Children's Home run by Cannon Children Services Ltd in West Northamptonshire

Inspection report for children’s home: 2737729 1 Registered provider: Cannon Children Services Ltd Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This children’s home is run by a private provider.

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Information about this children’s home

The home is registered to provide care for up to two children who may have social and emotional difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

One child was living at the home at the time of inspection. No other children have moved in or out of the home during this inspection year.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager is suitably experienced and registered with Ofsted on 29 September 2023.

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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 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: Not previously inspected

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good

Overall judgement at last inspection: not applicable

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: not applicable Inspection report for children’s home: 2737729 2

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff understand trauma and the impact that this can have on children. Staff work hard to ensure that the child has a consistent daily routine, which the child has planned along with staff. The child wakes up to their favourite cereal and goes to sleep after staff have read them a bedtime story. They wake up to pictures of their family on the walls of their room. They sleep under a duvet that their parent bought for them. They drift off to sleep listening to rainfall sounds that staff play for them.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff have made lists for the child to help them to complete tasks such as bathing and brushing their teeth. The child’s independent reviewing officer said that ‘this high level of structure and consistency’ allowed the child to feel less anxious and to ‘manage their emotions and behaviour effectively’, which was key to their progress.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff and the child do lots of fun activities together. They go fishing, walking and play at the local park. The child has recently shown an interest in attending local football matches. However, their additional needs can make standing in crowded areas difficult for them. The manager contacted the local stadium and advocated for the child to have a separate area to watch the football from. As a result, the child has been able to enjoy attending many football matches with staff. Staff have also supported the child to attend church every Sunday. The child’s resilience and confidence in crowds has increased to the extent that they are now able to sit through a two-hour church service and participate actively in the children’s section of the church.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff ensure that the child’s health needs are met. The manager has advocated for the child to have support from a specialist organisation to meet these needs. Staff have had additional training from the child’s specialist worker.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff ensure that the child attends school. A family member said, ‘The transition between primary and secondary was very well managed by staff.’ This consistency has further supported the child to begin to build a level of resilience to situations which are stressful in everyday life.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

When the child moved into the home, staff did not complete a robust transition plan. While the child said that their move was positive, there are no consistent records to evidence this.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The child spends meaningful and regular time with their family. Staff supported them to spend a period of four days at Christmas with their family. This was in line with the local authority’s plan. Inspection report for children’s home: 2737729 3

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

Staff understand that, at times, the child may struggle to name their emotions, especially at times when they feel highly stressed. The manager has recognised that this has led to increased incidents of aggression and physical restraint. He has made charts using emoji faces to represent different emotions. The child can use these charts to show staff how they feel. Staff have also arranged for the child to attend a specialist boxing organisation. The child told staff that this helped them to ‘feel quieter and manage their feelings of anger’.

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

Staff have a good understanding of the child’s vulnerabilities. Risk assessments are detailed and share a good overview of the child’s previous life experiences and trauma. Wider professionals speak positively about the care provided and say they are reassured that the child’s safety needs are being met by staff.

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

Staff’s use of physical restraint is proportionate. There is good, consistent management oversight and challenge. Consequences are generally proportionate. When there has been a disproportionate consequence given by staff, the manager has made a child-centred challenge to staff.

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

The child knows how to make a complaint and has made complaints during this inspection year. The child says they feel listened to. The manager has responded to all complaints in a timely manner. Restorative approaches are used by the manager to ensure that the child feels heard. As a result, staff support the child to conceptualise and experience a safe means to the resolution of conflicts. The manager has recently improved the complaints system by implementing a ‘grumbles’ book.

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

The quality of staff’s recordings has improved significantly since the manager was registered. However, some of the language written and used to describe children at the home is not child-friendly. As a result, there are missed opportunities to ensure that the language used is positive, caring and reflects the ethos of the home.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager is a tenacious advocate and is aspirational for the child in his care. He understands the barriers which children in care may experience and actively seeks to break these down. He has supported the child to bake cakes and share them with the neighbours. He has also written letters to the local community. As a result, the child has had chances to spend time talking with the neighbours and to pet their cats. The child has been welcomed into their immediate community.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager is aspirational for his staff team. He has a robust understanding of staff’s strengths and areas for development. He leads the team with an equal measure of high challenge and high support. This allows him to challenge poor practice but also to celebrate staff’s achievements. Inspection report for children’s home: 2737729 4 The manager ensures that staff recruitment checks meet regulation, which ensures that children are protected and safe.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Monitoring and management oversight are effective. Monthly audits are carried out by the manager. A creative way of mapping incidents enables the manager to monitor and review the child’s progress. The manager has good oversight of records and a strong system to ensure that incidents are well recorded and that necessary actions, debriefs and reflections take place.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff benefit from regular team meetings, during which the child’s care is discussed. This helps staff to review the progress that the child is making. Regular supervision sessions enable the staff to review and develop their childcare practice. Staff say that they value supervision and find it to be highly supportive and reflective. Inspection report for children’s home: 2737729 5

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that records relating to children are written in child-friendly language and that the language used in recordings about children is not blaming of them. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 62, paragraph 14.4)  The registered person should ensure that there are procedures in place for children whether they are admitted in a planned way or in an emergency. Specifically, that there is a clear, written plan which helps the child and staff to understand the purpose of the child’s move. This plan should be written in a way that meets the child’s communication and cognitive abilities and considers contributions from other children when planning any moves in or out of the home. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 57, paragraphs 11.7 and 11.8)

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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: 2737729 6

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Cannon Children Services Ltd

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: 2 Calais Hill, Tyler Hill, Canterbury CT2 9LT

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Inspector

Majella Russell, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2737729 7 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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