Children's Home run by Cambian Childcare Limited in Lincolnshire

Inspection report for children's home: 2683445 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 home is owned by a large provider. The home provides care for up to three children with social and emotional needs.

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Information about this children’s home

There is an acting manager who has only recently submitted her application to register with Ofsted.

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Information about this children’s home

There was one child living in the home at the time of the 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 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: 2683445 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

04/10/2022 Full Good Inspection report for children's home: 2683445 3

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improvement to be good

Children’s progress and experiences have been variable and have impacted on their overall outcomes. Since the last inspection, three children have left the home, and one child has moved in. Two of the children moved out in a planned manner and had positive endings to their time in the home. However, another child had an abrupt and unplanned ending. Senior managers decided they could no longer provide safe care to the child, and there was a detrimental impact on the other children at the home.

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improvement to be good

Children are not routinely participating in education. One child has not engaged in education, employment or training for over a year. When children refuse to attend an educational setting, there are no clear plans or records of other educational activities they may have been involved in. Children are not supported to have daily routines that include regular and structured time in education. Core subjects, such as maths and English, do not take priority when planning educational activities. The manager has been working with other professionals in trying to re-engage children in education.

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improvement to be good

Children are helped to stay in touch with those who are important to them. Staff support and facilitate the children’s time with families to help maintain these important relationships. Children have access to a range of activities in the local area. However, professionals have commented that children are bored at times, and this has led to incidents. Children are supported to develop their skills through independent living and by learning some essential life skills.

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improvement to be good

Children and staff have good relationships, and staff speak about the children with warmth and affection. The manager and staff advocate for children, especially in relation to education. However, some of the language used by staff to describe children’s behaviour has been detrimental. At times, there has been a tendency to attribute blame to children’s actions rather than fostering an understanding of their triggers for more challenging behaviours.

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improvement to be good

Children’s health plans do not always reflect children’s needs and are not kept up to date. The systems and documents in place for children’s care planning are good, but there are shortfalls in the implementation of plans. Information is confusing and contradictory and not reflective of the day-to-day care and routines in the home. Not all information is being captured, and this means that staff, particularly staff supporting from other homes and agency staff, may not know the current care plan for the child. This could lead to inconsistency in practice. Inspection report for children's home: 2683445 4

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improvement to be good

Risk assessments are weak and do not fully consider all known risk factors. For example, the missing-from-care safety plan did not consider how to manage risk factors to prevent children from going missing. When children have gone missing from care, staff have not followed the agreed protocols. This has led to children travelling considerable distances to areas where they were at increased risk of harm.

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improvement to be good

Staff failed to follow a risk assessment for the safe storage of knives. This led to a child being able to access a knife when they went missing, subsequently being arrested and charged by the police. This resulted in the child being unable to return to the home, as senior managers did not believe they could safely care for the child. This child had a difficult time at the home, and their overall outcomes declined.

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improvement to be good

The recording of incidents is poor and lacking in rigorous management oversight. Some concerns raised in complaints from children have not been investigated or addressed. One concern related to a child sustaining an injury during an incident. This was not recorded in an incident report, and the manager was unaware, despite it being recorded in the minutes of a meeting. The poor quality of reports has impacted on learning and reflection of care practice to make improvements and reduce incidents.

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improvement to be good

There have been several complaints from neighbours. These have been investigated and addressed by the manager. However, the content of the complaints would suggest that children are not being adequately supervised because staff were unaware of children’s actions leading to the complaints. Debriefs have not considered learning points to improve staff working practices.

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improvement to be good

There have also been complaints from a parent and a child’s social worker in relation to the care of a child and how risks were managed. These complaints have been investigated, and some aspects have been upheld. Senior managers have undertaken a review and identified some learning. However, the action plan has not yet been implemented.

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improvement to be good

Staff do not consistently follow agreed safety measures for visitors to the home. This led to an external professional, who was unknown to staff, being able to access the home and spend time with a child. Staff failed to check identification before allowing this person into the home. This failure to check visitors can place children at risk.

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improvement to be good

Staff regularly work alone with children, including overnight. Children have not been consulted with about this to ascertain their wishes and feelings. The risk assessment does not include information on how the child could access help and support in the event of an emergency involving the staff member, for example if the staff member was to have an accident or become unwell. An emergency plan has not been discussed with the child to ensure they know how and where to access help and support if needed. Inspection report for children's home: 2683445 5 The manager responded appropriately to an allegation against staff. The manager has worked with external safeguarding professionals to ensure the correct procedures and strategy were followed. One allegation is still in the process of being investigated at the time of this inspection.

