Children's Home run by Cambridgeshire County Council in Cambridgeshire

Inspection report children’s home: 2605508 1 Registered provider: Cambridgeshire County Council Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This home provides short breaks for up to five children with diagnosed learning difficulties and/or complex health needs. The home also offers three long-term placements.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager registered with Ofsted in April 2022.

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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: none Inspection report children’s home: 2605508 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

19/05/2021 Full Good Inspection report children’s home: 2605508 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

At the time of the inspection 22 children were being supported by this short-break service. Three children were at the home during the inspection. The children have complex needs and require high levels of care and support.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The support for new children is good. The children visit the home for a meal and a sleepover. During these introductions, children start to build relationships with staff and other children. This helps children to feel comfortable and safe during their stays.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

One child moved on to another home with on-site education. The staff worked closely with him, his parents and professionals to ensure that the move was a positive experience. Another child moved on shortly before he was 18 years old, to the care of his parent.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children benefit from individualised care, which is recorded clearly in their care plans. They are supported to develop their independence skills, such as making snacks, personal care and tidying their bedrooms. This helps children to build their confidence and gain life skills.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The children enjoy activities at home and in the community. They enjoy sensory fun, which is embedded into their activity plans. One child likes to play with water. Another child likes to play with bubbles and go for walks. Parents spoke positively about the care and the enjoyable experiences their children have at the home.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The staff support children to prepare for the school day. This helps the children to have positive experiences at school and work towards their academic potential.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff communicate with parents about their children’s experiences. One parent said that communication with the staff is good and they respond well to any concerns they have. Another parent said that she can speak with staff about the care of her child, and this is positive.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff understand the children’s communication methods well and use these to help the children to share how they are feeling and what they would like. However, staff do not always record the direct work they complete with children. Therefore, learning from the children’s views of their experiences is not effective.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Improvements have been made to the home, and there are refurbishment plans in place. However, the paint in the children’s bedrooms is patchy and there are marks on the wall where posters have been removed. This does not help children to take pride in their home. Inspection report children’s home: 2605508 4

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

The risk assessments for children are detailed and reviewed regularly. Staff know the children’s vulnerabilities well and this reduces risks to children.

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

Staff have completed their safeguarding training and know how to whistle-blow. The staff spoke confidently about the action they would take in the event of concerns about the welfare of a child.

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

Staff complete training to meet the health needs of the children. Training is varied and ensures that the staff can meet children’s complex healthcare needs.

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

Staff support children to meet monthly. These meetings provide the children with the opportunity to share how they feel, discuss any concerns they have and talk about what they would like to do. An independent advocate visits the home regularly to spend time with the children. This helps children to feel listened to and provides them with an independent person who understands their needs and ensures that their rights are protected.

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

Staff are proactive in identifying any relationship difficulties between the children. There has been one bullying incident and this was responded to well by staff. The staff use suitable strategies to help children to build positive relationships. Consequently, the children feel relaxed and safe.

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

Staff use touch support to keep children safe. Physical interventions are used as a last resort. The staff support children appropriately when a physical intervention is used. However, children are not always supported to express their feelings or helped to understand the reasons for interventions.

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

Staff ensure that children’s accidental injuries are recorded and that information is shared with the children’s parents and social workers. Managers review these documents. However, an injury to a child that was reported to have happened at school was not followed up by staff. As a result, learning from such incidents is not effective.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager is suitably experienced and has a level 5 diploma in management. A deputy manager has been appointed and two team leaders are a part of the management team.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The managers have established a staff team who are committed to the children and want what is best for them. The team works together to meet the needs of the children. Inspection report children’s home: 2605508 5 Staff have regular supervision meetings. These are valued and allow the staff to discuss any concerns they have. These meetings provide an opportunity to talk about the staff’s professional development.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff participate in team meetings. These provide staff with the opportunity to share practice experiences and discuss the needs of the children. This supports staff to meet the needs of the children consistently.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager responds to recommendations made by the independent visitor to make improvements to the home. The management team meets monthly to discuss the running of the home, staffing, training needs and any concerns about the children. As a result, monitoring of the home is effective.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager generally responds to safeguarding incidents well. The manager works with the responsible individual to ensure that internal investigations are objective and fair. However, one safeguarding incident was not shared with Ofsted or the local authority designated officer within an appropriate time frame. This delayed independent scrutiny of this incident.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager has failed to share the updated statement of purpose with Ofsted. This prevents Ofsted from being aware of any recent changes. Inspection report children’s home: 2605508 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

keep the statement of purpose under review and, where appropriate, revise it; and

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Requirement Due date

notify HMCI of any revisions and send HMCI a copy of the revised statement within 28 days of the revision. (Regulation 16 (3)(b)) 1 September 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

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. (Regulation 12 (1) (2)(a)(v)(vi))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, ensure that staff obtain information from the relevant professional or person following any injuries to children. 15 August 2022

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Recommendations

 The registered person should provide a nurturing, homely environment. In particular, they should ensure that the children’s bedrooms are decorated to a consistently high standard. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 15, paragraph 3.9) Inspection report children’s home: 2605508 7  The registered person should ensure that any child who has been restrained is given the opportunity to express their feelings about their experience of 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. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 50, paragraph 9.60)

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Recommendations

 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. In particular, ensure that direct work with the children is recorded. (‘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 children’s home: 2605508 8

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Cambridgeshire County Council

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Sunley House, Summers Hill Drive, Papworth Everard, Cambridge CB23 3AB

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Children’s home details

Registered manager: Andreia Alves da Silva

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Inspector

Laraine Edmondson, Social Care Inspector Inspection report children’s home: 2605508 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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