Children's Home run by Cambian Childcare Limited in West Northamptonshire

Inspection report children’s home: SC456719 1 SC456719 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 children’s home is privately owned. It cares for up to five children who may have emotional and behavioural difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager is experienced and has been registered with Ofsted since August 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 provisions on 17 March 2020.

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Information about this children’s home

We last visited this setting on 29 October 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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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

Overall judgement at last inspection: requires improvement to be good

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report children’s home: SC456719 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

22/05/2019 Full Requires improvement to be good 12/03/2019 Interim Declined in effectiveness 31/07/2018 Full Good 09/01/2018 Interim Sustained effectiveness Inspection report children’s home: SC456719 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are receiving good care from staff who know them well. There are strong and stable relationships between staff and children. A child said: ‘Staff have helped me to turn my life around.’

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The strength of relationships between staff and children influences the progress that children make. Children have trusted relationships with staff. Children are supported by staff to manage and improve their emotional health and well-being. A social worker said: ‘I am very happy with the home and the progress [name] is making.’

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children have a variety of avenues to share their views and have a say in how the home is run. Children know how to make complaints. Any complaint is taken seriously, and children are appropriately responded to. However, there was one complaint that was not escalated in a timely manner. There has been a learning exercise completed following this to learn any lessons. The manager recognises the need for staff to develop practices in being creative and flexible when gathering children’s views. This will guard against important information being lost.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are supported by the manager and staff to see the people who matter to them. A real strength of the staff team is promoting good engagement from children’s families in care planning processes. For one child, this has led to an improved relationship with a parent. The manager is a strong advocate for children. The manager makes sure that care plans for children meet their needs and they have the right services in place to help them progress.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are being supported to engage in education. Children are making progress from their respective starting points. The staff are being proactive in working together with education colleagues. A deputy headteacher said: ‘The contact with the home is fantastic. Staff have been very flexible in their approach.’ The registered manager has engaged well with education colleagues. However, at times, he has not escalated concerns when matters have drifted.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The home is warm and welcoming. All communal areas of the home are well maintained and are homely. However, staff have not always supported children to maintain their bedrooms to an acceptable standard; two rooms were very untidy at the time of the inspection. This detracts from what is otherwise a welcoming home environment.

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

Children are kept safe because the staff are vigilant. Staff identify early signs of risk and they understand children’s needs and vulnerabilities. There is a multi-agency safeguarding response to any incidents of concern. Staff have a good understanding Inspection report children’s home: SC456719 4 of safeguarding procedures, expectations, and the action they must take to safeguard children.

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

The staff nurture children and this helps children become safer. For one child, this has led to a significant reduction in self-harm incidents and going missing from care. The manager is diligent and has systems and processes in place to track incidents. The manager and staff work with involved agencies to understand the underlying reasons for difficult behaviour from children, or incidents of going missing. This helps them adjust their practice to try and keep children safe. Children going missing from the home has become increasingly rare. This is testament to good safeguarding practice.

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

Staff are experienced in behaviour management. Positive relationships and clear expectations help children to reduce behaviours that challenge staff. There have been minimal physical restrictive practices used within the home.

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

Recruitment checks on prospective new staff are safe. The manager is confident that safe recruitment practices are implemented and staff who are working in the home are safe to do so. When safeguarding concerns arise, there is a swift and thorough response from the manager and staff. The children’s safety and welfare are always prioritised.

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

The manager takes appropriate action if there are any concerns raised about the behaviour of staff. The manager liaises with relevant agencies, undertakes risk assessments and ensures that stringent measures are implemented to safeguard children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager is new to the home. He has appropriate experience in children’s residential care. He has enrolled on the required qualification for registered managers. Staff trust the manager and have confidence in him. A staff member said: ‘He has brought energy to the home and is a breath of fresh air.’

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager has implemented robust systems to monitor the quality of care provided. These include good regulation 44 visits that take place monthly from an independent visitor. The manager reviews all complaints and incidents and seeks feedback from children, staff and stakeholders. This enables him to maintain oversight of the home and quickly identify any concerns or issues.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff work well with other agencies. There are good lines of communication between the staff team and other professionals. All agencies reported the staff team to be doing a good job. Children are receiving consistent care from a stable staff team. A staff member said: ‘The morale is good. A strength of the home is how well we work together as a team.’

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff receive regular professional supervision and good training opportunities. Additionally, the manager is proactive in identifying further training that may benefit Inspection report children’s home: SC456719 5 staff and children. Staff meetings and individual supervisions could be further improved with opportunities for the staff to engage in more reflective discussions. The manager recognises that feedback for staff in relation to improving their care practice could be strengthened.

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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.

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Requirement Due date

Specifically, to escalate matters of delay that affect children’s care plans and access to services. 17 October 2021

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Recommendations

 The responsible person should help staff understand that children placed in homes may undergo a difficult transition and what should be simple aspects of their care take on a substantial significance in this context. Staff should provide a nurturing environment that is welcoming, supportive, and which provides appropriate boundaries in relation to their behaviour. Homes must also meet children’s basic day-to-day needs and physical necessities. Staff should seek to meet the child’s basic needs in the way that a good parent would, recognising that many children in residential care have experienced environments where these needs have not been consistently met – doing so is an important aspect of demonstrating that the staff care for the child and value them as an individual. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 15, paragraph 3.7)  Supervision of staff practice should ensure that individual adults in the home are

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Recommendations

engaged in the safeguarding culture of the home so they understand what they would need to do if they found other staff misusing or abusing their position to Inspection report children’s home: SC456719 6 the detriment of the safety of a child. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 43, paragraph 9.14)

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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: SC456719 7

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Cambian Childcare Limited

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Children’s home details

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

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Inspectors

Bev Allison, Social Care Inspector Pradip Panchmatia, Social Care Inspector Inspection report children’s home: SC456719 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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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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