Children's Home run by Cambian Childcare Limited in Rochdale

Inspection report for children’s home: SC456419 1 SC456419 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 provider states in its statement of purpose that this home provides care for one child suffering with social, emotional and behavioural difficulties that result in complex needs. The manager registered with Ofsted in April 2021.

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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 carried out under the social care common inspection framework (SCCIF) on 17 March 2020. We returned to routine SCCIF inspections on 12 April 2021.

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Information about this children’s home

We last visited this setting on 24 November 2020 to carry out a monitoring 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 requires improvement to be 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: outstanding

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children’s home: SC456419 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

28/08/2019 Full Outstanding 13/03/2019 Interim Improved effectiveness 10/04/2018 Full Good 20/12/2017 Interim Improved effectiveness Inspection report for children’s home: SC456419 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are supported to build good relationships with the adults who are looking after them. Children are able to develop a sense of permanence and belonging. One child, who has moved out since the last inspection, lived in the home longer than anywhere he had lived previously. The child who is currently living in the home has settled in quickly. He told the inspector, ‘My life has got better since I moved here.’

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff encourage children to engage in a range of activities. The child is already making friends in a local youth group. He has also enjoyed holidays away in the summer, bowling, go karting and trips to the cinema. Memories have been captured in photographs. Staff encourage healthy friendships by inviting friends to the home.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are supported to attend education. Proactive multi-agency planning has meant that the child has successfully reintegrated back into education after a long period of absence before he moved in. As a result, he is safer and has become more aspirational about his future.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children’s health needs are met. Staff work with external services in order to improve children’s health. A substance misuse support worker said, ‘This is one of the best teams I have worked with. They have the child’s best interests in mind.’ This increased support network around the child has assisted him with substance reduction. The child told the inspector that he feels supported.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff support children to see their families. Staff work sensitively with parents, to ensure that they do not feel judged. The child’s family have been invited to celebrate events in the home. The child has been able to increase his time in the family home with the hope of returning there. His family are grateful for the support the child has received since moving in.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff regularly seek the views of the child. The child has invested in regular catch- ups with staff where a range of topics are explored. Management oversight of the meetings is infrequent and there are often actions identified that are not completed. This lack of oversight means that the child sometimes needs to wait longer than necessary for his requests to be actioned.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The home is clean, tidy and comfortable. The bathroom and kitchen have been replaced since the last visit. The manager has requested further maintenance. However, she has not used escalation processes to ensure that more urgent maintenance is attended to without delay. The facias and front door also require attention to ensure that the home is as welcoming outside as it is inside. Inspection report for children’s home: SC456419 4

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

Children are safer as a result of living in the home. Clear and detailed risk management plans identify relevant risks. Plans are regularly updated and guide staff on the actions to take to keep children safe. Staff work consistently to follow the plans in place.

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

Multi-agency working is effective in reducing risk. One social worker said, ‘Staff are great at tightening the rules when needed, but also relaxing them to allow [Name of child] the chance to make progress.’ This means that children will be more equipped with life skills for when they live independently.

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

Staff work hard to ensure that children do not go missing from home. By actively searching local and known areas that children go to and communicating closely with others, one child was often quickly located and returned to the home. Staff complete direct work with children to help them understand potential risks in the community.

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

Restraint is only used when necessary. Clear, detailed records are kept and overseen by the manager. Complaints and allegations are taken seriously. Managers follow relevant safeguarding procedures to ensure that all the relevant agencies are kept informed. Support is given to children and staff, who use a recognised model to reflect. This increases opportunities for staff to recognise how they may prevent future escalation.

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good

The manager is child-focused and passionate about her role. She is a dual manager overseeing two solo children’s homes. The child, staff and professionals spoke positively about the support the manager provides. However, a number of requirements made in the previous inspection have not been completed.

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good

The manager has not taken time to review the quality of care provided since being in post. She has also not made the changes to the rotas to ensure that it is clear who is working in the home and when. The manager’s disregard for formal feedback impacts on her vision for the future to ensure that the team is consistently aspirational for children. A lack of escalation also means that there is often a delay in actions being taken by others.

