Children's Home run by Cambian Childcare Limited in Lancashire

Inspection report children’s home: SC483846 1 SC483846 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 privately operated children’s home provides care for up to five children. The provider states in their statement of purpose that they support children with behavioural, emotional and social difficulties, and can offer a wrap-around care experience to children from a range of culturally and ethnically diverse backgrounds.

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Information about this children’s home

The children are supported by a registered manager who has been in post since 20 March 2018. As a result of an internal promotion, the registered manager will cease her role at this home on 31 January 2022.

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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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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

Overall judgement at last inspection: sustained effectiveness

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requires improvement to be good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report children’s home: SC483846 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

09/03/2020 Interim Sustained effectiveness 18/06/2019 Full Good 23/01/2019 Interim Improved effectiveness 03/07/2018 Full Requires improvement to be good Inspection report children’s home: SC483846 3

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improvement to be good

Children’s progress and experience are hampered as a result of inconsistent care and support. Since the last inspection in March 2020, nine staff have ceased their employment at this home. Consequently, children have been cared for by a range of staff from other children’s homes. This has significantly affected the children’s ability to build positive and trusting relationships with a consistent staff team.

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improvement to be good

Children are matched to the home using an impact risk assessment and information provided by the placing authority. Overall, children are successfully matched. However, when the needs of a child were deemed as not being met, the registered manager delayed taking suitable action. This resulted in a prolonged period of disruption that included frequent physical assaults on the staff and damage to the home.

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improvement to be good

Children’s care is planned and includes consultation with some agencies to help and support the children to meet their placement aims. However, steps to address these targets are inconsistent. For example, key-work sessions do not focus on the pertinent matters identified in the children’s plans. Furthermore, key-work sessions are reactionary rather than planned. This means that staff are responding to crisis rather than working with the children to help them manage their emotional resilience. The failure to consistently meet the placement aims hinders the potential for children to make steady progress.

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improvement to be good

Since the last inspection, education attendance and attainment have seen periods of disruption and non-attendance as a result of inconsistent staffing and placement disruptions in the home. At the time of this inspection, all the children were attending a suitable education provision. Children are beginning to get back on track and make progress. One child said, ‘I love my course. I have made friends and I want to carry on learning.’

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improvement to be good

Children receive suitable support in order to maintain contact with their family and friends. Contact plans are in place and provide clear information and guidance regarding where contact is permitted or restricted.

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improvement to be good

Since the home has become more settled, children have been helped and encouraged to try out new activities and develop hobbies in accordance with their individual interests. For example, one child enjoys spending time creating make-up designs and has developed his own online tutorial page. Other children enjoy going to the gym, playing video games and socialising with friends.

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improvement to be good

This purpose-built children’s home has been recently refurbished to a good standard. Children’s bedrooms are designed and decorated to reflect their personalities. However, the communal areas of the home are not always accessible Inspection report children’s home: SC483846 4 to children. For example, areas such as the kitchen and living room are locked at children’s bedtimes. Locked doors restrict children’s movement around the home and create an institutional environment.

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improvement to be good

The safety and protection of children are compromised. This is because there is an inconsistent approach to utilising the measures in place to reduce risk.

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improvement to be good

Children’s risk-taking behaviours are detailed in their individual risk-management plans. The plans include strategies to reduce risk, including a regular review of new or historical risks. However, plans are not routinely followed, and this results in children’s safety being compromised. For example, a child with a risk of sexual exploitation does not have his devices checked and monitored in accordance with his safety plan. Responses to risk are reactionary and inconsistent.

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improvement to be good

Behaviour-management plans are in place and provide a good overview of children’s triggers, behaviours and strategies to defuse escalating behaviours. However, sanctions to address inappropriate behaviour require improvement. For example, a significant assault on a staff member resulted in a child losing a gaming console for one day. Therefore, sanctions are not reflective of the behaviours exhibited and subsequently do not allow for children to reflect and learn from their behaviours.

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improvement to be good

Since the last inspection, the use of physical intervention has increased. This is because the home has experienced a significant period of disruption, resulting in frequent assaults on staff and damage to the building. Although the need to undertake a physical intervention is deemed to have been appropriate, the duration of such interventions is excessive, with some lasting up to 30 minutes. Consequently, the strategies in place to manage periods of disruption and challenging behaviour are not effective and serve to compromise the safety of the child.

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improvement to be good

The procedures for managing allegations against staff are inconsistent. On one occasion, the registered manager did not liaise with the local authority designated officer in accordance with the company policy. This means that an internal investigation was undertaken without the oversight of an impartial safeguarding lead. The failure to consistently comply with the safeguarding policy and procedures results in a lack of transparency in the safe management of allegations.

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improvement to be good

Safeguarding records were difficult to access throughout the inspection because the acting manager had archived most of the records. This resulted in significant delays in the inspector receiving documents for review. Likewise, monitoring documents used to appraise risks and incidents were also not available. The acting manager did not have a clear understanding of the registered manager’s recording systems and processes and therefore was unclear on a range of safeguarding matters. Inspection report children’s home: SC483846 5

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good

The children’s home is currently managed by an acting manager, who has made an application for registration to Ofsted. The registered manager continues to oversee the operation of this home and is due to cease her role as registered manager on 31 January 2022.

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good

The leadership and management of the home are inconsistent. Managers fail to consistently identify and address practice concerns. This results in some matters not being brought to the attention of staff members, for example inappropriate comments made by staff to children and some responses to behaviours which serve to exacerbate already challenging situations.

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good

The home has experienced a significant number of challenges and changes since the last inspection. Nine staff have left the home. The acting manager said, ‘Some have left because they could not tolerate the assaults.’ As a result, children have experienced a significantly high number of different staff from other homes caring for them. Some progress has been made to address this shortfall. Staff from within the organisation have been redeployed to the home on a permanent basis. A further six have been appointed and are currently undertaking their induction into the company.

