Children's Home run by Cambian Childcare Limited in Norfolk

Inspection report for children's home - monitoring visit: SC456330 1 SC456330

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Cambian Childcare Limited

Monitoring visit Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This privately run home offers mental health support, education and care for up to four children who may have experienced neglect, abuse or trauma that has left them vulnerable. The manager was registered in April 2020.

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This monitoring visit

This home was last inspected on October 2019, when Ofsted judged that it had declined in effectiveness. This monitoring visit has been carried out because, due to the COVID-19 pandemic and associated lockdown restrictions, the home has not been inspected for 15 months. This monitoring visit was carried out off site.

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This monitoring visit

There are currently three children living at the home. Managers have not considered a fourth child at present due to some staff vacancies. All the children are in education.

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This monitoring visit

A new manager was registered on 6 April 2020. The manager has made some good progress since the last inspection. However, some shortfalls were identified at this visit and have led to a requirement and a recommendation.

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This monitoring visit

Managers are supervising staff appropriately often. Staff described the supervisions as helpful and supportive and with a focus on improving their work with children.

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This monitoring visit

Although there are four staff vacancies, the staff team is managing to provide appropriate levels of cover. There is an ethos of covering any gaps in the rota internally if possible. This provides more stability for the children as they are looked after by people who they know and who know them. Managers have plans in place to provide external cover if required. Inspection report for children's home - monitoring visit: SC456330 2 There are some new and some more experienced staff in the team. Staff who are in their probationary period always work with a more experienced colleague. Staff training has continued despite the restrictions due to the pandemic.

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This monitoring visit

Staff called police to the home on five occasions between 5 July 2020 and 9 December 2020. No children were arrested as a result of these calls. The manager invited the local police officer to a staff meeting and discussed police call-outs, to prevent the police being called inappropriately. As a result, staff are clear that they do not call the police to manage behaviour, as that is the staff’s role. Children’s plans reinforce this. This helps to prevent children becoming criminalised and helps to protect children by using the police when they are at risk.

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This monitoring visit

The manager has systems in place to monitor the way in which the staff work with children. She has identified issues in records, such as those relating to physical interventions, and addressed them. There are some very reflective responses to physical interventions to help staff think about how they managed the situation and anything that should change. Children have opportunities to speak to a trusted member of staff after incidents of physical intervention.

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This monitoring visit

There has been an improvement in children’s records, plans and risk assessments, but some shortfalls remain. For example, although one child’s health plan has been reviewed, it still has some out-of-date information in it. Also, a daily record for a child is very wordy and is not written in a way that would be helpful to the child if they chose to read it.

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This monitoring visit

The organisation undertook a review of a recent incident. The review has identified actions that need to be taken to improve. The manager has addressed most of these. However, the manager has missed the opportunity to cover the remaining actions by reviewing the child’s risk assessment to make it clearer.

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This monitoring visit

Records show that staff are using identified ways of working with children to try and manage behaviour and de-escalate situations effectively.

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Recent inspection history

Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement 30/10/2019 Interim Declined in effectiveness 23/05/2019 Full Good 29/08/2018 Full Requires improvement to be good 24/05/2018 Full Inadequate Inspection report for children's home - monitoring visit: SC456330 3

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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 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— that staff—

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Requirement Due date

assess whether each child is at risk of harm, taking into account information in the child’s relevant plans, and, if necessary, make arrangements to reduce the risk of any harm to the child. (Regulation 12 (1) (2)(a)(i))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, make sure that risk assessments contain all the information necessary for staff to understand how to manage the risk to a child. 26 February 2021

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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. 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 the quality standards’, page 62, paragraph 14.4)

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Information about this inspection

The purpose of this visit was to monitor the action taken and the progress made by the children’s home since its last Ofsted inspection.

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Information about this inspection

This inspection was carried out under the Care Standards Act 2000. Inspection report for children's home - monitoring visit: SC456330 4

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Cambian Childcare Limited

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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

Clive Lucas, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children's home - monitoring visit: SC456330 5 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 children looked after, safeguarding and child protection.

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Inspector

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Inspector

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Inspector

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