Children's Home run by Cambian Childcare Limited in Leicestershire

Inspection report for children’s home: SC436372 1 SC436372 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 national provider. It is registered to provide care for up to six children who may have social and emotional difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

The home is led by a registered manager.

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Information about this children’s home

At the time of this inspection, there were three children residing at the home.

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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: SC436372 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

30/08/2022 Full Good 24/03/2022 Interim Sustained effectiveness 27/04/2021 Full Requires improvement to be good 17/07/2018 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: SC436372 3

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improvement to be good

Since the last inspection, four children have moved into the home while five children have departed. Three of the children who left experienced unexpected endings to their placements. The children currently living at the home are settled and making progress. Information received from parents and external professionals was positive about the care and support that children receive. Children have positive relationships with staff, and they are provided with warm and nurturing care.

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improvement to be good

At times, children have not been provided with adequate supervision from staff which may have prevented incidents from occurring. On one occasion, staff left children unsupervised. Children were told, by staff, to ‘fend’ for themselves. A child raised this has a concern and the manager responded quickly. The staff involved acknowledged wrongdoing but did not feel able to challenge others more senior to them at the time, despite not feeling this was appropriate. Staff subsequently failed to report to the manager despite their concerns. Consequently, staff did not follow the agreed whistle-blowing policies to address poor practice.

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improvement to be good

Children have suitable education provision and are settled. One child is making exceptional progress in all aspects of their school life. They are completing additional work to support their aspirations to go to university. Children are helped to develop independence skills and help with chores around the home.

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improvement to be good

Children are encouraged to participate in activities in the home and community. One child has recently joined a local rugby club, which has had a positive effect on them. Staff tailor activities around children’s individual interests and there is a wide range of available resources. Children are regularly consulted with and have a voice in how their home is run.

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improvement to be good

Children are helped to stay in touch with people who are important to them. Staff support children and their families to stay connected through regular visits and producing photo albums of their time together. Wherever possible, family members are encouraged to visit the home and spend time with their children. One child has developed friendship groups in the local area and at school. This gives them opportunity to engage in social activities away from the home.

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improvement to be good

Three children have had unexpected endings to their time at the home and this impacted on the staff and other children. One child moved to another home following a significant incident. Managers decided they could no longer keep all the children safe, and the most appropriate option was for one of the children to move to another home in the region. Inspection report for children’s home: SC436372 4

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improvement to be good

There has been a significant incident that led to a child having to move unexpectedly, to keep other children safe from harm. The incident report and staff accounts contain conflicting information, and there is uncertainty as to whether staff were adequately supervising the children. Managers have identified some learning from this incident and provided staff with additional guidance.

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improvement to be good

There has been an allegation made about a staff member’s practice during an incident. Staff failed to report this immediately in line with child protection policies, which allowed the staff member to remain on shift working with the children. This was reported to external safeguarding professionals; however, not all relevant information was shared. This may have prevented safeguarding professionals from considering all the evidence within the correct context. The investigation by senior managers is ongoing and it is taking a considerable amount of time to reach a conclusion. This is having an impact on the management of the home due to shift planning when a staff member cannot lone work. The staff member has also raised how this is impacting on them within their supervision.

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improvement to be good

There have been several episodes of children going missing from care. These have been well managed. Staff actively look for the child and work with other professionals to secure their return home. On one occasion, the child managed to leave the home late in the evening without staff knowledge. The child was safely located and moved to an alternative placement.

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improvement to be good

Missing-from-care protocols and behaviour support plans are not individual to the children. They do not contain sufficient information about children’s complex needs, disabilities or their vulnerabilities in the event of the child going missing from care. This means staff are not given specific guidance on how best to support children during incidents.

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improvement to be good

Not all staff have completed mandatory training despite management direction. One member of staff has not completed safeguarding or fire awareness training prior to working with children. This places children at increased risk due to staff not being sufficiently trained to be able to identify and manage risks.

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improvement to be good

The physical environment has been improved, and children are provided with a safe and welcoming home. There were considerable delays incurred with some essential maintenance to the bathrooms, but this work is now completed.

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good

The manager knows the children well. She role models warm and nurturing care. The managers understand the strengths and weaknesses of the home and have Inspection report for children’s home: SC436372 5 ambition to develop and improve. They have already begun to effect change and improvement and as a result the home is currently more settled.

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good

There has been an impact on the manager from having to cover shifts rather than focusing on her management role. This has led to tasks not being completed and insufficient oversight, at times. There have been some shortfalls; for example, one child has not had an agreed care plan with the placing authority since they moved into the home several months ago. The manager has taken steps to address this shortfall.

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good

There are ongoing concerns around staff conduct and practice, particularly around following agreed child protection policies in reporting allegations and concerns around staff practices. Staff have failed to complete required training despite repeated discussions. Staff do not have regular supervision, which minimises opportunities to discuss practice concerns, development and training needs.

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good

There is a lack of accountability and responsibility within the team. This is largely due to staff’s lack of experience and knowledge. The manager completes most administrative tasks, which further impacts on her ability to complete her designated management tasks. The manager has not been effective in developing all the staff to the expected standards in line with their roles.

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good

Staff have access to a range of training courses focused on developing their knowledge and skills. However, they have not been provided with training that reflects the specific needs of the children in the home. The manager has requested additional training, but this has not yet been arranged. This means staff are not being provided with training that would help them to understand how best to support children with more complex needs. Most staff do not hold a relevant qualification for working with children, although several are enrolled on to this programme. Inspection report for children’s home: SC436372 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

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

understand and apply the home’s statement of purpose;

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Requirement Due date

protect and promote each child’s welfare;

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Requirement Due date

treat each child with dignity and respect. (Regulation 6 (1)(a)(b) (2)(b)(i)(ii)(iii))

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Requirement Due date

This relates to staff following the agreed ethos and culture in the home as set out in the statement of purpose, and in following expected codes of conduct in their working practices. 1 January 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 January 2024 Inspection report for children’s home: SC436372 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;

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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)(iii)(v)(vii)(b))

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Requirement Due date

This specifically relates to staff following agreed child protection policies in reporting allegations of harm to ensure that children are effectively supervised to minimise the risk of incidents occurring, and for staff to complete mandatory safeguarding training. 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 work as a team where appropriate;

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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

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

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)(b)(c)(f)(h)) 1 January 2024 Inspection report for children’s home: SC436372 8 This specifically relates to developing staff knowledge and skills and improvement of staff practice. It also relates to providing effective management oversight to ensure that the home is consistently run in line with the statement of purpose. The registered person must ensure that all employees–

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Requirement Due date

receive practice-related supervision by a person with appropriate experience. (Regulation 33 (4)(b))

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Requirement Due date

Specifically, all staff must have individual supervision provided by a person with appropriate and relevant experience. 1 January 2024

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Recommendation

 The registered person must challenge (under regulation 5(c)) any placing authority that does not provide a complete and current care plan on placement of a child in the home, as it is essential for the home to understand the child’s needs before they accept responsibility for a child’s placement. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards, page 56, paragraph 11.5)

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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: SC436372 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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Inspector

Sarah Orriss, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: SC436372 10 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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