Children's Home run by Cambridgeshire County Council in Cambridgeshire

Inspection report for children’s home: 2603668 1 Registered provider: Cambridgeshire County Council Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This local authority home provides care for up to four children with learning and/or physical disabilities.

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Information about this children’s home

The registered manager left in November 2023. A new manager was appointed in October 2023 and is in the process of registering with Ofsted.

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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: 2603668 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

30/05/2022 Full Good 08/02/2022 Interim Sustained effectiveness 25/05/2021 Full Requires improvement to be good Inspection report for children’s home: 2603668 3

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improvement to be good

At the time of the inspection, three children were living at the home. The quality of care has been affected by the shortfalls identified in how children are helped and protected and the leadership and management of the home.

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improvement to be good

Children are not routinely asked for their views. Their experiences are not evaluated so that improvements can be made. Children take part in planned activities in the community. However, these experiences are not captured in memory books for the children to share or take with them to reflect on.

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improvement to be good

Information about children’s health is not up to date in their support plans. Nutrition charts are not available for staff to follow. As a result, staff were unclear about the suitable foods and portion sizes when managing a child’s diabetes. Children’s medication records have not been updated and still include signatures of managers and providers who are no longer involved with the home. This does not ensure that staff have the children’s most up-to-date health information on file.

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improvement to be good

Children are supported with health appointments. One child has made progress towards having blood tests. Staff seek parental permissions before short-term prescribed medication is administered. However, one child waited for over two weeks for their medication to be administered when staff failed to take prompt action and escalate concerns about the child’s health needs.

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improvement to be good

Some improvements have been made to the home since the last inspection. Despite these improvements, there are still bedrooms and other rooms that need redecorating. There are cobwebs throughout the home and black marks on the shower room ceiling. As a result, the children are not provided with a homely environment.

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improvement to be good

Children’s relationships with their families are supported. Regular time spent with families ensures that the children build and maintain positive relationships with the people who are important to them.

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improvement to be good

Children are making progress with their education. All the children enjoy going to school and have good attendance.

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improvement to be good

Children have high levels of supervision. Their care plans contain clear directions for staff to follow to encourage positive behaviours. Risk assessments are detailed and contain risk reduction strategies. Despite this, staff have failed to prevent children entering other children’s bedrooms and bathrooms. On one occasion, this has Inspection report for children’s home: 2603668 4 resulted in an incident of significant harm to a child. Failure to follow children’s risk assessments means that children are not sufficiently protected.

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improvement to be good

Staff use physical intervention to keep children safe. However, they are not consistent in their understanding of restraint and recording of incidents when restraint is used. This makes it difficult for the manager to monitor the use of physical intervention to ensure that it is proportionate and necessary.

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improvement to be good

Managers do not always report safeguarding concerns without delay. On four occasions, managers have failed to promptly notify Ofsted of safeguarding concerns. Such delay reduces Ofsted’s capacity to monitor safeguarding arrangements at the home.

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improvement to be good

Safeguarding concerns are not consistently followed up. On several occasions, there has been a lack of professional curiosity to establish the cause of bruises or unusual marks on a child’s body. As a result, effective measures to reduce these risks have not been identified or implemented.

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improvement to be good

Safer recruitment processes for new and agency staff are comprehensively carried out to ensure that staff are suitable to work with children.

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good

The manager joined the home in October 2023. There was a handover period before the registered manager left the home in November 2023; however, the registered manager has remained employed by the provider and continues to provide support to the new manager.

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good

Managerial monitoring and oversight need improvement. Children’s records are not regularly reviewed to check that they are in order and up to date. There are gaps in the monitoring of the home environment to ensure that it is safe and cleaned to a good standard. This lack of managerial oversight reduces the opportunity for action to be taken to keep children safe and to make continuous improvements to the quality of care.

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good

Fire safety equipment checks have not been routinely carried out and recorded in accordance with the home’s fire safety procedures. This reduces the effectiveness of fire safety measures.

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good

There is a statement of purpose. However, the updated version is not factually accurate. For example, details for the manager and staff are incorrect and there are inconsistencies with children’s ages. This means that professionals and families reading this document do not have the most up-to-date information about the home and its management. Inspection report for children’s home: 2603668 5 The manager’s quality of care review does not include feedback from children, families or professionals. This limits the effectiveness of identifying and driving improvements.

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good

The staff have access to a range of training. However, only half the team has attended safeguarding disabled children training. Staff have not received any specific communication or Makaton training. This does not ensure that they are equipped with the skills and knowledge specific to children’s needs.

