Children's home run by Cambian Childcare Limited in Stockport

Inspection report children’s home: SC457434 1 SC457434 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 company owns and manages this children’s home. The home provides care for one child who may have social and emotional difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

The qualified manager registered with Ofsted in November 2020.

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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 15 September 2020 to carry out an assurance 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 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

Overall judgement at last inspection: requires improvement to be good

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requires improvement to be good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report children’s home: SC457434 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

09/04/2019 Full Requires improvement to be good 26/06/2018 Full Good 08/08/2017 Full Outstanding 31/01/2017 Interim Improved effectiveness Inspection report children’s home: SC457434 3

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improvement to be good

The child is settled in the home. She knows her staff team well, despite some recent changes in staffing that have taken place. She has made good local links in the community and is considering staying in the area when she leaves care. This will be beneficial as she could receive support from current staff.

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improvement to be good

Relationships that staff develop with the child are not consistently professional. Some staff share very personal information with the child. Others allow the child to become too familiar with them. One member of staff enabled the child to see a former member of staff secretly. This incident upset the child at the time, and she continues to be affected some months later. Some of these difficulties have involved the registered manager. As a result, this issue is slow to improve. The child is not being helped to develop appropriate, trusting relationships with staff. This leaves her vulnerable to those who might cause her harm.

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improvement to be good

The child is not being adequately supported to plan for her independence. Staff help her to practise some skills, such as basic household tasks. However, this work is not structured. There is no pathway plan, and she does not have a personal adviser. Given the child’s age, this is a significant gap. She is at risk of experiencing difficulties when she moves on, due to this failure to make plans in good time.

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improvement to be good

The child’s education needs are being met. Her attendance is excellent, and she is motivated to do well. The child values the learning that she is doing. She has also secured a part-time job, which is helping her to develop aspirations for the future. Her success with education and employment is improving her sense of self-worth.

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improvement to be good

The child’s physical health needs are being met. Staff encourage her to attend routine and urgent medical appointments. Despite the restrictions imposed by the pandemic, she has had check-ups at the dentist and the opticians in recent weeks. Staff also support the child with more-complex medical issues. Recently, this has included going to the hospital for investigative checks. As a result, the child is healthy and is learning the importance of looking after herself.

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improvement to be good

The child benefits from support that she receives from a qualified mental health practitioner. The child receives this support directly, as well as indirectly through staff. She is learning to be open about her worries and to use the strategies recommended to help her. This is evidence of progress from her starting points.

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improvement to be good

Staff support the child to maintain her relationships with her family. Staff communicate effectively with members of her family, so that the time she spends with them is generally positive. This support helps the child to maintain her sense of identity. It also helps her to be realistic about the issues that led to her coming into care. Inspection report children’s home: SC457434 4

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improvement to be good

The child has not been safeguarded consistently. Staff know the detail of risk management plans, but do not always follow them. For example, the child was missing from home due to poor levels of supervision by staff. The overly familiar relationships that staff develop with the child mean that they do not always prioritise her vulnerabilities. This means that, on occasion, the child has been at risk of harm.

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improvement to be good

The registered manager has not notified the regulator of all serious safeguarding incidents. Senior leaders accept this shortfall. They are committed to improving their oversight of this management responsibility.

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improvement to be good

When the child is missing, staff follow the missing-from-home protocol closely. This includes searching for her and sharing information with other agencies such as the British Transport Police. As well as finding her quickly, this shows the child that staff care about her and want her to be safe. This is immensely important to her and helps her to believe that she is valued.

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improvement to be good

The child does not misuse substances, engage in antisocial behaviour or become involved with those who might cause her harm. Staff undertake training on these and other risks. They also carry out educative work with the child on these topics, to improve her knowledge. The child is learning about her own vulnerabilities and is making progress as a result.

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good

Monitoring undertaken by the registered manager is not effective. Monitoring processes do not track progress against previously identified shortfalls. This means that the same issues arise for several months with no evidence of improvement. Serious issues are not always raised, particularly in relation to staffing. When concerns are highlighted, the impact on the child is not clearly evaluated. This does not drive forward the improvements that the child needs. However, the requirement made at the last inspection has been met.

