Children's Home run by Cambian Childcare Limited in Shropshire

Inspection report for children's home - monitoring visit: SC476267 1 SC476267

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Cambian Childcare Limited

Monitoring visit Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

The home provides care and accommodation for up to five children and young people, aged between eight and 18, who have complex behaviours due to childhood trauma. The home is privately owned.

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Information about this children’s home

The registered manager is not working at the home at the moment. An interim manager has been in place for three weeks. The home is also supported by a regional quality manager.

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This monitoring visit

This visit was undertaken in response to an increase in safeguarding notifications.

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This monitoring visit

At the time of the visit, two children were living at the home and another two had recently moved out. One of these children had moved to another children’s home within the organisation. A decision was made to move another child on from the home because staff experienced difficulties in meeting her emotional needs. The child was admitted to hospital after this decision was made, following several attempts by the child to self-harm. She spent a period of time in hospital alone before moving on to her new home. This was due to miscommunication between the child’s placing authority and staff. As a result, this child did not receive appropriate emotional support during her transition.

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This monitoring visit

Managers do not fully consider the needs of children before they move into the home. As a result, new children’s needs are not always compatible with the needs of the children already living at the home. This has been unsettling for children and they have subsequently displayed behaviours which could cause harm to themselves and others. The responsible individual now plans to involve the organisation’s clinical team when completing pre-admission risk assessments. In addition, she has made a decision not to move any new children into the home until it is more stable. Inspection report for children's home - monitoring visit: SC476267 2 Staff are not experienced and have not always received timely training to understand and respond well to children’s needs. For example, one child with learning difficulties lived at the home. Staff were not provided with training to understand this child’s needs and to be able to respond to their behaviours to keep them safe. Managers

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This monitoring visit

are in the process of addressing this shortfall and staff are beginning to undertake training which is pertinent to the needs of the children living at the home.

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This monitoring visit

Managers are not always aware of serious incidents occurring in the home. When audits have identified shortfalls in the care provided to children, managers do not always respond effectively. This has led to incidents of bullying and self-harming behaviour, which compromise children’s experiences and welfare.

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This monitoring visit

During the monitoring visit, inspectors found that managers have started to identify shortfalls and are making improvements to the quality of care that children receive. Managers have now implemented new procedures for recording and reporting incidents. They undertake ‘upskilling sessions’ with staff around issues such as bullying and responding to allegations. As a result, staff are now developing skills to respond to children’s needs better, to ensure their safety. This work is ongoing and incidents of aggressive behaviour in the home and at school are reducing.

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This monitoring visit

The provider has recently recruited new staff, including the interim manager. These staff understand the children’s needs well and know how to keep children safe. One social worker said that communication with the staff has greatly improved and that they ‘all work together’.

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This monitoring visit

Children form some positive relationships with staff. There is a calm and relaxed atmosphere developing in the home. Staff engage well with children and children now live in a nurturing environment. One child asked his social worker if they could stay at the home forever. Staff promote children’s interests, such as taking them trainspotting or helping them to build models out of craft items. As a result, children living at the home now feel wanted and valued.

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This monitoring visit

The independent visitor has consistently maintained that children are safeguarded in the home. This is inaccurate as some information provided within the visitor’s reports indicates that, at times, children have not been safe. Inaccurate evaluations about the impact of the quality of care on children’s safety and experiences do not give managers a clear overview. As a result, opportunities to rectify shortfalls sooner have been missed.

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Recent inspection history

Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement 31/07/2019 Full Good 30/01/2019 Interim Sustained effectiveness 11/07/2018 Full Good 13/03/2018 Interim Not judged Inspection report for children's home - monitoring visit: SC476267 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 positive relationships standard is that children are helped to develop, and to benefit from, relationships based on— mutual respect and trust; an understanding about acceptable behaviour; and positive responses to other children and adults.

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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

communicate to each child expectations about the child’s behaviour and ensure that the child understands those expectations in accordance with the child’s age and understanding. (Regulation 11 (1)(a)(b)(c) (2)(a)(v))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, staff must continue to develop ways of working with children to help them understand that bullying is not acceptable and to live together without being violent. 25 January 2021

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Requirement Due date

The care planning standard is that children—

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Requirement Due date

receive effectively planned care in or through the children’s home; and

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Requirement Due date

have a positive experience of arriving at or moving on from the home. (Regulation 14 (1)(a)(b))

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Requirement Due date

This refers specifically to the matching of children to the home. The registered manager should ensure they evidence curiosity and depth in their pre-admission risk assessments. 25 January 2021

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Requirement Due date

The independent person must produce a report about a visit ("the independent person’s report") which sets out, in particular, the independent person’s opinion as to whether—

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Requirement Due date

children are effectively safeguarded; and 25 January 2021 Inspection report for children's home - monitoring visit: SC476267 4 the conduct of the home promotes children’s well-being. (Regulation 44 (4)(a)(b))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, that the independent person makes an accurate assessment about how well children are cared for and protected.

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Recommendations

 The registered person should work with the placing authority to ensure that children are supported effectively both practically and emotionally when leaving the home. (‘Guide to the children’s home regulations including the quality standards’, page 57, paragraph 11.9)  The registered person should ensure that staff can access appropriate facilities and resources to support their training needs, and should understand the key role they play in the training and development of staff in the home. ('Guide to the children's home regulations including the quality standards', page 53, paragraph 10.11)  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

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Recommendations

disruptions and placement breakdowns. They are responsible for proactively implementing lessons learned and sustaining good practice. ('Guide to the children's home regulations including the quality standards', page 55, paragraph 10.24)

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Information about this inspection

The purpose of this visit was to monitor the action taken and the progress made by the children’s home since its last Ofsted inspection.

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Information about this inspection

This inspection was carried out under the Care Standards Act 2000.

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Cambian Childcare Ltd

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Caretech Childcare Ltd, Metropolitan House, 3 Darkes Lane, Potters Bar EN6 1AG Inspection report for children's home - monitoring visit: SC476267 5 Responsible individual: Clare Hadfield

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Inspectors

Sarah Berry, Social Care Inspector Karol Keenan, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children's home - monitoring visit: SC476267 6 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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