Children's Home run by Cambian Childcare Limited in Shropshire

Inspection report children's home: 2626047 1 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

This is a privately owned home which provides care and accommodation for up to five children. The home specialises in providing a 12-month therapeutic programme for children who are at risk of or subject to child sexual exploitation.

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Information about this children’s home

The home was registered on 4 March 2021. There is a registered manager in post.

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Information about this children’s home

Due to COVID-19, 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: not previously inspected

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good

Overall judgement at last inspection: not applicable

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: not applicable Inspection report children's home: 2626047 2

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Recent inspection history

Not previously inspected Inspection report children's home: 2626047 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Two children live in the home. Another child has recently transitioned to a new home.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children say they are happy living in the home. Staff form positive relationships with children. Children say they trust staff and can talk to them about their traumatic experiences. One child said, ‘They [staff] help me to talk about things, difficult things.’ As a result, children develop better confidence and self-esteem. This means that they are able to engage in their therapy. This is an important part of their journey to recovery.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children make excellent progress with their education. They attend a school within the same organisation. Children achieve 100% attendance. This is in stark contrast to before they were living in the home. For example, one child only attended one lesson once a week. This child is now attending full time. Children also exceed age- related expectations in respect of their educational achievements. The headmaster said that children receive ‘fantastic’ support at home. Also, that the registered manager and staff place importance on supporting children’s education.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff support children to keep in touch with people who are important to them. This includes completing thorough risk assessments. The manager and staff build excellent relationships with family members. As a result, parent-and-child relationships improve. Everyone works together to keep children safe.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff encourage children to try different activities. They also encourage them to develop new hobbies, such as horse riding and kick boxing. Staff support children’s identity with sensitivity. They helped one child who had poor self-image to develop their own style of clothing. The home employed a seamstress to help them design their own outfits. This helped them to feel more confident and improved their emotional well-being.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The registered manager has formed an effective link with health professionals. They are working closely together to look at how they can improve outcomes for children. In particular, children who have poor mental health and their transition in and out of care.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The matching of children’s needs to the home is not always thorough. On one occasion, there was not enough professional curiosity shown regarding referral information. At the time, the registered manager was on leave. As a result, a child with very complex mental health needs moved into the home. This had a detrimental impact on all children and staff. One child said they felt unsafe when the other child was living in the home. Inspection report children's home: 2626047 4

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

Children have thorough individual risk assessments. These are regularly reviewed and updated. They provide staff with clear information about the risks to children and how they should respond. Recording processes are excellent and evidence the action taken and the follow-up work completed to help children learn to keep themselves safe.

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

Managers complete child-focused safety plans with the children. These plans help children to understand their behaviours and some of the risks they may pose. The plans also help staff to understand children’s feelings and responses. This is because staff listen to children and incorporate their views into their plans. As a result, children trust staff and are more often able to regulate their feelings safely.

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

Staff encourage positive behaviour. Children receive rewards and earn points to achieve them, such as when they get up for school on time. Once they have achieved so many points, they can then choose a reward, for example an activity of their choice. Or they may receive money to contribute to something they are saving to buy. This is a system which works well. It also helps children to budget and understand the value of money.

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

When children self-harm, staff respond with sensitivity and compassion. Children are able to confide in staff and seek the support they need. This is because of the positive relationships they have with the staff.

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

Incidents of children going missing from the home are low. The manager has strong links with the local police and the Philomena initiative. This ensures that vital information about children is quickly shared. This helps to locate children as soon as possible if they go missing.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager and staff are passionate and committed. They confidently escalate concerns about the needs of children with professionals, for example, advocating for one child to receive an assessment of their needs. As a result, professionals identified that this child required specialist support.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager is relentless in their challenge of delay by other professionals. They also raise concerns about decisions which are not in children’s best interests. As a result, one child with poor mental health moved to a home which could better meet their needs. This was a planned move which professionals describe as ‘a credit’ to the manager and staff. However, senior managers did not intervene enough to support the registered manager. In particular, when there was a delay in the response of the local authority.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff receive training which is pertinent to children’s needs. They also receive support from mental health practitioners in the organisation’s clinical team. This support has been crucial when caring for children with very complex needs. As a Inspection report children's home: 2626047 5 result, staff have a good understanding of children’s needs. They know how to respond to them to keep them safe.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff receive regular supervision which encourages reflective practice. When children leave, the manager organises debrief and reflective days. Staff reflect as a team on the child’s time living in the home. The organisation’s clinical team also offers their support and contributes their reflections. This helps staff to understand children’s lived experiences. In addition, they identify any areas of development to improve practice.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Senior managers have not always ensured that there is adequate support in the home. For example, on one occasion, senior managers transferred staff to work in other homes. This left the staff team with shortfalls in experience and skills. Senior managers failed to reinstate this support when it was necessary. As a result, managers and staff worked excessive hours to ensure that children were safe.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager has good monitoring and reviewing systems in place. They have a good understanding of the areas in need of development in the home. The organisation has recently appointed a new responsible individual to the home. They are working closely with the manager. There are clear action plans in place to ensure that the home receives the necessary support. Inspection report children's home: 2626047 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

In meeting the quality standards, the registered person must, and must ensure that staff—

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Requirement Due date

If the registered person considers, or staff consider, a placing authority’s or a relevant person’s performance or response to be inadequate in relation to their role, challenge the placing authority or the relevant person to seek to ensure that each child’s needs are met in accordance with the child’s relevant plans. (Regulation 5 (c))

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Requirement Due date

This specifically relates to senior management acting sooner when there is delay in the response of the local authority. In particular, when there are concerns raised about a child’s needs being met safely, should they continue residing at the home. 3 November 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;

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Requirement Due date

ensure that staff have the experience, qualifications and skills to meet the needs of each child;

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Requirement Due date

ensure that the home has sufficient staff to provide care for each child; 3 November 2021 Inspection report children's home: 2626047 7 ensure that the home’s workforce provides continuity of care to each child;

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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;

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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)(a)(c)(d)(e)(f)(h))

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Requirement Due date

This specifically relates to senior management ensuring that there is adequate monitoring and oversight of the home, in addition to ensuring that the necessary support for the staff team is implemented.

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Requirement Due date

The care planning standard is that children—

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Requirement Due date

receive effectively planned care in or through the children’s home; and

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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

that children are admitted to the home only if their needs are within the range of needs of children for whom it is intended that the home is to provide care and accommodation, as set out in the home’s statement of purpose;

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Requirement Due date

ensure the effective induction of each child into the home;

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Requirement Due date

manage and review the placement of each child in the home; and

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Requirement Due date

that the child’s placing authority is contacted, and a review of that child’s relevant plans is requested, if—

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Requirement Due date

the registered person considers that the child is at risk of harm or has concerns that the care provided for the child is inadequate to meet the child’s needs. (Regulation 14 (1)(a)(b) (2)(a)(b)(i)(ii)(e)(i)) 3 November 2021 Inspection report children's home: 2626047 8 This specifically relates to ensuring that managers demonstrate professional curiosity and exploration when they receive a referral. Managers must use this information to ensure that children’s needs are correctly matched to the home.

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that improvements are made to provide young people with a more homely environment. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes regulations, including the quality standards’ page 15, paragraph 3.9)

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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: 2626047 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

Sarah Berry, Social Care Inspector Inspection report children's home: 2626047 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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