Children's home run by Cambian Childcare Limited

Inspection report children’s home: 2607587 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. It provides care for up to four children who may have a sensory impairment, physical disabilities, learning disabilities or emotional and social difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager and the home registered with Ofsted in December 2020.

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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 9 March 2021 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: not previously inspected

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good

Overall judgement at last inspection: not applicable

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: not applicable Inspection report children’s home: 2607587 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

Not previously inspected Inspection report children’s home: 2607587 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children develop trusting relationships and positive bonds with the staff. Children make happy memories while enjoying games, activities, outings and special holidays with staff. These experiences help the children to develop new hobbies and interests, such as riding a bicycle or a horse. Children either say or demonstrate that they are happy, confident, and relaxed in the company of their caring adults.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The manager provides the staff with training opportunities before the children move in. This ensures the staff develop the specific skills required to meet the children’s needs. One professional said: ‘The manager and the staff are very organised, they helped [name of child] to settle really quickly into the home.’

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff support the children to attend routine and specialist health appointments. Staff assist the children to follow the guidance and advice of health professionals. The staff help the children to complete specialist exercises or to follow a healthy diet to support weight management. The support that children receive helps them to become healthier.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children make good progress with their education as they have excellent school attendance. When the children are required to isolate at home, due to the coronavirus pandemic, the staff support the children to complete the schoolwork provided by their educational provision. Staff seek advice from educational professionals and incorporate activities into children’s daily lives. This helps the children to become familiar with the topics they study at school.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children’s individual mobility and communication needs are considered and respected by the staff. Staff make accessible sensory items so that the children can make choices and express their views. This helps to empower the children and gives them a sense of control.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The competing needs of children are not always fully considered by the manager before children move in. The manager does not always rigorously assess the potential impact, of those children, on the children who already live in the home. This has not negatively affected children; however, this has the potential to do so.

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

Children are cared for by staff who understand the children’s risks and vulnerabilities. The manager has developed and implemented a system to keep the staff updated with the changes to the children’s risks. Staff adhere to the strategies that are in place to help them to keep the children safe. The help that the children receive has supported a reduction of crisis incidents. This demonstrates that the children become safer. Inspection report children’s home: 2607587 4 Children’s self-care skills have improved from their starting points, and they have become more independent. Staff praise and celebrate the children’s achievements, which helps children understand the progress that they make.

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

Staff help the children to raise any concerns that arise. Complaints are dealt with in a timely manner. Children receive feedback during the complaints process so that they know their views have been heard and taken seriously.

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

Sanctions are rarely used but when the staff do impose sanctions, the children are consulted throughout the process. Staff use a restorative approach to help the children to understand that their actions have consequences. One professional said, ‘[Name of child] has learnt to apologise which is huge progress.’

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

Children are supported by staff to take part in regular fire drills so that the children understand what to do in the event of a fire breaking out in the home. However, one child’s personal evacuation plan is vague. This means that there is insufficient guidance to help staff understand how to safely evacuate the child.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager is suitably qualified and experienced. There have been some changes to staffing. However, the manager understands that additional change can be difficult for children and keeps changes of children’s keyworkers to a minimum. This helps children to experience consistency.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The staff team encourage and help children to learn about each other’s heritage, promoting understanding and inclusivity. The manager arranges exciting experiences for children, such as having a chef who specialises in Japanese cuisine to cook for them. These experiences help children to develop an understanding of the wider world and further expand their knowledge of cultural diversity.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager has systems in place to monitor the trends and patterns of children’s behaviour. The staff discuss their findings and observations with relevant professionals, exploring how children’s needs can be better supported, for example through changes to medication. This demonstrates a holistic approach to meeting children’s needs.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager uses regular staff meetings to enable staff to discuss and explore children’s needs. He helps staff to identify areas where their practice can improve, to raise the standard of care that children receive. The manager holds additional meetings with his senior staff, providing leaders with the opportunity to focus on their additional responsibilities.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager and his team have regular supervision. However, supervision sessions do not always provide staff with an in-depth opportunity to reflect on their practice. This is a missed opportunity to further raise the standard of care that children receive. Inspection report children’s home: 2607587 5 The manager has failed to ensure that all the necessary references are verified by the organisation during the recruitment process. This means that adults are not always suitably vetted before working with children. Inspection report children’s home: 2607587 6

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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))

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Requirement Due date

This specifically related to children’s personal emergency evacuation plans containing detailed information regarding the support they require to evacuate safely. 30 October 2021

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must recruit staff using recruitment procedures that are designed to ensure children’s safety.

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Requirement Due date

full and satisfactory information is available in relation to the individual in respect of each of the matters in Schedule 2. (Regulation 32 (3)(d))

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Requirement Due date

This specifically relates to ensuring that references are verified. 30 October 2021

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Recommendations

 The registered manager should ensure that they have fully considered the impact that a new admission will have on the existing group of children. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 56, paragraph 11.4) Inspection report children’s home: 2607587 7  The registered manager should ensure that they have systems in place so that all staff receive supervision of their practice from an appropriately qualified and experienced professional, which allows them to reflect on their practice and the needs of the children assigned to their care. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 61, paragraph 13.2)

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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: 2607587 8

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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

Paula Kelly, Social Care Inspector Inspection report children’s home: 2607587 9 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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