Children's Home run by Cambian Childcare Limited in North Yorkshire

Inspection report for children’s home: 1235818 1 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 is a privately run children’s home that provides care for up to four children who may have complex emotional and social difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

One child was living at the home at the time of the inspection.

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Information about this children’s home

The registered manager post has been vacant since January 2023.

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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

Date of last inspection: 1 February 2022

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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: 1235818 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

01/02/2022 Full Good 01/07/2019 Full Good 25/07/2018 Interim Declined in effectiveness 10/04/2018 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: 1235818 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children have lived in this home for varying lengths of time and have made progress in line with their individual experiences. One parent said, ‘My child’s life is back on track after living at the home. She has changed so much; she can now make safe choices.’

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The quality of care provided to the children helps them to make progress and achieve their outcomes. Staff use the principles of therapeutic care in the delivery of their support and guidance to the children. Children engage with staff who help them to understand how their decisions and life choices impact on their safety and well-being. The manager’s review of the children’s records provides the children with a written, empathetic message of further support.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children have experienced unplanned moves out of this home in response to their emerging risk and needs. Children may need help to understand the reason for this change and recognise their experiences and the progress they made while living at the home. One child has received a therapeutic letter from the clinical team to highlight their therapy journey. However, this is not a letter that all children currently receive. The manager understands how change affects children, and children are again experiencing a settled period in the home.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children’s education arrangements vary as the children find the characteristics of an educational environment difficult. The manager, with her team, works in partnership with educational professionals to remove potential barriers to the children’s learning. Education plans are created to try and meet each child’s needs and reduce the pressure from peers. However, one current plan does not support the child to achieve their objectives and full potential.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The staff have helped children to re-establish family relationships and build crucial links and support systems for when they leave the home.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Extensive damage had been caused to the home. There is evidence of redecoration and refurbishment to return the state of the home back to its former high standard. However, further maintenance and repair are necessary, particularly to the kitchen cupboards and the home’s carpets.

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

Previously, children did not go missing from the home. However, recently, children have been reported as missing from home, which increases their risk of harm. Staff are proactive in their responses to missing-from-home incidents. The staff will carry out widespread searches and implement disruption techniques to aid in the quick and safe return of children. Any identified shortfalls in staff responses have been addressed by the manager. However, the children’s risk assessments need to Inspection report for children’s home: 1235818 4 consistently provide accurate information about local towns that are assessed as either safe or unsafe.

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

The staff help the children to understand and recognise child exploitation as abuse. As children build their confidence, there is a reduction of guilt, and children start to recognise risk. While children develop their ability to make safe choices, things that increase their risk of exploitation are restricted, for example social media. Door alarms are also fitted to the children’s bedroom doors. This system alerts staff of children’s movement. This monitoring is persistent, as alarm settings are not adjusted in response to the child’s risk or staff presence.

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

The group dynamic has recently been a trigger for incidents. The staff have not had the confidence or resilience to consistently curb children’s heightened emotional states. The manager addressed the staff about their over-reliance on calling the police. However, no arrests or charges were made against the children. The clinical team has supported the development of practice learning and implements care strategies to improve the outcomes for children.

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good

Until January 2023, a confident and experienced manager consistently led the home. Since they left, the provider has taken measures to fill their role, and an acting manager is leading the team. However, Ofsted has not received an application for the registration of the manager.

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good

Formal supervision sessions provide staff with protected time for learning and practice reflection. Staff can confidently raise questions and gain clarity about practice and procedures, linking these to specific children. However, the quality of supervision sessions and staff debriefs can vary greatly depending on the supervisor. This quality needs to be consistently good to ensure that staff value the supervision process and practice is celebrated and developed.

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good

Forming trusted relationships with staff can be difficult for children, and there has been a high turnaround of staff. Newly appointed staff have limited experience in children’s residential care, and the provider has needed to review its approaches to the recruitment and induction process. Staff are being supported to learn and build the skills necessary for their role, which was evident when the inspector spoke to a newly recruited staff member.

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good

Appointed staff are subject to safer recruitment checks. Applicants are expected to provide a full and accurate employment history, including detailing the reasons for leaving their previous employment. However, any identified gaps in staff’s employment history are not accurately recorded or reviewed.

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good

The manager has internal and external monitoring systems in place to improve the quality of the care that children receive. The external monitoring of the home is undertaken regularly to provide support to the manager in the identification of Inspection report for children’s home: 1235818 5 practice strengths and developments. However, the consultation within these reports can be limited, and this impacts on the independent person’s ability to form their opinion about the welfare of children. Inspection report for children’s home: 1235818 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

Any person who carries on or manages an establishment or agency of any description without being registered under this Part in respect of it (as an establishment or, as the case may be, agency of that description) shall be guilty of an offence. (Care Standards Act 2000, Section 11 (1)) 5 May 2023

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Requirement Due date

The quality and purpose of care standard is that children receive care from staff who—

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Requirement Due date

understand the children’s home’s overall aims and the outcomes it seeks to achieve for children. (Regulation 6 (1)(a)) 5 May 2023

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Requirement Due date

The education standard is that children make measurable progress towards achieving their educational potential and are helped to do so.

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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

help each child to attend education or training in accordance with the expectations in the child’s relevant plans. (Regulation 8 (1) (2)(a)(x)) 5 May 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. (Regulation 32 (1)) 5 May 2023

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Recommendations

 The registered person should actively seek independent scrutiny of the home to ensure continuous improvement. These compiled external monitoring reports should include consultation to aid the independent person to form their opinion Inspection report for children’s home: 1235818 7 about the welfare and protection of children. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 55, paragraph 10.24)  The registered person should ensure that any use of monitoring equipment in the form of bedroom door alarms is routinely reviewed. The evaluation of the use of door alarms should detail how this measure supports the safeguarding and well- being of those living and working in the home, and the routine use throughout the day. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 16, paragraph 3.16)  The registered person should ensure that staff supervision consistently enables

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Recommendations

staff to reflect on their practice and how this affects the children they care for. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 39, paragraph 8.15)  The registered person should ensure that the current plan of redecoration and refurbishment of the home continues and the children’s home is a nurturing and homely environment. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 15, paragraph 3.9)  The registered person should ensure that staff continually and actively assess the risks to each child, and the arrangements in place to protect them should be recorded within each child’s risk assessment plan. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 42, paragraph 9.5)  The registered person should ensure that when a child’s transition is unplanned, there is opportunity for children to understand the progress and experiences they

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Recommendations

gained while living at the home. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 57, paragraph 11.9)

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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: 1235818 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: Caretech Estates Ltd, Metropolitan House, 3 Darkes Lane, Potters Bar EN6 1AG

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Inspector

Jennifer Fenlon, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 1235818 9 regulates and inspects 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 looked after children, safeguarding and child protection.

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Inspector

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Inspector

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Inspector

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