Children's Home run by Cambian Childcare Limited in North Yorkshire

Inspection report children’s home: SC457435 1 SC457435 Registered provider: Cambian Childcare Limited Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

p.1

Information about this children’s home

A private company owns and manages this children’s home. The home provides care for up to two children who may have social and emotional difficulties. One child was living in the home at the time of the inspection.

p.1

Information about this children’s home

The home has not had a registered manager since April 2020. A manager was recruited but was not suitable to be registered. Another manager has been appointed but is not yet registered.

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

Information about this children’s home

We last visited this setting on 20 October 2020 to carry out an assurance visit. The report is published on the Ofsted website.

p.1

Overall experiences and progress of

children and young people, taking into account

p.1

requires improvement to be good

How well children and young people are helped and protected requires improvement to be good

p.1

requires improvement to be good

The effectiveness of leaders and managers inadequate

p.1

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.

p.1

requires improvement to be good

Overall judgement at last inspection: sustained effectiveness

p.1

requires improvement to be good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report children’s home: SC457435 2

p.1

Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

12/03/2020 Interim Sustained effectiveness 31/07/2019 Full Good 29/01/2019 Full Requires improvement to be good 05/02/2018 Full Good Inspection report children’s home: SC457435 3

p.2

improvement to be good

The child’s education needs are still not met. This was a shortfall at the assurance visit. Although the child has gone to school since then, her attendance is not yet consistent. Key-work sessions undertaken by staff do not address the child’s anxieties about going to school. Other strategies have not been tried. This means that the child is not making sustained progress with her education. She is not meeting her potential educational goals.

p.3

improvement to be good

The child’s health needs are being met. She attends routine and more urgent medical appointments. Staff talk to her about a wide range of health-related issues, including harm from smoking cigarettes. When the child is reluctant to accept support, staff work together to give her consistent information. As a result, the child is becoming healthier, and she is developing a positive approach to looking after herself.

p.3

improvement to be good

The child has very good relationships with the current staff team. Staff care a great deal about the child, and they want the best outcomes for her. Staff enjoy working with the child and put in significant efforts to meet her needs. The child feels that she is being cared for by adults who are dedicated to her. She is developing trust in staff, which helps her to respond to the care that she is receiving.

p.3

improvement to be good

A mental health practitioner provides advice to staff about the child’s emotional well- being. This work is individualised and available when needed. Staff are beginning to understand the child’s previous experiences and the impact that these have on her. This means that the care that the staff provide is increasingly attuned to the child’s needs.

p.3

improvement to be good

Staff support the child’s relationships with members of her family. Staff work creatively to enable the child to keep in touch with her relatives. For example, during a recent family visit, a member of staff stayed in the area where the child’s family lives, to provide extra support. Family members respond well to this input and value the help they receive. Promoting these family links is good for the child’s sense of identity.

p.3

improvement to be good

The child has considerable input into the care she receives. She talks to the staff about how the children’s home is decorated, her meal planning and the activities that she is interested in. She is supported to complain when she is unhappy about an aspect of her care. The child has the benefit of an advocate, who intervenes on the child’s behalf when necessary. As well as helping the child to talk about what is important to her now, she is learning that her views are important.

p.3

improvement to be good

Staff help the child to prepare for her future. For example, she is starting to think about budgeting, self-care skills and plans for training and employment. Key-work Inspection report children’s home: SC457435 4 sessions support the practical aspects of this work. Although this work is in its early stages, the child is learning what she needs to do, to fulfil her aspirations.

p.3

improvement to be good

The child goes missing from the home regularly, although there is some very recent evidence that this behaviour is reducing. Staff inform the police and record these events. However, staff cannot follow the missing from home policy as this requires staff to search the local area if the child is missing. Staff cannot do so, as they work alone in the home. One member of staff cannot look for the child at the same time as ensuring that someone is available in the home should she return. As well as not complying with the home’s own policy, this does not provide the child with a strong message that her immediate safety is a priority for staff.

p.4

improvement to be good

Staff are ineffective in helping the child to cope with issues of control. She is not yet developing healthy coping strategies. As a result, the staff have been moved from the home unnecessarily. This means that the child is not learning to manage her personal relationships successfully. This is detrimental to her well-being.

p.4

improvement to be good

The child does not use substances or engage in antisocial or criminal behaviour. Her risks from exploitation have reduced significantly. This reduction has been sustained over a long period and is evidence of good progress.

p.4

improvement to be good

The child’s behaviour in the home is generally positive. She is content to comply with most expectations and boundaries. This is because of the good relationships that the child has with the current staff team. As a result, the home is generally calm. All who know the child acknowledge that this is the most settled that she has been for a long time.

p.4

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

There has been no registered manager in this home for 16 months. The lack of strategic management oversight has had an impact on the outcomes for children. No one person has had responsibility for the development of the staff team. Children’s safety and well-being is affected because of this gap in the leadership and management of the home.

p.4

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

The home is very short-staffed. There are currently four members of staff, including the manager. This means that the manager has to provide cover for residential shifts. As a result, she has not completed all of the management tasks. This prevents the manager from undertaking the strategic oversight of the home that has been lacking for over one year.

