Children's Home run by Cambian Childcare Limited in Birmingham

Inspection report for children’s home: 2620366 1 Registered provider: Cambian Childcare Ltd

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Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This home is owned and operated by a large private company. The home provides care for one child who may have social and emotional difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager has been in post since July 2024 and is not yet registered with Ofsted.

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Information about this children’s home

Inspectors were aware during this inspection of serious incidents that have occurred at the setting since the last inspection that are under investigation by the appropriate authorities. While Ofsted does not have the power to investigate incidents of this kind, actions taken by the setting in response to the incidents were considered alongside other evidence available at the time of the inspection to inform inspectors’ judgements.

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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

Date of last inspection: 20 February 2024

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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: 2620366 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

20/02/2024 Full Good 21/09/2022 Full Outstanding Inspection report for children’s home: 2620366 3

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improvement to be good

The child has been living in the home for over a year. The child was present and was spoken to during the inspection. Since the last inspection, the child has experienced significant changes and loss, both within the home and within their family. These have had a negative effect on the child’s experiences and progress.

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improvement to be good

There has been a high turnover of staff, which has affected the quality of the child’s relationships with staff. There has been instability in the staff team, with changes in the management, staff and clinical team. This has had an impact on the consistency of care for the child and has left them feeling unhappy and, at times, unsafe. The new manager has recognised this, and both he and the staff team are working hard to rebuild trusting relationships with the child.

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improvement to be good

Managers and staff do not ensure that the home environment is well maintained. While the lounge and dining room are comfortably furnished, there are other areas of the home that require redecoration and attention. For example, the child’s bedroom was untidy, with insufficient storage and a broken wardrobe, the bathroom had an unpleasant smell, and both the back and front garden were overgrown. This does not provide a welcoming and homely environment for the child to live in.

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improvement to be good

Staff have lots of meaningful discussions with the child, to gather their preferences, views, wishes and feelings. This supports the child to be involved in the decision-making that affects them. However, managers and staff do not always give the child feedback on their requests in a way that the child can fully understand. This does not support the child to feel listened to and gain an understanding of the reasons for managers’ and staff’s decisions.

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improvement to be good

Despite the recent challenges, the child is making progress with their education. When the child is struggling to attend education, staff work closely with education professionals to ensure that they can support the child back into school as quickly as possible and avoid disruption to their education. As a result, the child’s attendance at school is improving.

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improvement to be good

Staff encourage the child to have fun and engage in activities both in the home and out in the community. The child has enjoyed a city break to London, has been swimming, has been to the seaside and to the funfair. In addition, the child regularly enjoys outings and activities with a local organisation. These activities help the child to build their self- esteem, improve their social skills and develop relationships.

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improvement to be good

Staff promote the child’s health and well-being. Staff support the child to attend routine and, when required, specialist health appointments. They work with the home’s mental health practitioner, who does direct work with the child, as well as supporting the staff Inspection report for children’s home: 2620366 4 through training and guidance on how to support the child and meet the child’s needs. As a result, the child is learning how to manage their emotions.

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improvement to be good

Managers and staff do not always take effective action to keep the child safe. Changes in staffing have resulted in inconsistent boundaries, which has contributed to the child feeling vulnerable and has resulted in a period of instability in the home. The new manager has been working with the staff team to improve consistency of practice. Incidents in the home are beginning to reduce.

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improvement to be good

There has been an increase in allegations and complaints against staff. Overall, managers respond promptly when the child makes an allegation against staff. However, there has been one occasion when the previous manager did not respond appropriately to a complaint made by the child about staff. The manager did not inform the social worker or seek guidance from the local authority designated officer. They also did not provide formal feedback to the child. While this has now been addressed by the responsible individual, and the child is happy with the outcome, the lack of partnership working with relevant professionals has the potential to put the child at risk. It also does not support the child to feel listened to, valued or safe.

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improvement to be good

Staff are not always able to recognise and take appropriate action in response to risk. For example, on one occasion, the child took the staff’s keys. The staff were unsuccessful in getting the child to return the keys. The child had the keys overnight. Staff failed to inform the manager or consider the risks around this.

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improvement to be good

Incidents requiring staff to use physical intervention are rare. Staff hold the child as a last resort to keep them safe. While the manager has oversight of incidents requiring intervention to ensure that they are necessary and proportionate, they do not identify inaccuracies in records. This includes wrong dates and description of holds used. These anomalies have the potential to impact on the effectiveness of the manager’s review of the incident.

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improvement to be good

Managers and staff have not adhered to the recommendations set out in the home’s fire risk assessment. Staff continue to use door wedges to keep fire doors open, and one fire exit door was broken, and the exit was partially blocked. This does not give assurances that staff understand their roles and responsibilities in relation to fire safety, which may put the child at risk of harm. The manager took action to rectify this before the end of the inspection.

