Children's Home run by Cambian Childcare Limited in Lancashire

Inspection report children’s home: SC478468 1 SC478468 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 owned by a private company. It provides care and support for up to five children who may have social and emotional difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager registered with Ofsted on 23 September 2019.

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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 children’s home: SC478468 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

28/07/2021 Full Good 06/02/2020 Interim Sustained effectiveness 03/09/2019 Full Good 05/03/2019 Interim Improved effectiveness Inspection report children’s home: SC478468 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

At the time of the inspection, three children were living at the home. Since the last inspection, three children have left and another child has moved in. Children’s moves in and out of the home are well planned, and records demonstrate that outcomes for children who have left are positive.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Throughout the inspection, children spent time with the inspectors and discussed their views and experiences of living in the home. A child said, ‘This is my home, the staff care, and I think they do an outstanding job.’ Another said, ‘I asked to come back here because I love it here. I have some staff that I love, and I still can see my family.’ Children say that they feel cared for, safe and happy.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff build positive relationships with children living at the home. They act as strong advocates to ensure that children’s voices are heard. The relationships observed between children and staff are strong, positive and caring. There was laughter in the home and children were sitting with the staff to enjoy mealtimes. Children are comfortable to talk openly to the staff about their day and their plans for the forthcoming week.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children’s educational achievement is variable and not all children are accessing full- time education. The manager has escalated concerns to the education authority. However, this challenge has not been sufficient in bringing about effective changes. Furthermore, children do not have access to a home computer to enhance their education and learning.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children’s health is consistently promoted by the staff team. Staff ensure that children understand the importance of leading healthy lifestyles and seek external support if required to meet the emotional needs of children. Statutory health assessments have been completed, and children are supported to attend required medical appointments.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff consider children’s wishes and feelings and promote family time sensitively. Children are encouraged to bring their family and friends to the home. Staff manage this well. This encourages children to spend quality time with their family and friends.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff support the children to build on their life skills for their future and are helping them with goal planning, which prepares them for adulthood. The two children who have recently left the home to live independently have valued the skills they have gained during their care experience. Both children maintain contact with staff and continue to provide information about their ongoing achievements, including being successful in gaining employment. Inspection report children’s home: SC478468 4 Children identified staff who they can talk to if they are upset or unhappy. However, children are unclear on the complaints procedure and the support available to them throughout this process. When this was brought to the attention of the registered manager, she spoke to the children to alleviate their concerns in using this process and to help with their understanding and knowledge. She also identified this as an

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

agenda item for the next team meeting to ensure that staff clearly explain this process to all new children in the home.

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

Children told inspectors that they feel safe and are well cared for. Children are kept safe by the staff team when safeguarding issues arise. However, risk management plans are lengthy, in some instances generic, and the information is confusing. Despite being reviewed regularly, strategies do not consistently show the actions that staff are required to take to minimise risks. This has led to confusion on occasions.

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

Children who go missing from home experience a coordinated response that reduces the risk of harm. There are individual missing-from-home plans. Clear procedures are followed by staff to ensure that children are safely returned to the home when they have been missing. Staff search for children when they are missing, and they work hard to ensure that they safely return to the home. Relevant authorities are notified without delay. However, not all local authorities have provided an opportunity for the child to have an independent return home interview. The registered manager has consistently challenged the lack of action taken by social workers.

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

Restraint is used in accordance with the legislative framework to protect the child and those around them. There have been two physical restraints involving children. These were appropriate to minimise the risks for children. However, the recording of restraints requires strengthening to ensure that the details are sufficient and accurate. The registered manager has identified this as an area for improvement.

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

Consequences are not always proportionate and consistently recorded and at times enforce a restriction of children’s liberties. Although there is reported to be a culture of restorative practice promoted in the home, this is inconsistent. As a result, not all children are given clear guidance to help them manage their emotions and behaviour.

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

Safer recruitment practices for new staff working at the home are robust. The registered manager has ensured that all appropriate checks have been carried out before staff work at the home. This ensures that all staff have been thoroughly checked to keep children safe. Inspection report children’s home: SC478468 5

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good

The registered manager is experienced in children’s residential care and appropriately qualified for her role. She has recently returned to work after maternity leave and has made improvements to the paperwork in a short length of time. She demonstrates genuine commitment and high aspirations for the children in her care. This view is shared strongly by a committed and experienced deputy manager and a stable staff team.

