Children's Home run by Cambian Childcare Limited in Durham

Inspection report for children’s home: 1236026 1 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 home is owned and managed by a private provider. It provides care for up to four children who may have emotional and/or social difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

The inspector spoke with both children who currently live in the home during the inspection.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager registered with Ofsted in February 2018.

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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 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: good Inspection report for children’s home: 1236026 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

29/06/2021 Full Good 15/10/2019 Full Good 11/07/2018 Full Good 08/08/2017 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: 1236026 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

While children living in the home have experienced an unsettled period, both children stated that things are now much more settled. They enjoy living in the home, with one child scoring the home as eight out of 10.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff understand the importance of the children spending time with the people who are important to them. Building relationships with family members and previous carers is prioritised by the staff. They transport the children to see their connected adults and, when appropriate, stay with the children to offer additional support and reassurance. Encouraging the children to maintain links with their family and friends supports the children’s identity and develops their relationships.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The registered manager ensures that the children’s introductions to the home are carefully and sensitively planned. Children are offered a visit to the home prior to moving in and they receive a welcome pack. One child said that, after visiting the home, they wanted to move in straight away as the staff helped them to settle in. The attention to detail in planning introductions and getting to know each child’s specific likes and dislikes enables the children to settle quickly.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are well supported in preparing to move on to independent living. Children complete a ‘preparing for independence’ plan, which covers all aspects of life that a young person living independently will need to know. Staff remain in contact with the children who have left the home, and they continue to support them with household tasks, such as decorating. This provides the children with ongoing support and prepares them well for their future.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

There has been considerable damage to the home since the last inspection. While the registered manager ensures that all of the damage is reported and repairs are undertaken, some of this work has taken a considerable length of time. Now that the home is more settled, the manager is replacing furnishings and artwork to ensure that the home is restored back to being a homely environment for the children.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children’s views are regularly sought through monthly children’s meetings and key- work sessions. Children are listened to; however, when they raise worries, they are not routinely offered the support and services of an advocate. This prevents the children from having the opportunity to discuss any worries with an independent person separate to the home.

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

Children said that they feel safe living in the home and they can identify the members of staff they can talk to if they have any worries. The staff respond to the children’s immediate risks and act to reduce these. However, not all staff have an adequate knowledge of basic safeguarding procedures, particularly in relation to children going missing from home, physical intervention and allegations against Inspection report for children’s home: 1236026 4 staff. In addition, not all staff have a clear understanding of the children’s risks and needs. This means that, should an incident occur, not all staff have the necessary knowledge they need to keep the children safe.

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

Safer recruitment processes are followed when staff are appointed, which provides assurance that they are suitably vetted and qualified to provide care.

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

When children go missing from the home, which was a regular event for two children who have now moved on from the home, the staff follow the home’s missing-from-home procedure. Staff actively take steps to locate the children. They drive to all known locations in an effort to find the children, try to contact them by phone and contact their families and associates. Once children are found, they are offered return home interviews.

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

The registered manager completes an impact risk assessment prior to a child moving into the home. While these assessments include the child’s identified risks, and the actions that the staff must take to reduce these risks, not all of the child’s known risks have been considered. As such, the registered manager’s analysis does not adequately assess all the potential risks. This means that the children’s competing needs and vulnerabilities are not fully considered, which may place children at risk.

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

Presenting-behaviour risk-management plans are completed for all children. These detailed documents contain the children’s known risks as well as a clear plan of how the risks will be managed by the staff. However, one example has been identified of a known risk not being included in the child’s record. This shortfall means that the staff do not have an accurate understanding of all the children’s risks and how to mitigate the risks reoccurring.

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

There has been a significant increase in the number of physical interventions since the last inspection. While the use of the measure has been appropriate and proportionate, inaccuracies have been identified with the recording. In addition, on two occasions, the member of staff who performed the hold has undertaken the debrief with the child. This means that the child is not provided with the opportunity to speak with an independent person about their experiences of being held.

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

A review of safeguarding records shows that there has been a delay in notifying Ofsted of one serious incident. This shortfall means that Ofsted is unable to scrutinise information in a timely way to ensure that children are kept safe. As this had been raised at the last inspection, the requirement has been reissued.

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

The recording of sanctions is not appropriate. Sanctions are not restorative in nature and lack management analysis of the effectiveness of the measure. Debriefs with the children and the member of staff undertaking the sanction do not always take place, and, on one occasion, management oversight of the record was outside the required timescale. This shortfall means that it is not clear whether the use of sanctions is fair and appropriate. Inspection report for children’s home: 1236026 5

