Social care · Children's home inspection (SCCIF)
Children's Home run by Cambian Childcare Limited in Kirklees
Summary
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- Group verified
Cambian Childcare Limited
- Inspection date verified
26 May 2021
- Inspectors verified
Brian Wood
- Helped and protected verified
Outstanding
- Leadership and management verified
Outstanding
- Overall effectivenesssingle source
Outstanding
- Name on report verified
1236773
- URN verified
1236773
Deep dive
What this report says
In plain English
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Grade profile
Hollow rings show the previous inspection, 2019.
- OverallOutstanding
- Helped and protectedOutstanding
- Leadership and managementOutstanding
12% of comparable inspections in the last three years were graded Outstanding (12,716 inspections).
Tone of the report
How positive or critical the inspectors' language is, from the words they chose. No AI involved.
In line with other reports of this type graded Outstanding.
Markers show where typical reports of each grade sit.
How the report reads, start to finish
Every paragraph in order, sized by length. Tap one to see it on the page.
Strengths
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- The children’s home provides highly effective services that consistently exceed the standards of good. p.1
- This excellent partnership working with family has resulted in a really positive outcome. p.3
- This is because the staff team is very well trained and has excellent relationships with the child. p.4
- The progress that the child has made since living in this home is excellent and life changing. p.3
- Individual staff members have an excellent awareness of safeguarding. p.4
Concerns
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Next steps
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What the report dwells on
Topics by how often they come up, coloured by how they are described. Open one for an example.
Leadership & governance6
“The registered manager has excellent oversight of the home.” p.5Records & policies5
“The staff record regular key-work sessions with the child.” p.3Teaching & assessment4
“Good-quality, up-to-date risk assessments minimise the risk of significant harm.” p.4
Anatomy of the report
How the report is built, against others of the same type and grade.
- Pages
- 9
- Words of findings
- 1,463
- about usual (typical 1354)
- Reading level
- Fairly hard
- Flesch 55, typical 49
- Average sentence
- 15 words
- Next steps
- 1
- typical 1
- Hedged sentences
- 1%
- “some”, “not always”, “most”…
Where the words go
Full report text
Inspection report children’s home: 1236773 1 Registered provider: Cambian Childcare Limited Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework
p.1
Information about this children’s home
The home is owned by a private company. It is registered to provide care for one child aged between eight and 17 years and of different genders. This will be based on the impact assessment of the child and a safe area plan of the home.
p.1
Information about this children’s home
The manager was registered with Ofsted in May 2019.
p.1
Information about this children’s home
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.
p.1
Overall experiences and progress of
children and young people, taking into account
p.1
outstanding
How well children and young people are helped and protected outstanding
p.1
outstanding
The effectiveness of leaders and managers outstanding
p.1
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.
p.1
outstanding
Date of last inspection: 17 September 2019
p.1
outstanding
Overall judgement at last inspection: good
p.1
outstanding
Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report children’s home: 1236773 2
p.1
Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement
17/09/2019 Full Good 16/05/2018 Full Good 04/12/2017 Interim Sustained effectiveness 18/04/2017 Full Good Inspection report children’s home: 1236773 3
p.2
outstanding
The quality of care provided at the home has made a real difference for the child. The staff demonstrate great skill and tenacity in promoting and sustaining the child’s progression, with examples of highly creative and innovative approaches to meeting the child’s needs. The progress that the child has made since living in this home is excellent and life changing.
p.3
outstanding
The progress the child has made in education is remarkable. The child’s approach to education is commendable considering her previous reluctance to engage in school. Staff acknowledge and celebrate every academic success. This helps the child to feel proud of her achievements and have genuine aspirations for the future.
p.3
outstanding
A parent described the relationship with staff as ‘brilliant’. Staff have actively encouraged and supported family time. This has helped to improve and rebuild the relationship between the child and her family to the point where it is planned that the child will return home. This excellent partnership working with family has resulted in a really positive outcome.
p.3
outstanding
One other child has moved on from the home since the last inspection. The care and support that this child experienced extended well beyond the time that they left the home for independence. The staff and the manager have maintained contact and continued to provide support going above and beyond what they were expected to do. This shows real commitment to ensuring that children successfully move on to independence and have positive outcomes.
p.3
outstanding
The staff record regular key-work sessions with the child. There is a wealth of information recorded about the work completed on matters such as substance misuse, staying safe, education, and learning life skills. Records do provide the reader with an insight into how staff offer support and the progress made by the child. The quality of key working has resulted in outstanding progress for the child.
p.3
outstanding
Staff have tailored their approach to communicating and engaging with the child so that it fits with the child’s wishes and needs. The child’s progress and journey are captured in detail in diaries and memory books. A record has been kept for the child to take with them as part of their journey and life story. This will help the child to remember the time they lived at this home.
