Children's Home run by Cambian Childcare Limited in Warrington

Inspection report children's home: SC456800 1 SC456800 Registered provider: Cambian Childcare Limited Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

p.1

Information about this children’s home

The home is owned by a large national provider of children’s homes. It provides care for up to two children who may experience social and emotional difficulties. At the time of the inspection two children were living in the home, two young people had moved to semi-independent support, and one child recently moved on following an extended stay in hospital.

p.1

Information about this children’s home

The manager registered with Ofsted on 15 September 2022.

p.1

Overall experiences and progress of

children and young people, taking into account

p.1

good

How well children and young people are helped and protected good

p.1

good

The effectiveness of leaders and managers good

p.1

good

The children’s home provides effective services that meet the requirements for good.

p.1

good

Overall judgement at last inspection: requires improvement to be good

p.1

good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report children's home: SC456800 2

p.1

Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

09/08/2022 Full Requires improvement to be good 24/08/2021 Full Good 26/11/2019 Full Requires improvement to be good 28/02/2019 Interim Declined in effectiveness Inspection report children's home: SC456800 3

p.2

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children experience well-planned moves in and out of the home. They visit the home before they move in and meet the staff team. Staff consider children’s wishes and feelings before they move. This includes children being able to choose celebration activities to say goodbye before they leave. One child said, ‘The staff helped me when I first came here, and I was able to learn about the home before I moved in.’

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff spend quality time with children. They use many creative approaches to help children show how they are feeling. Staff also seek children’s views on developments in the home. For example, one child requested a quiet zone for when he is studying. Thee conservatory has been adapted into what he calls his den. The child is now fully engaged in his education each day.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff keep children’s individual goals under regular review and celebrate their achievements with adults who are important to them. A parent said, [Name of child] has learnt so much from the staff, they created alternative words for him to use instead of swearing. We have also adapted it, and our time together has much improved.’

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff encourage children to become more independent. Children learn to manage their finances and prepare their own meals. They also learn to manage their own personal care needs. This helps to build confidence and prepare children for their futures. A social worker said, ‘[Name of child] has grown in confidence and has been supported to develop.’

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff support children with education and seek to overcome barriers they may have. A tutor said, ‘The staff attend every meeting with respect to [name of child], they support him every day to engage, and reward him with lots of positive experiences. He is thriving and learning so much.’ Staff demonstrated that they were exceptionally proud of the child’s achievements.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff help children to spend time with people who are important to them. The manager advocates for children and supports increased time spent with loved ones. In addition, staff support children to spend time with friends when it is appropriate to do so. This ensures that children maintain important relationships.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children live in a spacious and warm environment. The home is furnished to a high standard with bright, tasteful decor. Children choose how they want to decorate and personalise their bedrooms. However, locks on some of the internal doors make the home feel less homely. Inspection report children's home: SC456800 4

p.3

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

Children feel safe and supported. Staff have a strong response to ensure that they safeguard children and work closely with agencies. A social worker said, ‘The joint working and communication from the staff team is brilliant, they are great at recognising children’s strengths and areas of concern.’

p.4

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

Staff complete risk management plans for each child. This enables staff to identify and understand risks to children’s. Staff and managers review plans regularly and discuss them in handover each day and in team meetings. This helps staff to maintain consistency when protecting children from harm.

p.4

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

Each child has their own missing-from-care procedure that staff follow to reduce missing-from-care incidents . When children have been reported missing, staff provided a co-ordinated response that minimised risks. Staff follow individual plans as part of a multi-agency response to support locating children and reducing any risk of harm.

p.4

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

Allegations are responded to appropriately to safeguard all involved. The staff are confident in their use of whistleblowing. Professionals are notified promptly to ensure that there is a transparent approach. Children can identify trusted adults in the home who they can make a complaint to. Allegations are thoroughly investigated, and any lessons learned are discussed as part of reflective sessions.

p.4

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

Children are supported by staff who listen to them. Staff spend quality time with children. Discussions take place to help children understand how to stay safe, the importance of good personal hygiene and managing their emotions. As a result, children say they feel safe and supported.