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The home is run effectively by a permanent, suitably experienced and qualified registered manager. She enjoys positive relationships with the children and has an excellent understanding of their needs. She is passionate and driven to provide the highest quality of care for the children in her care, and she is the driving force in the home.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager has a good understanding of the strengths and weaknesses of the home. She is naturally reflective and child-focused, and she is willing to take on board challenge from other professionals to continually improve the care provided to the children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The children’s guide is not up to date and does not include the correct information on how the children can contact the Office of the Children’s Commissioner. This shortfall means that the children will not be able to access this external support should they need to.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The quality and frequency of supervision provided to the staff remain variable, depending on who the supervisor is. There is also a lack of consistency as to whether reflective supervision takes place. This means that the staff are not offered a consistent approach to their supervision, and they are not always given the opportunity to develop their practice by reflecting on their experiences of caring for the children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Previous shortfalls in record-keeping continue. There continues to be a lack of attention to detail in some of the children’s records. Some records are used as a template for others, which results in incorrect information being transferred over. This shortfall means that the children’s records are not helpful for them to read and understand their experiences of being cared for.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Training records are not kept up to date, and attendance on mandatory training could not be evidenced for all staff. Two members of staff have also exceeded the relevant date for gaining the required residential childcare qualification. While this has not negatively affected the children, more robust management oversight would ensure that the staff have the necessary skills, knowledge and qualifications to care for the children. Inspection report for children’s home: 1236026 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;

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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

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

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Requirement Due date

are familiar with, and act in accordance with, the home’s child protection policies. (Regulation 12 (1) (2)(a)(i)(iii)(v)(vii))

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Requirement Due date

This specifically relates to impact risk assessments and presenting-behaviour risk-management plans, and the skills, knowledge and experience of the staff. 21 May 2022

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must recruit staff using recruitment procedures that are designed to ensure children’s safety.

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Requirement Due date

employ an individual to work at the children’s home; or

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Requirement Due date

if an individual is employed by a person other than the registered person to work at the home in a position in which the individual may have regular contact with children, allow that individual to work at the home, 21 October 2022 Inspection report for children’s home: 1236026 7 if the individual satisfies the requirements in paragraph (3).

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Requirement Due date

the individual has the appropriate experience, qualification and skills for the work that the individual is to perform.

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Requirement Due date

For the purposes of paragraph (3)(b), an individual who works in the home in a care role has the appropriate qualification if, by the relevant date, the individual has attained—

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Requirement Due date

the Level 3 Diploma for Residential Childcare (England) ("the Level 3 Diploma"); or

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Requirement Due date

a qualification which the registered person considers to be equivalent to the Level 3 Diploma.

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Requirement Due date

in the case of an individual who starts working in a care role in a home after 1st April 2014, the date which falls 2 years after the date on which the individual started working in a care role in a home. (Regulation 32 (1) (2)(a)(b) (3)(b) (4)(a)(b) (5)(a))

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must prepare and implement a policy ("the behaviour management policy") which sets out—

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Requirement Due date

how appropriate behaviour is to be promoted in the children’s home; and

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Requirement Due date

the measures of control, discipline and restraint which may be used in relation to children in the home.

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Requirement Due date

within 24 hours of the use of a measure of control, discipline or restraint in relation to a child in the home, a record is made which includes—

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Requirement Due date

the effectiveness and any consequences of the use of the measure; and

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Requirement Due date

within 48 hours of the use of the measure, the registered person, or a person who is authorised by the registered person to do so ("the authorised person")—

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Requirement Due date

has spoken to the user about the measure; and 21 May 2022 Inspection report for children’s home: 1236026 8 has signed the record to confirm it is accurate; and

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Requirement Due date

within 5 days of the use of the measure, the registered person or the authorised person adds to the record confirmation that they have spoken to the child about the measure. (Regulation 35 (1)(a)(b) (3)(a)(vii)(b)(i)(ii)(c))

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Requirement Due date

This specifically relates to sanction records.

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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)(d)(i)(ii)(e))

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Requirement Due date

This requirement has been reissued. 21 May 2022

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that the children are regularly asked whether they want an independent advocate to advise them, and that they have the support needed to express their views, wishes and feelings about their care and lives. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards,’ page 23, paragraph 4.16)  The registered person should ensure that the children’s guide helps the children to understand how to contact the Office of the Children’s Commissioner. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards,’ page 24, paragraph 4.22)  The registered person should ensure that the staff’s training records are kept up to date and that the staff receive the provider’s mandatory training. (‘Guide to the Inspection report for children’s home: 1236026 9 Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards,’ page 53, paragraph 10.8)  The registered person should ensure that any child who has been restrained

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Recommendations

should be given the opportunity to express their feelings about their experience of the restraint to an independent person not involved in the restraint, as soon as is practicable, ideally within 24 hours of the restraint incident, taking the age of the child and the circumstances of the restraint into account. In some cases, children may need longer to work through their feelings, so a record that the child has talked about their feelings should be made no longer than 5 days after the incident of restraint. Children should be encouraged to add their views and comments to the record of restraint. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards,’ page 50, paragraph 9.60)  The registered person should ensure that systems are in place so that all the staff, including the manager, receive supervision of their practice from an appropriately qualified and experienced professional, which allows them to reflect

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Recommendations

on their practice and the needs of the children assigned to their care. (Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards,’ page 61, paragraph 13.2)  The registered person should ensure that staff are familiar with the home’s policies on record-keeping and understand the importance of careful, objective and clear recording. (Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards,’ page 62, paragraph 14.4)

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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: 1236026 10

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Cambian Childcare Ltd

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Children’s home details

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

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Inspector

Paula Shepherd, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 1236026 11 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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