p.3
outstanding
The progress made by the child has been quite remarkable from a starting point where they were at risk, had low self-esteem and found it difficult to receive praise. They have developed in confidence, made some real measurable achievements, respond well to praise and positive feedback. The child said, ‘I feel true happiness now. I never felt that before and I now know what it feels like to be truly happy.’ Inspection report children’s home: 1236773 4 The home environment is welcoming, comfortable and homely. The child had personalised their home and their bedroom. This provides a very comfortable home environment for children and is maintained to a high standard.
p.3
outstanding
The child is placed far from their home area. The manager and staff have supported the child to rebuild their relationship with family following a breakdown. They have also ensured that the child keeps regular contact with their family through regular video chats and face-to-face family time. This helped the child settle and make progress.
p.4
outstanding
The child has enjoyed placement stability since coming to live in the home. Their individual risk-taking behaviour has significantly reduced, to the point where there are no high-risk concerns. Excellent consistent care has ensured that the child is safe, and the initial concerns and risks are now very low.
p.4
outstanding
Careful planning was evident in relation to the placement of the child. Planning considered their needs, vulnerabilities and risks. Planning was informed by good multi-agency consultation and communication. This ensured that strategies were put in place to mitigate all of the assessed risk.
p.4
outstanding
The individual risk assessments for the child describe their vulnerabilities and set out the strategies that staff should follow to reduce the known risks. Risk evaluation is accurate and clear. Risk assessments are regularly reviewed, signed by all staff with clear managerial oversight. Good-quality, up-to-date risk assessments minimise the risk of significant harm.
p.4
outstanding
Behaviour is managed exceptionally well by the manager and staff team. This is because the staff team is very well trained and has excellent relationships with the child. The manager and staff team can identify any subtle changes in the child’s behaviour, which ensures that the right level of support is quickly identified and put in place. This has resulted in very little challenging incidents and there have been no incidents of physical restraint since the last inspection.
p.4
outstanding
The home has not had any recent missing from home incidents. However, missing protocols are up to date and are regularly reviewed. The protocol gives clear direction to staff of what to do or when to report children as missing. Key-work sessions have also been completed with the child in relation to personal safety. This helps to ensure that the child has a good understanding of risk.
p.4
outstanding
Individual staff members have an excellent awareness of safeguarding. They have access to several training courses, which underpin their knowledge and understanding. Staff have the knowledge and skills to keep children safe from harm. Inspection report children’s home: 1236773 5 New staff are recruited safely, and appropriate checks are carried out. There are no concerns in relation to safer recruitment practices. This helps to ensure that children are looked after by people that are skilled and safe to do so.
p.4
outstanding
Professionals and family said that communication with the home is ‘excellent’. Staff keep them informed through regular verbal updates and weekly written reports, and detailed reports are provided for reviews. Good multi-agency communication gives better support and protection for the child.
p.5
The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding
The manager oversees a second home, but this does not negatively affect the time they spend in this setting. The registered manager has excellent oversight of the home. There is clear management oversight to ensure that the child’s needs are being met to a high standard.
p.5
The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding
The registered manager has raised challenges and escalation in relation to delays in the provision of information. She has also challenged the care planning for a child when the placing local authority wanted to end the placement suddenly. This ensured that children’s views are listened to and matters of concerns are acted on promptly.
p.5
The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding
The registered manager has shown ambition and high expectations for the child. She has worked with a local education provider to support the child’s aspirations to achieve education qualifications. Good partnership working provides better outcomes for children.
p.5
The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding
The staff are very well supported in their roles by the manager and have regular supervision and team meetings. They take part in regular training. This ensures that staff are well equipped to meet the individual needs of the child placed at the home.
p.5
The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding
Training is up to date and the manager is aware of when training requires renewing. The manager also analyses any new placements to decide whether any other training is needed for the staff team to be able to provide appropriate care. For example, when the current child was placed the manager sought more training around substance misuse and trauma. The manager works with the provider’s trainers and in-house clinician to ensure that staff have the right knowledge.
p.5
The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding
Staff do have annual appraisals. However, the records are brief, and they do not include the views of children. Targets are set, but records do not state how these will be met by staff and what the timescales are for reviewing. The manager recognises this is an area for development and has implemented a clear workforce development plan. This helps to ensure that staff have measurable and specific targets, informed by the child’s needs, to develop and improve their care practice.
p.5
The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding
New staff receive very good support through their induction period. They receive supervision fortnightly throughout their probation period then monthly after completion. Staff go through three robust probationary reviews, which allow them to Inspection report children’s home: 1236773 6 monitor their progress and identify any areas requiring improvement. Staff are well prepared to care for children. Inspection report children’s home: 1236773 7
p.5
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: 1236773 8
p.7
Children’s home details
Registered provider: Cambian Childcare Limited
p.8
Children’s home details
Registered provider address: Cambian Childcare Limited, 5th Floor, Metropolitan House, 3 Darkes Lane, Potters Bar EN6 1AG
p.8
Children’s home details
Responsible individual: Susan Fitzsimmons
p.8
Inspector
Brian Wood, Social Care Inspector Inspection report children’s home: 1236773 9 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.
p.8
Inspector
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Inspector
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Inspector
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