Children's home run by Cambian Childcare Limited in Stockport

Inspection report children’s home: SC359818 1 SC359818 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 part of a large organisation providing care services. The home provides care for up to four children. It is situated in a busy, multicultural and ethnically diverse suburb. The registered manager is experienced and has recently completed her level 5 qualification.

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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 21 October to 22 October 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: 21 February 2020

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good

Overall judgement at last inspection: sustained effectiveness

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report children’s home: SC359818 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

21/02/2020 Interim Sustained effectiveness 09/12/2019 Full Requires improvement to be good 13/03/2019 Interim Sustained effectiveness 09/05/2018 Full Requires improvement to be good Inspection report children’s home: SC359818 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are cared for by nurturing staff. Staff know children well and provide them with individualised care. This helps children develop positive relationships with staff, helps them feel invested in and gives them a sense of belonging. Children informed the inspector that they are happy at the home.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff recognise that children’s previous care experiences may not have been positive. Therefore, staff work hard to give children positive care experiences. Staff undertake direct work with children which is meaningful and links into their plans and behaviours. This good work gives children opportunities to reflect and learn from things that have happened. Children’s wishes and feelings are listened to, helping them feel valued.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

For one child, staff have responded swiftly and effectively to ensure his cultural needs are being met. This helps this child to feel comfortable to express their identity and culture.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children make good progress from their starting points. One child has started to have overnight stays with her family. Another child’s headteacher informed the inspector that the positive change in a child’s physical presentation within a short space of time has been lovely to see.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The manager works closely with health professionals to ensure that children access the right level of support and services. For one child, this has meant accessing counselling. This promotes children’s well-being.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff support children to ensure that they attend school and on time. There is daily communication between teachers and staff to ensure a consistent and prompt response to any issues. Children make progress with their learning. For example, one child is now focused on achieving GSCEs and another child is doing his homework, something which previously caused him anxiety. Good support is helping children to achieve their potential.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The manager ensures that when children move on from the home their transitions are well planned. The manager has advocated for a child and challenged the placing authority’s plan to move the child without taking his views into consideration. The manager sought support from the Children’s Commissioner. This enabled the child to visit his new placement, discuss his wishes and feelings through an advocate and have a goodbye party. The manager and staff went out of their way to make sure this child had a special send-off, which included hiring a Rolls-Royce for him to have a drive in, as he loves cars. This excellent work helps children to feel listened to and valued and to have good moving-on experiences. Inspection report children’s home: SC359818 4 Children enjoy a range of activities in line with their interests as well as continuing to have experiences which help them to create positive memories. Recently, staff

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

and the children went on a trip to the beach and, despite the cold weather, had a lovely time.

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

The manager has clear procedures in place to deal with allegations made by children. Such allegations are rare; when they do occur, the manager responds to these promptly and liaises with relevant agencies. Staff and children are offered appropriate support and the manager works with them to address any issues that may arise from the allegation. As a result, there is good reflection and learning from such incidents.

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

Restraints as a form of behaviour management are rare and only used as a last resort to keep children safe. Records relating to such incidents are clear and show good management oversight and reflection with staff and children. This helps to reduce the likelihood of reoccurrence because staff and children learn from things that happen.

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

Staff promote positive behaviour in children through praise and rewards. When children struggle with managing their feelings and hurt others, the manager works with staff to implement restorative practices. These help children to think about the impact of their behaviours on others.

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

Recruitment procedures are robust. This means that suitable adults care for children.

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

Children sometimes hurt themselves because of the way that they are feeling about themselves and things that have happened to them. When they do, staff respond with care and nurture to help children self-regulate and explore alternative ways of expressing their emotions.

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

The home’s location risk assessment is thorough and detailed. The assessment carefully considers key issues in the local area that may affect children’s safety and welfare when they spend time in the community. This helps staff and children to have a good understanding of the local area, potential risks and how to manage these.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager is suitably experienced and qualified. She has high aspirations for the children and the staff team. She knows the children and her team well. The manager is a strong advocate for children, ensuring that their wishes and feelings are listened to. She is committed and passionate, which translates to the staff team and this has a positive impact on the quality of care for children. Inspection report children’s home: SC359818 5 The manager has a good overview of her service and monitors this to improve practice and drive positive outcomes for children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The inspector received positive feedback from professionals about the care that children receive. Professionals said that the manager and the staff respond to queries and share information, which helps to ensure that children receive coordinated care.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The staff team is experienced, with many of the staff having worked for the company and in the home for many years. The inspector spoke to several staff and these discussions reflected their commitment to and passion for the children they care for. The stability of the staff team and their commitment to children helps children to make good progress.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff receive regular supervision, which provides them with opportunities to reflect on their practice. The manager encourages staff to enhance their development and take up opportunities for promotion in the home. Annual appraisals further promote staff’s professional development. Staff feel valued and speak highly of the support from their manager and for each other.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff have completed mandatory training and have done additional training to help them meet the needs of children in their care. Most of the staff have completed their level 3 qualification and the remaining two staff are on track to complete this within required timescales. Team meetings are used to reflect on practice and specialist agencies are sometimes invited to help staff learn more about the specific needs of children in their care. Inspection report children’s home: SC359818 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: SC359818 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: Cambian Childare Limited, 5th Floor, Metropolitan House, 3 Darkes Lane, Potters Bar EN6 1AG

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Inspector

Shazana Jamal, Social Care Inspector Inspection report children’s home: SC359818 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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Inspector

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Inspector

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Inspector

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