Children's Home run by Cumbria County Council in Westmorland and Furness

Inspection report for children’s home: 2681478 1 Registered provider: Cumbria 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-term breaks for up to five children. The provider states in their statement of purpose that the home provides care for children who may have physical disabilities and/or complex learning disabilities. The local authority owns and manages this home.

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Information about this children’s home

This home opened in April 2022. This is the home’s first full inspection. 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: not applicable

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children’s home: 2681478 2

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Recent inspection history

Not previously inspected Inspection report for children’s home: 2681478 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children enjoy their short breaks in this home. They benefit from a consistent staff team who know them well. The inspector observed good relationships between the staff and children. The staff display warmth, care and a nurturing approach to each child.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Careful matching is in place. This ensures that children enjoy their short-break stay. The manager and staff place emphasis on good-quality planned introductions. The children enjoy a number of visits to the home before their first overnight stay. Staff form close links with parents and specialist services. As a result, important information is shared from the beginning, to promote good outcomes.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The care delivered in the home is good. There are good-quality plans in place that are individualised to each child. The managers and staff ensure that the children enjoy a wide range of experiences, such as going swimming and visits to the local wildlife parks and zoos. These memories are captured and displayed on canvas wall art around the home. Additionally, the home has its own social media page, where parents can see what activities the children have enjoyed during their short break.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff celebrate children’s achievements and there is a good level of consultation with children. Children are supported to write their own meeting minutes and the manager responds to any requests they make. This ensures the consultation is meaningful and inclusive.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are making good progress during their stays. A parent said, ‘Although I had initial reservations when [name of child] stayed at the home for the first time, he is now settled and able to be more tolerant with others.’ Staff ensure that they promote independence in daily living tasks such as eating, making shopping lists and baking.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Although children do not live permanently at the home, staff regularly visit education settings and take part in children’s education meetings. This effective partnership working ensures that children receive a consistent approach.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Multi-agency working is a strength of the home. A parent said, ‘Staff always take the time to listen. They recently helped me with some medical issues for [name of child].’ As a result, the child received the specialist help that they required.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Not all areas of the home are welcoming. The upstairs area needs modernising, for example, all the doors on the upper floor need repainting, the landing carpet is tired and worn, and the paintwork in the upstairs toilet is flaking. Repairs and redecoration are required to improve the quality of the home so that children are living in a welcoming environment. Inspection report for children’s home: 2681478 4

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

Positive behaviour is promoted. Staff are suitably trained in positive behaviour support. Staff use a range of de-escalation techniques. As a result, the use of restraint is minimal and it is only used when necessary to keep the child and others safe. Incidents in the home are infrequent. When incidents do occur, they are well managed. Records are detailed and contain children’s views.

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

Medication processes in the home are safe. There are clear procedures in place for booking in and administering medication. All staff are suitably trained and the manager ensures they complete a series of competency checks. Staff have a thorough understanding of medication processes.

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

The manager has ensured that fire practices in the home are safe. Each child has a personal emergency evacuation plan. This provides the staff with details on the support each child requires in the event of a fire. All staff are suitably trained in fire safety. Recently, the children enjoyed a trip to the fire station. Firefighters spoke to the children about the dangers of fires and what they would need to use to keep themselves safe.

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

Children do not go missing from the home, due to the high staffing levels. Staff know the children well. They understand what action they would take if a child went missing or if there was a child protection concern. Investigations into allegations are clearly documented and appropriate action is sought from relevant safeguarding agencies.

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

Robust recruitment procedures have not been followed for all staff. Some staff have gaps in their employment history which have not been fully explored. This has the potential for unsuitable adults to be employed at the home.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The home is led by an experienced and suitably qualified manager. He is supported by a deputy. There is a stable team of staff who support one another well.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The managers recognise the importance of continuing to make improvements. They are passionate in their roles and are very child-centred. They share good practice with the staff team and also stress the importance of gaining the trust of the parents and carers of children who access short-break stays.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager has produced a report about the quality of care at the home, which identifies the areas for development. However, this does not include direct feedback and/or opinions about the quality of care provided in the home from children, their family, stakeholders or staff.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager and deputy provide a supportive environment for staff, through regular supervision and team meetings. There is continuous dialogue through structured Inspection report for children’s home: 2681478 5 handovers and communication books. This means that all staff have the knowledge they need to support children effectively.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

New staff receive a detailed induction. There is a range of mandatory training courses for staff, including specific training to meet the individual needs of the children. However, safeguarding training is not specific to children with disabilities. More specialised training would enhance the skills of staff in understanding the risks and vulnerabilities for disabled children. A recommendation has been made to support this area for development.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager makes good use of external monitoring by the independent visitor. These reports are helping the manager make improvements in the home. The manager has recently been working to improve his documents for the matching of children. As a result, he has good evidence of his decision-making and oversight around the needs of each child. Inspection report for children’s home: 2681478 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, the 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 registered person must 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

meet the needs of each child. (Regulation 6 (2)(c)(i))

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Requirement Due date

Specifically, that the upstairs landing carpet is replaced and the bedroom doors are suitably painted to ensure that the landing area looks bright and modern. 24 February 2023

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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

employ an individual to work at the children’s home; or

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Requirement Due date

if an individual is employed by a person other than the registered person to work at the home in a position in which the individual may have regular contact with children, allow that individual to work at the home,

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Requirement Due date

if the individual satisfies the requirements in paragraph (3).

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Requirement Due date

the individual is of integrity and good character;

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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;

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Requirement Due date

the individual is mentally and physically fit for the purposes of the work that the individual is to perform; and

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Requirement Due date

full and satisfactory information is available in relation to the individual in respect of each of the matters in Schedule 2. (Regulation 32 (1) (2)(a)(b) (3)(a)(b)(c)(d)) 24 February 2023 Inspection report for children’s home: 2681478 7 The registered person must complete a review of the quality of care provided for children (“a quality of care review”) at least once every 6 months.

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Requirement Due date

In order to complete a quality of care review the registered person must establish and maintain a system for monitoring, reviewing and evaluating—

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Requirement Due date

the quality of care provided for children;

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Requirement Due date

the feedback and opinions of children about the children’s home, its facilities and the quality of care they receive in it; and

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Requirement Due date

the system referred to in paragraph (2) must provide for ascertaining and considering the opinions of children, their parents, placing authorities and staff. (Regulation 45 (1) (2)(b) (5)) 24 February 2023

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Recommendation

 The registered person should ensure that staff can access appropriate resources to support their training needs. In particular, staff should receive safeguarding training specific to children with disabilities. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 53, paragraph 10.11)

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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: 2681478 8

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Cumbria County Council

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Cumbria County Council, Cumbria House, 117 Botchergate, Carlisle CA1 1RD

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Inspector

Judith Birchall, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2681478 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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