Children's Home run by Cambian Childcare Limited in Rochdale

Inspection report for children’s home: SC456543 1 SC456543 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 with social, emotional and behavioural difficulties that result in complex needs. The manager is currently in the process of registering with Ofsted.

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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 11 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

Overall judgement at last inspection: outstanding

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children’s home: SC456543 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

22/05/2019 Full Outstanding 11/12/2018 Full Good 06/12/2017 Full Good 09/02/2017 Interim Sustained effectiveness Inspection report for children’s home: SC456543 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children have positive relationships with the staff who care for them. The child who lives in the home currently has settled in quickly and begun to trust the staff. She has invested in personalising her bedroom. Interactions between the staff and the child are warm and respectful.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The manager considers whether the staff will be able to meet each child’s needs. One social worker said, ‘This home has been just what [name of child] needs. Staff were involved right from the beginning and tried hard to make her feel comfortable, but at her own pace.’

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are supported to build relationships with their families. One child has successfully returned to live with his father. Plans around time with family are clear and include the views and wishes of the child. Staff have also welcomed the child’s friend to the home. The child was very pleased about this.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Specialist services are requested to help meet the needs of each child. These services have included substance misuse support, mental health support and safeguarding teams. This multi-agency working means that each child is given the opportunity to receive research-informed care and support.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are supported to engage in education. Tutors have worked with each child when they were in transition back into school placements. However, for one child, the delay in securing an education placement meant that he was educated at home for lengthy periods of time. Although the previous manager worked hard with the placing authority to look at options available, she did not escalate her concerns about the delays effectively.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are encouraged to build their life skills. Staff have enjoyed spending quality time with each child who has lived in the home. One parent said, ‘[Name of child] was doing brilliantly when he lived there. He was calmer, more patient and seemed happier in himself.’

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The home is clean and tidy. Plans are in place to replace the kitchen and bathrooms to ensure that they are a good standard for the child living in the home. One of the communal rooms is going to be used as an art room. This is after consultation with the child living in the home. As a result, staff will be further encouraging the child to express herself and build on her skills and interests.

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

Staff have the skills and knowledge to keep children safe. The manager has reviewed the training needs prior to each child moving in and arranged additional Inspection report for children’s home: SC456543 4 training when necessary. Staff have been effective in helping children to self- regulate. No physical interventions have been used since the last inspection.

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

The child currently living in the home has been encouraged to take an active role in her risk management. Her views are central to the plans that staff implement. As a result, she feels heard and understood. The staff’s confidence and skills in working with children who have self-harmed have meant that there has been a reduction in the frequency and severity of such incidents.

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

Safety plans are detailed and regularly updated. Staff are aware of the contents of the child’s plans. Staff are open and honest regarding any errors made and spend time with the manager to reflect. Lessons learned around medication have been highly effective in reducing the risks going forward.

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

Feedback received from the child, parents and professionals is positive. One social worker said, ‘I am always kept informed. From where we were before [name of child] moved in, I’m so relieved. Safety planning has been really focused. Staff are very much needs-led.’

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

Staff take effective steps in working with children who leave the home without approval. Staff follow children to offer support and search local areas before reporting a child missing to the police. However, it is not always evident that interviews by an independent service have taken place after each child has returned.

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good

There has been a period without a registered manager. It is evident that gaps and changes in management may have contributed to the weaknesses in some of the records. There is now a manager in place, who is submitting her application to register with Ofsted. She is also the manager of another solo home in the company. The staff team is newly formed from experienced staff and is working through the natural stages of team development.

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good

The staffing has been affected by COVID-19. At the time of the inspection, the manager and two other staff were self-isolating. Regular bank staff have been used whenever possible to cover staff shortages. The child living in the home spoke about how she preferred it when the manager was in the home as she has a good relationship with her.

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good

Staff receive induction and training to ensure that they can fulfil the job role successfully. The manager is currently completing the relevant leadership qualification. The deputy manager is also in the process of being enrolled. The deputy manager was able to share information for the purpose of the inspection.

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good

Staff receive regular reflective supervision by a trained supervisor. This time is valued by staff. Staff also meet regularly for team meetings. Although staff can talk through the discussions held, the records do not always reflect what was discussed. Inspection report for children’s home: SC456543 5 The manager’s monitoring has not been effective in identifying the weaknesses in recording or ensuring that previous actions agreed in the meetings have been reviewed.

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good

Processes are in place to investigate and respond to complaints. However, records do not evidence that the complainant is satisfied with the outcome. Only one complaint has been made by a member of the public, and this was naturally resolved and did not have an impact on the child. However, this is another example of the importance of the manager’s monitoring systems identifying weaknesses in recording and addressing them.

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good

The manager has not sent the review of the quality of care to Ofsted. This is a missed opportunity to reflect on the period, seek feedback and implement a clear action plan going forward. Inspection report for children’s home: SC456543 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 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

lead and manage the home in a way that is consistent with the approach and ethos, and delivers the outcomes, set out in the home’s statement of purpose;

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Requirement Due date

ensure that staff work as a team where appropriate;

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Requirement Due date

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

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Requirement Due date

This relates specifically to the manager reviewing records and evaluating the staff’s actions and the quality of the records effectively. Where there is learning, this is to be documented and shared with the team.

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Requirement Due date

This also relates to the manager completing tasks within reasonable timescales, including the review of the quality of care and meeting previous recommendations. 11 March 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— 11 March 2022 Inspection report for children’s home: SC456543 7 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 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 ensure that when a child returns to the home after being missing from care or away from the home without permission, the responsible local authority must provide an opportunity for the child to have an independent return home interview. Homes should take account of information provided by such interviews when assessing risks and putting arrangements in place to protect each child. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations, including the quality standards’, page 45, paragraph 9.30)  The registered person should evidence what they have done to achieve engagement with children’s wider support systems, including any actions taken to escalate concerns. This relates specifically to when there are delays in confirming an education placement. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations, including the quality standards’, page 11, paragraph 2.3) Inspection report for children’s home: SC456543 8

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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: SC456543 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: SC456543 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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