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good

Management oversight does not identify issues with the physical state of the home. For example, the garden was very untidy, meaning that the child cannot enjoy this outside space. There is no one employed to maintain the garden, meaning that staff are responsible for this task. The garden compares poorly with other homes in the area and does not give the child a sense that she is valued.

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good

Staff receive supervision and appraisal of their practice. The workforce development plan states that new staff will receive supervision every two weeks. This plan also notes that new staff will complete three shadow shifts before being a full part of the rota. This does not happen. This means that staff new to the home, including those new to working in children’s homes, do not receive the level of supervision and experience they expect. There is no evaluation of the impact of this gap in practice. Inspection report children’s home: SC457434 5 The registered manager responds well the external monitoring of the home. For example, the independent person raised issues about the quality of risk management plans. These plans were amended and are now far more specific. This form of monitoring is more effective that the registered manager’s own systems. The child benefits from someone outside of the organisation overseeing the quality

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good

Staff receive the training that they need to meet the child’s needs. Staff undertake a broad range of learning before they begin working in the home. New staff report that this is extremely helpful. Learning includes bespoke training aimed at meeting the unique needs of the child. In addition, staff complete appropriate qualifications within the required timescales. As a result, staff are equipped with the necessary skills and knowledge to understand and meet the child’s needs.

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good

Several members of staff have been ill with COVID-19 or have had to self-isolate in recent months. This means that staff from the sister home and others within the provider group have provided cover. The registered manager ensures that staff only work in the home if they already know the child. This reassures the child and provides consistency of care. Inspection report children’s home: SC457434 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, the 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. (Regulation 12 (1) (2)(a)(i))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person must ensure that staff provide the level of supervision that the child needs, in order to ensure the child’s safety. This must take into account the child’s individual needs. 31 October 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—

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Requirement Due date

lead and manage the home in a way that is consistent with the approach and ethos, and delivers the outcomes, set out in the home’s statement of purpose. (Regulation 13 (1)(a)(b) (2)(a))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person must ensure that staff’s relationships with the child are appropriate and based on the child’s needs. Care must be taken to ensure these relationships do not become overly familiar. 31 October 2021 Inspection report children’s home: SC457434 7 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—

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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

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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

In particular, the registered person must ensure that monitoring and evaluation of the home is realistic. Managers must understand how well the needs of children are being met, where there are shortfalls and what needs to happen to improve progress. 31 October 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.

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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

plan for, and help, each child to prepare to leave the home or to move into adult care in a way that is consistent with arrangements agreed with the child’s placing authority. (Regulation 14 (1)(b) (2)(b)(iii))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person must ensure that planning for the child to move on to their next placement is considered in appropriate timescales and reflects the child’s individual needs. 31 October 2021

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must notify HMCI and each other relevant person without delay if— 31 October 2021 Inspection report children’s home: SC457434 8 there is any other incident relating to a child which the registered person considers to be serious. (Regulation 40 (4)(e))

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must notify the regulator whenever a child is involved in an incident that is serious for them or potentially serious for others.

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that the children’s home is a nurturing and supportive environment that meets the needs of its children, and that it is a homely, domestic environment. This particularly applies to ensuring that the outside of the home, including the garden, is maintained to a reasonable standard. (‘Guide to the children’s home regulations including the quality standards’, page 15, paragraph 3.9)  The registered person should have a workforce plan that sets out the processes for the induction of new staff and the process and timescales for supervision. The registered person should ensure that these processes are followed in respect of all staff who work in the children’s home. (‘Guide to the children’s home regulations including the quality standards’, page 53, paragraph 10.8)

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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: SC457434 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: Cambian Childcare Limited, Metropolitan House, 3 Darkes Lane, Potters Bar, Hertfordshire EN6 1AG

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Inspector

Jane Titley, Social Care Inspector Inspection report children’s home: SC457434 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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Inspector

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Inspector

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Inspector

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