Children's Home run by Cambian Childcare Limited in Warwickshire

Inspection report for children's home: SC476249 1 SC476249 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 run by a private provider. It is registered to provide care for up to five children who experience social and emotional difficulties. Two children currently live in the home.

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Information about this children’s home

The previous manager registered in September 2022 and resigned in March 2023. The new manager has been in post since March 2023. Their application to register with Ofsted was submitted during this full inspection.

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Overall experiences and progress of

children and young people, taking into account

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requires improvement to be good

How well children and young people are helped and protected requires improvement to be good

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requires improvement to be good

The effectiveness of leaders and managers inadequate

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requires improvement to be good

The children’s home is not yet delivering good help and care for children and young people. However, there are no serious or widespread failures that result in their welfare not being safeguarded or promoted.

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requires improvement to be good

Date of last inspection: 12 October 2022

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requires improvement to be good

Overall judgement at last inspection: requires improvement to be good

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requires improvement to be good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children's home: SC476249 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

12/10/2022 Full Requires improvement to be good 25/01/2022 Full Good 28/02/2020 Interim Declined in effectiveness 24/07/2019 Full Good Inspection report for children's home: SC476249 3

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improvement to be good

No new children have moved into the home since the last inspection. The same two children are still living here.

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improvement to be good

There is damage to several areas of the home, for example, damage in the kitchen and to various items of furniture. Many of the interior fire doors and fire strips round the doors are damaged. This compromises the fire safety systems of the home. The home itself is unclean and messy in several areas. Leaders started to rectify the fire safety concerns and issues regarding cleanliness during the inspection. However, this is a continuing shortfall from the previous inspection.

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improvement to be good

The children have both said they no longer want to live here due to the poor environment and the inconsistency of carers. They both say they do not feel listened to by the staff. Leaders in the home are aware of this and have recently put interim measures in place to try to stabilise the staff team. However, children have still not been sufficiently consulted about their care or reassured that their views will be considered.

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improvement to be good

Children’s educational outcomes are mixed. One child is in full-time education and has taken exams, achieving qualifications in maths and English. However, one child is no longer attending school. The manager has not taken sufficient action to address this or engaged with other professionals to coordinate a plan for this child.

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improvement to be good

Children’s health needs are sometimes met. One child has ongoing complex health needs. Staff discuss the child’s health worries with them and support them to attend clinical appointments. However, another child struggles to attend health appointments. Staff have only invested limited time with this child to support them to prioritise their health. This means the child is not up to date with routine health appointments.

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improvement to be good

Children’s relationships with staff in the home have deteriorated in recent months. Due to increased staff sickness and staff shortages, children have increasingly been cared for by staff who are not familiar to them. These staff have not always followed children’s care plans or followed good routines for the children. This has impacted on children’s emotional well-being and overall happiness in the home.

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improvement to be good

The manager recognises that relationships need improving. She has recently tried to introduce appreciation incentives for staff and trips to help children enjoy fun experiences again, such as a trip to Skegness and a barbecue pool party at the home. However, these improvements are in their infancy.

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improvement to be good

Inspection report for children's home: SC476249 4 There have been few significant incidents since the last inspection. There have not been any incidents of children going missing and only one occasion when a child had to be held to keep them safe. There have not been any allegations made against adults in the home since the last inspection.

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improvement to be good

When a restraint is used, staff safely hold the child, but they do not have the skills to de-escalate the situation effectively to reduce the child’s distress. Staff do not follow the child’s support plans. As a result, in one incident, the staff called the police, without consulting managers and when this was not necessary. The manager has reviewed the incident and identified these shortfalls but has not acted on her findings to update guidance or address the issues with the team.

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improvement to be good

Staff offer children an empathic response to their emotional health and well-being needs. However, during one incident, staff supervision of the child was poor. They were not aware that the child had hurt themselves until the child informed staff several days later. Staff did not ensure there were no potentially risky items in the child’s environment, as per the child’s plans.

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improvement to be good

On several occasions, staff have not followed procedures to supervise children effectively. For example, on one occasion, a child gained access to medication which should have been kept safely locked away. On another occasion, a child was not supervised appropriately online. When these incidents have occurred, senior leaders have taken action to address issues with staff. However, leaders have not put preventative measures in place to stop poor staff practice from recurring. Very recently, senior leaders have recognised the seriousness of the concerns and have introduced a safety plan around the staffing. This is in the process of being actioned, therefore, its effectiveness cannot yet be evaluated.

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improvement to be good

The staff use rewards and consequences as a means of supporting children with their behaviour. However, these are not used consistently, and the manager does not always review them. This means that some consequences have been implemented which may not be proportionate. Because leaders have not reviewed these consequences and reflected on them, the practice has not been improved.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

The registered manager for the home left the service on 17 March 2023. A new manager has been in post since 29 March 2023. The new manager is not experienced in the role and has not yet gained their level 3 or level 5 qualification. There was a delay in submitting their application to register to Ofsted. At the start of this inspection, a complete application had not been received by Ofsted. This was rectified during the inspection.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

Leadership and management of the home have been unstable for the past 12 months. During this time, there have been two different managers and two different responsible individuals. In addition to this, other senior managers in the organisation have been providing some oversight. Monitoring and oversight of the care provided Inspection report for children's home: SC476249 5 to children are weak. The regional quality manager carries out regular audits and supports the interim manager in their oversight of the home. Most areas of concern found during the inspection had been identified by his monitoring and reviewing systems. Despite this, there has been a lack of action to improve.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

