Children's Home run by Cambian Childcare Limited in North Yorkshire

Inspection report children’s home: 1159397 1 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 and managed by a private provider. Care is provided for up to three children aged between 11 and 18 years. The home provides a therapeutic 12- month programme for children who have experienced, or are at risk of, sexual exploitation.

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Information about this children’s home

The home registered in March 2016. The manager’s position is vacant.

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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 7 October 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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requires improvement to be good

How well children and young people are helped and protected requires improvement to be good

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requires improvement to be good

The effectiveness of leaders and managers requires improvement to be good

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requires improvement to be good

The children’s home is not yet delivering good help and care for children and young people. However, there are no serious or widespread failures that result in their welfare not being safeguarded or promoted.

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requires improvement to be good

Date of last inspection: 30 September 2019

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requires improvement to be good

Overall judgement at last inspection: sustained effectiveness

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requires improvement to be good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report children’s home: 1159397 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

30/09/2019 Interim Sustained effectiveness 08/04/2019 Full Requires improvement to be good 15/01/2019 Interim Declined in effectiveness 13/06/2018 Full Requires improvement to be good Inspection report children’s home: 1159397 3

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improvement to be good

Children do not have consistently good experiences of care. The children have good relationships with some staff who they know well. However, the frequent staff changes prevent the children from building good relationships with all the staff. One child reported feeling sad when staff keep leaving.

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improvement to be good

Routines for the children are not consistently implemented. This results in children feeling unsettled and then displaying challenging behaviours. New routines are in place and incidents of challenging behaviour are reducing. The new routines create opportunities for the children to enjoy positive activities with the staff. Activities include trips out to the local parks, theme parks, restaurants and shops. These activities help to boost children’s social confidence and improve their life experiences.

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improvement to be good

Children are provided with the opportunity to improve their educational outcomes. All children now access the school which is owned and operated by the provider. The children’s timetables are tailored to their personal needs. Attending education helps children to develop their social skills and knowledge and supports them to learn important skills for later life.

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improvement to be good

Children benefit from improved emotional well-being as they are supported well to work with specialist mental health professionals. The provider’s own clinical team delivers ongoing mental health support to the children. For those children who need additional help, support is sought from external services to ensure that their complex needs are addressed. The staff encourage the children to lead healthy lifestyles. Healthy diets are promoted, and children significantly reduce their smoking habits.

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improvement to be good

The children maintain a sense of identity. Contact with their families and friends is prioritised. The staff support the children to visit their families and enjoy trips out with their friends.

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improvement to be good

One child’s risk assessment is not up to date. In relation to self-harm, the risk assessment does not reflect what is happening in practice. The lack of up-to-date information means that children receive different responses from staff when they are in crisis.

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improvement to be good

Approaches to managing children’s behaviour are not consistent across the staff team. These inconsistencies result in boundaries being moved, children becoming confused and some children feeling like things are not always fair. The acting Inspection report children’s home: 1159397 4 manager and the responsible individual recognise the need to improve this, and this topic is on the agenda for the next team meeting.

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improvement to be good

The children complete work to help them to understand how to keep safe. As a result, some risks reduce. For example, children who were going missing from home regularly have now stopped this behaviour.

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improvement to be good

The staff complete training to enable them to understand how to keep the children safe. The training they complete includes sexual exploitation, safeguarding practice, and how to manage self-harm. However, two staff have not completed training to enable them to use ligature cutters correctly. The lack of training hinders the staff’s ability to support children in a ligature emergency.

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good

The registered manager and deputy manager have recently left. The responsible individual and an acting manager are providing interim oversight. Work is ongoing to recruit a new registered manager and deputy manager. The change in management and a high staff turnover create instability and uncertainty for the children and for the staff team.

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good

Due to the recent instability, some aspects of management oversight are not consistent. Managers are not yet fully clear on their shared role. The lack of consistent management oversight leaves staff without an understanding of clear expectations of practice, and results in children receiving a varying quality of care.

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good

The staff have not always received regular supervision. The responsible individual has now improved supervision practice. The new practice is starting to embed. The introduction of on-the-spot supervision provides additional help for new members of staff. Due to the recent staffing issues, there have been no opportunities to meet as a team and develop practice. Plans are in place for team meetings to start again.

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good

The children receive the specialist support they need. Good communication with professionals such as psychologists and social workers allows information to be shared effectively. The managers ensure that the support children receive is meeting their complex needs.

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good

The home is not managed as described in its statement of purpose. The children are not always receiving the highest levels of care and support from a stable staff team. Inspection report children’s home: 1159397 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 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—

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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)) 15 October 2021

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Requirement Due date

The leadership and management standard is that the registered person enables, inspires and leads a culture in relation to the children’s home that—

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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

lead and manage the home in a way that is consistent with the approach and ethos, and delivers the outcomes, set out in the home’s statement of purpose;

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Requirement Due date

ensure that staff work as a team where appropriate;

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Requirement Due date

ensure that staff have the experience, qualifications and skills to meet the needs of each child;

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Requirement Due date

ensure that the home has sufficient staff to provide care for each child;

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Requirement Due date

ensure that the home’s workforce provides continuity of care to each child;

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Requirement Due date

understand the impact that the quality of care provided in the home is having on the progress and experiences of each 15 October 2021 Inspection report children’s home: 1159397 6 child and use this understanding to inform the development of the quality of care provided in the home. (Regulation 13 (1) (2)(a)(b)(c)(d)(e)(f))

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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: 1159397 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 Childcare Limited, Metropolitan House, 3 Darkes Lane, Potters Bar, Hertfordshire EN6 1AG

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Inspector

Jamie Richardson, Social Care Inspector Inspection report children’s home: 1159397 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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