Children's Home run by Cambian Childcare Limited in Shropshire

Inspection report children’s home: SC476292 1 SC476292 Registered provider: Cambian Childcare Limited Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This home is owned by a private company. The home provides care for up to three female children, aged 11 to 17 years, who have experienced or are at risk of child sexual exploitation.

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Information about this children’s home

The home has a new manager who is suitably experienced and plans to register with Ofsted.

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Information about this children’s home

Due to COVID-19 (coronavirus), at the request of the Secretary of State, we suspended all routine inspections of social care providers on 17 March 2020.

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Information about this children’s home

We last visited this setting on 12 November 2020 to carry out a monitoring visit. The report is published on the Ofsted website.

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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: 08 October 2018

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good

Overall judgement at last inspection: requires improvement to be good

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Enforcement action since last inspection:

Not applicable. Inspection report children’s home: SC476292 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

21/01/2020 Interim Not judged 25/09/2019 Interim Not judged 08/10/2018 Full Requires improvement to be good 18/06/2018 Full Inadequate Inspection report children’s home: SC476292 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are cared for by a consistent team of staff who know each child well. Children commented to the inspector that they are happy living at the home, and that the staff make them feel safe and secure.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Managers make sure that children are well matched. This includes considering the views and feelings of children already living at the home. This consultation enables a smooth transition for new children and children already living at the home.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff make sure that children’s plans are individualised, and that children are actively involved in making decisions about their care. Consequently, children feel valued and listened to.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are supported by professionals who specialise in helping children to understand their past experiences. This support enables children to heal from past trauma and to develop skills to manage their emotions and feelings.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff understand the importance of education and that not all children learn in the same way. Educational plans are bespoke and take into account children’s interests. Children are aspirational about their future. For example, with support from staff and teachers, one child has applied and successfully secured a place at university.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff support each child to gain independence skills at a pace that suits the child. When a child is struggling emotionally, staff will offer additional help.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff support children to keep in touch with their family and friends. This can include travelling long distances to enable children to see people who are important to them.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Despite the restrictions imposed due to the COVID-19 pandemic, staff have been creative in providing a variety of activities for children. Staff have made sure that children have not missed out on special events and have been able to celebrate milestones such as birthdays. This has included staff putting up balloons and holding parties in the garden for the children.

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

Staff keep children safe through having in place detailed plans that are regularly reviewed.

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

Staff consult children on rules and boundaries. This inclusive approach means that children feel involved in making decisions that affect them. This level of engagement has helped children to make safe decisions, including no longer going missing from the home. Inspection report children’s home: SC476292 4 Staff help children to understand the risks they face online through a variety of learning packs, including apps which help children to identify risks and to develop strategies that help to keep them safe. However, staff have not benefited from in- depth training on online safety. This limits the staff team’s ability to pick up early warnings that a child may be at risk online.

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

Managers have acted promptly when concerns have been raised, and have reported these concerns to the relevant agencies. Consequently, children are safeguarded and supported.

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

Managers have made sure that staff who are new to the home are appropriately vetted to ensure their suitability to work with children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Since the last visit, there has been a change in the home’s manager. The previous manager left in March 2021 after giving a full handover to the new manager.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The new manager is an experienced, child-focused manager who, despite only having been in post for a few weeks, has reviewed the service, sought the views of the children and staff, and started to make changes to improve the home further.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff say that they feel well supported by managers, and that the new manager is making a difference.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Managers make sure that the induction of new staff is comprehensive, and that staff receive regular supervision and annual appraisals. Due to COVID-19 pandemic, staff training has been delivered online. Some of the content in training has been limited due to the COVID-19 restrictions. Consequently, some staff members’ knowledge in areas such as ‘Prevent’ duty and self-harm is limited.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Managers have worked hard to meet the requirements from the last inspection. As a result, all previous requirements are now met. Inspection report children’s home: SC476292 5

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that staff receive more in-depth training in, online safety, ‘Prevent’ and self-harm. This will give staff the increased skills they need to care for the children living at the home. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 53 paragraph 10.11)

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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: SC476292 6

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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

Debbie Bond, Social Care Inspector Inspection report children’s home: SC476292 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 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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