Children's home run by Cambian Childcare Limited in Stockport

Inspection report for children’s home: SC457182 1 SC457182 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

This home is operated by a private provider. It provides care for one child with emotional and social difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager has been registered with Ofsted since August 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 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 September 2021

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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: SC457182 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

08/09/2021 Full Good 09/04/2019 Full Good 03/07/2018 Full Good 27/02/2018 Interim Sustained effectiveness Inspection report for children’s home: SC457182 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The child living in this home has been supported to form trusting bonds with the staff who care for them. The child said that they know the staff care about them and feels that they will always ‘have my back’. The child’s interactions with staff were seen to be caring, relaxed and happy.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff use a trauma-informed approached to supporting the child. The team has the support of a mental health champion to guide their practice and uses therapeutic approaches wherever possible. This enhanced understanding of the context of the child’s needs and vulnerabilities allows staff to employ proactive and preventative strategies rather than simply reacting when crises arise. As a result, the child is enabled to gain a better understanding of their own experiences and behaviours.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The home is cheerfully decorated, creating a welcoming family atmosphere. However, there are unresolved maintenance issues, some areas of the home need updating, and cleanliness needs to be more closely monitored throughout the house. In particular, the child uses the garage as a ‘chill-out’ space, but this has not been sufficiently modified or decorated to turn it into a room suitable for this purpose. One professional’s feedback reflected that the home needs ‘some decoration’. A well-appointed and maintained home allows children to see the care others feel for them reflected in their environment. It also encourages them to take pride in their surroundings, and ownership over independence tasks in the home.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The child who is living in the home is making good progress across all aspects of their life. Staff have supported the child to attend school regularly and undertake their GCSEs. This is a huge achievement, especially given that this child had been out of education for a long time prior to moving into this home. Presently, this excellent progress is not immediately clear when reviewing the child’s records. The home should have a system in place to allow the child’s progress to be recognised and tracked easily.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Currently, the child is not engaging in any meaningful activities outside of education. Records, in particular the child’s memory books, show that the child previously enjoyed a wide range of extracurricular activities. The staff describe that this change reflects the wishes of the child. However, it is important that children consistently take part in a variety of activities that support them to develop and expand their interests and hobbies. Even if a child declines to participate, there should be evidence that the adults caring for them continue to plan and encourage these activities.

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

The child’s safety has greatly improved since moving into this home. Staff have a good understanding of how to keep children safe, understanding their role and Inspection report for children’s home: SC457182 4 responsibilities within a range of safeguarding scenarios. However, the written risk assessments do not always provide staff with a clear guide as to how to manage risks. This could expose the child to increased risk of harm.

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

Staff use a range of creative approaches to managing risk. The child understands that they can play a certain song, text the staff or use artwork as a means of communicating when they are experiencing poor mental health or distress. Staff have implemented these strategies after recognising that the child will not always be able to say when they are struggling. Additionally, staff know the child well and recognise indicators in their behaviour which would prompt staff to offer additional support. This allows staff to act quickly to prevent crises.

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

Staff work well in partnership with a range of other services and agencies to ensure that all planning connects. Staff communicate regularly with updates and important information regarding the child. Consequently, the child receives a holistic package of care, which keeps them safe and enables them to make good progress.

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

Staff advocate on behalf of the child to promote their best interests, rights and wishes. Through effective advocacy, staff ensure that the child is always receiving the best possible care and services. The child is also supported and encouraged to understand and have a say in their own pathway planning. This ensures that plans are always child focused, and that the child’s voice is always heard.

