Children's Home run by Cambian Childcare Limited in Birmingham

Inspection report children‘s home: SC424851 1 SC424851 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 up to six young people. The home provides placements for young people who may have faced adverse childhood experiences, trauma, placement and family breakdown. The registered manager has worked in her role since October 2018. She is appropriately experienced for the role and is completing her level 5 qualification.

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Information about this children’s home

Inspection dates: 17 to 18 September 2019

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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 requires improvement to be 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: SC424851 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

08/08/2018 Full Good 03/10/2017 Full Good 09/03/2017 Interim Sustained effectiveness 18/10/2016 Full Good Inspection report children‘s home: SC424851 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 quality and purpose of care standard is that children receive care from staff who understand the children‘s home‘s overall aims and the outcomes it seeks to achieve for children; use this understanding to deliver care that meets children‘s needs and supports them to fulfil their potential. In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to— help each child to develop resilience and skills that prepare the child to return home, to live in a new placement or to live independently as an adult. (Regulation 6 (1)(a)(b)(2)(vi)) 30/11/2019

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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. In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to ensure that staff help each child to achieve the child‘s education and training targets, as recorded in the child‘s relevant plans. (Regulation 8 (1)(2)(a)) 30/11/2019

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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. In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to ensure that staff take effective action whenever there is a serious concern about a child‘s welfare; and are familiar with, and act in accordance with, the home‘s child protection policies. (Regulation 12 (1)(2)(a)(vi)(vii)) 30/11/2019

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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. In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to— lead and manage the home in a way that is consistent with the approach and ethos, and delivers the outcomes, set out in the home‘s statement of purpose; and 30/11/2019 Inspection report children‘s home: SC424851 4 ensure that staff have the experience, qualifications and skills to meet the needs of each child. (Regulation 13 (1)(a)(b)(2)(a)(c)) The care planning standard is that children receive effectively planned care in or through the children‘s home; and have a positive experience of arriving at or moving on from the home. (Regulation 14 (1)(a)(b)) 30/11/2019

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that within 24 hours of the use of a measure of control, discipline or restraint in relation to a child in the home, a record is made which includes— the effectiveness and any consequences of the use of the measure; and within 48 hours of the use of the measure, the registered person, or a person who is authorised by the registered person to do so (―the authorised person‖) has spoken to the user about the measure; and has signed the record to confirm it is accurate; and within 5 days of the use of the measure, the registered person or the authorised person adds to the record confirmation that they have spoken to the child about the measure. (Regulation 35 (3)(a)(vii)(b)(i)(ii)(c)) 30/11/2019

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Recommendations

 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 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. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 46, paragraph 9.31)  The registered person should actively seek independent scrutiny of the home and make best use of information from independent and internal monitoring (including under Regulations 44 and 45) to ensure continuous improvement. They should be skilled in anticipating difficulties and reviewing incidents, such as learning from disruptions and placement breakdowns. They are responsible for

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Recommendations

proactively implementing lessons learned and sustaining good practice. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 55, paragraph 10.24)  Homes set up for emergency placements as indicated and detailed in their Statement of Purpose will require sufficient staff trained and skilled in the admission and care of children, where their full background may not be known. Inspection report children‘s home: SC424851 5 (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 57, paragraph 11.6)  As set out in Regulations 31–33, the registered person is responsible for 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)  The registered person must have systems in place so that all staff, including the

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Recommendations

manager, receive supervision of their practice from an appropriately qualified and experienced professional, which allows them to reflect on their practice and the needs of the children assigned to their care. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 61, paragraph 13.2)

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improvement to be good

A significant number of young people have moved into and out of the home since the last inspection. The registered manager does not ensure that all young people move into the home in a well-planned way. Arrangements do not always consider the support that young people may require, their wide-ranging needs or the different situations that they come from. Many young people move in quickly in an emergency. These moves are not always well considered, nor is the potential impact on young people already living in the home. The home’s statement of purpose is not clear about how young people are to be admitted in an emergency situation and staff are not trained or skilled in how to support them in these circumstances. This has an impact on the quality of care that young people receive. Some young people have had to leave the home quickly as staff could not meet their needs.

