Children's Home run by Cambian Childcare Limited in Walsall

Inspection report children’s home: SC476270 1 SC476270 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

The home is owned by a large private provider. The home is registered to provide care for up to five children up to the age of 17. Children are likely to have emotional and behavioural needs and may be trauma experienced.

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Information about this children’s home

There has been no registered manager since December 2019. Managers have been in post since this time but resigned without registering with Ofsted. The current manager has recently submitted their application to register.

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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: requires improvement to be good

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requires improvement to be good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report children’s home: SC476270 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

05/10/2021 Full Requires improvement to be good 19/07/2021 Full Inadequate 19/12/2019 Full Outstanding 12/03/2019 Interim Improved effectiveness Inspection report children’s home: SC476270 3

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improvement to be good

There are currently three children living in the home. One child has moved in since the last inspection and no children have moved out.

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improvement to be good

Children are not properly matched to the home when they move in. One child joined the home in an emergency but their needs and the other children’s needs were not properly considered alongside one another. Staff have not had the training they need to fully understand this child’s needs. This is having a negative impact on all of the children’s experiences in the home.

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improvement to be good

The home environment is uninviting and has extensive damage throughout. For example, all of the seating in the children’s main sitting room is damaged, and there are no decorative items or pictures around any the communal areas of the home that are personalised to children. One child has previously shared with leaders that they do not feel that the environment is homely, but this has not been addressed by managers. This does not help children to feel valued.

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improvement to be good

The manager does not always advocate for children with other professionals to ensure children are enabled to make progress. For example, the manager has not acted to progress family time arrangements for one child in line with their care plans. In another example, managers did not seek to engage the wider professional network to support one child’s emotional well-being. This prevents children from reaching their full potential.

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improvement to be good

Staff have good relationships with children. Leaders and managers have worked hard to improve staff skills and their own monitoring of the direct work that staff complete with children. One social worker for a child advised that because of one staff member’s dedication to nurturing and spending time with the child, they believe the child is calmer and less angry. This helps children to feel that staff are invested in their well-being.

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improvement to be good

Staff support children effectively with their education. They promote learning for children, and children, for the most part, attend education. When children struggle with attending education, the staff team put a clear plan in place with the child’s social worker. They implement routine to get the child ready to return to school. This supports children to make progress.

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improvement to be good

The children in the home have been settled until recently. Where risks have increased, the manager has shared most information to enable a multi-agency approach to managing risk. However, for one child, the risk of self-harm has been Inspection report children’s home: SC476270 4 increasing, and there is no plan in place for the staff team to follow in order to keep the child safe. Staff lacked in confidence in these incidents and did not act to prevent the child from getting hurt. This means that children receive care that does not keep them as safe as it could.

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improvement to be good

When children go missing, staff take action to find them and make sure they are safe. However, staff do not always follow their own procedures. In one incident, this led to police not being called promptly enough. This means that children may be at risk of harm risk for longer than necessary.

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improvement to be good

When children make allegations, staff take action to report this to the relevant professionals and children are consulted. However, in one incident, a staff member remained working with a child for a period of time after an allegation was made. Recording and reporting to managers after this incident by was poor. The manager has acted quickly to work with staff to discuss safeguarding concerns. However, where there is a shortfall in staff skills, this has not been considered by managers before they agree for staff to return to work.

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improvement to be good

Staff respond to children in a nurturing way, and staff have a good understanding of the service’s therapeutic approach. However, opportunities to praise children and reward them are not used often enough. Consequences are punitive and do not help children to understand the impact of their behaviour on themselves and others. In one incident, the use of punitive discipline led a child to become increasingly distressed and run away from the home. Managers accepted during the inspection that this is an area for improvment for the team.

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improvement to be good

Staff only ever hold children when it is absolutely necessary. When physical interventions take place, staff try their best to calm children before engaging in any restraint. Some staff have not had debriefs after incidents for several days, and, in one incident, a child was given a debrief by the staff member who restrained them.

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good

The home has been without a registered manager since December 2019. Since the last inspection, the previous manager left without registering. There is now a new manager who has applied to Ofsted to be registered. The new manager has experience of working in children’s residential care.

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good

The manager’s auditing processes are not effective. They fail to act promptly on issues in the home’s condition, areas where children’s care plans need progressing, where the staff team lack skills in safeguarding incidents, and improving restorative care of children. When the manager does identify issues, she does not always ensure that effective action is taken to address them. This means that poor aspects of care remain.

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good

Children are not always receiving sufficient care to meet there needs. For example, Inspection report children’s home: SC476270 5 staff have recorded in some incidents that effective action could not be taken due to there not being enough staff available. Staff advised that in incidents where one child feels significantly distressed, there are not enough staff to ensure that the other children, who are frightened, are cared for and comforted. While the manager recognises this shortfall, and has plans in place to recruit new staff, senior leaders do not feel that staffing ratios are an issue.