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good

Feedback from staff and external professionals on the leadership of the home is, without exception, positive. Staff say that the management team is ‘extremely supportive’ and ‘firm but fair’. Staff say that they are happy that the manager returned to work in the home.

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good

All staff receive supervision sessions in accordance with the company’s policy, and team meetings are held regularly. Records reflect on practice and support professional development to improve practice. However, actions identified are not allocated with timescales and some remain outstanding. The registered manager has identified improvements that were required since her return to work, and she has taken on the role of supervising all staff in the team.

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good

There has been a lack of management evaluation to identify whether staff need to change their practice in response to incidents. Managers were not aware that consequences to restrict children’s liberties were being used and despite guidance being in place, due to safeguarding concerns, that children do not go into the staff office this practice has continued.

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good

Furthermore, some children’s care records contain documents that reference another child’s name who is not cared for in this home and referred to the name of another home in the company’s portfolio. Staff have provided these records to children to sign and date without checking the content. This is a data breach and does not ensure that children’s care records are an accurate reflection of their needs and outcomes.

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good

The home environment does not reflect the warm, nurturing environment that managers and staff portray. There are internal locks on communal doors to prevent children accessing areas of their home, and parts of the home require cleaning. Damaged curtains and blinds have not been replaced and walls and doors require repairing and decorating. The hallway carpet is threadbare in parts and the garden gate is broken. Although the registered manager stated that these issues have been reported, there is no timescale for the jobs to be completed. Inspection report children’s home: SC478468 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.

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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 necessary, make arrangements to reduce the risk of any harm to the child;

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Requirement Due date

are familiar with, and act in accordance with, the home’s child protection policies. (Regulation 12 (1) (2)(a)(i)(vii))

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Requirement Due date

This requirement specifically relates to the need to develop clear risk management plans and to ensuring that the staff team understands the home’s safeguarding procedures and follows them at all times. 30 September

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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

use monitoring and review systems to make continuous improvements in the quality of care provided in the home. (Regulation 13 (1)(a)(b) (2)(h))

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Requirement Due date

This specifically relates to ensuring that the manager oversees and monitors the quality of recording in the home. 30 September Inspection report children’s home: SC478468 7 The registered person must ensure that—

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Requirement Due date

children can access all appropriate areas of the children’s home’s premises; and

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Requirement Due date

any limitation placed on a child’s privacy or access to any area of the home’s premises—

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Requirement Due date

is intended to safeguard each child accommodated in the home;

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Requirement Due date

is kept under review and, if necessary, revised; and

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Requirement Due date

allows children as much freedom as is possible when balanced against the need to protect them and keep them safe. (Regulation 21 (b)(c)(i)(ii)(iii)(iv))

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Requirement Due date

This relates to children being able to access all areas of their home. 26 August 2022

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must maintain records (“case records”) child which—

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Requirement Due date

include the information and documents listed in Schedule 3 in relation to each child;

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Requirement Due date

are signed and dated by the author of each entry. (Regulation 36 (1)(a)(b)(c)) 30 September

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that the independent person appointed to the home makes a rigorous and impartial assessment of the home’s arrangements for safeguarding and promoting the welfare of the children in the home’s care. This assessment should include the standard of the property, including children’s bedrooms and any home improvements required for safety purposes. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 65, paragraph 15.5)  The registered person should ensure that when a child returns to the home after being missing from care or away from the home without permission, the responsible local authority provides an opportunity for the child to have an independent return home interview. The home should take account of information Inspection report children’s home: SC478468 8 provided by such interviews when assessing risks and putting arrangements in

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Recommendations

place to protect each child. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 45, paragraph 9.30)  The registered person should ensure that all children of compulsory school age are attending full-time education. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 28, paragraph 5.14)  The registered person should ensure that children have the resources in the home, including a computer, to complete homework. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 29, paragraph 5.19)

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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: SC478468 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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Inspectors

Michelle Edge, Social Care Inspection Manager Nichola Croft, Social Care Inspector Inspection report children’s home: SC478468 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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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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