Children's Home, Residential special school run by Cambian Autism Services Limited in North Yorkshire

Inspection report for children’s home: 1227060 1 Registered provider: Cambian Autism Services Limited Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

The home is in the grounds of a residential special school. Both the school and the home are owned and managed by a private company. It provides care for up to six children. The inspector only inspected the social care provision at this school.

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Information about this children’s home

The children may be placed by various local authorities. Their residential placements are for 38 or 52 weeks of the year. The school also caters for day pupils. The children may have learning disabilities and/or a diagnosis of autism spectrum disorder. They all have an education, health and care plan.

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Information about this children’s home

The registered manager is in day-to-day charge of the home. He registered with Ofsted in November 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 good

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good

The effectiveness of leaders and managers requires improvement to be 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: 8 February 2022

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good

Overall judgement at last inspection: requires improvement to be good

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children’s home: 1227060 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

08/02/2022 Full Requires improvement to be good 14/01/2020 Interim Sustained effectiveness 21/05/2019 Full Good 29/01/2019 Full Requires improvement to be good Inspection report for children’s home: 1227060 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are making progress in all areas of their lives. Education is an integral part of the children’s daily routine. Children’s school attendance and attainment help them to achieve their outcomes, and for some children this includes plans to start college. One parent said: ‘My child is thriving. I have been unable to say this for five years, after years of failed education before my child came to live at the home.’

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Considered and positive peer matching means that the children like living and interacting together. The children enjoy activities; these can be in the home and in the extensive grounds, or out in the community. Children who have historically found social interactions difficult to manage are now able to gain social experiences with their peers. One parent said: ‘I never thought that my son would be able to join in with communal activities.’

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Since the last inspection, no children have moved into the home. Transition plans are created to support one young person into adult provision and education. The young person talked with enthusiasm about her future as she prepares for the next chapter of her adult life.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff work together with the children’s families to ensure that the children attend routine health appointments and receive any necessary treatment. One child has recently been supported by staff to attend the optician’s. This child now wears glasses which were prescribed to correct her vision. This has had a positive impact on her school experience. Children are leading a healthier lifestyle, with a focus on exercise.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The children’s progress is having a positive influence on the children’s family relationships and on the time that they spend with their families. Children recognise that their relationships with their parents are better, and one child said that they can now talk to their mum without arguing.

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

Children’s learning disabilities and diagnoses increase their vulnerabilities. The children receive high levels of care and supervision from staff. Where assessed as suitable, children have been able to have free time in the community. However, this development of free time is not considered for each child, and this has the potential to limit children’s preparation for independence. The children do not go missing from this home, even when they have free time.

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

Children are not being physically restrained by staff. De-escalation techniques and training equip the staff to recognise and respond to children’s behaviours and risks. Staff responses are based on the individual needs of the children and are developed in partnership with the clinical team. Children help to create their preventative Inspection report for children’s home: 1227060 4 strategies and provide guidance to staff about their individual needs. This is a significant improvement for children and greatly enhances their safety and well- being.

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

Managers and staff are helping children to learn from their behaviours. Although behavioural incidents are now infrequent, when they occur they are viewed as an opportunity to help children to talk about and manage any future worries. The manager has a good oversight of incident reports, and completes reflective discussions with children and staff. These are used to shape practice in the home.

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

The children’s risk assessments are routinely reviewed following any incident. However, despite there being known risks around lone working arrangements for specific staff, there are shortfalls in the reporting and recording of individuals’ movements in and out of the home. Therefore, records fail to validate the implementation of any lone working safety plan. One child’s risks around medication had also not been updated. Consequently, staff are not provided with the correct information and guidance to respond to this area of risk.

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good

The staff speak highly of the guidance and support that they receive from the manager. As a team, they continue to explore ways to improve the experiences of children.

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good

The manager’s assessment and overview of the children’s needs and risks means that he equips the staff to confidently care for the children. Children are flourishing. However, the manager does not have a clear understanding of the children’s day-to- day routines, including each child’s educational achievements and timetable. The manager needs to fully understand the experiences of the children to inform the development of the quality of care provided in the home.

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good

Children are all seen as individuals and the care that they receive from the staff reflects this. Equality and diversity training has been completed by staff and together they are trying to practise non-binary inclusion. Further training has been sourced to support staff to confidently embed this into day-to-day practice.

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good

The manager is striving to continue to improve the service and outcomes for children. However, there are some shortfalls in the delivery and recording of daily shift planning. This daily meeting provides little opportunity for practice learning or reflection, and discussion about the children is limited. The shift planning records do not provide an overview of the children and this is not captured in a daily logbook. This affects the manager’s reflection on daily events and life in the home.

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good

The manager recognises the qualities of the staff and provides them with opportunities for professional and personal discussion within supervision. The manager has clear expectations of practice performance and has taken immediate Inspection report for children’s home: 1227060 5 action to address emerging concerns about the team dynamic and professional conduct. Inspection report for children’s home: 1227060 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

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)(b)) 22 July 2022

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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.

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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

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

use monitoring and review systems to make continuous improvements in the quality of care provided in the home. (Regulation 13 (1)(a) (2)(f)(h)) 22 July 2022

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that staff can access appropriate facilities and resources to support their training needs around gender identity. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 53, paragraph 10.11)  The registered person should support staff to be ambitious for every child in the home and for children to gain skills and experiences that enable them to achieve Inspection report for children’s home: 1227060 7 their potential. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 52, paragraph 10.5).

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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: 1227060 8

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Children’s home details

Provision sub-type: Residential special school

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Cambian Autism Services 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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Children’s home details

Responsible individual: Samantha Campbell

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Inspector

Jennifer Fenlon, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 1227060 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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