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good

The manager is now offering staff regular supervision, which is mostly practice- related. Staff discuss their well-being, any training needs they have, and reflect on children’s progress. However, the manager still does not include agreed actions at the end of supervisions. This is an improvement from the previous inspection and managers intend to continue to develop this area of practice in the home.

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good

Staff generally receive good-quality training that helps them to fulfil their roles. For example, where there are gaps in the essential training for staff, there are plans in place to rectify these. The home’s clinical psychotherapist has completed a detailed workshop with staff to help them make sense of a child’s attachment needs recently. However, not all staff have acquired their level 3 qualifications within the required timeframes and staff are not always promptly enrolled. This means that, overall, children receive care from people who understand them; however, some improvements could be made to increase staff expertise. Inspection report children’s home: SC476270 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

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;

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Requirement Due date

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 registered person working with other professionals where more specialist input may be needed for children, and promoting and advocating with other professionals where needed to engage them in progressing children’s care plans. 21 July 2022

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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 21 July 2022 Inspection report children’s home: SC476270 7 necessary, make arrangements to reduce the risk of any harm to the child;

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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; and

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Requirement Due date

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

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Requirement Due date

that the premises used for the purposes of the home are designed, furnished and maintained so as to protect each child from avoidable hazards to the child’s health. (Regulation 12 (1) (2)(a)(i)(v)(vi)(vii)(d))

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Requirement Due date

This specifically relates to the registered person ensuring that there are clear plans in place to help staff manage risks to children, and that staff follow safeguarding procedures and understand what these are.

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must also ensure that the home suits the needs of the children living in the home and that any damage is repaired.

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

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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)(d)(h))

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that there are sufficient staff in the home to meet the needs of the children residing there. 21 July 2022 Inspection report children’s home: SC476270 8 The registered person must also ensure that action is taken to rectify any areas of staff practice that they feel require improvement.

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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 have the experience, qualifications and skills to meet the needs of each child. (Regulation 13 (1)(a)(b) (2)(c))

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Requirement Due date

This specifically relates to the registered person ensuring that the home has a registered manager through meeting requirements specified in Regulation 28 relating to fitness of manager for registration as required by s.11 CSA 2000. 8 July 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; and

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Requirement Due date

have a positive experience of arriving at or moving on from the home.

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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 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;

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Requirement Due date

ensure the effective induction of each child into the home. (Regulation 14 (1)(a)(b) (2)(a)(b)(i))

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Requirement Due date

This specifically relates to the registered person ensuring that they have clearly considered the different needs of all of 21 July 2022 Inspection report children’s home: SC476270 9 the children when considering moving new children in to the home and how they can meet those needs.

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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 two years after the date on which the individual started working in a care role in a home; or

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Requirement Due date

in the case of an individual who was working in a care role in a home on 1st April 2014, 1st April 2016.

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Requirement Due date

The registered person may defer the relevant date if the individual—

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Requirement Due date

does not work, or has not worked, in a care role in a home for a prolonged period; or

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Requirement Due date

works, or has worked, in a care role in a home on a part- time basis. (Regulation 32 (4)(a)(b) (5)(a)(b) (6)(a)(b))

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that staff acquire their level 3 qualification in the required timescales.

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Requirement Due date

This is reinstated from the last inspection. 4 August 2022

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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

details of the child’s behaviour leading to the use of the measure; 21 July 2022 Inspection report children’s home: SC476270 10 the date, time and location of the use of the measure;

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Requirement Due date

a description of the measure and its duration;

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Requirement Due date

details of any methods used or steps taken to avoid the need to use the measure;

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Requirement Due date

the name of the person who used the measure ("the user"), and of any other person present when the measure was used;

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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

a description of any injury to the child or any other person, and any medical treatment administered, as a result of the measure;

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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

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Requirement Due date

has signed the record to confirm it is accurate; and

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Requirement Due date

within five 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 (3)(a)(i)(ii)(iii)(iv)(v)(vi)(vii)(viii)(b)(i)(ii)(c))

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Requirement Due date

This specifically relates to the registered person ensuring that children are given debriefs by an independent person after incidents and that the authorised person offers staff debriefs after incidents in the required timescales.

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Recommendations

 The registered person must ensure that any sanctions used to address poor behaviour are restorative in nature, to help children recognise the impact of their behaviour on themselves, other children, the staff caring for them and the wider community. In some cases, it will be important for children to make reparation in some form to anyone hurt by their behaviour, and the staff in the home should be Inspection report children’s home: SC476270 11 skilled to support the child to understand this and carry it out. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 46, paragraph 9.38)

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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: SC476270 12

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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

Fiona Roche, Social Care Inspector Inspection report children’s home: SC476270 13 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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