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improvement to be good

Staff support young people to attend their health appointments and encourage them to eat healthily. However, staff have not completed training in important topics that affect young people. For example, not all staff have completed training relating to self-harm, autism or ligature use. Consequently, some staff may lack confidence in these areas.

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improvement to be good

Young people’s educational progress is varied. Most of the young people currently living at the home attend school or college and are making progress. However, a significant number of young people who have left did not attend school while living at the home. This did not help them to make academic progress.

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improvement to be good

Not all areas of the home are pleasant and well maintained. Some areas are homely but others require cleaning, repairing and redecorating. For example, several old mattresses have been left in the garden and have not been collected. This does not create an environment that young people can be proud of. Inspection report children‘s home: SC424851 6 Staff do not consistently support young people to learn new independence skills. Although some young people make progress, staff do not identify goals for young people or plan how to help young people to develop the skills that they will need when they leave the home.

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improvement to be good

Most young people enjoy good relationships with staff. They talk positively about different staff members, especially their key workers, highlighting how they have supported them. Staff help young people to keep in touch with their friends and family when this is appropriate. This helps young people to develop positive relationships with people who will be part of their lives after they leave the home.

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improvement to be good

Staff listen to young people and respond to complaints or concerns when these are raised. Consequently, young people feel that their views are important.

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improvement to be good

The vast majority of restraints that staff use are appropriate and recorded well. However, the registered manager did not report one incident when restraint was used inappropriately to the designated officer in the local authority. Although the young person‘s social worker was informed, this omission was not in line with the home‘s safeguarding policy and could have had a detrimental impact on the oversight that the incident received.

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improvement to be good

Staff sometimes use sanctions in response to young people‘s negative behaviour. However, these are not consistently well used, nor is their effectiveness analysed. Consequently, some are repeated numerous times even if they have little/no positive impact. Some records of the sanctions used lack detail and managers sometimes take too long to review them, with delays of more than 10 days in some circumstances. This does not help staff to provide consistent and effective support when responding to young people‘s behaviour.

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improvement to be good

Staff take some action to ensure that young people are safe if they go missing. They try to contact young people and encourage them to return quickly, examining the reasons for the absence on their return. This helps young people to think about their behaviour and the risks that they may face. However, some records of these incidents lack clarity. Furthermore, on one occasion, staff did not collect a young person when he was arrested and taken to a police station. This meant that the young person had to stay in the police station overnight.

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improvement to be good

The registered manager ensures that the majority of staff recruitment checks are completed well. However, a reference for one member of staff is very basic, giving only dates of employment. The registered manager has not challenged this or made any further enquiries. Another staff file showed that a small, unexplained gap in their employment history had been overlooked. Managers responded well to these shortfalls once identified by the inspector and quickly took action to start to address them. Inspection report children‘s home: SC424851 7 Staff respond well to any incidents of bullying through either individual or group discussions. This helps young people to understand the effect that their behaviours have on others.

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improvement to be good

Managers and staff generally respond to safeguarding concerns appropriately. The registered manager engages well with other professionals in response to incidents. As a result, young people are supported, and work is undertaken with them to help them to consider how they can keep themselves safer.

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

The registered manager‘s monitoring and review systems are of variable quality. Although she is aware of some of the strengths and areas of improvement for the service, the annual development plan is not sufficiently detailed. Furthermore, the registered manager does not always scrutinise important incidents or issues, nor does she consistently identify learning when young people‘s placements fail.

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

Managers support staff through annual appraisals and supervisions. However, these meetings do not consistently include discussions about young people. This reduces their effectiveness. The registered manager ensures that staff receive training from the police about ‗Prevent‘. Although this is very positive, not all staff have received training in other important topics, including gangs, going missing and county lines.

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

Relationships between managers, staff, other professionals and young people‘s families are good. Social workers are positive about the information that they receive from the home and the commitment that staff show to young people. This joint working and clear communication help young people to receive consistent care.

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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: SC424851 8

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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

Andrew Hewston: social care inspector Inspection report children‘s home: SC424851 9 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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