Children's Home run by Cambian Childcare Limited in Walsall

Inspection report children's home: SC476270 1 SC476270 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 home is run by a private organisation and provides care for up to five children who have suffered significant harm or childhood trauma. There were two children living in the home at the time of the inspection.

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Information about this children’s home

The home has not had a registered manager since December 2019. A permanent manager has been appointed who will be making an application to register.

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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: inadequate

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Enforcement action since last inspection:

This children’s home was judged as inadequate at a full inspection on 19 and 20 July 2021. Following this inspection, three compliance notices were issued. In addition, a notice of restriction was issued on 21 July 2021 to prevent any further children from being admitted to the home. Inspection report children's home: SC476270 2 Ofsted completed a monitoring inspection on 14 September 2021 to evaluate the provider’s progress in meeting the compliance notices and to ensure that it was complying with the restriction notice. The inspection found that the provider had made good progress in meeting the compliance notice in relation to regulation 12, the care planning standard. As a result of these improvements, this compliance notice was met. Some progress had been made in meeting the two other compliance notices. However, not all of the required steps had been completed. Consequently, two compliance notices were reissued, and the notice of restriction

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Enforcement action since last inspection:

This inspection reviewed the provider’s progress in meeting the two compliance notices and their adherence to the restriction notice. Inspection report children's home: SC476270 3

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

19/07/2021 Full Inadequate 19/12/2019 Full Outstanding 12/03/2019 Interim Improved effectiveness 30/04/2018 Full Good Inspection report children's home: SC476270 4

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improvement to be good

The recently appointed manager has continued to embed her vision for the home. She acknowledges that the home is on a journey of improvement. There are early signs of promise. For example, both children’s relationships with staff are getting better. The newly redecorated home provides children and staff with a sense of pride and belonging. The manager is working hard to address shortfalls in staff practice and improve morale.

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improvement to be good

Partnership working between staff and the on-site school is now more effective. Staff now work more closely with teachers to provide children with consistent care. For example, teachers and staff complete daily handovers and share information about children’s behaviour and progress. Both children are now attending school on a full-time basis. There are early indicators that this joined-up approach is having a positive impact on children’s progress. For example, a child recently received a reward for improved behaviour in school.

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improvement to be good

Staff continue to improve the quality of individualised care children receive. For example, staff have helped one child who has significant difficulty settling at night. Staff purchased a range of audio books to help the child prepare for bedtime. As a result, the child recently slept all night. This is significant progress for this child. In another example, staff ensure that one child has his favourite snack at school to help him settle at lunchtime.

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improvement to be good

Children have regular opportunities to express their opinions and make requests to improve their quality of care. Staff listen to children’s views and when possible act on them. For example, children receive new items for their bedrooms and help staff to design menus. The manager is planning to redesign the children’s consultation form, as a further means to encourage children to have their say.

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improvement to be good

Staff practice is increasingly structured, proactive and playful. For example, staff encourage children to take part in a range of activities. The manager has worked alongside one child to reduce the amount of time he spends on a games console. Children benefit from improved structures and routines. For example, staff now support both children each morning to prepare promptly for school. However, this good progress is undermined by the quality of staff recording. Records do not demonstrate how staff follow the home’s therapeutic ethos as set out in the statement of purpose. For example, records show that some staff use punitive language and do not support children to learn from challenging incidents and explore the context of their behaviours.

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improvement to be good

Staff understand the importance of children spending time with family and friends. They advocate for children to make sure that these arrangements reflect their Inspection report children's home: SC476270 5 wishes. However, the plans to support these arrangements are not contained in children’s files.

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improvement to be good

Children’s risk assessments include all known factors that may compromise their safety. These plans provide staff with sufficient guidance to manage risks. The manager recently introduced these changes to ensure that children are better protected from harm and that staff practice is more consistent.

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improvement to be good

The manager has introduced new systems to reward children for their positive behaviour. Each child has a personalised reward chart. Staff work closely with teachers to agree joint targets. Both children have responded positively to this new approach. There are early signs that children’s behaviour is settling. A teacher told the inspector, ‘We have put incentives in place which are also linked to the home. I definitely feel he [child] is making steps forward. He seems more mature.’

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improvement to be good

Staff challenge incidents of bullying and play-fighting effectively and ensure that work is undertaken with children to improve relationships. Overall, the level of challenging incidents is reducing. However, records of these incidents lack information and oversight by the manager. This is a missed opportunity to scrutinise incidents and identify learning to improve practice.

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improvement to be good

Staff do not consistently support children to reflect on challenging incidents and to learn from them. For example, the quality of some one-to-one support is poor and not in line with the children’s needs. This means that children do not always have opportunities to reflect on their behaviour.

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improvement to be good

Staff use restraint to prevent children from harming themselves or others. However, records of these incidents lack detail. For example, staff do not consistently record their efforts to de-escalate behaviours or outline the events leading up to the incident. These recording shortfalls do not provide the manager with the necessary information to make an informed assessment of staff practice.

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improvement to be good

The manager has worked hard to address the environmental risks identified at the previous inspection. For example, newly erected fencing blocks access points between the home and the on-site school.

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good

Senior leaders and the manager are committed to making the necessary changes to staff practice. The manager has enhanced her monitoring systems to scrutinise the quality of care children receive. For example, she now completes a daily ‘walk around’ of the home to assess its presentation and has introduced daily checklists for staff to complete. There are early indicators that staff practice is improving. For example, the quality of staff handovers and shift planning is more robust. The Inspection report children's home: SC476270 6 manager recently met with staff to set out her expectations for the home. Staff speak positively about the manager and the quality of her support.

