Children's Home run by Cambian Childcare Limited in West Northamptonshire

Inspection report for children’s home: SC456719 1 SC456719 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 and operated by a private provider.

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Information about this children’s home

It is registered to care for up to five children with social and emotional needs.

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Information about this children’s home

Three children are being cared for in this home.

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Information about this children’s home

The registered manager is suitably experienced and has been in post since 11 August 2021.

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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 requires improvement to be good

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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

Overall judgement at last inspection: good

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requires improvement to be good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children’s home: SC456719 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

24/05/2022 Full Good 15/09/2021 Full Good 22/05/2019 Full Requires improvement to be good 12/03/2019 Interim Declined in effectiveness Inspection report for children’s home: SC456719 3

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improvement to be good

The experiences of children are variable. Two children reported being happy and settled. One child has experienced difficult relationships with the other children. This has made it difficult for children to make sustained progress.

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improvement to be good

Children’s overall care requires improvement. Care plans do not reflect the individual needs of children. Children do not contribute to their care plans. Staff do not have clear information in order to help them to focus on key areas where children need support. As a result, staff do not always follow up on identified needs in their work with children. Staff do, however, support children to attend health appointments and improve their personal hygiene. Staff also work alongside wider professionals to help meet children’s therapeutic needs.

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improvement to be good

Children’s care plans do not explore their cultural needs in detail. The manager was reflective and agreed that staff were not informed sufficiently to meet the needs of on child. A child appreciated that some staff had made efforts to learn about their heritag However, staff missed opportunities to help children to understand cultural diversity. This has led to bullying, which staff have not always recognised and acted on. One ch said, ‘I feel uncomfortable and unsafe.’

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improvement to be good

Children’s views are gathered in a variety of ways. Overall, children feel listened to. Children can identify staff who they trust and enjoy spending time with. However, one child did not have access to a media application which allows them to notify staff of concerns and worries. This means that children cannot always share their feelings.

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improvement to be good

Children have good attendance at school. Staff provide educational activities for a child who is not attending school. This increased their engagement in learning. They are now ready to return to school in the new term.

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improvement to be good

Staff encourage children to take part in a range of activities. Staff respond to children’s requests. They make use of everyday opportunities for children to learn and have fun. This has included gardening and using the produce for cooking.

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improvement to be good

The manager does not adequately assess the needs of children before their admission. The impact for children already living in the home or the child arriving is not considered. This limits the quality of children’s preparation and support when a child moves in. As a result, there have been difficulties in relationships between children. Inspection report for children’s home: SC456719 4 Staff do not always review and take action when new risks are identified. When one child hurt themselves in the kitchen, staff reflected on the need for increased supervision. However, the risk assessment was not sufficiently updated. This meant that staff were unclear of the level of supervision required. This led to a child suffering a significant injury.

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improvement to be good

Staff are clear on actions to take when children go missing from care. They are proactive in looking for children and alert relevant agencies. However, staff do not always welcome children back warmly when they have been missing from care. Children do not always have an opportunity to speak with an independent person on their return. This limits the ability to support children to understand the risks of being missing from care.

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improvement to be good

Staff do not manage challenging behaviours well. Where there are incidents of damage, staff are not yet able to de-escalate situations. This has resulted in the police sometimes becoming involved. Staff are not always curious about the underlying reasons for a child’s behaviour. Children receive financial sanctions if they do not complete chores, such as tidying their bedroom. These sanctions are not always revisited in terms of their appropriateness or effectiveness.

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improvement to be good

There is a clear safeguarding policy and all staff are trained in safeguarding and whistleblowing. Managers ensure that safe recruitment practices are followed. New staff have a robust induction process and probation period. This helps them to feel confident when caring with the children.

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good

Since the last inspection, there has been a change of senior leadership. The responsible individual has a good understanding of the strengths and vulnerabilities of the staff team. A detailed improvement plan is in progress, but this has not yet improved the quality of care.

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good

The manager does not yet have effective quality assurance systems in place. Consequently, he does not have sufficient oversight of practice in the home. The manager does not add comments to incident reports. Any required actions following an incident are not identified. This includes debriefs and direct-work sessions with children. Therefore, the manager is not driving improvements in outcomes for children.