Staffing levels and consistency of staff in the home are poor and long-term sickness levels are high. The core staff in the home have changed frequently. Currently, only one staff member has a level 3 qualification. Most of the staff team are new to residential care and have started working in the home in the last three months. This has impacted on the care of children. One social worker said staff were leaving as quickly as they arrived, which has led to poor communication, although they feel this has started to improve over the last month.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

Staff morale is low. Staff have informed managers in their supervision sessions that they feel undervalued and do not always have support when they are working in the home. In several incidents, staff have not followed children’s plans. There is also a lack of pride in the physical environment, to help ensure that children’s basic care needs are met. While leaders are aware of this issue, action has not been taken to prevent this from continuing.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

Staff have not all had the training they need to enable them to care for children effectively. Some staff’s training in various core areas is out of date. One staff member informed the inspector that they do not feel they have been given the training they need to enable them to develop in their role effectively. Supervisions are not being used to support staff to develop their skills. This results in unskilled care of children persisting.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

The home’s approach to care as outlined in its statement of purpose is not embedded. Staff are not using the clinical input from therapists attached to the home to support them in understanding children’s social and emotional needs, which means that children’s care is often not therapeutically informed. The therapist for the home described staff as ‘looking at behaviours on the surface’ rather than trying to understand what the child is communicating underneath. This unskilled approach to care limits how much progress children can make.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

New staff recruited to the home have been recruited following safer recruitment procedures. . However, managers have allowed a worker from overseas to work unsupervised with children while they await overseas criminal records checks. Inspection report for children's home: SC476249 6

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Statutory requirements

This section sets out the actions that the registered persons 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 persons must comply within the given timescales.

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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;

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Requirement Due date

use this understanding to deliver care that meets children’s needs and supports them to fulfil their potential.

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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

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; enable each child to participate in the daily life of the home. (Regulation 6 (1)(a)(b) (2)(c)(i)(ii))

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Requirement Due date

This specifically relates to the registered person ensuring that the home environment is clean, welcoming and homely for children.

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Requirement Due date

This requirement was made at the previous inspection and is restated. 6 July 2023

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Requirement Due date

The children’s views, wishes and feelings standard is that children receive care from staff who—

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Requirement Due date

develop positive relationships with them;

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Requirement Due date

take their views, wishes and feelings into account in relation to matters affecting the children’s care and welfare and their lives.

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the 20 July 2023 Inspection report for children's home: SC476249 7 registered person to—

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Requirement Due date

ascertain and consider each child’s views, wishes and feelings, and balance these against what they judge to be in the child’s best interests when making decisions about the child’s care and welfare.

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Requirement Due date

is given appropriate advocacy support. (Regulation 7 (1)(a)(b)(c) (2)(a)(i)(b)(iii))

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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— that staff—

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Requirement Due date

understand the barriers to learning that each child may face and take appropriate action to help the child to overcome any such barriers;

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Requirement Due date

maintain regular contact with each child’s education and training provider, including engaging with the provider and the placing authority to support the child’s education and training and to maximise the child’s achievement;

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Requirement Due date

help a child who is excluded from school, or who is of compulsory school age but not attending school, to access educational and training support throughout the period of exclusion or non-attendance and to return to school as soon as possible. (Regulation 8 (1) (2)(a)(iii)(vi)(viii))

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Requirement Due date

This specifically relates to the registered person ensuring that staff actively promote and help children with their education, that there is a clear plan in place to support children who are struggling with their education, and that this plan is put together with other professionals and regularly reviewed. 3 August 2023

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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. 20 July 2023 Inspection report for children's home: SC476249 8 In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to ensure— that staff—

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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.

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Requirement Due date

that the home’s day-to-day care is arranged and delivered so as to keep each child safe and to protect each child effectively from harm. (Regulation 12 (1) (2)(a)(i)(vii)(b))

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Requirement Due date

This specifically relates to the registered person ensuring that risk management plans are updated promptly following a significant incident and that staff follow children’s individual plans to keep them safe and have the skills to safeguard children effectively.

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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 promotes their welfare.

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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

lead and manage the home in a way that is consistent with the approach and ethos, and delivers the outcomes, set out in the home’s statement of purpose;

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Requirement Due date

ensure that staff have the experience, qualifications and skills to meet the needs of each child;

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Requirement Due date

ensure that the home has sufficient staff to provide care for each child;

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Requirement Due date

ensure that the home’s workforce provides continuity of care to each child.

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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. 20 July 2023 Inspection report for children's home: SC476249 9 (Regulation 13 (1)(a)(b) (2)(a)(c)(d)(e)(h))

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Requirement Due date

This specifically relates to the registered person ensuring that the home uses the therapeutic approach to care as described in its statement of purpose.

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Requirement Due date

The registered person should ensure that staff have the necessary skills and experience to safely meet children’s needs and that there are enough consistent staff to care for children.

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Requirement Due date

The registered person should also ensure that they use their monitoring systems to improve and address shortfalls in the care of children promptly and effectively.

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Requirement Due date

If the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005(a) applies to the home—

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Requirement Due date

the registered person must ensure that the requirements of that Order and any regulations made under it, except for article 23 (duties of employees), are complied with in respect of the home. (Regulation 25 (2)(b))

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Requirement Due date

This specifically relates to the registered person ensuring that all the fire doors are repaired and able to close as they are designed to.

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Requirement Due date

This requirement was made at the previous inspection and is restated. 6 July 2023

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that all staff, including the manager, receive supervision of their practice which allows them to reflect on their practice and the needs of the children assigned to their care. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 61, paragraph 13.2)  The registered person should maintain good employment practice. They must ensure that recruitment of staff safeguards children and minimises potential risks to them. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 61, paragraph 13.1) Inspection report for children's home: SC476249 10

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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: SC476249 11

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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

Fiona Roche, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children's home: SC476249 12 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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