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good

Historically, matching processes at this home are good, with children remaining in placement and making satisfactory progress. However, the delay in discharging one child whose needs could not be met resulted in the prolonged and unnecessary disruption for the children already in placement.

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good

The staff receive ongoing training, including mandatory training and relevant online focused training. A staff member said, ‘The training has always been very good, and the company are great at setting up other training if we request it.’

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good

Notifications in accordance with regulation 40 are not routinely provided to the regulatory body, for example where there are risks of child sexual exploitation or allegations against a staff member. This means that incidents are not independently reviewed against the steps taken to manage and reduce risks or for emerging patterns and trends.

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good

The independent visitor visits the home monthly. However, during these visits the visitor does not assess children’s bedrooms, talk to children, or consistently gain feedback from other sources. Some issues identified at this inspection are not recognised by the visitor. As a result, the independent visitor’s report does not provide the managers of the home with critical areas for development.

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good

The statement of purpose for the home requires updating. The statement does not contain the details of the staff employed at the home or the current management arrangements. The acting manager must revise the statement and make this available to all agencies in accordance with the regulation. Inspection report children’s home: SC483846 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 protection of children standard is that children are protected form 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

assess whether each child is at risk of harm, taking into account information in the child’s relevant plans, and, if necessary, make arrangements to reduce the risk of any harm to the child;

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Requirement Due date

help each child to understand how to keep safe;

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Requirement Due date

have the skills to identify and act upon signs that a child is at risk of harm;

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Requirement Due date

manage relationships between children to prevent them from harming each other;

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Requirement Due date

understand the roles and responsibilities in relation to protecting children that are assigned to them by the registered person;

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Requirement Due date

take effective action whenever there is a serious concern about a child’s welfare;

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Requirement Due date

and are familiar with, and act in accordance with, the home’s child protection policies;

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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)(a)(i)(ii)(iii)(iv)(v)(vi)(b)) 28 February 2022 Inspection report children’s home: SC483846 7 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

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;

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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 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

demonstrate that practice in the home is informed and improved by taking into account and acting on—

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Requirement Due date

research and developments in relation to the ways in which the needs of children are best met;

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Requirement Due date

feedback on the experiences of children, including complaints received; and

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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)(c)(d)(e)(f)(g)(i)(ii)(h)) 28 February 2022

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Requirement Due date

The care planning standard is that children—

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Requirement Due date

receive effectively planned care in or through the children’s home. 28 February 2022 Inspection report children’s home: SC483846 8 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) (2)(a))

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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)) 28 February 2022

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Requirement Due date

Restraint in relation to a child must be necessary and proportionate. (Regulation 20 (2)) 28 February 2022

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must notify HMCI and each other relevant person without delay if—

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Requirement Due date

a child is involved in or subject to, or is suspected of being involved in or subject to, sexual exploitation;

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Requirement Due date

an incident requiring police involvement occurs in relation to a child which the registered person considers to be serious;

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Requirement Due date

there is an allegation of abuse against the home or a person working there;

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Requirement Due date

a child protection enquiry involving a child—

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Requirement Due date

concludes (in which case, the notification must include the outcome of the child protection enquiry); or

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Requirement Due date

there is any other incident relating to a child which the registered person considers to be serious. (Regulation 40 (4)(a)(b)(c)(i)(ii)(e)) 28 February 2022 Inspection report children’s home: SC483846 9 The registered person must ensure that an independent person visits the children’s home at least once each month.

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Requirement Due date

When the independent person is carrying out a visit, the registered person must help the independent person—

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Requirement Due date

if they consent, to interview in private such of the children, their parents, relatives and persons working at the home as the independent person requires;

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Requirement Due date

to inspect the premises of the home and such of the home’s records (except for a child’s case records, unless the child and the child’s placing authority consent) as the independent person requires. (Regulation 44 (1) (2)(a)(b)) 28 February 2022

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Requirement Due date

the privacy of children is appropriately protected;

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Requirement Due date

children can access all appropriate areas of the children’s home’s premises; and

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Requirement Due date

any limitation placed on a child’s privacy or access to any area of the home’s premises—

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Requirement Due date

is intended to safeguard each child accommodated in the home;

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Requirement Due date

is kept under review and, if necessary, revised; and

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Requirement Due date

allows children as much freedom as is possible when balanced against the need to protect them and keep them safe. (Regulation 21 (a)(b)(c)(i)(ii)(iii)(iv))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, ensure the removal of locks to communal areas of the home. 28 February 2022 Inspection report children’s home: SC483846 10 The registered person must ensure that the following items, which may be kept in electronic form, are kept in an accessible manner—

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Requirement Due date

records of complaints. (Regulation 38 (a)(i)(j)(l)) 28 February 2022

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that children are consulted regularly on their views about the home’s care, to inform and support continued improvement in the quality of care provided. Due consideration should be given to the child’s cognitive ability in the development and implementation of any consultation processes. Children should be able to see the results of their views being listened to and acted upon. This specifically relates to the need to use key-work sessions more effectively and ensure that planned, good-quality direct work is carried out that helps to shape the care being provided. (‘Guide to the children’s home’s regulations, including the quality standards’, page 22, paragraph 4.11)  The registered person should ensure that behaviour management strategies are appropriate, understood and applied at all times by staff, and are kept under review and revised where appropriate. (‘Guide to the children’s home’s

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Recommendations

regulations, including the quality standards,’ page 46, paragraph 9.34)

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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: SC483846 11

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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

Maria McGranaghan, Social Care Inspector Inspection report children’s home: SC483846 12 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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