Children's home run by Cambian Childcare Limited

Inspection report children’s home: 2544803 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 privately owned home provides care for up to four children aged 10 to 18 years who may have emotional and behavioural difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

There is a manager in post, who is in the process of registering with Ofsted.

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Information about this children’s home

Due to COVID-19, at the request of the Secretary of State, we suspended all routine inspections of social care providers carried out under the social care common inspection framework (SCCIF) on 17 March 2020. We returned to routine SCCIF inspections on 12 April 2021.

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Information about this children’s home

We last visited this setting on 10 February 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: 28 November 2019

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good

Overall judgement at last inspection: good

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report children’s home: 2544803 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

28/11/2019 Full Good Inspection report children’s home: 2544803 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

There are four children living at the home. Since the last inspection, three children have moved into the home and three have moved out. The staff provide high levels of supervision for the children, tailored to the children’s needs.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The staff strive to develop positive relationships with the children, encouraging trust and open communication. Consequently, the children say that they can share their feelings and seek help or support from the staff when they need it.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff recognise the importance of children’s learning when children are not attending full-time education. Staff provide informal learning opportunities at the home and support children to access additional resources to support their engagement in school. One child who did not previously attend school is now attending education full time, with plans to start sixth-form college.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

For one child, the staff support family visits and seeing friends daily, despite the distance these visits entail. This has enabled the child to maintain important relationships and a sense of identity.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The COVID-19 pandemic has affected one child’s mental health. The manager has actively requested a mental health assessment for the child, and has been proactive in escalating this request and securing support. This has enabled the child to receive a specialist mental health assessment.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The staff do not have a good enough understanding of how to support and build children’s independence. Assessments of children’s independence skills are poor and lack clear planning. This means that staff are not clear about the objectives and targets for each child. This does not support the development of children’s emotional resilience and practical life skills.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The children relax around the home, and they have the space to learn and study. However, there are several outstanding maintenance issues. These include a broken garden fence, watermarks on some of the ceilings, a damaged door pane, deteriorating paintwork and areas of the house that are not clean. This detracts from an otherwise warm and comfortable home.

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

Children’s risk assessments inform the staff of the actions to take to reduce risks. Some of the children’s support plans guide the staff in meeting the children’s individual needs well. However, some warning signs and strategies are not clearly explained. There are areas of the risk assessments and children’s plans that are out of date. This increases the likelihood that staff could miss important information about how to manage children’s risk-taking behaviours and respond appropriately. Inspection report children’s home: 2544803 4 Staff act quickly in a coordinated way when children go missing from the home. One child’s missing-from-home incidents have increased over recent months. The staff have attended multi-agency meetings and work in line with the agreed strategies to continuously support the child’s safe return. The manager monitors children’s missing-from-home episodes to consider how patterns can inform the staff’s

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

responses. However, he has not always obtained the information from return home interviews. The failure to consistently follow up return home interviews means that potentially valuable information may be missed.

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

Managers deal with allegations about the staff and serious incidents thoroughly and effectively. Good cooperation between social workers and the designated officer ensures that investigations are actioned in a timely way. This collaborative approach maintains an external oversight and keeps the children safe.

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

Some of the children’s impact risk assessments undertaken before children move to the home are not good enough. These assessments have not sufficiently evaluated the children’s individual risks or how these could impact on children already at the home. Additionally, the manager has not always been able to get the necessary information about the child’s history from the placing authority. This has led to an unplanned ending.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The home has been managed by short-term managers since the last inspection. However, there is now a permanent manager in place who is in the process of registering with Ofsted.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager is working closely with the staff to encourage the adoption of a model of practice based on strong relationships. The staff value the manager’s coaching and child-centred style. This creates a positive team atmosphere that encourages the staff to remain focused on building strong relationships with the children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager works closely with social workers, children’s families and school staff. Feedback from professionals and families is very positive. They value the staff team’s regular updates. This supports effective and inclusive care-planning for children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager responds to complaints well. There are good systems to investigate and provide formal responses to complaints promptly. The manager has reflected on the complaints received and used the outcomes of these to inform and support changes in staff practice.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The recording of information is variable. Staff are not always recording all of their work. Therefore, some forms and records are not a true reflection of the work undertaken. This makes it difficult for the manager to evaluate whether staff are following set guidelines. Inspection report children’s home: 2544803 5 The manager has failed to ensure that objectives in children’s plans are specific and measurable with clear timescales. Staff may therefore not be aware of the urgency of actions set and how they should be completed. Inspection report children’s home: 2544803 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 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;

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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

understand and apply the home’s statement of purpose;

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Requirement Due date

help each child to develop resilience and skills that prepare the child to return home, to live in a new placement or to live independently as an adult. (Regulation 6 (1)(a)(b) (2)(a)(b)(vi))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, ensure that the staff record a clear plan for developing children’s independence skills. 10 January 2022

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that the home is a supportive environment that meets the needs of the children. In particular, repair the rear garden fence and first-floor door pane, remove the watermarks on the ceiling, and ensure that the home is freshly painted and clean. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 15, paragraph 3.9)  The registered person should ensure that managers work closely with the placing authority to understand the child’s relationship history and the impact that the child’s arrival may have on the group of children living at the home. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 38, paragraph 8.3) Inspection report children’s home: 2544803 7  The registered person should ensure that when a child returns to the home after being missing from care or away from the home without permission, the

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Recommendations

responsible local authority provides an opportunity for the child to have an independent return home interview. The registered person should take account of information provided by such interviews when assessing risks and putting arrangements in place to protect each child. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 45, paragraph 9.30)  The registered person should ensure that staff are familiar with the home’s policies on record-keeping and understand the importance of careful, objective and clear recording. In particular, ensure that the staff understand the actions in children’s risk assessments and know when to take action. Ensure that risk assessment plans are up to date and the objectives in children’s plans are specific and measurable. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 62, paragraph 14.4).

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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: 2544803 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, Metropolitan House, 3 Darkes Lane, Potters Bar EN6 1AG

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Inspector

Leemya McKeown, Social Care Inspector Inspection report children’s home: 2544803 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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