Children's Home run by Cambian Childcare Limited in East Riding of Yorkshire

Inspection report children’s home: SC457308 1 SC457308 Registered provider: Cambian Childcare Limited Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

A private provider owns and manages this home. It is registered to provide care for up to five children with behavioural, emotional and/or social difficulties. The registered manager is appropriately qualified and has been in the role since the home registered with Ofsted in 2012.

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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.

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Information about this children’s home

We last visited this setting on 25 February 2021 to carry out a monitoring visit. The report is published on the Ofsted website.

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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 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

Overall judgement at last inspection: good

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requires improvement to be good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report children’s home: SC457308 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

19/06/2019 Full Good 20/11/2018 Full Good 18/07/2017 Full Good 22/12/2016 Interim Improved effectiveness Inspection report children’s home: SC457308 3

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improvement to be good

Children do not consistently make progress. Outside influences have a detrimental effect on some children and this impacts on their engagement with staff. For other children, living at this home has significantly improved their life experiences. Children who have previously experienced social isolation and lacked personal care are now demonstrating improved self-worth and are enjoying socialising with others.

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improvement to be good

Flawed admission processes impact on the children’s care experience. Children experience well-planned moves into the home; however, significant information about the severity of children’s complex care needs is not fully understood by managers and staff. As a result of this shortfall, children have quickly moved out of the home, as staff have been unable to manage their risk-taking behaviour. Incidents of violence and aggression within the home also impact on the children’s sense of security and peer relationships. One child wished for aggressive children to stop coming to live in her home.

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improvement to be good

Some children have unplanned moves out of the home. This causes children further uncertainty and mistrust of those adults who should provide care and protection. However, the manager does strive for all children to leave the home in a planned way. One young person said, ‘I was involved in the decision about my move, and the staff are still in contact with me; I was messaging them today.’

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improvement to be good

The home has been modernised and improved, providing a nice environment for the children. Recently, children have expressed their frustrations by causing damage to the home. The damage is still evident, impacting on the usually inviting and welcoming presentation of this home.

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improvement to be good

Children benefit from routines. Encouragement from staff helps the children to prepare for and attend school. Some children voice their reluctance to engage in education. The staff talk to children to understand the barriers and enable change. Children who were successfully completing their school journey talked with great excitement to the inspector about their plans for further education.

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improvement to be good

Children benefit from improved access to mental health support. In-house clinical guidance informs staff practice and the children’s care plans. Children’s physical health needs are complex and require coordinated medical intervention. The manager recognises the exceptional health needs of children and has established access to specialist services, such as occupational therapy and podiatry. Inspection report children’s home: SC457308 4

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improvement to be good

Children are at risk of harm. Children are being exploited, which impacts on their capacity to make safe decisions. Staff quickly pick up on the signs that may indicate children are at risk of harm, and they work together with other professionals to mitigate further risk of harm to the children. However, social media risks for children are not managed effectively and this escalates children’s risk and exposes them to further abuse.

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improvement to be good

The children’s missing-from-home plans do not provide staff with the necessary guidance they need to respond consistently. When children are socialising with friends, away from the home, staff are not routinely contacting them to check on their welfare. There is no clear guidance for staff should children not respond to welfare calls, leaving prolonged periods when children are at risk of harm. Clinical consultation has advised increased welfare calls with children, but this is not detailed in children’s safety plans and is not being implemented by staff.

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improvement to be good

Ineffective planning means that children do not always move on from the home successfully. Delays in transitions are not anticipated and staffing levels have been reduced prior to children leaving the home. Reduced staffing numbers impacts on the prevention of harm as staff are unable to meet children’s safety plans.

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improvement to be good

Administration of medication is in line with guidance. Medication, including controlled medication, is stored safely and securely to lessen potential risk.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The home is led by an experienced and skilled manager. She understands the significance of having a stable staff team. The manager instigated a pay and employment review to adjust the staff’s roles and responsibilities. This has significantly improved staff retention.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Relationships among managers and staff are good. The manager is readily available and, in partnership with the company clinician, delivers emotional and practice- related support to the staff team.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager adapts her management style according to the challenges in the home. In response to the children’s escalating risks and vulnerabilities, the manager has become more reactive in her actions. The manager will quickly escalate her concerns to other professionals to ensure a well-coordinated response. One team manager reported, ‘The staff protect the children by taking the action that any good parent would.’

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager holds professionals to account for their negligence, and this is evident when children are being deprived of their liberty without a court order. When a court order is obtained, this is not always clearly recorded on the child’s file. This means Inspection report children’s home: SC457308 5 that the court order does not fully provide the staff with the safeguards necessary to prevent harm to children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager uses internal and external oversight and monitoring systems to help her to identify any shortfalls in practice. The manager recognises that the recording systems in the home need streamlining and this is being reviewed within the organisation. To ensure that safeguarding concerns are captured, the manager has developed systems to aid information-sharing. Inspection report children’s home: SC457308 6

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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; and

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Requirement Due date

take effective action whenever there is a serious concern about a child’s welfare;

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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)(vi) (b)) 30 July 2021

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Requirement Due date

The care planning standard is that children—

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Requirement Due date

have a positive experience of arriving at or moving on from the home. (Regulation 14 (1)(b)) 30 July 2021

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Recommendation

 The registered person should ensure that the children’s home is a nurturing and supportive environment that meets the needs of its children, and provides a homely and domestic atmosphere. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 15, paragraph 3.9) Inspection report children’s home: SC457308 7

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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: SC457308 8

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Cambian Childcare Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Cambian Childcare Limited, 5th Floor, Metropolitan House, 3 Darkes Lane, Potters Bar EN6 1AG

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Children’s home details

Responsible individual: Susan Fitzsimmons

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Inspector

Jennifer Fenlon, Social Care Inspector Inspection report children’s home: SC457308 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.

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Inspector

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Inspector

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Inspector

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