Children's Home run by Cambian Childcare Limited in Shropshire

Inspection report children’s home: SC476252 1 SC476252 Registered provider: Cambian Childcare Ltd Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

The provider states in their statement of purpose that they provide care and accommodation for up to five children who have experienced early-life trauma. The home specialises in providing therapeutic services for children who have experienced sexual abuse. The registered manager has been in post since February 2020. Due to COVID-19 (coronavirus), at the request of the Secretary of State, we suspended all routine inspections of social care providers on 17 March 2020.

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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

Date of last inspection: 9 September 2019

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requires improvement to be good

Overall judgement at last inspection: good

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Enforcement action since last inspection:

A monitoring visit was undertaken on 12 March 2021. As a result, a compliance notice was issued in relation to the protection of children. The notice outlined steps to be taken to ensure that appropriate safeguards were in place to keep children Inspection report children’s home: SC476252 2 safe. During this inspection, we found that the steps outlined in the compliance notice had been met. Inspection report children’s home: SC476252 3

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

09/09/2019 Full Good 31/01/2019 Interim Improved effectiveness 14/05/2018 Full Good 12/12/2017 Full Requires improvement to be good Inspection report children’s home: SC476252 4

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improvement to be good

As a result of previous trauma, the behaviours that children display can present a challenge to staff. Children receive therapeutic support from a clinical team attached to the organisation. Clinicians provide managers with valuable advice about the best way to work with children who have experienced trauma. However, managers do not always share this information with all staff. This means that staff do not always respond to children’s needs effectively or in a consistent way.

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improvement to be good

Managers and staff do not always consider the impact of children’s behaviours on other children. One child said that they sometimes have to ‘wait for staff’ because staff are dealing with an incident. As a result, some children feel frustrated. This sometimes results in incidents of aggressive behaviour. Staff are able to respond to these incidents skilfully. However, they do not always recognise the signs in children’s behaviour to anticipate and prevent the incident.

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improvement to be good

The environment is homely. Staff encourage children to take part in the decoration of the home. Children personalise their bedrooms; for example, they choose the colour of the paint on their walls and the theme of soft furnishings. One child who recently moved in wanted to decorate her bedroom herself, so staff supported her to do so. As a result, this child feels a sense of belonging and has settled in well.

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improvement to be good

Maintenance work was taking place during the inspection. However, damage to the front door and one child’s bedroom wall remains outstanding. This detracts from the otherwise homely environment.

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improvement to be good

Staff support children to develop their self-care skills, for example by encouraging them to cook and maintain personal hygiene. One child is working towards independence by having free time to spend in the community. Children are rewarded for their achievements. This supports them to develop a sense of pride in themselves, building their self-esteem. As a result, children are being prepared well for adulthood.

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improvement to be good

Children say that they feel safe and are happy living in the home. They have positive relationships with staff and can identify staff who know them well. Staff understand children’s emotional needs and recognise when children are feeling unhappy. Staff have a calm and nurturing approach with children. One child said, ‘Adults [staff] can tell when my mood changes.’ As a result, this child said that staff make her ‘feel understood’.

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improvement to be good

Children’s risk assessments and safety plans outline strategies to reduce risk. However, on one occasion, staff did not respond in line with a child’s risk assessment Inspection report children’s home: SC476252 5 and safety plan. As a result, a child entered another child’s bedroom unnoticed by staff. During this incident, the child made threats of violence towards the other child. This child felt scared and unable to alert staff that another child was in their bedroom. Managers have responded appropriately to the incident and are carrying out an internal investigation into staff’s practice. They have also implemented measures to prevent similar incidents.

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improvement to be good

Staff do not always show enough professional curiosity to anticipate potential risks for children. In these instances, staff are reactive following an incident, rather than proactive. For example, prior to a car journey, staff failed to make adequate checks of the car to ensure that it was safely prepared for the journey. This led to an incident where a child, when distressed, attempted to place a plastic bag, which was in the back of the car, over a staff member’s head while she was driving. This child now travels in the car with two members of staff.

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improvement to be good

The manager liaises appropriately with the designated officer, sharing with them all incidents involving concerns about staff practice or allegations. This ensures that there is independent oversight to keep children safe.

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improvement to be good

Staff implement the home’s therapeutic model effectively to support children to regulate their emotions. In particular, staff use playfulness successfully when responding to children’s behaviours. Children recognise the progress they are making in managing their emotions. One child said that, when they first moved into the home, they would hurt adults but ‘now I just swear but I know this is just because I feel frustrated’.

