Children's Home run by Cambian Childcare Limited in Worcestershire

Inspection report children’s home: SC478134 1 SC478134 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 provides care and accommodation for up to four children with social and/or emotional difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager of the home has applied 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 8 September 2020 to carry out an assurance 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: 22 October 2019

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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: SC478134 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

22/10/2019 Full Requires improvement to be good 18/07/2018 Full Good 18/12/2017 Full Good 15/03/2017 Interim Improved effectiveness Inspection report children’s home: SC478134 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children make good progress. One child has been supported to maintain her job throughout the Covid-19 pandemic. This opportunity to work has promoted the child’s positive mental health and well-being.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are happy, and they enjoy positive relationships with staff and each other. For example, children enjoy spending time together, cooking together and giving each other supportive hugs.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

New technology has been embraced during the Covid-19 pandemic. For one child, this has meant being able to spend virtual time with their loved ones at Christmas. This enabled the child to enjoy opening their Christmas presents with their family despite being apart. This has helped children to maintain relationships with those who are important to them.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are helped to develop their life skills at their own pace. Children are now confident to use public transport and to cook a range of meals. Children speak warmly about living at the home, and they share memories, such as the ‘lovely Sunday roasts’.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children have helped to decorate the home. This includes painting the garden fence. Children have decorated their bedrooms and are proud of their achievements. There is a development plan to refurbish parts of the home, but this has been impacted on by the COVID-19 pandemic. However, one child’s bedroom and a bathroom are in need of redecorating.

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

Children feel safe living at the home. The quality of relationships between the children and the staff is a strength. This enables children to address previous concerning behaviours and to work towards more positive outcomes. Open and honest communication is promoted so that children feel able to discuss the smallest of worries. As a result, children’s risks decrease. Children rarely go missing from the home, and the risks around self-harm and substance misuse all decrease.

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

Children’s health improves. Staff use a positive reward system to help children to stop smoking. As a result, children have either drastically reduced their smoking or have stopped altogether.

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

Professionals have commented on the positive progress children make in this home. For example, a social worker commented that ‘the progress of the young person I work with has been phenomenal. She has been at [the home] since August. As well as learning about safety and how to keep herself safe, she is learning about healthy relationships and life skills in preparation for adulthood.’ Inspection report children’s home: SC478134 4 Staff understand children’s individualised needs well. However, the quality of records and letters written to children when they have raised a complaint can differ, and they are not always written in a way that is helpful for the child. This is a missed opportunity to show children how staff are open to reflect on and to learn from children’s comments and complaints.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

There is a new experienced manager working in the home. She has applied to register with Ofsted. There has been a good handover between the outgoing manager. The new manager has already developed a plan that identifies the home’s strengths and weaknesses. She is passionate to develop the service and is involving the children and staff in this journey.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Effective working relationships exist with other professionals. This ensures that information is shared quickly. One police officer told the inspector ‘[The manager] was very quick to update me of her taking over at the home and sending me the necessary paperwork. ….. I have to say [this manager] is one of the best, if not the best manager I have come across in my time of working in this role.’

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff have good access to training opportunities to ensure that they have the knowledge and the skills they need to meet the diverse needs of the children they look after. As a result, staff feel confident and supported in their roles.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The home’s location risk assessment has been reviewed by the manager. Overall, this is an in-depth assessment. However, it does not clearly identify the risks associated to the unused building close to the home. Inspection report children’s home: SC478134 5

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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 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; and

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Requirement Due date

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

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

This specifically relates to the redecoration required in one child’s bedroom and bathroom. 25 June 2021

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that staff record information on individual children in a non-stigmatising way that 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 the quality standards’, page 62, paragraph 14.4)  The registered person should ensure that they review the appropriateness and suitability of the location and premises of the home at least once a year. The review should include the identification of any risks and opportunities presented by the home’s location and strategies for managing these. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 64, paragraph 15.1) Inspection report children’s home: SC478134 6

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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: SC478134 7

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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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Inspectors

Louise Battersby, Social Care Inspector Jodie Lewis, Social Care Inspector Inspection report children’s home: SC478134 8 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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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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Inspectors

T: 0300 123 1231 Textphone: 0161 618 8524 E: enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk W: www.gov.uk/ofsted

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