Children's Home run by Cambian Childcare Limited in Bradford

Inspection report children’s home: SC424141 1 SC424141 Registered provider: Cambian Childcare Ltd Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This privately run home is registered to provide care for up to six children with social and/or emotional difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

A new manager has been in post since October 2021. His application to register with Ofsted is in progress.

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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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good

How well children and young people are helped and protected requires improvement to be good

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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

Date of last inspection: 23 February 2022

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good

Overall judgement at last inspection: inadequate

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report children’s home: SC424141 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

23/02/2022 Full Inadequate 04/02/2020 Full Good 04/09/2018 Full Good 09/01/2018 Full Good Inspection report children’s home: SC424141 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

There are four children currently living at the home. Most of the children are settled. They are flourishing in an environment that is welcoming and nurturing. One social worker said, ‘He [child] wants to stay there. He is thriving in their care.’ Another social worker said, ‘He [child] looks happy.’ One child is estranged from the home and does not wish to return. Their reasons for not wishing to return is not related to their care. Managers are working closely with the local authority to reach a resolution that is in the child’s best interests.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The staff promote the children’s education. They support the children to engage in home tuition that is tailored to meet their individual needs. Collaborations with education providers ensure that plans for the children to attend school remain a priority. Children are engaging with their education plans. Their progress is variable but significant given the children’s starting points.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are supported to attend routine health appointments. They benefit from the discussions with staff about sexual health and related matters, which helps them to lead safe and healthy lifestyles within healthy boundaries. Staff recognise and reward the children’s achievements, which supports them to feel proud of themselves.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children have strong and trusting relationships with the staff. Children can talk freely to staff about matters that affect their emotional health as a result of the mutual respect. Staff provide empathetic responses and useful strategies to distract children from their worries and help them to relax. Listening to the children’s views is embedded into the culture of the home. The children’s participation in the delivery of their care and the operation of the home is crucial to their continued sense of belonging.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Key-work sessions offer children and staff opportunities to discuss a range of topics that affect the children’s day-to-day experiences. The sessions provide informal education and advice to the children. One example includes the children engaging with staff in discussions about the dangers of substance misuse. The discussions complement the visits from external agencies. As a result, children are better informed to make safer choices and understand that their actions have consequences.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children participate in activities that they enjoy, whether this is in the company of friends in the community or with staff and other children in the home. Children’s interests and talents are explored, and staff offer children the freedom to try new things. Staff support children to keep in touch with family and friends, which reinforces the children’s identity. Inspection report children’s home: SC424141 4 Children benefit significantly from the support to help them do more for themselves. One older child’s capacity to find employment is commendable. Their move into independence has a good chance of success due to the support, guidance and nurture from the staff team.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The refurbishment of the kitchen is underway, which will benefit the children who enjoy cooking and baking. Staff are helping one child to maintain their room to a consistently acceptable standard. However, there is no formal structure in place in the child’s care plan to show how the progress is tracked.

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improvement to be good

Children’s risks are known to the manager and staff, but not all of the risks are accounted for in the children’s risk assessments. The control measures to mitigate the risks are not all documented. For example, the agreement for two staff to wake children up in the morning has not been formalised. Therefore, staff are not provided with all the guidance to manage the risks in a safe and consistent manner. Similarly, the safe area risk assessment does not include an assessment of the canals that are in the local vicinity. Although there are no known incidents involving the children, this unassessed risk could expose children to harm.

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improvement to be good

Staff practice in relation to the safeguarding concerns that were identified at the last inspection have undergone management investigations. The learning is improving the team’s safeguarding practice and it is making everyone accountable. The staff have completed further safeguarding training since the last inspection. Specifically, the missing-from-care protocol and reporting and recording standards have all been revisited and refreshed with the staff team. As a result, children are better protected.

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improvement to be good

The recent training from external professionals about criminal exploitation has helped to update the team’s knowledge so that children’s vulnerabilities are protected. Staff have consulted with the children about using safe words. This gives children the ability to alert staff to help them if they feel unsafe while out in the community. The staff know how to whistle-blow, which helps to protect children from harm.

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improvement to be good

Staff manage children’s adverse behaviour effectively in line with their individual plans. The staff use their positive relationships with the children to talk to them when their behaviours are socially unacceptable, and this also helps to reinforce clear boundaries. Children understand the expectations, which enhances their sense of safety, and incidents of negative behaviour are reducing. One professional said, ‘He [child] was displaying challenging behaviour. He now understands the rules and regulations and respects the boundaries, and he feels safe.’

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improvement to be good

One child has received a consequence for anti-social behaviour. No children have been subject to physical intervention. The clinical advice and support continue to Inspection report children’s home: SC424141 5 help staff to manage the children’s behaviours that are associated with their trauma and adverse childhood experiences.

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improvement to be good

One allegation has been made since the last inspection. This has been managed appropriately in conjunction with the local authority designated officer and social care professionals.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager has worked diligently over the past several weeks with the support and guidance from senior leaders to respond to the inadequate judgment and requirements. It continues to be a work in progress. The manager has shown resilience. He has reflected extensively, assumed accountability, and has learned lessons. The manager understands his role and responsibility to lead the staff team in a manner which is consistent with the statement of purpose.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Monitoring systems that continue to be embedded and overseen by the manager and senior leaders are a key improvement. As a result, the manager can better track and control the quality of care and protection that the children receive. Poor childcare practice has been addressed, which promotes due diligence within the staff team.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The staff and children regard the manager highly as an approachable and positive role model. His clear vision for the home remains determined as he continues to learn and grow into the role. While overcoming a challenging period, the manager remains positive, and he is taking staff with him on the journey to improvement.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Children benefit from a stable and committed staff team. New, existing and returning staff have benefited from the recent training and mentoring. As a result, the staff team is gaining in confidence and the team cohesion has been strengthened.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff feel well supported. Debriefs after incidents enable the staff to reflect, and it reinforces their accountability. The staff receive regular supervision. However, one of the new staff member’s supervision has been completed outside of the organisation’s own supervision policy. The supervision records are not signed off by the supervisor and supervisees. This makes it unclear if the supervisee agrees with the contents of the supervision minutes.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The children’s social workers are unanimous in their opinion about the quality of the relationships between the management and the staff team. Positive comments about the children’s progress indicate their confidence in the staff team’s ability to care for children effectively. Inspection report children’s home: SC424141 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 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

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. (Regulation 12 (1) (2)(a)(i)) 31 May 2022

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that a child’s bedroom should not generally be entered without their permission, though it may be necessary to establish routines to allow for rooms to be cleaned regularly. Specifically, formulate a structure in one child’s care plan to support and measure their progress in relation to maintaining their room to a consistently acceptable standard. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 16, paragraph 3.20)

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that a record of supervision is kept for staff, including the manager. The record should provide evidence that supervision is being delivered in line with regulation 33(4)(b). Specifically, ensure that supervisions of new staff are carried out in line with the organisation’s policy. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 61, paragraph 13.3)

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that a note of the content and/or outcomes of supervision sessions are kept to ensure that both the person giving the supervision and staff member have a copy of the record. Specifically, ensure that the supervisor and supervisee sign the supervision records on receipt. (‘Guide to Inspection report children’s home: SC424141 7 the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 61, paragraph 13.4)

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Recommendations

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: SC424141 8

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Cambian Childcare Ltd

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Metropolitan House, 3 Darkes Lane, Potters Bar EN6 1AG

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Children’s home details

Responsible individual: Susan Fitzsimmons

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Inspector

Jacqueline Malcolm, Social Care Inspector Inspection report children’s home: SC424141 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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