Children's Home run by Cambian Childcare Limited in Devon

Assurance visit report: SC458352 1 SC458352

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Information about this children’s home

This children’s home provides care and accommodation for up to three children or young people who have complex care needs. It is operated by a private national company.

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Information about this children’s home

Following the monitoring visit, which took place on 3 July 2020, the manager overseeing the home at the time of the inspection has left and a new permanent manager has been in place since 1 August 2020.

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Information about this children’s home

Previous inspection date: 4 December 2019

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Information about this visit

Due to COVID-19 (coronavirus), Ofsted suspended all routine inspections in March 2020. As part of a phased return to routine inspection, we are undertaking assurance visits to children’s social care services that are inspected under the social care common inspection framework (SCCIF).

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Information about this visit

At these visits, inspectors evaluate the extent to which:

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Information about this visit

 children are well cared for  children are safe  leaders and managers are exercising strong leadership. This visit was carried out under the Care Standards Act 2000, following the published guidance for assurance visits.

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Information about this visit

Her Majesty’s Chief Inspector of Education, Children’s Services and Skills is leading Ofsted’s work into how England’s social care system has delivered child-centred practice and care within the context of the restrictions placed on society during the COVID-19 pandemic.

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Information about this visit

A monitoring visit was undertaken in July 2020. Three requirements were raised as a result of the findings from that visit. Assurance visit report: SC458352 2

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Findings from the visit

We did not identify any serious or widespread concerns in relation to the care or protection of children at this assurance visit.

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The care of children

Young people benefit from having trusting and positive relationships with staff who work in the home. These positive relationships are helping one young person in particular to talk about their feelings and to engage in a therapeutic assessment. Young people told inspectors that since the monitoring visit, the atmosphere is calmer; they appeared happy and relaxed during the assurance visit. The new manager has purchased soft furnishings to support children to relax and unwind in the evenings.

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The care of children

Documents, such as care plans and missing procedures, require further development to ensure staff can consistently provide personalised care to meet the needs of young people.

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The care of children

Some young people require support from staff to ensure that their bedrooms are clean, tidy and well maintained. Although young people are now accepting this support from staff, one young person’s bedroom had dirty plates, old food and rubbish on the floor. Another young person does not have a lampshade in their bedroom and damage to a wall, identified at the monitoring visit, has not been fully repaired swiftly.

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The care of children

Although some improvement can be seen, a requirement made at the monitoring visit has not been met. Young people still do not benefit from clear routines, structure and boundaries. Young people told inspectors that they rarely eat together at the dining room table and instead, eat meals in their bedrooms. In addition, one young person does not have a clear plan in place for what they should be doing during the day while a post 16 education provision is secured.

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The safety of children

Incidents have decreased in regularity and severity. The manager is supporting the staff team with training in therapeutic parenting. Consequently, the young people are feeling more settled and staff are developing the skills to de-escalate challenging situations.

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The safety of children

Sanctions used by staff are not always in keeping with the culture that the new manager strives to create. One young person told inspectors that they do not agree with the sanctions, but do not feel that they have any choice. In addition, sanctions are not evaluated for effectiveness by the manager.

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The safety of children

Incidents where young people are missing from the home have decreased. Staff are curious to know where the young people have been, where they are going and who they are with. However, return-to-home interviews are not always undertaken by the Assurance visit report: SC458352 3 placing local authority. Managers have raised this omission but have not escalated their concerns further when the omission has continued. Managers told the inspectors that an alternative provision is planned so that staff have the information they need to track any patterns or concerns related to incidents when young people are missing.

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Leaders and managers

The manager was appointed in August. She is working hard to instil a new culture within the home, which promotes nurturing and understanding care to young people. The manager and new staff team are working hard to establish new systems and practices to improve the quality of care provided to the young people, who in the last 10 months have experienced inconsistency of care due to the turnover of staff and change of manager.

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Leaders and managers

During this visit, feedback was sought from the social workers of all three children. Professionals are pleased with the positive changes that the new manager has made within the home. One social worker told inspectors that they have seen ‘some really amazing changes’ in their young person, commenting specifically on the help the staff had given the young person to develop independence skills and with preparing them to move to a new home.