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good

There is a new manager who has recently submitted their application to become registered. They are being supported by a team of senior managers. During a recent absence of the manager, senior leaders and managers provided oversight of the home. However, staff did not consistently follow management direction in responding to incidents. There was ineffective follow up by the management team which meant that incidents and missing-from-home events were not effectively scrutinised to identify any learning.

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good

There are a range of quality assurance systems in place that identify the strengths and weaknesses of the home. The manager is not yet fully conversant with all the differing processes and expectations from senior managers, and this has led to failings in the management oversight at times. There have been some recent changes to process and further development of care practice, and these changes are being embedded into care practice.

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good

Staff have regular supervision where they can reflect on practice and discuss the children as well as their own development and learning. Staff participate in regular team meetings, and this is an opportunity for wider learning and reflection.

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good

Staffing levels are low because of a high turnover of staff. There is a reliance on staff being drafted in from other homes and agency staff. This has, on occasion, led to inconsistency in practice and incidents. There was no evidence of agency staff receiving an induction before working with the children, which could lead to further inconsistencies in the quality of care.

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good

Staff have access to a variety of training, and all staff have completed mandatory training. None of the staff have the prescribed childcare qualification, but some staff are enrolled on this course. Additional training has been provided specific to the needs of children in the home. Inspection report for children's home: 2683445 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 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 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; and

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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)(viii)(x))

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Requirement Due date

This specifically relates to supporting children who are not attending school to engage in education at home and ensuring that there is an education planner that allows for a routine to be established and any educational activity to be recorded. 1 Jan 2024

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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.

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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

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; 1 Jan 2024 Inspection report for children's home: 2683445 7 have the skills to identify and act upon signs that a child is at risk of harm;

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Requirement Due date

understand the roles and responsibilities in relation to protecting children that are assigned to them by the registered person; and

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Requirement Due date

take effective action whenever there is a serious concern about a child’s welfare;

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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; and

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Requirement Due date

that the premises used for the purposes of the home are designed, furnished and maintained so as to protect each child from avoidable hazards to the child’s health. (Regulation 12 (1) (2)(a)(i)(iii)(v)(vi)(b)(d))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, this relates to risk assessments being completed and taking into account all known risks and hazards. Staff should follow the risk assessments in place and be provided with guidance on implementing effective strategies of support to children. This also relates to essential maintenance being completed in a timely way, particularly in response to the need to safeguard 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

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; 1 Jan 2024 Inspection report for children's home: 2683445 8 ensure that the home’s workforce provides continuity of care to each child;

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Requirement Due date

understand the impact that the quality of care provided in the home is having on the progress and experiences of each child and use this understanding to inform the development of the quality of care provided in the home;

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Requirement Due date

demonstrate that practice in the home is informed and improved by taking into account and acting on–

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Requirement Due date

feedback on the experiences of children, including complaints received; and

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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)(d)(e)(f)(g)(ii)(h))

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Requirement Due date

In particular this relates to the management oversight and review of the home to support improvement and development. It also relates to ensuring there are sufficient, suitably qualified and experienced staff to provide care to the children.

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Requirement Due date

The care planning standard is that children–

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Requirement Due date

receive effectively planned care in or through the children’s home; and

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Requirement Due date

have a positive experience of arriving at or moving on from the home. (Regulation 14 (1)(a)(b)) 1 Jan 2024

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must maintain records ("case records") for each child which–

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Requirement Due date

include the information and documents listed in Schedule 3 in relation to each child;

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Requirement Due date

are signed and dated by the author of each entry. (Regulation 36 (1)(a)(b)(c))

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Requirement Due date

In particular this relates to all children’s plans, including care, health, education and behaviour support plans. 1 Jan 2024 Inspection report for children's home: 2683445 9

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Recommendation

 The registered person should ensure that children’s records contain information recorded in a non-stigmatising way that distinguishes between fact and opinion, and they should record information in a way that is helpful to the child and shows care in the choice of language used. (‘Guide to the Children’s Home Regulations including the quality standards’, page 62, paragraph 14.4)

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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: 2683445 10

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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

Sarah Orriss, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children's home: 2683445 11 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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