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good

After one child moved out of the home, staff spent time to reflect. By recognising the strengths and progress made, the manager has been able to praise the team’s resilience. This resilience meant that the child was able to receive support from a consistent team for a substantial period of time. The team’s ability to be reflective and learn means that each child is more likely to experience personalised care.

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good

The manager has carefully considered which child would benefit from living in the home. Efforts to seek as much information prior to decision-making has meant that Inspection report for children’s home: SC456419 5 staff have been prepared. Staff completed additional training in order to ensure that they have the skills to meet the child’s needs. This meets a previous requirement.

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good

There has been a small core team working with the child. A number of staff have moved to work in other homes. Staff from local homes within the company have assisted while recruitment takes place. However, the manager has not completed exit interviews to help identify whether there are any patterns and trends behind the poor retention levels. This reduces the opportunity to explore ways to retain staff and means less consistency for the child. Inspection report for children’s home: SC456419 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, the 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 quality and purpose of care standard is that children receive care from staff who—

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Requirement Due date

understand the children’s home’s overall aims and the outcomes it seeks to achieve for children;

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Requirement Due date

use this understanding to deliver care that meets children’s needs and supports them to fulfil their potential.

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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

ensure that the premises used for the purposes of the home are designed and furnished so as to—

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Requirement Due date

enable each child to participate in the daily life of the home. (Regulation 6 (1)(a)(b) (2)(c)(i)(ii))

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Requirement Due date

This specifically relates to ensuring that maintenance required and children’s reasonable requests are completed without delay. 16 January 2022

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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;

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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 16 January 2022 Inspection report for children’s home: SC456419 7 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

and use monitoring and review systems to make continuous improvements in the quality of care provided in the home. (Regulation 13 (1)(a)(b) (2)(f)(h))

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Requirement Due date

This relates specifically to the manager having a clear vision for the home, then reviewing action plans to ensure that the care provided continues to improve.

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Requirement Due date

This also relates to the manager using escalation processes if actions by others are not completed in a timely manner.

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Requirement Due date

Schedule 4 sets out the other information that the registered person must keep in relation to a children’s home.

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Requirement Due date

maintain in the home the records in Schedule 4; and

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Requirement Due date

ensure that the records are kept up to date. (Regulation 37 (1) (2)(a)(b))

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Requirement Due date

This relates specifically to staff rotas evidencing full names of staff, actual hours worked and time for staff to hand over information. This requirement is reinstated. 16 January 2022

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must complete a review of the quality of care provided for children (“a quality of care review”) at least once every 6 months.

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Requirement Due date

In order to complete a quality of care review the registered person must establish and maintain a system for monitoring, reviewing and evaluating—

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Requirement Due date

the quality of care provided for children;

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Requirement Due date

the feedback and opinions of children about the children’s home, its facilities and the quality of care they receive in it; and

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Requirement Due date

any actions that the registered person considers necessary in order to improve or maintain the quality of care provided for children.

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Requirement Due date

After completing a quality of care review, the registered person must produce a written report about the quality of 16 January 2022 Inspection report for children’s home: SC456419 8 care review and the actions which the registered person intends to take as a result of the quality of care review (“the quality of care review report”).

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Requirement Due date

supply to HMCI a copy of the quality of care review report within 28 days of the date on which the quality of care review is completed; and

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Requirement Due date

make a copy of the quality of care review report available on request to a placing authority, if the placing authority is not the parent of a child accommodated in the home.

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Requirement Due date

The system referred to in paragraph (2) must provide for ascertaining and considering the opinions of children, their parents, placing authorities and staff. (Regulation 45 (1) (2)(a)(b)(c) (3) (4)(a)(b) (5))

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Recommendations

 The registered person should monitor and review the patterns and trends of turnover of staff, whether agency or directly employed, and be able to understand and, where possible, address any negative trends. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations, including the quality standards’, page 54, paragraph 10.19)

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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 for children’s home: SC456419 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: Metropolitan House, 3 Darkes Lane, Potters Bar EN6 1AG

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Inspector

Sylvia Eboigbe, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: SC456419 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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