Children's Home, Residential special school run by The Partnership of The Chartwell Group in Cambridgeshire

Inspection report children's home: SC015264 1 SC015264 Registered provider: The Partnership of The Chartwell Group Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This privately owned home provides care and education in a small group setting for up to seven children with social, emotional and/or behavioural and/or learning difficulties. The home specialises in offering long-term placements to boys. The on- site school is registered with the Department for Education.

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Information about this children’s home

The registered manager left in April 2021.

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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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Overall experiences and progress of

children and young people, taking into account

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good

How well children and young people are helped and protected good

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good

The effectiveness of leaders and managers good

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good

The children’s home provides effective services that meet the requirements for good.

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good

Date of last inspection: 12 February 2020

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good

Overall judgement at last inspection: good

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report children's home: SC015264 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

12/02/2020 Full Good 18/12/2018 Full Good 31/05/2017 Full Good 23/03/2017 Interim Sustained effectiveness Inspection report children's home: SC015264 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Since September 2020, two children have moved on from the home. One child had a planned move and the other child moved to somewhere more suitable when it was clear that this home was not the best place for him. There were two children living at the home at the time of the inspection. They have benefited from long-term placements of two and three years.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The staff have positive relationships with children. They know the children well and understand their individual needs. Staff are nurturing and provide good care. Consequently, children feel valued and well cared for.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The children have good education outcomes. Both children attend the school that is on the same site as the home. The staff and the school staff work together well to support children both at school and at the home. The children benefited from the school remaining open throughout the COVID-19 pandemic, which meant that their learning continued.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children spend valuable time with family members who are important to them. Staff support children to see their families. Staff take time to build trust with the children’s families. Parents said that their children are happy and safe. One family member said that his brother ‘could be a little boy again’ since living at the home. Families feel assured that their children are receiving good child-centred care.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff encourage children to try new activities and join clubs. One child is part of a drama group and has recently received an award for the best newcomer. One child has recently applied to join the cadets. Staff encourage the children to meet new people, make friends and learn new skills. Giving children these opportunities improves their self-esteem, encourages them to experience new activities and enables them to form new friendships.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff encourage children to be a part of the local community. Children have been involved in various fundraising activities and projects. These include sending Christmas parcels to service personnel abroad and taking part in a sponsored walk to raise money for a local cancer unit. Helping children to help others gives them a sense of pride and develops their empathy. Getting children involved with the local community gives them a sense of belonging.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The house is spacious and welcoming, and it feels like a family home. There are photos of the children and awards that the children have achieved displayed around the home. The children have use of several separate rooms to play games and enjoy arts and crafts. The garden has a large fruit and vegetable patch that the children help to maintain. Children’s bedrooms are personalised to their own tastes and to meet their individual needs. The children are relaxed at the home and benefit from the well-kept environment. Inspection report children's home: SC015264 4

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How well children and young people are helped and protected: good

Children are safeguarded and feel safe at the home. The manager has ensured that the staff have the appropriate training and that they understand the safeguarding procedures. Staff are confident and equipped to manage safeguarding incidents, which helps to keep the children safe.

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How well children and young people are helped and protected: good

The children’s behaviour plans focus on positive reinforcement. The plans include children’s input on how they want to be supported. The plans guide the staff effectively. The staff have created a unique and personalised model for reward systems. Children are positively motivated by the reward system. They are developing good coping strategies to manage their feelings and emotions safely.

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How well children and young people are helped and protected: good

The staff rarely use physical interventions, and when they are used, they are appropriate, necessary and proportionate. Staff are supportive and nurturing to children during and after any incidents. Staff encourage the children to reflect after incidents and help them to manage their emotions in a safe way. Supporting children in this way has resulted in a reduction of physical interventions.

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How well children and young people are helped and protected: good

Staff take bullying incidents seriously and support the children involved. Staff take action to reduce the likeliness of recurrence. They help children to understand the impact of bullying and to explore their feelings and emotions. Children feel safe to talk about bullying concerns because the staff act and listen.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

There has been no registered manager in post since April 2021. However, there are strong interim management arrangements. A qualified and experienced manager from within the organisation oversees the home. She knows the home well. Staff and a social worker have given good feedback on these management arrangements. The organisation is striving to recruit a suitably qualified and experienced manager. The action that leaders have taken to provide daily oversight of the home has meant that the absence of a registered manager has not had a negative impact on the children’s progress. Despite this, the organisation is required by regulation to have a permanent registered manager to lead and manage the home.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The staff said that the interim manager is supportive and approachable and has an open-door policy. Staff have regular and effective supervision. The interim manager has made improvements in communication and is providing a consistent approach. Staff feel well equipped to meet children’s needs and benefit from the manager’s experience.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The staff have training to meet the children’s individual needs. The manager and staff benefit from support from a clinical psychologist, who provides consultations to the staff. The consultations give staff good training and guidance which encourages them to use a consistent and therapeutic approach with the children. Inspection report children's home: SC015264 5 The previous manager identified that the children are at risk of climbing on the shed roof in the garden. The interim manager has implemented safety strategies to reduce the risk. However, these strategies have not been recorded. This means that the records do not reflect how the risk is being managed. Inspection report children's home: SC015264 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 registered provider must appoint a person to manage the children’s home if—

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Requirement Due date

there is no registered manager in respect of the home; and

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Requirement Due date

is an organisation or a partnership. (Regulation 27 (1)(a)(b)(i))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, appoint and register a suitable manager. 3 November 2021

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Recommendation

 The registered person should review the appropriateness and suitability of the location and premises of the home at least once a year. In particular, ensure that risk-reduction strategies in respect of children climbing onto the shed roof are recorded. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 64, paragraph 15.1)

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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: SC015264 7

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: The Partnership of The Chartwell Group

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: The Jays, Goodens Lane, Newton, Wisbech, Cambridgeshire PE13 5HQ

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Children’s home details

Responsible individual: Christopher Wright

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Inspector

Amy Miles, Social Care Inspector Inspection report children's home: SC015264 8 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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