Children's Home run by Cambian Autism Services Limited in North Yorkshire

Inspection report for children’s home: 2692374 1 Registered provider: Cambian Autism Services Limited

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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 managed by a private organisation. It provides care for up to six children who have learning disabilities and who may have an autistic spectrum disorder.

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Information about this children’s home

One child was living in the home at the time of this inspection.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager registered with Ofsted in December 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

Overall judgement at last inspection: good

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children’s home: 2692374 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

07/06/2023 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: 2692374 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Since the last inspection, two children have moved in and out of the home. There is currently one child living in the home. The child says that they feel loved and is happy. They say that they like the care and attention they receive from staff, who support them with their feelings and emotions. This has resulted in the child making progress with their health and well-being.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff are fond of the children and want them to do well. They understand the children’s vulnerabilities. They also work hard to understand what matters most for the children through spending time with them and adapting their care accordingly.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

There is a school on the same site as the home. This helps children engage in education, particularly those that have previously missed a lot of school. When children are not able to go to school, staff try to understand the barriers. For one child, anxiety and mental health affected how they felt. Changes to the child’s timetable supported their well- being. This enabled the child to work with the therapeutic wraparound care.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Although children can verbally communicate, staff support them with other forms of communication to promote choice. For example, one child likes things they could see and read. Visual tools and pictures in the child’s room allow them to give their views about their life, such as what they want to eat or their daily routine.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff work well with the therapy team to find positive solutions and strategies to improve children’s mental health and self-worth. For example, one child who enjoys music was encouraged by staff to learn to play an instrument and create their own music.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff understand the importance of family connections. They helped one child to rebuild family relationships. The child looks forward to spending time with their family, thus improving their emotional well-being. A parent spoke highly about the progress that their child has made. The parent said that they are happy with the communication from staff and weekly updates they receive about their child’s progress.

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

Children who live in the home have a wide variety of sensory, emotional and behavioural needs, sometimes complex. Staff understand how best to support children and their physical, sensory and emotional needs. The individualised care that staff provide is child led. If children withdraw from socialising or stop talking, staff remain curious about how they can help. Staff ensure that children receive good-quality care, even at times of crisis.

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

Staff use their relationships with children to promote positive behaviour, helping children to understand their feelings. The manager ensures that support is restorative and that Inspection report for children’s home: 2692374 4 staff do not use consequences. This is in keeping with the therapeutic approach of the home and ensures that children’s behaviour is guided in a nurturing and inclusive way.

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

The staff rarely use guides or holds to help children. Physical intervention is only used when necessary and as a last resort. Staff reflect and think about what they could have done differently to avoid the use of holds in the future. Staff also use team meetings to reflect on and improve staff practice. There is one gap in recording where a guide has not been written up on an incident form. Although the manager knows what happened, the incident has not had the same scrutiny as other incidents to ensure the guide was appropriate at the time.

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

There has only been one occasion when a child has gone missing from the home as children are cared for on a one-to-one basis. If a child goes missing, staff know what action to take, what process to follow and how to coordinate their efforts. This helps children to be found as quickly as possible, reducing the risk of harm.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager is enthusiastic about his role. He has an open-door policy for both children and staff. Staff respect him and the child is fond of him. The manager has had a positive impact since working at the home. He has helped to improve the nurturing care provided to the children so that they can thrive.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Leaders and managers have good working relationships with families and professionals to ensure a strong multi-agency approach. The manager challenges and advocates on behalf of children. For example, the manager continued to escalate an issue for a child until resolution, ensuring the local authority involved progressed an assessment for the family.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager is reflective and recognised that the process for children moving into the home was not robust. This led to staff being unable to meet one child’s needs. Having a learning review has allowed the manager to make changes to reduce the chances of this happening again.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

When staff come to work at the home, they tend to stay for a long time. This provides stability for the children so that they can get to know the people looking after them. Staff attend team meetings, which the manager uses as opportunities to promote good practice. Children’s progress is central to discussions, which ensures that the necessary changes are made to their care or daily lives. Effective training helps increase staff’s skills to help improve staff’s understanding of children’s needs. Supervision sessions take place and the quality of these has improved. The manager and staff have a strong learning culture, which helps practice evolve and grow. Inspection report for children’s home: 2692374 5

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that all incidents of control, discipline and restraint are subject to systems of regular scrutiny so that their use is fair and the above principles as set out in 9.35 are respected. (‘Guide to Children’s Homes Regulations, including quality standards’, page 46, point 9.36)

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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: 2692374 6

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Cambian Autism Services Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Cambian Autism Services Limited, Metropolitan House, 3 Darkes Lane, Potters Bar EN6 1AG

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Children’s home details

Responsible individual: Samantha Campbell

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Inspector

Miriam Dolman, Social Care Inspector Tenji Wesa, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2692374 7 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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