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

The registered manager uses a comprehensive impact risk assessment to ensure that the home environment and staff team are suitable to meet the child’s individual needs. The local area risk assessment also extensively outlines information regarding relevant risks in the locality. This document is regularly reviewed and updated. This approach to the assessment of risk informs a culture of safe practice in the home.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The home is led by a suitably qualified manager, who has been in post since August 2021. The manager is clearly passionate about improving and developing the service. She acts promptly on all actions suggested by the independent visitor and Ofsted and has implemented a range of improvements since taking leadership of the home.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager encourages the staff team to share her proactive and enthusiastic approach to achieving the best outcomes for the child. This helps the child to recognise their own potential and make good progress.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The child is cared for by a stable staff team. This consistency allows the child to get to know staff well and experience a uniform approach to their care.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager has put in place good systems of internal monitoring and oversight. Review and analysis of the child’s files allow her to identify any issues arising in a timely manner. At times, the spelling and grammar used within key-work sessions Inspection report for children’s home: SC457182 5 are poor. The written records for the child should reflect the same care that they are provided with in the home, and this should be picked up by the manager’s audits.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Supervision takes place regularly and is of consistently good quality. Supervision is reflective and annual appraisals are conducted for all staff. This allows the manager to conduct an effective formal evaluation of staff performance.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Team meetings are used as a useful forum to share good practice and resolve any issues. To date, research and practice development have not formed a regular part of the agenda. The registered manager reports that research is discussed within higher management meetings. However, it would be useful for the staff team if this information was disseminated at regular team meetings. This would ensure that the child’s needs are being met via the most effective, evidence-based approach.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager completes an effective, regular quality of care review. Feedback from professionals and the child is a useful contribution to this report. Analysis and evaluation of the quality of care has improved and allows the manager to have a good understanding of the areas of improvement in the home. Inspection report for children’s home: SC457182 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. In particular, the registered person should ensure — that staff assess whether each child is at risk of harm, taking into account information in the child’s relevant plans, and, if necessary, make arrangements to reduce the risk of any harm to the child; understand the roles and responsibilities in relation to protecting children that are assigned to them by the registered person; take effective action whenever there is a serious concern about a child’s welfare. (Regulation 12 (1) (2)(a)(i)(v)(vi))

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Requirement Due date

This specifically relates to updating written risk assessments to ensure that they provide a clear guide for staff to follow. The registered manager must also make sure that staff have read and understood all elements of risk assessments. 20 December

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Requirement Due date

The enjoyment and achievement standard is that children take part in and benefit from a variety of activities that meet their needs and develop and reflect their creative, cultural, intellectual, physical and social interests and skills. In particular, the registered person should ensure— that staff help each child to— develop the child’s interests and hobbies; participate in activities that the child enjoys and which meet and expand the child’s interests and preferences; and make a positive contribution to the home and the wider community; and that each child has access to a range of activities that enable the child to pursue the child’s interests and hobbies. (Regulation 9 (2)(a)(i)(ii)(iii)(b)) 20 December Inspection report for children’s home: SC457182 7

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that general maintenance is carried out in a timely manner. In particular, the decoration in the child’s room should be updated, including the purchase of good-quality furnishing. Additionally, the garage needs to be renovated to reflect that it is being regularly used as a ‘chill-out room’. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 15, paragraph 3.9)  The registered person should ensure that the staff seek to meet the child’s basic needs in the way that a good parent would. Doing so is an important aspect of demonstrating that the staff care for the child and value them as an individual. Specifically, the garden needs to be kept clean and tidy. There should be a system implemented to ensure the consistent monitoring of cleanliness in the home. Cleanliness issues seen during inspection, such as a ‘vape’ on the floor in the

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Recommendations

garden, a pint glass discarded in the grass, and cereal on the floor in the living room, would be identified and rectified more quickly. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 15, paragraph 3.7)  The registered person should ensure that the home’s records on each child represent a significant contribution to their life history. This is specifically in relation to ensuring that children’s progress and positive outcomes are clearly recorded within the children’s records. Also, that care is taken to amend any spelling or grammatical errors. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 62, paragraph 14.5)  The registered person should support staff to be ambitious for every child in the home and to gain skills and experience that enable them to actively support each child to achieve their potential. To ensure that staff understand and can meet

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Recommendations

each child’s needs, in line with their responsibilities, the registered person themselves will need to have a high level of understanding of the needs of the children in their care. Specifically, the manager should ensure that the home is informed and improved by considering research and developments to the ways in which the needs of the child are best met. (‘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: SC457182 8

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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

Nicola Shaw, Social Care Regulatory Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: SC457182 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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