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good

Supervision is not regular or of good quality. Some staff did not feel that supervision was of value. Appraisals had not been prioritised, but this has recently been addressed. Therefore, staff are not provided with an opportunity to reflect on and develop their practice.

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good

The manager has good communication with other professionals involved with the children. They provide regular updates to social workers and liaise with education Inspection report for children’s home: SC456719 5 professionals. Staff attend meetings as necessary. As a result, children are supported by a multi-agency team.

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good

The manager does not ensure that maintenance and repair issues are resolved quickly. Attention is required for the upkeep of the garden in order that children can make good use of this space. This is an area for development. Inspection report for children’s home: SC456719 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 quality and purpose of care standard is that children receive care from staff who—

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Requirement Due date

provide personalised care that meets each child’s needs, as recorded in the child’s relevant plans, taking account of the child’s background. (Regulation 6 (1) (2)(b)(iv))

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Requirement Due date

This specifically refers to the need to have individualised care plans which include plans to meet children’s cultural needs. 30 September 2023

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Requirement Due date

The positive relationships standard is that children are helped to develop, and to benefit from, relationships based on—

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Requirement Due date

an understanding about acceptable behaviour; and

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Requirement Due date

positive responses to other children and adults.

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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

meet each child’s behavioural and emotional needs, as set out in the child’s relevant plans;

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Requirement Due date

help each child to develop socially aware behaviour;

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Requirement Due date

encourage each child to take responsibility for the child’s behaviour, in accordance with the child’s age and understanding;

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Requirement Due date

help each child to develop and practise skills to resolve conflicts positively and without harm to anyone; 30 September 2023 Inspection report for children’s home: SC456719 7 communicate to each child expectations about the child’s behaviour and ensure that the child understands those expectations in accordance with the child’s age and understanding;

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Requirement Due date

help each child to understand, in a way that is appropriate according to the child’s age and understanding, personal, sexual and social relationships, and how those relationships can be supportive or harmful;

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Requirement Due date

help each child to develop the understanding and skills to recognise or withdraw from a damaging, exploitative or harmful relationship;

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Requirement Due date

strive to gain each child’s respect and trust;

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Requirement Due date

understand how children’s previous experiences and present emotions can be communicated through behaviour and have the competence and skills to interpret these and develop positive relationships with children;

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Requirement Due date

are provided with supervision and support to enable them to understand and manage their own feelings and responses to the behaviour and emotions of children, and to help children to do the same;

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Requirement Due date

de-escalate confrontations with or between children, or potentially violent behaviour by children;

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Requirement Due date

understand and communicate to children that bullying is unacceptable; and

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Requirement Due date

have the skills to recognise incidents or indications of bullying and how to deal with them. (Regulation 11 (1)(a)(b)(c) (2)(a)(i)(ii)(iii)(iv)(v)(vi)(vii)(viii)(ix)(x)(xi)(xii)(xiii))

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Requirement Due date

This specifically relates to the need for staff to have regular supervision that is reflective. It also relates to the need for staff to identify and address bullying behaviour from children.

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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

promotes their welfare. 30 September 2023 Inspection report for children’s home: SC456719 8 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

The following measures may not be used to discipline any child—

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Requirement Due date

imposing a financial penalty, other than a requirement for the payment of a reasonable sum (which may be by instalments) by way of reparation. (Regulation 19 (2)(f)) 30 September 2023

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Recommendations

 The registered person should only accept placements for children where they are satisfied that the home can respond effectively to the child’s assessed needs as recorded in the child’s relevant plans and where they have fully considered the impact that the placement will have on the existing group of children. (‘Guide to Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 56, paragraph 11.4)  The registered person should ensure that children’s homes are nurturing and supportive environments that meet the needs of their children, they will, in most cases, be homely, domestic environments. Children’s homes must comply with relevant health and safety legislation (alarms, food hygiene etc.); however in doing so, homes should seek as far as possible to maintain a domestic rather than ‘institutional impression’. (‘Guide to Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 15, paragraph 3.9)

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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: SC456719 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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Children’s home details

Responsible individual: Dennise Springett

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Inspectors

Alli Tandy, Social Care Inspector Helen Gronhaug, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: SC456719 10 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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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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