with the inspector. He spoke about the positive contribution made by staff and young people to the community.

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

The home is situated in a diverse, multicultural community. This helps young people from differing ethnic and cultural backgrounds to develop a sense of belonging. It also helps to promote tolerance and acceptance among young people of all backgrounds towards each other.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The home is led by an experienced registered manager. He has been registered by Ofsted since May 2019, having moved from another registered manager role within the organisation. The registered manager has provided the home with the stability and consistency which had been lacking prior to his arrival. He has a good understanding of the strengths of the home and the areas where further developments are required.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager is supported in his management of the home by a deputy manager and team leader. Although relatively new to these roles, the deputy manager and team leader both provide a good quality of support and oversight to the staff team. They communicate well with external agencies. They have the skills and knowledge to manage the day-to-day running of the home in the absence of the registered manager.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Young people now benefit from a stable staff team after a period of staffing changes. Where additional staffing is needed for a shift, this is usually covered by the staff team or by a small pool of bank staff. This means that young people are being cared for by staff whom they know and who know them.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Young people’s case records are generally comprehensive and contain relevant information. In some instances, not all local authority plans and documents had been Inspection report children’s home: SC043972 7 provided. This means that staff do not have all the information that they may need to plan effectively for the care of young people. To date, the impact on young people has been minimal.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

One-to-one work with young people is of a good quality and, for the most part, is recorded well. Some records do not use language which is accessible to young people. As a result, young people are not always supported to understand and contribute to their case records.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Improvements have been made to the environment of the home. Young people have a living room and separate games room, both of which are well furnished and provide young people with pleasant communal spaces to socialise and relax. Young people’s bedrooms are not homely or welcoming. They do not provide young people with personalised rooms which reflect their character and taste.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The home is generally clean and tidy. There has been delay in fitting the new kitchen. The registered manager has requested a gate to the front of the property to provide additional security. The registered manager has been proactive in addressing with the organisation’s senior managers the delays in progressing these improvements. Inspection report children’s home: SC043972 8

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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 difference 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: SC043972 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: Metropolitan House, 3 Drakes Road, Potters Bar EN6 1AG

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Inspector

Dawn Parton, social care inspector Inspection report children’s home: SC043972 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 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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