Children's Home run by Cambian Childcare Limited in Nottingham

Inspection report children's home: SC457500 1 SC457500 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 privately owned. It cares for up to six children with moderate learning disabilities.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager is suitably qualified, experienced and has been registered since 2015.

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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

Date of last inspection: 3 November 2021

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requires improvement to be good

Overall judgement at last inspection: inadequate

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Enforcement action since last inspection:

A full inspection was undertaken on 3 and 4 November 2021, at which Ofsted found serious weaknesses in safeguarding practice and management oversight. As a result, compliance notices and a restriction of accommodation notice were issued.

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Enforcement action since last inspection:

A monitoring visit was undertaken on the 14 December 2021. Ofsted was assured that sufficient progress had been made, so the compliance notices were lifted. The restriction notice remained, pending a further full inspection. Inspection report children's home: SC457500 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

03/11/2021 Full Inadequate 10/12/2019 Full Good 29/08/2018 Full Good 21/08/2017 Full Good Inspection report children's home: SC457500 3

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improvement to be good

The manager and staff have worked hard to meet the compliance notices and requirements set at the last inspection. The safeguarding practice of staff is now more robust. The home is now in a position for the restriction of accommodation notice to be allowed to expire. However, many of the improvements need time to become fully embedded into practice. Additionally, the situation with staffing remains fragile, with several vacancies remaining.

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improvement to be good

Childrens progress and experiences are mixed. One child is experiencing increased levels of anxiety. This anxiety has increased because of the insecurities about the staffing of the home. The child has struggled to accept the staff turnover. However, another child has made good progress in many areas of his development. This is despite the staffing insecurities.

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improvement to be good

Children enjoy good and meaningful relationships with specific staff. Children are comfortable spending time with these staff, and they have developed strong bonds with them. There is playfulness between staff and children. The staff are proud of children’s achievements and the progress that children make. The staff and manager work hard to achieve stability for the children because they understand this is important for children’s futures.

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improvement to be good

There is good collaboration between the manager and staff and external professionals. This helps to improve outcomes for children. The manager and staff work well with other agencies, including attending relevant meetings and ensuring good communication takes place. A social worker said: ‘[Name of child] is doing really well. His incidents have significantly reduced, and we have seen an improvement in behaviours at school and visits home.’

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improvement to be good

Access to mental health services for children is not yet good. The manager has made efforts to address the difficulties with accessing mental health support, on behalf of children. However, this remains an area requiring further improvement.

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improvement to be good

Children are engaged in education. From their starting points, when moving to this home, children are making good progress in education. The manager works well with education professionals, and so children receive the help and support they need to make progress with their education.

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improvement to be good

Children are given opportunities to share their views on their care and the daily routines of the home. Positive relationships with staff, together with the availability of the manager, help children to feel confident in raising any concerns they might have. They know how to make a complaint and who to talk to if they have a concern, and they know they will be listened to and taken seriously. Inspection report children's home: SC457500 4

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improvement to be good

The manager and staff respond appropriately to safeguarding incidents. The manager has sought more support from the police and youth offending services in exercising her safeguarding duties. This has improved the support provided to keep children safe.

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improvement to be good

Staff have received extra safeguarding training. This covers whistle-blowing, risk management, medication administration and harmful behaviours. Safeguarding workshops have been followed up by managers, to confirm that staff have developed a good understanding of the topic covered. Safeguarding policies have been reissued and read by all staff.

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improvement to be good

Staff are not always confident and consistent in their approach to managing the complex care needs of some children. Staff are not always equipped to understand and manage the complexities of children’s past experiences and trauma, alongside supporting children with learning disabilities. An ongoing programme of training and development is taking place to equip the staff with the knowledge and skills they need.

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improvement to be good

Children’s risk assessments are individualised to their needs, risks and vulnerabilities. The manager and staff revisit these assessments regularly. They will update the assessments with any changes to the children’s level of risk. The staff team are developing how they work together as a team and their approaches to implementing the risk assessments. This will lead to an improved and shared understanding in the team to keeping children safe. The manager has worked well with external professionals to reduce missing-from-care incidents. This has worked particularly well for one child, who is now safer because of a reduction in the frequency of missing-from-care incidents.

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improvement to be good

Physical interventions are used only as a last resort when necessary to keep children and others safe. For one child, there has been a significant reduction in the need for physical intervention, which for this child, reflects a reduction in incidents generally.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

The home is led by an experienced manager. She is highly nurturing towards children. Other external professionals recognise the strengths and passion she brings to the home. Staff rely on the manager’s direction, and this positively influences the quality of care that children receive.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

The manager has experienced a turbulent time at the home, with a significant turnover of staff. The staff team remains fragile, with several key positions yet to be filled. There is a deputy manager vacancy and three permanent team leader vacancies. Three new staff have recently been recruited who have not yet started. The manager recognises that the team needs time to form, strengthen and develop in their care practice and working together as a team. Inspection report children's home: SC457500 5 The manager took decisive action to address previous shortfalls and responded well to the compliance action taken by Ofsted. The manager has been versatile and stepped into several roles within the home to maintain stability for children. The manager understands the strengths and areas of further development for the service. She uses a range of systems to identify the areas that need strengthening. The manager

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

understands that a key priority is to develop a stable team that delivers consistently good care to children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

The manager has worked collaboratively with other agencies to reduce the risks to children and help them make progress. The manager is a strong advocate for children. She has worked hard to ensure that children have access to the right education provisions to meet their individual needs. She knows the children very well and children have trust and faith in her.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

Staff are receiving regular and supportive supervisions. A new staff member has been well supported with a thorough induction. She said, ‘I have been well supported to enable me to understand the role and the needs of the children. The manager has been approachable and supportive.’

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

A requirement in respect of leadership and management of the home was set at the last full inspection and has been restated following this visit. Inspection report children's home: SC457500 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, 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

ensure that staff work as a team where appropriate;

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Requirement Due date

ensure that staff have the experience, qualifications and skills to meet the needs of each child;

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Requirement Due date

ensure that the home has sufficient staff to provide care for each child;

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Requirement Due date

ensure that the home’s workforce provides continuity of care to each child. (Regulation 13 (1)(a)(b) (2)(b)(c)(d)(e))

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Requirement Due date

This specifically relates to recruiting sufficient staff to provide care for children and working to maintain the required staffing levels.

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Requirement Due date

This requirement was made at the last inspection and is restated. 25 March 2022

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Requirement Due date

In meeting the quality standards, the registered person must, and must ensure that staff—

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Requirement Due date

seek to involve each child’s placing authority effectively in the child’s care, in accordance with the child’s relevant plans;

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Requirement Due date

seek to secure the input and services required to meet each child’s needs; 25 March 2022 Inspection report children's home: SC457500 7 if the registered person considers, or staff consider, a placing authority’s or a relevant person’s performance or response to be inadequate in relation to their role, challenge the placing authority or the relevant person to seek to ensure that each child’s needs are met in accordance with the child’s relevant plans; and

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Requirement Due date

seek to develop and maintain effective professional relationships with such persons, bodies or organisations as the registered person considers appropriate having regard to the range of needs of children for whom it is intended that the children’s home is to provide care and accommodation. (Regulation 5 (a)(b)(c)(d))

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Requirement Due date

This specifically relates to the manager working with the children’s community mental health service and other relevant agencies to ensure children have access to the support and help they need with their emotional and mental health.

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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: SC457500 8

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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

Bev Allison, Social Care Inspector Inspection report children's home: SC457500 9 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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