Children's Home run by Cambian Childcare Limited in Shropshire

Inspection report for children’s home: SC476292 1 SC476292 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 private company. The home provides residential care for up to three girls.

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Information about this children’s home

The home has a new manager who is suitably experienced and has applied to register with Ofsted.

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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

Overall judgement at last inspection: good

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children’s home: SC476292 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

21/04/2021 Full Good 21/01/2020 Interim Not judged 25/09/2019 Interim Not judged 08/10/2018 Full Requires improvement to be good Inspection report for children’s home: SC476292 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Since the last inspection, two children have left the home and two children have moved in. Staff ensure that the home is welcoming and well maintained. Children are encouraged to personalise their bedrooms and other rooms in the home. One child enjoys looking after her pet fish. This child-centred approach helps children to feel proud of where they live.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children have good and trusting relationships with staff. Staff are sensitive when responding to their feelings. For one child, the staff have developed a self-soothe box of items to help her relax and feel safe. Staff have supported another child to explore their emerging identity needs. This practice empowers children to recognise their feelings and develop safe strategies to manage emotions and develop self- confidence.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff recognise that education is important. The children living in the home have individualised timetables which are suited to their learning needs. Staff have good communication with teaching staff and this collaborative work ensures that children are meeting their targets. At the time of inspection, both children were looking forward to attending their end of year prom. This practice ensures that children are helped to progress and feel proud of their achievements.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff help children develop skills that result in them becoming more independent. Staff create individualised independence planners, which encourages children to develop skills in cooking, budgeting and food shopping. In addition, one child has successfully gained part-time employment. This means that children are developing their self-esteem in the home and in the wider community. As a result, children have a better understanding of the skills they will need for the future.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Overall, staff have a good understanding of children’s health needs. However, one child’s health plan failed to consider the targets set by professionals. For example, a child’s health review plan said that the child should receive a further health assessment and required further vaccinations. It is not clear in the child’s plan how staff were responding to this advice and how these recommendations would be met. This shortfall could lead to delays in ensuring health needs are met and has the potential to impact the child’s health and well-being.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff have made a coordinated effort to understand the needs of children who have moved into the home. This has included staff visiting children’s previous homes and meeting previous carers and providing the children with opportunities to visit the home. This child-centred approach ensures that children feel welcomed and helps to reduce children’s worries. Furthermore, staff play an active role in supporting children who are moving to new homes. For one child who moved to university, staff created a transition plan of visits and helped to decorate her new home. Children move on with the benefit of their experience at the home. Inspection report for children’s home: SC476292 4

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

The staff have good knowledge and understanding of children’s vulnerabilities, risks and needs. Children’s written risk assessments are updated regularly. Furthermore, children are involved in discussions around risk, which helps them understand staff responses. For example, one child has a phone agreement in place, which includes clear routines and boundaries around the use of their phone. Staff have explained this agreement to the child and the action they will take to ensure that the child is kept safe. This helps to build the children’s understanding about risk and staff practice.

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

Staff respond to challenging behaviour appropriately and restraint is only used when necessary. Staff have not always been supported with a debriefing session following an incident of restraint. This is a missed opportunity to review staff practice. Staff use incentives effectively; this includes praise and individualised reward charts. Staff rarely use sanctions. This ensures that positive behaviour is encouraged.

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

Door alarms are used on children’s bedroom doors at night and CCTV is used on external doors. Managers have not ensured that this is based on children’s individual needs. In addition, in some cases there has been no consultation with the children or the children’s social workers. As a result, the alarms may be being used unnecessarily.

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

Medication is safely stored and administered. Staff consult with health professionals when changes are required to medication, and staff ensure that children receive appropriate advice about medication and explore their views. This helps to improve children’s health.

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

Feedback from external professionals is positive. They spoke of good working relationships and said that the manager and staff have a good understanding of the needs and experiences of the children.

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

Children live in safe and well-maintained accommodation. Staff carry out regular health and safety checks to ensure that the home is physically safe.

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good

The new manager is suitably experienced and has applied for registration with Ofsted. The manager is motivated and passionate about the future of the home. He acknowledged the shortfalls found at inspection and could identify the steps he would take to respond to these.

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good

Staff told the inspector that they enjoy working in the home and feel confident and supported. Staff receive regular supervision, and these discussions consider Inspection report for children’s home: SC476292 5 children’s needs and staff welfare. This has helped to create good staff morale, which has a positive impact on the care that children receive.

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good

The manager understands the importance of a skilled workforce. All staff are up to date with mandatory training. In addition, training has been sourced to help the staff understand the specific needs of the children. This supports continuous professional development and ensures that staff understand their roles and responsibilities.

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good

The manager has failed to satisfy himself that the staff working in the home are safe to do so. The manager failed to identify and consider concerns raised in a staff member’s reference. This lack of oversight does not ensure that all staff working with children are suitable.

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good

The manager does not have effective systems in place to monitor and review all the care provided. For example, the manager does not review and scrutinise records of room searches, self-harm incidents and incidents when children have caused damage to property. Although staff have responded appropriately, this is a missed opportunity to ensure that the correct care and support have been provided to children. This has the potential to impact the children’s experiences in the home.

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good

The home has a location risk assessment; however, it does not consider up-to-date data about criminal activity in the local area. This is a missed opportunity to reduce risk and to fully review the home’s location. Inspection report for children’s home: SC476292 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 health and well-being standard is that—

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Requirement Due date

the health and well-being needs of children are met; and children are helped to lead healthy lifestyles.

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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

take part in activities, and attend any appointments, for the purpose of meeting the child’s health and well-being needs. (Regulation 10 (1)(a)(c) (2)(a)(iii))

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Requirement Due date

This specifically relates to the manager ensuring that actions set by medical professionals are considered. 20 August 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 is of integrity and good character. (Regulation 32 (1) (3)(a))

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Requirement Due date

This specifically relates to the manager ensuring that recruitment records of staff are checked for suitability. Furthermore, that if concerns are raised about a person’s practice, these are explored. 20 August 2022

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Requirement Due date

within 48 hours of the used 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. (Regulation 35 (3)(b)(i)) 20 August 2022 Inspection report for children’s home: SC476292 7 This specifically relates to the manager ensuring that staff involved in interventions are spoken to following any incident and provided with a debrief.

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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

The registered person should also 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))

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Requirement Due date

This specifically relates to the registered manager ensuring that there are systems in place to monitor and review incidents and room searches.

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Requirement Due date

In addition, the manager should ensure that reviews of incidents and room searches take place promptly to understand the support provided to children by staff and to inform the development of the care provided. 20 August 2022

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Requirement Due date

The registered person may only use devices for the monitoring or surveillance of children if—

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Requirement Due date

the monitoring or surveillance is for the purpose of safeguarding and promoting the welfare of the child concerned, or other children. (Regulation 24 (1)(a))

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Requirement Due date

This specifically relates to ensuring that door alarms are only used as set out in a child’s agreed risk assessments and care plans. In addition, the use of CCTV should be reviewed in line with the home’s monitoring and surveillance policy. 20 August 2022 Inspection report for children’s home: SC476292 8

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Recommendation

 The registered person should ensure that the location review includes the identification of any risks and opportunities presented by the home’s location and strategies for managing these. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 64, paragraph 15.1)

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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: SC476292 9

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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

Sophie Hills, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: SC476292 10 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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