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Leaders and managers

Aspects of the physical environment require improvement. The main bathroom does not present as clean and hygienic. The office is institutional in appearance and occupies a large room on the ground floor. Window restrictors on downstairs windows also detract from the otherwise homely environment.

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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

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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 and use this understanding to deliver care that meets children’s needs and supports them to fulfil their potential. 08/12/2020 Assurance visit report: SC458352 4 In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to-

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Requirement Due date

understand and apply the home’s statement of purpose and ensure that staff understand and apply the home’s statement of purpose;

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Requirement Due date

provide personalised care that meets each child’s needs, as recorded in the child’s relevant plans, taking account of the child’s background;

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Requirement Due date

make decisions about the day-to-day arrangements for each child, in accordance with the child’s relevant plans, which give the child an appropriate degree of freedom and choice.

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Requirement Due date

(Regulation 6 (1)(a)(b)(2)(a)(b)(i)(iv)(ix))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the team should consistently deliver good- quality care that appropriately provides children with nurturing routines, structure and boundaries in accordance with detailed written plans.

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Requirement Due date

Engaging with the wider system to ensure children’s needs are met.

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Requirement Due date

In meeting the quality standards, the registered person must ensure that staff-

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Requirement Due date

seek to secure the input and services required to meet each child’s needs;

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Requirement Due date

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.

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Requirement Due date

In particular, ensure that the local authority’s escalation procedure is followed to ensure that return-to-home interviews are adhered to for children who go missing from home. 08/12/2020

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Requirement Due date

Behaviour management policies and records

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that— 08/11/2020 Assurance visit report: SC458352 5 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—

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Requirement Due date

details of the child’s behaviour leading to the use of the measure;

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Requirement Due date

the date, time and location of the use of the measure;

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Requirement Due date

a description of the measure and its duration;

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Requirement Due date

details of any methods used or steps taken to avoid the need to use the measure;

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Requirement Due date

the name of the person who used the measure (“the user”), and of any other person present when the measure was used;

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Requirement Due date

the effectiveness and any consequences of the use of the measure;

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Requirement Due date

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”)—

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Requirement Due date

has spoken to the user about the measure; and

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Requirement Due date

has signed the record to confirm it is accurate; and

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Requirement Due date

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.

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Requirement Due date

(Regulation 35 (3) (a)(i)(ii)(iii)(iv)(v)(vi)(viii)(b)(i)(ii)(c))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, sanctions should be recorded in a way that allows the registered person to review their appropriateness and effectiveness. Records should also confirm that the registered person or authorised person has spoken to the child about the sanction within five days of the use of the measure.

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Recommendations

Assurance visit report: SC458352 6  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. Children’s homes must comply with relevant health and safety legislations (alarms, food hygiene etc.); however, in doing so, homes should seek as far as possible to maintain a domestic rather than ‘institutional’ impression. (Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 15, paragraph 3.9)  Just as in a family home, children should be able to access all shared areas of their home unless there are specific reasons why this would not meet a child’s needs. Limits on privacy and access may only be put in place to safeguard each child in the home (regulation 21(c)(i)). Any decisions to limit a child’s access to any area of the home and any modifications to the environment of the home,

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Recommendations

must only be made where this is intended to safeguard the child’s welfare. All decisions should be informed by a rigorous assessment of that individual child’s needs, be properly recorded and be kept under regular review. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’. Page 15, paragraph 3.10). In particular, review the environment and use of window restrictors to ensure that children are not unnecessarily restricted from any areas of the home and, where possible, the property reflects a homely environment.

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Cambian Childcare LTD

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Cambian Childcare Limited, Metropolitan House, 3 Darkes Lane, Potters Bar, Hertfordshire EN6 1AG

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Children’s home details

Responsible individual: Nicola McClements

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Inspectors

Carys Flain, Social Care Inspector Tina Maddison, Social Care Inspector Assurance visit report: SC458352 7 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 children looked after, safeguarding and child protection.

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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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