Children's Home run by Cambian Childcare Limited in Blackpool

Inspection report for children’s home: SC415710 1 SC415710 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 registered to care for up to three children with emotional and behavioural difficulties, and learning difficulties.

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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

The manager has been registered with Ofsted since January 2021

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good

How well children and young people are helped and protected good The effectiveness of leaders and managers 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: good

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children’s home: SC415710 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

08/01/2020 Full Good 22/01/2019 Full Good 28/11/2017 Full Good 26/01/2017 Interim Sustained effectiveness Inspection report for children’s home: SC415710 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are enabled to build trusting and secure relationships with adults. Staff pay attention to the detail of each child’s individual needs and know them well. Children are supported to have positive experiences and they progress well. This builds children’s confidence and feelings of security.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Communication with children is excellent. Individual communication styles are understood and catered for. Each child has a weekly meeting where they are consulted about day-to-day choices, such as their meals, clothes and activities they may want to participate in. They make choices with regards to how their rooms are decorated and furnished. This helps children feel listened to and empowered to make positive decisions.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children have good attendance at school and are making positive progress from their starting points. Staff encourage and support children’s attendance and engagement with school. One headteacher commented, ‘Positive relationships with staff have helped [child’s name] thrive and improve her attendance.’ There is excellent liaison between school and staff with weekly updates. This has resulted in children having a positive attitude towards school and actively wanting to achieve.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are supported to maintain good physical and emotional health. Staff are aware of children’s individual needs and work hard to ensure that those needs are met, including working in partnership with health professionals. One health professional who works closely with the home commented, ‘ Staff are strong advocates for [name of child] and always ensure her physical and emotional health needs are met, whilst taking on board and implementing advice and guidance from relevant professionals.’ As a result, children are physically healthy and supported emotionally.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Independence skills are promoted by the staff. Children are encouraged and supported to develop the necessary skills for the next step on their journey. Children’s transitions into and out of the home are managed sensitively, and they are helped to prepare for their future. Children are prepared practically and emotionally for their next steps.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are supported to maintain contact with their family where this is appropriate. Family can visit children at the home, and they are able to continue to have input into the child’s life. It is important for children to be able to maintain family relationships, and this will help them retain a sense of identity. Inspection report for children’s home: SC415710 4

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

Each child has individualised up-to-date risk assessments. Known risks are identified, and carefully thought-through strategies to prevent harm to children are in place. Staff understand children’s safety plans and are tenacious in following individual plans. Children are aware of their boundaries and are kept safe.

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

Children are supported, and staff work hard to build relationships with them so that they feel secure and have trusted adults who they can rely on. Children identify the staff that they have made a connection with, and it is ensured that they can spend time with that staff member. This increases children’s sense of security and safety, and builds their confidence.

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

Staff sometimes intervene with physical restraint to help keep children safe. These incidents are infrequent, and the staff and children are encouraged to debrief after such an incident with the manager. This helps staff and children understand how to prevent future incidents and reduces the need for them to occur.

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

Children’s behaviour is analysed and managed well. Staff take the time to understand what the children need individually and put measures in place to support their positive behaviours. There are clear routines and boundaries in place, and children are encouraged to behave well by receiving both long- and short-term rewards for good behaviour. Children learn that behaving well is beneficial to them and that they will receive positives for good behaviour.

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

Incidents of children missing from home have reduced significantly. Staff are aware of the statutory guidance for children who are missing and take the appropriate steps to escalate their concerns. Each child has an individual plan should they go missing and staff are aware of these plans. Staff search for children when they are missing and ensure that, when appropriate, parents and partner agencies are informed. This means that, if children are missing, staff are doing all that they can to ensure their safety.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The home is managed efficiently and effectively by an experienced manager. The manager is very child-focused, warm and caring. She is passionate about getting good outcomes for children and is dogged in her pursuit of the right resources for children to achieve those outcomes.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager has high expectations of staff, and she backs this with support to enable them to carry out their work to a good standard. Staff are offered regular supportive supervision and annual appraisals. They are supported with training to ensure they are informed about how to meet the needs of the children in their care. Children benefit from being looked after by adults who understand how to meet their needs. Inspection report for children’s home: SC415710 5 The manager works proactively with other agencies and professionals. She has good working relationships with social workers and partner agencies. One of the children’s schools was very impressed with their contact with the manager. The headteacher said, ‘She [the manager] is exceptional; she is tenacious and very committed to the children.’ This communication with other agencies and strong advocacy for the children mean that everyone working with the children are clear about how to

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

support them to achieve. . The home promotes equality and diversity effectively. Children’s cultural needs are met in terms of diet, and staff have been proactive in informing themselves about different faiths and cultures. The manager has shared an exercise to support staff’s understanding of disability. This was shared during one of the regular team meetings and has been effective in enhancing the staff’s understanding of the challenges some children might face.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager carries out effective internal monitoring. She is aware of the home’s strengths and weaknesses and is quick to act if she finds anything that needs to improve.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

External regulation 44 visitors have not seen or spoken with the children as regularly as they should. This is important because this means that the children are missing an opportunity to have their voice heard by an independent person.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Supervision records completed by senior staff offer regular oversight of work, but it is difficult to know the quality of the discussions, as the notes relating to these meetings are quite brief. Inspection report for children’s home: SC415710 6

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Recommendations

 The registered manager should ensure that the regulation 44 independent visitor is offering appropriate monitoring to the home and ensuring that seeing and speaking with or observing the children are part of their monitoring visit. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations, including the quality standards’, page 55, paragraph 10.24)

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Recommendations

 The registered manager should ensure that all staff have access to good-quality supervision and records of supervision that reflect all the discussion undertaken. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations, including the quality standards’, page 53, paragraph 10.8)

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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: SC415710 7

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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

Cathy Wilkins, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: SC415710 8 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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