Children's home run by Cambian Childcare Limited in County Durham

Inspection report for children’s home: SC059180 1 SC059180 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 managed by a private provider. It is registered to provide care and accommodation for up to five children who have learning disabilities.

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Information about this children’s home

There are four children currently living in the home.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager registered with Ofsted in January 2017.

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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: SC059180 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

01/02/2022 Full Good 21/01/2020 Full Outstanding 15/05/2018 Full Good 12/09/2017 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: SC059180 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children enjoy living in the home. One child rated the home as nine out of 10. Children have positive relationships with staff. This provides children with a solid foundation to make progress, have fun and achieve.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff support children to have opportunities to share their views, wishes and feelings. Children are also supported to use communication tools. This helps all the children to participate in making decisions. Professionals spoken with said that the staff are very active in seeking children’s views.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The children enjoy a lot of fun, social activities with the staff. These activities also support children’s individuality and help them to develop social skills. One social worker said, ‘Children access the local community and have a full schedule of activities and outings, ensuring the children have the same quality experiences as their peers.’ One child said, ‘Going out with staff is the best part of living here.’

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff work hard to ensure that children receive emotional well-being support, which helps to reduce anxieties they may have. One professional said that the support offered by staff has helped to improve one child’s mental health.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff support children to engage in their education. The registered manager takes steps to help children have the best possible learning opportunities. One professional explained how the manager advocated for a child to have appropriate education and was instrumental in securing the right school for them. This helps children to achieve their full educational potential.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are supported to have regular time with their family. Families feel confident that their children are being looked after by staff who care about them. The staff provide regular updates to families about how children are getting along. One parent said, ‘The staff contact me every day to tell me how [name of child] is getting along. It’s great.’

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

The registered manager is a strong advocate for the children. Children feel safe living in the home, and staff work hard to support them to have consistent boundaries and routines. One child said that they could speak with any member of staff about any worries they may have.

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

Children’s risk assessments are clear about what actions are required to support their individual needs. Staff have a good understanding of the children. Children feel safe and respond well to support from staff. Inspection report for children’s home: SC059180 4 Staff use incentives to support children’s positive behaviours and avoid using consequences. One child was supported to reduce time spent on computer games by working towards a chosen incentive. This resulted in the child attending a concert, which they enjoyed.

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

Children are supported to understand risks. One child has been supported to understand healthy relationships and safe boundaries. This means the child is aware of who is safe to talk to about any worries they may have. Staff also use visual tools to support children’s understanding of risks as much as possible.

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

Children are always supervised in the community and closely supervised by staff in the home. The children enjoy time with staff. This also means the children are at a significantly reduced risk of going missing from the home. If a child were to go missing, risk assessments are in place, and the staff are clear on how they should respond.

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

Children have their health needs met, and staff support children to attend all health appointments. However, one child was accidentally given an extra dose of their medication. Another child’s medical record did not have all the relevant information documented. The registered manager has since acted to prevent further medication errors from happening.

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good

The home is run by a permanent, suitably experienced and qualified registered manager. The registered manager is supported by a staff team that speaks highly of the support it receives from leaders and managers. However, the staff team has experienced some changes recently, which have impacted on the stability and progress of the children’s experiences.

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good

Current management monitoring systems have failed to identify shortfalls found during the inspection. Physical intervention documents are not always clearly recorded. It is unclear whether the duration of physical interventions is in line with children’s individual behaviour management plans and the home’s statement of purpose. Management oversight of these records has not identified how effectively children are supported when they are distressed.

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good

Individual staff supervision is not consistently offered to staff in line with the home’s supervision policy and as outlined in the home’s statement of purpose. One member of staff’s last supervision took place in January 2023. Also, a newer staff member has not consistently received fortnightly supervision as they should. This limits the opportunities for staff to reflect on the care they provide to children.

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good

Systems for recording the training that staff have completed are unclear. This makes it difficult to establish if staff have important training they need to complete. One member of staff had not undertaken an essential refresher training course. This Inspection report for children’s home: SC059180 5 shortfall in training fails to provide staff with the additional knowledge and skills needed to care for the children effectively.

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good

Most children’s case file information is recorded clearly and updated accordingly. However, some information was not recorded correctly. This could impact on the effectiveness of children’s risk assessments and safety plans, which are essential in order for staff to keep children safe.

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good

The registered manager spoke with appropriate parties when aware of a serious incident involving a child while they were at school. The registered manager made inquiries to ensure the child had appropriate support in school. However, the details of this incident were not formally shared with Ofsted.

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good

The manager and the staff have developed positive working relationships with the children’s families, social workers and associated professionals. All those who were spoken with talked very positively about the care provided to the children. One social worker said, ‘The staff have been most impressive in the way they care for the children.’ Inspection report for children’s home: SC059180 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, 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 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;

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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’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. (Regulation 13 (1)(a)(b) (2)(a)(c)(e)(h))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered manager should ensure that all staff receive supervision in line with the home’s statement of purpose.

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered manager should ensure that the information recorded is clear and that information in staff supervision is shared and clarified to ensure that children’s risk assessments and plans remain relevant.

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered manager should ensure that staff have training to assist in developing their knowledge to meet the quality of care needs of the children and that recorded training is up to date and clear. 22 May 2023 Inspection report for children’s home: SC059180 7 In particular, the registered manager should ensure that robust systems are in place to review physical interventions.

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must make arrangements for the handling, recording, safekeeping, safe administration and disposal of medicines received into the children’s home.

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person must ensure that—

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Requirement Due date

a record is kept of the administration of medicine to each child (Regulation 23 (1) (2)(c)) 22 May 2023

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Requirement Due date

within 24 hours of the use of a measure of control, discipline or restraint in relation to a child in the home, a record is made which includes—

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Requirement Due date

a description of the measure and its duration;

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Requirement Due date

the effectiveness and any consequences of the use of the measure; and

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Requirement Due date

within 48 hours of the use of the measure, the registered person, or a person who is authorised by the registered person to do so (“the authorised person”) —

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Requirement Due date

has spoken to the user about the measure; and

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Requirement Due date

has signed the record to confirm it is accurate. (Regulation 35 (3)(a)(iv)(vii)(b)(i)(ii))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person should provide an understanding as to whether any physical interventions are in line with children’s risk assessments and behaviour management plans. 22 May 2023

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Recommendation

 The registered person should formally notify Ofsted if there is an incident relating to the protection, safeguarding or welfare of a child living in the home (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 63, paragraph 14.10) Inspection report for children’s home: SC059180 8

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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: SC059180 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: Caretech Estates Ltd, Metropolitan House, 3 Darkes Lane, Potters Bar EN6 1AG

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Inspector

Gina Lightfoot, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: SC059180 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 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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