Children's Home run by Cambian Childcare Limited in Warwickshire

Inspection report children's home: SC457488 1 SC457488 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

The home provides care for up to five young people aged between eight and 18 who have experienced childhood trauma. The home is privately owned by a large organisation.

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Information about this children’s home

The home does not currently have a registered manager. A new manager is in post. They have submitted an application to register with Ofsted.

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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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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: SC457488 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

12/06/2019 Full Requires improvement to be good 16/05/2018 Full Good 25/07/2017 Full Good 09/02/2017 Interim Sustained effectiveness Inspection report children's home: SC457488 3

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improvement to be good

Since the last inspection, five children have moved into the home. One child’s admission was an emergency and they stayed for one night. Currently, two children live in the home. Both children have lived here for a short period of time.

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improvement to be good

Children do not receive good enough support from staff to help them make measurable progress. One child’s incidents of self-harm increased, and one child’s episodes of going missing from home have increased. Children who live in the home are not engaging in education. This limits the progress children are making.

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improvement to be good

Staff are not supporting children, through life-story work, to understand their journey. Children do not have photos or memory books. Consequently, children are not able to explore their memories of their time living in the home.

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improvement to be good

Staff build positive relationships with children and, as a result, children feel listened to. Social workers told the inspector children are beginning to trust the adults caring for them. Managers listen to children’s views and wishes and advocate for them well. For example, one child longs to move closer to home. Managers are actively liaising with other professionals to fulfil this child’s wishes to live closer to her friends. This demonstrates that the manager supports children to have opportunities to influence their care plan.

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improvement to be good

Children participate in a range of activities that are aimed at providing them with opportunities to relax and to enjoy their leisure time. For example, staff take children to the gym, horse riding, go-karting, swimming and outdoor activities. These opportunities promote their independence and social skills.

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improvement to be good

Managers understand the importance of a planned move from the home. They have successfully supported one child to return to live with their family. The plan around this move was well thought out. Staff continue to remain in touch with the child and their family.

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improvement to be good

Staff are not providing children with clear and consistent routines and boundaries to support them to behave positively. Staff do not intervene appropriately, which has resulted in some poor behaviour, including physical assaults on staff and damage to the home. This leaves children at risk of harm and potential criminalisation.

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improvement to be good

Staff manage some risks to children well. When children go missing, staff follow the protocol and actively look for them. However, managers have failed to ensure other risk and behaviour management plans offer the same robust step-by-step Inspection report children's home: SC457488 4 information for staff to follow. This has the potential to lead to inconsistent practice in how children are supported and protected from harm.

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improvement to be good

Managers have failed to fully consider and assess risk regarding a child’s known allergy. This omission leaves staff without all the information required to manage the risk.

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improvement to be good

The environment is not maintained to a good standard. During the inspection, window blind cords were observed to be unsecured. A poor standard of repair had been made to a light fixing. Staff and managers have not been able to prevent a child from smoking in their bedroom, despite discussing the dangers with them. Staff have used a prop to hold open a self-closing fire door. These shortfalls have the potential to be a risk to children’s health and well-being.

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improvement to be good

Staff failed to report an allegation of harm made by a child in the specified timeframe. The manager took swift action in addressing this shortfall on her return from annual leave. However, this lapse led to delays in meeting statutory requirements and could have left children at risk of harm.

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improvement to be good

Staff regularly work with the therapist to understand the complex needs of children and are learning how best to support them. The manager recognises the positive impact this knowledge can have on children’s experiences. Further work is planned in this area of development.

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good

Since the last inspection, a new manager has started in post. She has applied to register with Ofsted. She recognises there are shortfalls and is keen to improve the quality of care children receive. The manager is working closely with a senior manager to address the issues.

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good

Managers have failed to understand and implement care for one child as directed in specialist assessments. This has a negative impact on the child’s experience of being cared for and, ultimately, their ability to make progress.

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good

Prior to the new manager’s appointment, there was a lapse in staff having regular practice-led supervision. Staff are now receiving regular supervision and this is reflective and informative. Where staff practice has fallen short of expected standards, the manager is quick to instigate investigations and implement disciplinary procedures. As a result, poor practice is addressed appropriately.

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good

Alarms on bedroom doors are used to help keep children safe at night. However, managers have not carried out a rigorous assessment of children’s needs to support the requirement for this measure. This means the alarms may be being used unnecessarily and having an impact on a child’s sense of home. Inspection report children's home: SC457488 5 Since the last inspection, there has been a high turnover of staff. To ensure that children receive continuity of care, staff from another home within the company have been used to fill the gaps. This measure has provided children with more consistency while new staff are recruited.

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good

Managers and staff hold reflective meetings after incidents have occurred to look at lessons learned. Managers have also held reflective meetings with professionals to review children’s placements and learn from placement breakdowns. This reflection allows managers to look at what they have learned and make improvements. Inspection report children's home: SC457488 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 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;

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Requirement Due date

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

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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;

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Requirement Due date

that the premises used for the purposes of the home are designed, furnished and maintained so as to protect each child from avoidable hazards to the child’s health. (Regulation 12 (1) (2)(a)(i)(vii)(b)(d))

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Requirement Due date

This specifically relates to: including information about known allergies; to staff reporting allegations in the specified time; to ensuring window blind cords do not pose a risk to children, and where light fitting have been fixed to the wall they are secure, with no gaps where wires could be exposed; and to risk assessments having step-by-step guidance for staff in relation to de-escalation techniques and what physical intervention is best used depending on individual size, height and strength. 2 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— 2 November 2021 Inspection report children's home: SC457488 7 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. (Regulation 13 (1)(a)(b) (2)(f))

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Requirement Due date

This specifically relates to understanding and implementing care for children as directed in specialist assessments.

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Requirement Due date

the privacy of children is appropriately protected;

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Requirement Due date

children can access all appropriate areas of the children’s home’s premises; and

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Requirement Due date

any limitation placed on a child’s privacy or access to any area of the home’s premises—

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Requirement Due date

is intended to safeguard each child accommodated in the home;

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Requirement Due date

is kept under review and, if necessary, revised; and

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Requirement Due date

allows children as much freedom as is possible when balanced against the need to protect them and keep them safe. (Regulation 21(a)(b)(c)(i)(ii)(iii)(iv))

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Requirement Due date

This specifically relates to door alarms being used on children’s bedrooms. 2 November 2021

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Requirement Due date

After consultation with the fire and rescue authority, the registered person must—

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Requirement Due date

take adequate precautions against the risk of fire, including the provision of suitable fire equipment in the children’s home. 26 October 2021 Inspection report children's home: SC457488 8 (Regulation 25 (1)(a))

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Requirement Due date

This specifically relates to ensuring fire doors are not propped open and children do not smoke in the home.

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that all employees—

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Requirement Due date

undertake appropriate continuing professional development;

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Requirement Due date

receive practice-related supervision by a person with appropriate experience. (Regulation 33 (4)(a)(b))

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Requirement Due date

This specifically relates to staff having regular practice-based supervision. 2 November 2021

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that staff play a full role in life-story work for children in their care. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 16, paragraph 3.14)  The registered person should ensure that records must be kept detailing all individual incidents when children go missing from the home. This specifically relates to recording the time a child went missing and the location they went missing from. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 46, paragraph 9.31)

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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: SC457488 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

Jodie Lewis, Social Care Inspector Inspection report children's home: SC457488 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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