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improvement to be good

Managers and staff have made improvements in the child’s written plans. Risk management and safety plans are now regularly updated after incidents. This ensures that staff have clear and up-to-date guidance on how to mitigate risk. Inspection report for children’s home: 2620366 5 Staff respond quickly when the child leaves the home without authority. Staff follow detailed missing-from-care protocols, reassuring and encouraging the child to return to the home. As a result, there have been no incidents of the child going missing from care.

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improvement to be good

Staff and the mental health practitioner have meaningful conversations with the child to develop the child’s understanding of how to keep themselves safe. They have had discussions on various topics, such as internet safety, managing emotions, sexual health, and bereavement.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

Changes in the management arrangements for the home have affected the effectiveness of manager’s oversight. This has contributed to shortfalls found in this inspection. However, the new manager has developed a good understanding of where improvements need to be made. He is child-centred and wants the best for the child and the staff team. He has started to make changes, prioritising stabilising and developing the staff team so that they can provide consistent, good quality care to the child. This has started to have an impact and improvements can be seen.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

Staff do not always receive regular supervision. One member of staff who joined the organisation in May 2024, has only had one full supervision. This is a shortfall and does not support staff to reflect on and develop practice in order to enable them to support the child effectively. However, despite the changes in management, staff spoken with said that they feel supported by the management team.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

There is a comprehensive training plan in place. The manager has also identified additional training, to further develop the staff team. However, staff have yet to receive autism training. This affects the staff’s ability to respond to the child and meet their needs.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

The manager’s monitoring of the care children receive is not effective. Managers have failed to identify inaccuracies in children’s records, gaps in staff supervisions, delays in the previous manager’s application to register with Ofsted and delays in notifications to Ofsted. The current manager does have improvement action plans in place. Both he and the responsible individual are committed to driving forward change in order to improve the quality of care for children who live in the home.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

Managers and staff work with a range of professionals to ensure that the child receives well-coordinated care. Managers are not afraid to raise concerns to other professionals when they feel that the child’s needs are not being met. Feedback from the child’s social worker and family is mixed. Both acknowledged that while improvements need to be made, the child has made progress in some areas, that the communication from staff is good and that staff do keep the child safe. Inspection report for children’s home: 2620366 6

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Statutory requirements

This section sets out the actions that the registered person 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 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

take effective action whenever there is a serious concern about a child’s welfare; and

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Requirement Due date

are familiar with, and act in accordance with, the home’s child protection policies; and

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Requirement Due date

that the premises used for the purposes of the home are designed, furnished and maintained so as to protect each child from avoidable hazards to the child’s health. (Regulation 12 (1)(2)(a)(iii)(vi)(vii)(d))

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Requirement Due date

In particular managers must ensure that: - staff and managers consistently follow safeguarding policies, promptly seeking guidance from the local authority designated officer about any concerns relating to staff. In addition, ensuring that social workers are also informed of any complaints the child raises about staff; - staff are able to recognise when a child is at risk of harm and take effective action to keep the child safe; - staff maintain clear and consistent boundaries with the child; - staff adhere to recommendations as outlined in the home’s fire risk assessment. In particular, that fire doors are not wedged open, and the fire exits are free from obstructions. 20 October 2024 Inspection report for children’s home: 2620366 7 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 have the experience, qualifications and skills to meet the needs of each child;

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Requirement Due date

ensure that the home’s workforce provides continuity of care to 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; and

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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)(c)(e)(f)(h))

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Requirement Due date

In particular managers must ensure that: - there are effective systems are in place to monitor how the home is being run and the care provided; - that staff and management changes do not affect the consistency and the continuity of care provided to the child; - that managers complete applications to register with Ofsted in timescales stipulated in the registration guidance; and - they provide staff with training to meet the child’s specific needs, for example autism training. 20 October 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; 20 October 2024 Inspection report for children’s home: 2620366 8 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

provide to children living in the home the physical necessities they need in order to live there comfortably;

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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)(b)(vii)(c)(i))

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Requirement Due date

This specifically relates to the manager ensuring that the environment is improved and meets the needs of the child living in the home.

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Requirement Due date

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)(c))

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Requirement Due date

This specifically relates to managers ensuring that all staff receive regular practice-related supervision. 20 October 2024

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that when consulting children on their views or when the child gives staff any feedback about the home’s care, the child receives feedback in a way that is understandable and meaningful to the child. This ensures that children can see the results of their views being listened to and acted on. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 22, paragraph 4.11)  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. Managers and staff should record information on individual children in a non-stigmatising way that is accurate and distinguishes between fact, opinion and third-party information. Information about the child must always be recorded in a way that will be helpful to the child. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including

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Recommendations

the quality standards’, page 62, paragraph 14.4)

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Information about this inspection

Inspection report for children’s home: 2620366 9 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: 2620366 10

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Cambian Childcare Ltd

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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

Sonia Sullivan, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2620366 11 regulates and inspects 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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