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

Inspection report children’s home: SC064557 1 SC064557 Registered provider: 4d Care Limited 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. The organisation provides education facilities on site.

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Overall experiences and progress of

children and young people, taking into account

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outstanding

How well children and young people are helped and protected outstanding

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outstanding

The effectiveness of leaders and managers outstanding

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outstanding

The children’s home provides highly effective services that consistently exceed the standards of good. The actions of the children’s home contribute to significantly improved outcomes and positive experiences for children and young people who need help, protection and care.

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outstanding

Date of last inspection: 25 February 2019

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outstanding

Overall judgement at last inspection: good

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outstanding

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report children’s home: SC064557 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

25/02/2019 Full Good 11/07/2017 Full Outstanding 02/02/2017 Interim Sustained effectiveness 28/06/2016 Full Good Inspection report children’s home: SC064557 3

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outstanding

Children benefit from exceptional experiences that have a profound and life- changing impact. Staff, the children and external professionals recognise that living at the home has an overwhelmingly positive impact on the children. The children benefit greatly from the warm, nurturing and family-style environment. The excellent-quality care results in significant change and improvement.

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outstanding

The number of incidents of children going missing, being criminalised and engaging in dangerous and destructive behaviours has reduced. Children who had not attended education for some time before moving to the home now attend school regularly and work towards GCSEs. Children who are not yet ready to work towards GCSEs undertake qualifications that are achievable and tailored specifically to their ability.

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outstanding

Managers give meticulous consideration to the children who move into the home. This ensures that the group dynamics are positive. The staff exhaust all avenues to support the children, and they do not give up on them when difficulties arise. This leads to children staying at the home for a long time. As a result, children gain a sense of permanence and belonging. This sense of belonging is so strong for some children that when they leave the home they choose to live locally, continuing to engage in education, work and social networks that were initially established at the home. This immensely positive impact of the home is far reaching and enduring.

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outstanding

Children at this home feel loved. Staff understand the importance of displaying love and affection to children. One child said, ‘He [the staff member] is like a father to me.’ Another child used the home’s suggestion box to make a request ‘to go on some good trips with staff’, who he knows as ‘family’.

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outstanding

The highly skilled team receives excellent support and guidance from the management, a consultant psychologist and an in-house psychotherapist. The home has a fully embedded therapy model that all the staff are trained in. The care and children’s records are underpinned by research-led practice to improve outcomes for children.

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outstanding

The staff have worked innovatively with families to engage them in safely assessed family time. Staff find creative ways to improve the quality of the time that the children spend with their families. Staff understand the significance of strengthened family relationships and go above and beyond expectations to repair and maintain positive relationships with the people in children’s lives who matter to them most.

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outstanding

Recreational programmes are underpinned by clear therapeutic methodology. Staff and children work towards common goals through play and curiosity. This child- centred approach is at the very core of the home and has a distinct positive impact on children. The staff encourage the children outside of their comfort zones to Inspection report children’s home: SC064557 4 explore experiences that they never would have been able to prior to living at the home. This increases the children’s self-esteem, self-worth and confidence. The staff and children participate in challenges together, both in the United Kingdom and abroad. These include community activities such as yard sales, climbing mountains in Wales and trips to Poland. The experiences available to children at this home are exceptional.

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outstanding

Highly effective planning manages and minimises risks inside and outside the home. Creative safeguarding practice means that the children have a strong sense of safety. Psychodynamic therapy, pet therapy, play and art therapy all contribute to the children’s experiences and help them to understand their feelings, manage their emotions and distract them from self-harmful behaviours.

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outstanding

Staff take measured risks to improve the children’s outcomes. Staff work collaboratively with child and adolescent mental health services to support children who have specific harmful behaviours. This support has made a significant difference to one child, who has historically required annual admission to hospital. The child has not recently required hospital admission, which is a clear indicator of progress. The intensive support provided by the staff has directly improved the child’s sense of well-being.

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outstanding

Children do not go missing from the home on a regular basis, but when they do, the staff work proactively to ensure their safe return. Restraint is used infrequently. When it is required, it is used reasonably and proportionately. Staff use de-escalation skilfully and have the required training to manage challenging behaviours well.

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outstanding

The staff engage exceptionally well with external professionals to improve their understanding of behaviour and risk. The staff have recently attended workshops about sexual health and diversity. The staff are members of a bullying intervention group. The children said that bullying does not take place at their home.

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outstanding

Children feel able to discuss sensitive matters with the staff, such as sexual identity and previous traumatic events that they have experienced. This demonstrates the depth of trust that the children have in the staff.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

A creative, innovative and experienced manager confidently leads the staff to provide excellent-quality care to the children. The manager holds a level 4 qualification in leadership and management in health and social care.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

Leaders and managers are inspirational, confident and ambitious for the children. Despite the high-quality practice and impressive outcomes for the children, the management team readily reflects and considers how further improvements can be made. Inspection report children’s home: SC064557 5 Leaders and managers have arranged for the children to engage in a social enterprise initiative, growing their own produce and selling it to the local community. Engagement in such initiatives gives the children a sense of purpose, helps to prepare them for their transition to adulthood and increases their employability.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

Leaders and managers find opportunities to effect positive change in unexpected ways. Annually, the home hosts an achievers’ day. Rewards and trophies are given to the children for progress made across the year. One award is named in memory of a deceased staff member. There are pictures of this staff member at the home and her name is among others that are painted on a family tree. Leaders and managers understand the importance of discussing bereavement and loss and use what is a difficult circumstance to help the children with their own feelings of loss and disrupted attachment. Leaders and managers see the opportunity, not the challenge.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

Leaders and managers create a culture of high aspiration. The responsible individual and director are well known to the children and visit the home frequently. The staff respect the manager and spoke highly of the support that he extends to them.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

The managers and staff work way beyond the scope of their obligations to provide additional support, such as outreach to children who have left the home and enhanced support for children and their families. Leaders and managers truly understand the importance of significant people in the children’s lives. They also understand their own significance to the children they have cared for. Therefore, they continue to nurture these relationships beyond the usual scope of a children’s home. Inspection report children’s home: SC064557 6

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Information about this inspection

Inspectors have looked closely at the experiences and progress of children and young people, 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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Inspector

Lianne Bradford, Social Care Inspector Inspection report children’s home: SC064557 8 to 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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