p.4

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

Incidents of physically holding children are minimal and proportionate, and are only used to prevent children from hurting themselves or others. Children and staff review incident records, which helps them to reflect and learn and prevent future recurrences. This means that staff maintain positive and healthy relationships with children.

p.4

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

Staff undertake a broad range of good-quality training in safeguarding matters. Safeguarding themes are further explored with staff through supervision and team meetings. As a result, staff know how to recognise, report and act on any safeguarding concerns that they may have.

p.4

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

The manager maintains comprehensive risk assessments to support staff in effectively managing risks. However, the manager has not reviewed the necessity of rodent deterrent boxes in the home when there have been no reports or concerns regarding rodents for an extended period of time. Inspection report children's home: SC456800 5

p.4

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager is registered, suitable experience and supported by her seniors and staff team who know the children well. Staff speak highly about the manager. One staff member said, ‘I really can’t praise her enough’, another said, ‘She is a wonderful manager and has helped me to develop into my senior role within the home to the highest standard I can.’

p.5

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff and managers attend regular monthly supervision. Staff focus on children’s needs and progress. Supervision also enables staff to discuss their training needs with their manager. This helps staff to improve their skills and personal development.

p.5

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager has a good understanding of the progress children make. They spend time with children on a regular basis, which helps them to measure progress. Additionally, the manager completes a regular review of the quality of care to evaluate children’s progress and improve the care provided.

p.5

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

When staff experience challenging times, they are highly resilient. The management team recognises the importance of staff support. Further support mechanisms were put in place following an increase in behaviour that challenges from one child. The manager that ensures open communication in the team, allowing all staff to raise concerns with confidence that are addressed seriously.

p.5

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager conducts appraisals with staff on an annual basis. Staff reflect on their work and set targets for the year ahead. However, appraisals do not include the views of children or key individuals. This could limit the manager’s understanding of children’s experiences and may impact on the ability of leaders to make improvements.

p.5

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager follows up and escalates concerns if responses from agencies are not satisfactory. This helps to ensure that children receive the right support and their needs are met. The manager has addressed the requirement made at the last inspection.

p.5

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager has a good understanding of the strengths and weaknesses of the care provided. The manager makes effective use of external monitoring to identify and address any shortfalls quickly. Inspection report children's home: SC456800 6

p.5

What does the children’s home need to do to improve?

 The registered person should ensure appraisals for staff include the views of other professionals who have worked with staff over the year, and the views of children. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 61, paragraph 13.5)

p.6

What does the children’s home need to do to improve?

 The registered person should ensure that they should consider whether rodent deterrents are necessary, provided that there are no concerns about rodents. Homes should seek as far as possible to maintain a homely atmosphere rather than an institutional one. (‘Guide to the Children s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards page 15, paragraph 3.9)

p.6

What does the children’s home need to do to improve?

 The registered person should ensure that key locks are removed from the bathroom doors. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 15, paragraph 3.10)

p.6

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 children's home: SC456800 7

p.6

Children’s home details

Registered provider: Cambian Childcare Limited

p.7

Children’s home details

Registered provider address : 5 th Floor, Metropolitan House, 3 Darkes Lane, Potters Bar EN6 1AG

p.7

Inspector

Jennifer Quest, Social Care Inspector Inspection report children's home: SC456800 8 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.

p.7

Inspector

If you would like a copy of this document in a different format, such as large print or Braille, please telephone 0300 123 1231, or email enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk . You may reuse this information (not including logos) free of charge in any format or medium, under the terms of the Open Government Licence. To view this licence, visit www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence , write to the Information Policy Team, The National Archives, Kew, London TW9 4DU, or email: psi@nationalarchives.gsi.gov.uk .

p.8

Inspector

Interested in our work? You can subscribe to our monthly newsletter for more information and updates: http://eepurl.com/iTrDn .

p.8

Inspector

T: 0300 123 1231 Textphone: 0161 618 8524 E: enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk W: www.gov.uk/ofsted

p.8