Children's Home run by Cumbria County Council in Westmorland and Furness

Inspection report children’s home: SC034158 1 SC034158 Registered provider: Cumbria County Council

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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 owned and run by a local authority. The home provides short- break accommodation for children and young people who have emotional and/or behavioural difficulties. The service has two main functions. The first is to provide short-term intensive outreach work within the community. The second is to provide short-break care. The home can accommodate up to four children or young people on a short break. Currently, 41 children and young people access the short-break service. The manager, who also is qualified and registered for another home of this type, has been in post and registered since August 2017.

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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 good

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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: 11 January 2019 Overall judgement at last inspection: outstanding Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report children’s home: SC034158 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

11/01/2019 Full Outstanding 19/01/2018 Full Outstanding 16/03/2017 Interim Declined in effectiveness 16/12/2016 Full Outstanding Inspection report children’s home: SC034158 3

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Recommendations

 For the children’s home to be a homely environment, the registered person should ensure that high standards are maintained throughout the home. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 15, paragraph 3.9) This specifically applies to the children’s bathing and showering facilities.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

Children’s lives are significantly improved because of their involvement with this short- break home and the outreach support that staff can provide. Children enjoy weekend and school-holiday breaks at the home, where they spend valued time with staff and peers. This also provides families, often parents and siblings, necessary time to reflect on the issues that are negatively affecting the quality of relationships at home or in school. Short-break and outreach support planning is highly effective. Staff plan and work in close co-operation with children, their families and a wide range of professionals that are also involved with children and their families. This approach ensures that children and their families receive the specific and targeted support that they require to strengthen and sustain positive and effective family relationships. It also ensures that children and their families feel appropriately included and involved in resolving those issues that have

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

been of concern. Children share extremely positive and meaningful relationships with staff. They are frequently consulted and encouraged by staff to express their views and wishes. As such, staff have a sound knowledge and understanding of the children that they care for, and children feel respected, knowing that their views matter. Over time, children become more resilient, grow in self-esteem and confidence. Staff are committed to ensuring that children have fun and enjoyable experiences while at the short-break home. Children are encouraged to express their activity preferences and for these to be included during their short breaks. For example, this includes activities such as their participation in creative artwork, trips out canoeing, cycling or hill walking. These activities give children and staff great opportunities to bond and develop their relationships. This clearly helps facilitate the ongoing outreach work with children

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

and their families in the community. The staff team’s commitment to promote and enhance children’s positive family relationships is a real strength of the home. Staff have an excellent track record of keeping those children at risk of coming into care at home with their parents. Inspection report children’s home: SC034158 4 Additionally, they have also shown considerable success in supporting children who have been in care to return to live with family members. Although the responsibility for children’s health and education remains solely with their parents, staff are proactive in supporting both. For one child, this support resulted in a return to full-time education after a considerable and lengthy absence. Staff ensure that children have the information that they need to maintain good health and well-being. This includes activities such as providing advice and guidance about maintaining good sexual health, and raising awareness about the dangers of misusing

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

substances and alcohol. Children are also encouraged to learn about the benefit of exercise and healthy eating. During short breaks, staff encourage children to take part in the preparation and cooking of meals as well as some baking. This provides children with good opportunities to learn some skills that will help them become more independent. Families consistently provided extremely positive feedback about the short-break home and the service that staff provide, not only to children but the whole family. One parent commented, ‘Staff are amazing, I can’t fault them. They were really supportive and went over and above. The service is out of this world for any family. I have told [staff name] that I will be lost without them.’

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

Excellent safeguarding practice ensures that children and young people are not only helped and protected during their short breaks at the home, but also in the community between their short-break visits. Consequently, children have a strong sense of safety and well-being. Staff have a thorough understanding of children’s risks and vulnerabilities and they are proactive in reducing these. Children are included in the planning and risk management process. This ensures that they are invested in this and have a good understanding of how they can minimise risks. This shared understanding is valuable in helping children to know how to keep themselves safe. The excellent quality of relationships that children share with staff is a key factor that influences children’s behaviour. Staff are extremely supportive, consistent and fair, and children respond positively to this. Staff ensure that children know what is expected of

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

them while at the home, and use frequent praise and occasional rewards to reinforce positive behaviour. One parent said, ‘Staff are excellent and [child’s name] has appreciated his time at the home. We appreciated the service and are grateful for it. He has really gelled with other children. Initially, I thought staff were rewarding bad behaviour by giving incentives. However, I understand it much better now.’ The use of physical intervention is extremely low. Children really enjoy coming to the home and so rarely engage in challenging or destructive behaviour. However, the staff team is well trained and proficient in identifying and de-escalating early signs of challenging behaviour. Additionally, the home reported that there have been no incidents of children going missing from the home that would compromise children’s safety. Inspection report children’s home: SC034158 5 The home offers a safe and comfortable environment where children can be themselves,

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

have fun and time out to safely explore family relationships and those issues that have become problematic in their lives. Families benefit from practical support and guidance with their parenting. The combination of short-break care for children and outreach work with children and their families is highly effective in preventing children coming into care and helping others to safely return to the families.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The home is effectively led and managed by an experienced registered manager who is supported by two assistant managers, who help with the home’s day-to-day management. The manager has responsibility for a similar short-break home that was recently registered by Ofsted. That home is also managed with the support of another three assistant managers. The registered manager successfully divides her time between the two homes to ensure that both run smoothly and provide the care and support that children and young people require. So far, this arrangement appears to be working well. The registered manager encourages staff to engage in a reflective practice approach to sustain and progress young people’s experience with the service. Staff successfully engage with this approach and use opportunities during regular staff team meetings and handover meetings to share ideas, develop and refine strategies to optimise their

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

success in working with young people. Staff feel well supported in their roles and say they enjoy the work that they do. Regular professional supervision, frequent team meetings and good access to the local authority’s training opportunities ensure that staff have excellent opportunities for support and for promoting their personal development. Since the last full inspection, the manager has dealt with the recommendations made. The system for notifying Ofsted of serious incidents has been strengthened and improvements have been identified in supervision practice and recording. Although there has been some redecoration around the home and more soft furnishings added to make the children’s home a homelier environment, children’s bathing and showering facilities have still not been upgraded to match the high standard throughout the rest of the home. Because of this, one recommendation has been repeated.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Internal and external monitoring arrangements are well established and robust. Reports are regularly received by Ofsted from the home’s independent person. The manager also provides Ofsted with her six-monthly quality of care review reports that successfully evaluate the home’s practice and performance. This regular scrutiny of practice and the home positively informs the continuous development of the home.

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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. Inspection report children’s home: SC034158 6 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: SC034158 7

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Cumbria County Council, Cumbria House, 117 Botchergate, Carlisle, Cumbria CA1 1RD

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Inspector

Gillian Walters, social care inspector Inspection report children’s home: SC034158 8 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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