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good

Staff supervision sessions and team meetings take place regularly. This gives staff opportunities to discuss their roles and identify any learning needed. Inspection report for children’s home: 2603668 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 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

have the skills to identify and act upon signs that a child is at risk of harm;

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Requirement Due date

manage relationships between children to prevent them from harming each other;

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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

take effective action whenever there is a serious concern about a child’s welfare. (Regulation 12 (1) (2)(a)(iii)(iv)(v)(vi))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, ensure that safeguarding concerns, including unexplained marks, rashes and bruises on children, are responded to effectively and that staff follow risk assessments and support plans to ensure children’s safety. 23 February 2024

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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— 23 February 2024 Inspection report for children’s home: 2603668 7 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

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)(h))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, ensure that: children’s support plans, incident records and records of restraint are evaluated and reviewed to identify how to improve practice; the home environment is regularly monitored to be clean and free of hazards; documentation included in children’s files is up to date, including consent for administering medication; there is an effective filing and archiving system in place for the home and the children’s documentation.

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Requirement Due date

The health and well-being standard is that—

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Requirement Due date

the health and well-being needs of children are met;

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Requirement Due date

children receive advice, services and support in relation to their health and well-being; and

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Requirement Due date

children are helped to lead healthy lifestyles. (Regulation 10 (1)(a)(b)(c))

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Requirement Due date

This particularly relates to administering short-term prescribed medication promptly, seeking dietician advice for children’s specialist diets and ensuring that staff seek immediate medical advice in relation to children’s health needs. 23 February 2024

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must notify HMCI and each other relevant person without delay if—

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Requirement Due date

there is any other incident relating to a child which the registered person considers to be serious. (Regulation 40 (4)(e)) 23 February 2024

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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. 22 March 2024 Inspection report for children’s home: 2603668 8 In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to—

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Requirement Due date

ensure that the premises used for the purposes of the home are designed and furnished so as to—

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Requirement Due date

meet the needs of each child. (Regulation 6 (1)(a)(b) (2)(c)(i))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, ensure that the home is cleaned and decorated to a good standard.

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Requirement Due date

This requirement was made at the last inspection and is restated.

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must prepare and implement a policy (“the behaviour management policy”) which sets out—

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Requirement Due date

how appropriate behaviour is to be promoted in the children’s home; and

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Requirement Due date

the measures of control, discipline and restraint which may be used in relation to children in the home. (Regulation 35 (1)(a)(b))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, ensure that staff understand the difference between restrictive physical intervention and restraint and that records clearly reflect the measure of control used. 23 February 2024

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Requirement Due date

If the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005(1) applies to the home—

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Requirement Due date

the registered person must ensure that the requirements of that Order and any regulations made under it, except for article 23 (duties of employees), are complied with in respect of the home. (Regulation 25 (2)(b))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, ensure that fire safety equipment is regularly checked and that these checks are recorded. 23 February 2024

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must compile in relation to the children’s home a statement (“the statement of purpose”) which covers the matters listed in Schedule 1.

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must— 23 February 2024 Inspection report for children’s home: 2603668 9 keep the statement of purpose under review and, where appropriate, revise it. (Regulation 16 (1) (3)(a))

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must complete a review of the quality of care provided for children (“a quality of care review”) at least once every 6 months.

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Requirement Due date

In order to complete a quality of care review the registered person must establish and maintain a system for monitoring, reviewing and evaluating—

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Requirement Due date

the feedback and opinions of children about the children’s home, its facilities and the quality of care they receive in it.

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Requirement Due date

The system referred to in paragraph (2) must provide for ascertaining and considering the opinions of children, their parents, placing authorities and staff. (Regulation 45 (1) (2)(b) (5)) 22 March 2024

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that staff are familiar with the home’s policies on record-keeping and understand the importance of careful, objective and clear recording. In particular, ensure that care plans reflect children’s current needs, the strategies to help them manage their anxiety and the details of medical interventions used. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 62, paragraph 14.4)  The registered person should ensure that children are consulted regularly on their views about their care, to inform and support continued improvement in the quality of care provided. In particular, ensure that all children are included in decision-making about the home and that their wishes and feelings are recorded. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 22, paragraph 4.11)  The registered person should ensure that staff receive safeguarding disabled

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Recommendations

children training and communication methods for children. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, page 53, paragraph 10.11)  The registered person should ensure that the home’s records on each child represent a significant contribution to their life history. Children and their parents should be supported to understand the nature of records kept by the home and how to access them. Staff should understand their important role in encouraging the child to reflect on and understand their history, according to their age and ability. Staff should keep and encourage children to keep appropriate memorabilia of the time spent living at the home and help them to record significant life events. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 62, paragraph 14.5) Inspection report for children’s home: 2603668 10

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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: 2603668 11

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Sunley House, Summers Hill Drive, Papworth Everard, Cambridge CB23 3AB

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Inspector

Rachel Watkinson, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2603668 12 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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