p.4

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

The manager’s monitoring of the home is not yet effective. She cannot consistently complete monthly reports because she has to cover residential shifts. When she does undertake monitoring, it is not realistic. For example, there is no evaluation of Inspection report children’s home: SC457435 5 the limited school attendance for the child. This means that shortfalls in practice are not identified and rectified.

p.4

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

Staff are provided with a range of training to support their care of the child. Training is a mixture of online learning and face-to-face workshops, provided by the home’s mental health practitioner. This means that training can be provided when required. For example, staff recently undertook a refresher workshop on professional boundaries. They have also revisited their learning on attachment and trauma. The approach to training means that learning is timely and pertinent to the child.

p.5

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

Despite their low numbers, staff are happy working in the home. They are very pleased with the support they receive from the new manager. Staff generally receive supervision in line with the home’s policy. Staff practice is appraised. When there are concerns about practice, capability measures are undertaken. The approach to staff support means that the current staff team is invested in working in the home and providing consistent care to the child.

p.5

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

Children are safeguarded through safe recruitment processes. All new staff, including those who previously worked at the home, are subject to full checks and references. It is not always easy to find evidence of these checks in staff files, because of the demands on the manager’s time. The manager accepts this and is committed to streamlining these systems.

p.5

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

The children’s home has internal quality assurance visits. These visits are helpful. They are realistic and identify shortfalls in practice. There is some evidence of progress being made following the most recent visit. The home also has monthly external quality assurance visits from the independent person. The manager welcomes such oversight and values the opportunity to learn where improvements need to be made. Inspection report children’s home: SC457435 6

p.5

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.

p.6

Requirement Due date

The education standard is that children make measurable progress towards achieving their educational potential and are helped to do so.

p.6

Requirement Due date

In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to ensure—

p.6

Requirement Due date

help each child to achieve the child’s education and training targets, as recorded in the child’s relevant plans; and

p.6

Requirement Due date

understand the barriers to learning that each child may face and take appropriate action to help the child to overcome any such barriers. (Regulation 8 (1) (2)(a)(i)(iii))

p.6

Requirement Due date

In particular, the staff will ensure that the child is helped to overcome their anxiety about attending school, so that their attendance improves and is sustained. This requirement is repeated from the last inspection. 31 October 2021

p.6

Requirement Due date

The positive relationships standard is that children are helped to develop, and to benefit from, relationships based on—

p.6

Requirement Due date

an understanding about acceptable behaviour; and

p.6

Requirement Due date

positive responses to other children and adults.

p.6

Requirement Due date

In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to ensure—

p.6

Requirement Due date

help each child to develop and practise skills to resolve conflicts positively and without harm to anyone; and 31 October 2021 Inspection report children’s home: SC457435 7 that each child is encouraged to build and maintain positive relationships with others. (Regulation 11 (1)(a)(b)(c) (2)(a)(iv)(b))

p.6

Requirement Due date

In particular, the child to be helped to resolve difficulties in their relationships with others, including members of staff.

p.7

Requirement Due date

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

p.7

Requirement Due date

In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to ensure—

p.7

Requirement Due date

are familiar with, and act in accordance with, the home’s child protection policies;

p.7

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; and

p.7

Requirement Due date

that the effectiveness of the home’s child protection policies is monitored regularly. (Regulation 12 (1) (2)(a)(vii)(b)(e))

p.7

Requirement Due date

In particular, staff must comply with the home’s missing from home policy, which requires staff to search the local area when the child is missing. 31 October 2021

p.7

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—

p.7

Requirement Due date

helps children aspire to fulfil their potential; and

p.7

Requirement Due date

In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to—

p.7

Requirement Due date

ensure that the home has sufficient staff to provide care for each child;

p.7

Requirement Due date

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; and 31 October 2021 Inspection report children’s home: SC457435 8 use monitoring and review systems to make continuous improvements in the quality of care provided in the home. (Regulation 13 (1)(a)(b) (2)(d)(f)(h))

p.7

Requirement Due date

In particular, the staff team must be increased through successful recruitment. The impact of low staffing and other processes in the home must be monitored and evaluated, so that issues are identified and rectified.

p.8

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—

p.8

Requirement Due date

helps children aspire to fulfil their potential; and

p.8

Requirement Due date

promotes their welfare. (Regulation 13 (1)(a)(b))

p.8

Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person must ensure that they recruit a manager who meets the requirements of the children’s homes regulations. 31 October 2021

p.8

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: SC457435 9

p.8

Children’s home details

Registered provider: Cambian Childcare Limited

p.9

Children’s home details

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

p.9

Children’s home details

Responsible individual: Susan Fitzsimmons

p.9

Inspector

Jane Titley, Social Care Inspector Inspection report children’s home: SC457435 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.

p.9

Inspector

If you would like a copy of this document in a different format, such as large print or Braille, please telephone 0300 123 1231, or email enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk . You may reuse this information (not including logos) free of charge in any format or medium, under the terms of the Open Government Licence. To view this licence, visit www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence , write to the Information Policy Team, The National Archives, Kew, London TW9 4DU, or email: psi@nationalarchives.gsi.gov.uk .

p.10

Inspector

Interested in our work? You can subscribe to our monthly newsletter for more information and updates: http://eepurl.com/iTrDn .

p.10

Inspector

T: 0300 123 1231 Textphone: 0161 618 8524 E: enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk W: www.gov.uk/ofsted

p.10