Children's Home run by Cumberland Council in Cumberland

Inspection report children's home: 2729821 1 Registered provider: Cumberland Council

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Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children's home

The home and is owned and operated by a local authority. It provides care for up to six children who experience social and emotional difficulties.

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Information about this children's home

This home and manager registered with Ofsted on 1 April 2023.

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Information about this children's home

At the time of this inspection, two children were living at the home.

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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: 18 January 2024

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good

Overall judgement at last inspection: requires improvement to be good

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report children's home: 2729821 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

18/01/2024 Full Requires improvement to be good Inspection report children's home: 2729821 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children have developed positive relationships with staff. As a result, children receive support from staff who they trust when they are struggling to deal with difficult emotions. One child who left the home several months ago continues to receive support through the outreach service with the same member of staff who was their keyworker. This provides the child with consistency during their transition to foster care.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Progress for children in education is variable. There have been challenges for one child in school which has led to a recent reduction in their timetable. The manager is working with the school to develop a plan which will maintain structure and routine for the child and support the child to develop their life skills. There is effective partnership working in place with schools to ensure that any concerns around behaviours which might affect children’s education are shared and addressed.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Good progress is being made to address children’s health needs. The emotional health and wellbeing practitioner commended the manager on how he has advocated for specialist assessments for one child. The specialist assessments will help staff to understand the potential impact a significant early life event may have on the child. The practitioner has supported the team to improve one child’s sleep hygiene with the use of observations of routines and a sleep tracker. Another child is now taking medication consistently to manage their attention deficient hyperactivity disorder diagnosis with the encouragement of staff.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff recognise the importance of encouraging and supporting children’s interests and activities. They take time to research appropriate opportunities for children. One child has been helped to develop their interests around fishing and to care for a pet. Staff spend time with children undertaking activities which helps to build relationships and models positive behaviour to children.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are supported to develop and maintain relationships with the people who are important to them. One child has been able to reconnect with an adopted parent with the support of staff. Staff have advocated for another child to increase their time spent with a grandparent to include overnight stays.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

There are several ways for children to share their wishes and feelings including weekly meetings and child friendly feedback forms. Staff carry out detailed and reflective keywork sessions with children which capture their views and take account of their non-verbal communication needs.

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

The manager has implemented new care plans for children which are clearer to read and understand. Plans now include children’s views, however they do not demonstrate how Inspection report children's home: 2729821 4 children are supported to understand the detail of their plans and their involvement in care planning.

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

Staff understand the risks to children and follow up to date risk assessments. Risk assessments track children’s progress and evidence why changes in risk levels are made. The manager has a good understanding of the safeguarding concerns for one child and is monitoring this. The manager is prioritising the completion of specialist assessments for the child to help staff to fully understand the child’s needs.

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

Referrals are made to relevant agencies to support children and to help to mitigate risks. Children also benefit from good quality keywork sessions which help them to understand how to keep themselves safe.

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

Physical restraint is used as a last resort to safeguard children. Restraints are used appropriately, and records show how incidents have helped children to be able to express their emotions in a healthier way. De-briefs completed by staff include significant reflection on their own and their team members’ practice. However, de briefs with all staff members involved in incidents do not always take place, this compromises the managers evaluation. The physical restraint policy has recently been amended to remove one type of hold which was no longer felt to be appropriate, and staff have been retrained in alternative practices.

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

When children go missing from the home staff take appropriate action to support them to return home safely. This includes communicating effectively with family and friends to locate children and understand their actions. Staff work with children to try to understand their behaviours and to help them to stay safe.

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

Allegations made by children are dealt with appropriately by the manager with the involvement of the local authority designated officer. Staff are sensitive when discussing allegations and children’s concerns with them. However, when children retract allegations the reason for this is not always clear or explored in detail.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager is passionate about his role and is keen to make improvements and develop the home. He has a good understanding of the children in his care and it is evident that he has developed strong relationships with both children. He demonstrates a high degree of patience and his presence in the home is calming.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager and his team have positive working relationships with social workers who speak highly of the positive progress made for children. One social worker commended the staff on how nurturing they have been to support one child’s emotional needs and highlighted how staff are managing a health issue for the child sensitively.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager is proactive in challenging other agencies to reach better outcomes for children. This includes working with the local police to address stigmatising comments made by an officer which could impact on children and the help they receive. Inspection report children's home: 2729821 5 Staff feel well supported by the manager and can raise any issues they have confidently. The manager is aware of specific concerns for one member of staff following a recent incident and is currently dealing with this. A new member of staff said they were given time and support to settle into the role and there is a great deal of compassion in the team.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Team meetings and staff supervisions take place regularly and demonstrate how the team keeps track of the actions needed to improve outcomes for children. The records of team meetings do not mirror the reflective discussions which take place, such as de briefs and supervision. Supervision sessions provide opportunities for staff to share their views and to reflect on their relationships and practice with children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff are trained in key areas which help them to meet children's needs. However, there are some refresher training courses outstanding for staff as these are not readily available from the external training provider. The manager has escalated his concerns about the availability of refresher training to leaders.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager has good oversight of the home and weekly checks are carried out by the manager and two deputy managers. The manager has effective oversight of incidents and identifies if any follow up work is required as well as reflecting on themes and trends. However, keywork sessions are not included in the manager’s regular monitoring which means he does not have oversight of this element of staff practice and some areas requiring follow up are not identified. Inspection report children's home: 2729821 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, 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 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.

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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

that staff help each child to access and contribute to the records kept by the registered person in relation to the child. (Regulation 14 (1)(a)(b) (2)(f))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, children should be supported to understand their own care plans and be involved in their care planning. 31 July 2024

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that records of restraint capture feedback from all staff involved in incidents to enable them to review the use of control, discipline and restraint. This will also ensure the use of restraint is fair and effective. ('Guide to the Children's Homes Regulations, including the quality standards', page 46, paragraph 9.36)  The registered person should ensure that records are kept of discussions with children where they express their wish to withdraw any allegations they have made against staff. ('Guide to the Children's Homes Regulations, including the quality standards', page 62, paragraph 14.4)  The registered person should make use of internal monitoring to consider the quality and effectiveness of keywork sessions with children to support staff practice and to ensure that there is appropriate follow up for and with children where required. ('Guide to the Children's Homes Regulations, including the quality standards', page 55,

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Recommendations

paragraph 10.24) Inspection report children's home: 2729821 7  The registered person should ensure that staff can access appropriate facilities and resources to support their training needs, particularly where there are availability issues with courses provided by external agencies. ('Guide to the Children's Homes Regulations, including the quality standards', page 53, paragraph 10.1)

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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 children's home: 2729821 8

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Children's home details

Registered provider address: Cumbria House, 117 Botchergate, Carlisle, Cumbria CA1 1RD

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Children's home details

Responsible individual: Elizabeth Curtis

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Inspector

Andrea Foreman, Social Care Inspector Inspection report children's home: 2729821 9 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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