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improvement to be good

Physical intervention is rarely used and is done so proportionately and for the least amount of time necessary. Debriefs are undertaken with children and staff as soon as possible after an intervention, to ensure that they have opportunities to reflect. This helps children to develop empathy and promotes positive relationships within the home. Children are encouraged and supported to rejoin activities in the home as soon as they feel able to.

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improvement to be good

The manager has completed a review of the internal and external security system. In doing so, they considered children’s risk assessments and care plans. For example, a fob system is now in place on external doors at night-time. This is to prevent children leaving the home unsupervised at night. The fire risk assessment has also been reviewed. Although there was a delay in these improvements, the physical environment is now safer. These actions meet the steps outlined in the compliance notice issued as a result of the previous inspection.

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good

Action to rectify shortfalls identified through the manager’s own monitoring, such as gaps in the recording of physical restraint, is not taken promptly enough. There is also a lack of oversight of daily logs and key-work records. This hinders the manager’s ability to oversee and improve the quality of care children receive. Inspection report children’s home: SC476252 6 Managers are not always thorough when risk-assessing situations. For example, when planning activities in the community, they do not always review children’s risk assessments. During the inspection, one child went out with a member of staff to do an activity in the community. This child has recently been hitting out at staff. However, managers did not anticipate potential risks and implement appropriate safety measures. As a result, staff had to contact the home for support to return the child home safely.

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good

The responsible individual has not provided effective oversight of the management of the home. The quality of supervision the registered manager receives is poor. As a result, they do not receive the opportunity to reflect with senior leaders to consider the quality of care children receive.

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good

The manager is now escalating concerns with placing authorities more efficiently. Manager ‘s advocate for children to ensure that professionals understand children’s needs. This means that steps are being taken to ensure that children receive the help and support they need.

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good

Staff now have a better understanding of children’s risk assessments and how to keep children safe. Managers have provided staff with training around the home’s safeguarding policies and procedures. Managers follow up any shortfalls during upskilling sessions and supervision. Staff are also able to access clinical supervision. As a result, a compliance notice issued at the previous monitoring visit has now been met. Inspection report children’s home: SC476252 7

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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 protection of children standard is that children are protected from harm and enabled to keep themselves safe.

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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

assess whether each child is at risk of harm, taking into account information in the child’s relevant plans, and, if necessary, make arrangements to reduce the risk of any harm to the child;

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Requirement Due date

have the skills to identify and act upon signs that a child is at risk of harm.

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Requirement Due date

that the home’s day-to-day care is arranged and delivered so as to keep each child safe and to protect each child effectively from harm. (Regulation 12 (1) (2)(a)(i)(iii)(b))

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Requirement Due date

This specifically relates to managers and staff undertaking and reviewing children’s risk assessments to ensure that they anticipate risky situations inside and outside the home.

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Requirement Due date

This requirement was made at the last inspection and is restated. 12 May 2021

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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—

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Requirement Due date

helps children aspire to fulfil their potential; and

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to— 12 May 2021 Inspection report children’s home: SC476252 8 understand the impact that the quality of care provided in the home is having on the progress and experiences of each child and use this understanding to inform the development of the quality of care provided in the home;

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Requirement Due date

use monitoring and review systems to make continuous improvements in the quality of care provided in the home. (Regulation 13 (1)(a)(b) (2)(f)(h))

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Requirement Due date

This specifically relates to management oversight and monitoring of the quality of care children receive and, in particular, managers’ ability to respond efficiently to shortfalls in staff practice in order to improve the quality of care children receive.

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Requirement Due date

This requirement was made at the last inspection and is restated.

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Recommendations

 The registered person should support staff to become familiar with the home’s policies on record-keeping and the clear recording of all information within a physical intervention report and staff debrief. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 62, paragraph 14.4)  The registered person should ensure that improvements to the environment are completed in a timely manner, such as the purchase of a new front door and repair to a hole in the wall of one child’s bedroom. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 15, paragraph 3.7)  The responsible individual should ensure that the registered manager receives robust supervision that includes opportunity for reflection on the quality of care children receive. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 61, paragraph 13.2)

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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: SC476252 9

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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 Darkes Lane, Potters Bar EN6 1AG

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Inspectors

Sarah Berry, Social Care Inspector Joanna Warburton, Social Care Inspector Inspection report children’s home: SC476252 10 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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