Children's home run by Cambian Childcare Limited in Stockport

Inspection report for children’s home: SC450992 1 SC450992 Registered provider: Cambian Child Care Limited Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This home provides care for up to six children who exhibit complex behaviours because of their childhood experiences. The home is privately owned and forms part of a large social care organisation, which offers therapeutic support.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager registered with Ofsted on 24 May 2022. She is suitably experienced and is working towards the level 5 qualification in leadership and management.

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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

Date of last inspection: 12 January 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: SC450992 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

12/01/2022 Full Requires improvement to be good 07/10/2019 Full Good 04/02/2019 Interim Sustained effectiveness 25/06/2018 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: SC450992 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Two children were living in the home at the time of this inspection. No children have moved in or left the home since the last inspection.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children enjoy living in this home and benefit from having positive relationships with the staff. Staff know the children well and children speak positively about their day- to-day experiences. These relationships help children to feel valued and happy living in the home.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff use a therapeutic approach to support children. They work in partnership with the clinical team and a psychologist carries out regular consultations. These sessions are used to offer support and advice to staff to assist in their understanding of the children’s needs and their presenting anxieties. These systems support children to grow in confidence and make progress.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff support children to make very good progress with their education. For example, one child’s attendance at mainstream school is 98%. Staff have supported another child to secure a place at college, having completed statutory education. Furthermore, staff have arranged for one child to receive additional one-to-one support from education professionals as an extension of the school day. This supportive approach means that children do well at school and aspire to do well in the future.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff work hard to encourage children to recognise their own identity and to embrace who they want to be. For example, staff supported one child to attend mosque and to celebrate Ramadan. This welcoming approach to diversity helps children to openly express their feelings and wishes about their culture, identity and beliefs.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff help children to stay in touch with friends and family. For example, children’s friends have visited the home for dinner. Also, staff ensure that they develop and maintain positive relationships with children’s families and friends. Good communication from staff ensures that loved ones are kept up to date with children’s progress. This approach helps children to sustain positive links with family and friends.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Overall, the registered manager has created a homely environment for children to live in. Some areas of the home are well maintained and welcoming for children. Children have personalised their bedrooms and these are nicely decorated and furnished. However, other areas of the home were damaged, and require attention and decoration. In addition, there is excessive signage, such as fire exit signs, on display throughout the home. This has the potential to create an institutionalised feel to the home. Inspection report for children’s home: SC450992 4

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

Safeguarding incidents with children are well managed. Leaders ensure that allegations made against staff are referred to the appropriate agencies and investigated accordingly. Investigation reports are thorough, and the registered manager ensures that recommendations and actions are completed effectively. This helps to safeguard children and promote their welfare.

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

Children rarely go missing from the home. There has been one incident since the last inspection. Staff followed the child’s protocols effectively and made sure that the police were notified promptly. The registered manager ensured that a return home interview was completed by a person independent of the home. These processes reassure children and prioritise their safety.

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

Staff work therapeutically and restoratively with children to help them learn from their experiences. This approach helps to reduce the number of incidents in the home. There have been no incidents requiring physical restraint with children since the last inspection. In addition, staff offer rewards to children to show appreciation for their positive behaviour. Sanctions used by staff are fair and proportionate. This means that incidents with children rarely escalate.

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

Children’s risk management plans are regularly reviewed and updated. Leaders assess risk well and identify clear strategies for staff to follow. Additionally, risk management plans are routinely shared and discussed with social workers and the home’s psychologist. This supports staff to work consistently to keep children safe.

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

Staff carry out direct work to educate children about internet safety and exploitation. Key-work sessions are of good quality and staff back up this work by using up-to- date resources. These meaningful sessions help to enhance children’s knowledge and raise their awareness.

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

The registered manager has reviewed the home’s location risk assessment. This has not fully assessed the risks and the mitigation of risk is not sufficiently detailed. Furthermore, the registered manager has failed to gather the views of external professionals during the review. Therefore, the assessment of local risks to children has not been fully explored.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The home is led by a registered manager, who is suitably experienced and is currently in the process of completing her management qualification.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager has clear aspirations to ensure that children continue to make progress in all areas of their development. She is a supportive manager to children and works hard to make sure they have positive experiences. One child said, ‘The manager is the best manager we have had here, and since she has been the manager, I feel that my views are more listened to and then shared.’ Inspection report for children’s home: SC450992 5 Leaders work hard to provide a supportive environment for staff. Staff feel empowered to do their best for children. Supervision and appraisals are regular, reflective and of good quality. . These sessions improve staff’s confidence and awareness.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff training is up to date and specific to the needs of children in the home. The registered manager has also ensured that staff receive regular training and development through sessions with the clinical team. This improves staff knowledge and has a positive impact on the care that children receive.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager has not ensured that all staff complete the required qualification to work in the home within the compulsory timescales. This means that not all staff who care for children are experienced or qualified to do this.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Management oversight and monitoring processes are good. The registered manager has developed new monitoring systems since the last inspection. As a result, she knows the home’s strengths and weaknesses. Furthermore, she takes action to address any shortfalls and identifies areas for improvement. The statement of purpose accurately reflects the service and is clear about the support offered to children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager has established good relationships with external professionals. One professional stated, ‘[The manager] is very motivated and organised; she is excellent at following clinical advice’, adding that she demonstrates ‘great communication’. These relationships help children to achieve good outcomes and make progress.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

However, the registered manager does not always challenge external professionals effectively. For example, on one occasion, one child’s placing authority failed to complete important actions identified in the child’s review. This led to delays in care planning arrangements. As a result, the child became frustrated and her anxieties increased. Consequently, this shortfall left the child vulnerable. Inspection report for children’s home: SC450992 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

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. (Regulation 5 (c))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person should challenge the relevant professionals’ performance when they have failed to complete specific care planning actions identified in a child’s statutory review. 21 July 2022

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Requirement Due date

The quality and purpose of care standard is that children receive care from staff who—

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Requirement Due date

ensure that the premises used for the purposes of the home are designed and furnished so as to—

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Requirement Due date

enable each child to participate in the daily life of the home. (Regulation 6 (2)(c)(i)(ii))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the provider should ensure that the home’s environment is well maintained and that work is undertaken to repair damage to areas of the home. 21 July 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

the individual has the appropriate experience, qualification and skills for the work that the individual is to perform. 21 July 2022 Inspection report for children’s home: SC450992 7 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").

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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) (3)(b) (4)(a) (5)(a))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the provider should ensure that staff achieve the appropriate qualification within the required timescales.

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must review the appropriateness and suitability of the location of the premises used for the purposes of the children’s home at least once in each calendar year taking into account the requirement in regulation 12(2)(c) (the protection of children standard).

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Requirement Due date

When conducting the review, the registered person must consult, and take into account the views of, each relevant person. (Regulation 46 (1) (2))

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Requirement Due date

This relates to ensuring the locality of the home is assessed each year and key people are consulted. Furthermore, information from the consultation should be used to carry out a detailed assessment of the local risks. 21 July 2022

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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: SC450992 8

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Cambian Child Care 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

Dean Wilton, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: SC450992 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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