Children's Home run by Cambian Childcare Limited in Tameside

Inspection report children’s home: SC430239 1 SC430239 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 is owned and managed by a large private company. The home provides care for up to five children. The provider states in their statement of purpose that they provide care for children with EBD (social and emotional difficulties.)

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Information about this children’s home

The manager registered with Ofsted in July 2020.

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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 in- spection framework (SCCIF) on 17 March 2020. We returned to routine SCCIF in- spections on 12 April 2021.

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Information about this children’s home

We last visited this setting on 3 February 2021 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

Date of last inspection: 13 November 2019

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good

Overall judgement at last inspection: Good

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: None Inspection report children’s home: SC430239 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

13/11/2019 Full Good 05/06/2018 Full Good 10/01/2018 Interim Declined in effectiveness 06/06/2017 Full Good Inspection report children’s home: SC430239 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children make measurable progress in relation to their individual starting points. They develop trusting relationships with staff and have positive attachments with the adults who care for them. Children benefit from continuity of care and have consistency and stability in their lives. Children benefit from well-planned, individualised care that meets their needs effectively.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children attend school or alternative educational provision. Children’s attendance is good, and the home promotes their educational achievements. Staff work in close partnership with the providers of the children’s education to support their learning and positive educational progress.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are offered a range of activities to promote their interests and hobbies. However, despite staff’s continued efforts, children rarely engage in activities at the home. Children have enjoyed some activities in the community, which have included quad biking, arcades, bowling and paintballing.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff work closely with health professionals to promote the children’s good health. They advise children about important health issues and encourage them to lead a healthy lifestyle. Children are registered with the health services they need and have access to these services when they need them.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

When children have refused to attend their scheduled health appointments, these are rearranged for them by staff. Both children’s annual health needs assessments are now outstanding, and the registered manager is in the process of planning these, with the nurse for children looked after.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are supported to develop their independent living skills. However, one eligible care leaver requires a pathway plan to promote their readiness for independence and adulthood.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children reported, ‘The staff are fine, but I don’t like being in care and I don’t like care homes. Obviously, I would rather be at home.’

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

Risks associated with children are well known and understood by staff. Children feel protected and are protected from harm. Children are kept safe and feel safe.

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

The behaviours of children are managed safely and effectively by staff. Staff help children to resolve any conflicts positively, and children learn to manage their feelings and behaviours safely. There have been no restraints since the last inspection. The last restraint was in January 2021. Inspection report children’s home: SC430239 4 The use of sanctions is kept to an absolute minimum. When sanctions are used to address negative behaviour, they are fair, balanced and proportionate. There is evidence of the effective use of targeted incentives and rewards to praise, acknowledge and reinforce positive behaviour. There have been no complaints or allegations of abuse since the last inspection.

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

If children are absent or go missing from the home, staff follow the home’s missing- from-home procedures. Staff ensure that there is a well-coordinated response, to attempt to locate children quickly and support their safe return home.

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

Significant incidents are reported to the appropriate authorities to ensure that children benefit from effective support and protection. The safety of children is consistently at the centre of staff’s practice.

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

Staff have a good awareness of the specific needs and emerging vulnerabilities of children. Staff are vigilant and alert to the identified risk of children smoking in the home. However, risk assessments lack appropriate control measures to manage this risk effectively.

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

The needs of children are assessed before their admission to the home. However, risk impact assessments lack consideration of the consultations held with relevant professionals to inform the suitability of children’s placements. Requirements are raised in relation to these issues.

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

Environmental safety is managed effectively by staff. The home provides a safe environment for children, visitors and staff.

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good

The furnishing, standard and quality of the physical environment require improvement. The home would benefit from redecoration and some refurbishment. The home has recently been rewired in advance of any planned work taking place. The registered manager stated there are plans for a new kitchen and bathrooms to be fitted at the home. Both children and staff welcome these planned improvements.

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good

The home meets the aims and objectives, as outlined, in its statement of purpose. However, the statement of purpose requires a minor amendment to include the new details of the home’s responsible individual, following changes made within the organisation.

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good

Team meetings are held regularly to discuss the progress and needs of the children as well as the day-to-day operations of the home. Staff benefit from regular practice related supervision to support their performance and roles.

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good

The home has two staff vacancies which the registered manager stated have now been advertised. Staff shortages are covered by existing staff or selected staff from Inspection report children’s home: SC430239 5 other homes. Once new staff are recruited, the home will be adequately staffed and resourced.

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good

Staff confirm they have access to regular training opportunities to help them meet the specific needs of the children. However, training records do not clearly evidence the training completed by staff and any gaps in mandatory training. Additionally, training certificates for staff were not kept at the home.

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good

The registered manager makes positive use of the home’s internal and external monitoring activities to understand the strengths and weaknesses of the home. The registered manager has completed a quality-of-care review and a development plan for the home to secure improvement. Inspection report children’s home: SC430239 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

keep the statement of purpose under review and, where appropriate, revise it; and

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Requirement Due date

notify HMCI of any revisions and send HMCI a copy of the revised statement within 28 days of the revision. (Regulation 16 (3)(a)(b))

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Requirement Due date

This relates specifically to including the details of the new responsible individual. 10 January 2022

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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 particularly refers to the full redecoration and refurbishment of the home. 29 April 2022

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Requirement Due date

The care planning standard is that children— 10 January 2022 Inspection report children’s home: SC430239 7 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. (Regulation 14 (1)(a)(b) (2)(a))

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Requirement Due date

This relates specifically to risk impact assessments, including the outcome of consultations held with relevant professionals to inform the home’s decision-making, including what contact was made with the child, social worker and previous carers.

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Requirement Due date

The health and well-being standard is that—

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Requirement Due date

the health and well-being needs of children are met;

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Requirement Due date

children receive advice, services and support in relation to their health and well-being; and

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Requirement Due date

children are helped to lead healthy lifestyles.

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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

achieve the health and well-being outcomes that are recorded in the child’s relevant plans. (Regulation 10 (1)(a)(b)(c) (2)(a)(i)) 28 February 2022

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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

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. (Regulation 12 (1)(2)(b)) 20 December Inspection report children’s home: SC430239 8 This relates to reviewing the home’s risk management plans and control measures to deter children from smoking in the home.

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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

ensure that the home has sufficient staff to provide care for each child. (Regulation 13 (1)(a)(b) (2)(d)) 08 February 2022

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that staff help each child to prepare for any moves from the home and that they obtain a pathway plan for children who are preparing to be independent. (‘Guide to the children homes regulations, including the quality standards’, page 17, paragraph 3.27)  The registered person should ensure that staff can access appropriate facilities and resources to support their training needs, that records evidence the training staff have attended, and training certificates are kept at the home. (‘Guide to the children homes regulations, including the quality standards’, page 53, paragraph 10.11)

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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: SC430239 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

Anthony Kyem, Social Care Inspector Inspection report children’s home: SC430239 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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