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good

Leaders and managers have worked hard to support staff and improve their morale. For example, a senior leader recently held an open meeting to gather staff views about the home. Following this meeting, senior leaders introduced small yet important measures to reward staff and improve morale. For example, staff receive treat boxes as an acknowledgement of their good practice. A member of staff told the inspector, ‘We held a really good meeting with the senior manager. He listened to us and made changes. The home feels more settled now.’

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good

Overall, staff receive good-quality training that equips them with the skills and knowledge to provide well-informed care. The manager acknowledges that staff require further support to understand and fully embed the home’s model of care. She has plans to provide staff with regular workshops to enhance their knowledge of this aspect of practice.

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good

Despite this progress, shortfalls remain. For example, staff do not receive good- quality supervision that supports them to provide effective care. Staff are not afforded the opportunity to identify areas for future development. The manager does not agree actions arising from supervision sessions. This limits staff’s development. In addition, the inspection identified several shortfalls in the quality of children’s plans, one-to-one support and staff recording. These shortfalls demonstrate that staff require further support to fully embed the therapeutic ethos of the home. Furthermore, some children’s files did not contain important local authority plans and internal plans lack detail and analysis about children’s progress. As a result, staff may not fully understand children’s progress or offer support that responds to their needs.

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good

This inspection also reviewed the provider’s progress in meeting the compliance notices and its adherence to the restriction notice. The inspector found that no further children have been admitted to the home. Therefore, the restriction notice has been adhered to. The inspection found that good progress has been made in addressing the shortfalls identified at the previous inspection. As a result, the compliance notices are met. Ofsted has lifted the restriction notice. The manager has worked hard to meet some of the requirements raised at the previous inspection. However, the home remains without a registered manager and some staff have not yet completed the required level 3 qualification within the expected time frame. As a result, both requirements are repeated. Inspection report children's home: SC476270 7

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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 positive relationships standard is that children are helped to develop, and to benefit from, relationships based on—

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Requirement Due date

an understanding about acceptable behaviour;

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Requirement Due date

positive responses to other children and adults.

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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

help each child to develop socially aware behaviour;

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Requirement Due date

encourage each child to take responsibility for the child’s behaviour, in accordance with the child’s age and understanding;

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Requirement Due date

help each child to develop and practise skills to resolve conflicts positively and without harm to anyone;

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Requirement Due date

communicate to each child expectations about the child’s behaviour and ensure that the child understands those expectations in accordance with the child’s age and understanding;

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Requirement Due date

help each child to understand, in a way that is appropriate according to the child’s age and understanding, personal, sexual and social relationships, and how those relationships can be supportive or harmful;

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Requirement Due date

understand how children’s previous experiences and present emotions can be communicated through behaviour and have the competence and skills to interpret these and develop positive relationships with children. 22 November Inspection report children's home: SC476270 8 (Regulation 11 (1)(a)(b)(c) (2)(a)(ii)(iii)(iv)(v)(vi)(ix))

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Requirement Due date

This particularly refers to staff providing children with good- quality and nurturing one-to-one support to help them to understand and manage their challenging behaviours.

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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

This specifically relates to the registration of a suitable manager for the home. 22 November

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must recruit staff using recruitment procedures that are designed to ensure children’s safety.

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Requirement Due date

For the purposes of paragraph (3)(b), an individual who works in the home in a care role has the appropriate qualification if, by the relevant date, the individual has attained—

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Requirement Due date

the Level 3 Diploma for Residential Childcare (England) ("the Level 3 Diploma"); or

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Requirement Due date

a qualification which the registered person considers to be equivalent to the Level 3 Diploma.

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Requirement Due date

in the case of an individual who starts working in a care role in a home after 1st April 2014, the date which falls 2 years after the date on which the individual started working in a care role in a home; or

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Requirement Due date

in the case of an individual who was working in a care role in a home on 1st April 2014, 1st April 2016. (Regulation 32 (1)(4)(a)(b) (5)(a)(b))

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Requirement Due date

This specifically relates to ensuring that staff obtain the level 3 qualification within the required time frame. 22 November Inspection report children's home: SC476270 9 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 particularly refers to the manager providing staff with good-quality supervision that supports them to develop their practice. 22 November

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Requirement Due date

within 24 hours of the use of a measure of control, discipline or restraint in relation to a child in the home, a record is made which includes—

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Requirement Due date

details of the child’s behaviour leading to the use of the measure;

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Requirement Due date

a description of the measure and its duration;

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Requirement Due date

details of any methods used or steps taken to avoid the need to use the measure;

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Requirement Due date

the effectiveness and any consequences of the use of the measure. (Regulation 35 (3)(a)(ii)(iv)(v)(vii))

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Requirement Due date

This particularly refers to staff completing good-quality and clear records following incidents of restraint. 22 November

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must maintain records ("case records") for each child which—

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Requirement Due date

include the information and documents listed in Schedule 3 in relation to each child;

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Requirement Due date

are kept up to date. (Regulation 36 (1)(a)(b))

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Requirement Due date

This particularly refers to staff ensuring that children’s plans are detailed and fully reflect their needs. In addition, staff should ensure that children’s local authority plans, including arrangements for family time, are on file. Furthermore, staff records should reflect the therapeutic ethos of the home. 22 November Inspection report children's home: SC476270 10

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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: SC476270 11

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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, Metropolitan House, 3 Darkes Lane, Potters Bar EN6 1AG

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Inspector

Gareth Leckey, Social Care Inspector Inspection report children's home: SC476270 12 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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