Children's home run by Cambian Childcare Limited

Inspection report children’s home: 2623004 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 is one of several children’s homes operated by a private company. The home can provide care for one child who may have emotional and/or behavioural difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

If required, children can access the organisation’s school and therapy department.

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Information about this children’s home

The registered manager has been in post since the home was registered in March 2021.

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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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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

Overall judgement at last inspection: not applicable

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: not applicable Inspection report children’s home: 2623004 2

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Recent inspection history

Not previously inspected Inspection report children’s home: 2623004 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The child has lived at the home since it opened in March 2021. She has been influential in creating a welcoming and homely environment which she regards as her home.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff are highly nurturing in their approach to caring for the child. Relationships, some of which are parent-like, provide a sense of belonging for the child, who is settled and making good progress in many aspects of her life. A social worker said, ‘The staff have done amazingly. [Name of child] is in a different place to where she was before she came here. Staff are consistent and work together to meet her needs and keep her safe.’

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The child benefits from the unconditional care of a small and dedicated team of staff. Staff have her best interests at heart and show a genuine interest in her. They value and respond to her views, wishes and feelings and support her to contribute to her care plan and have a say in what happens in her life. When talking about her deprivation of liberty order (DLO), the child said, ‘Staff are listening to me and are working with me to get rid of my order. I have developed a plan, which I think is realistic, and staff are helping me work towards this.’

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Attendance and engagement in school has improved significantly since the child arrived at the home. Staff maintain close links with teachers. This ensures that the arrangements for supporting the child when she is in school keep her safe and maximise her potential for learning.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The child is encouraged to maintain a healthy lifestyle through good diet and exercise. Staff support her to attend routine appointments and engage with specialist health professionals such as psychologists and therapists. As a result, the child’s physical, emotional and mental health is continually improving.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

When not at school, the child engages in lots of meaningful and fun activities with staff. The child was keen to tell the inspector about her drama group, her interest in photography, her talent for baking and her poetry, which she sometimes uses to express how she is feeling.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff promote and support opportunities for positive contact. They work closely with the social worker and family members to ensure contact is well planned and as positive an experience as possible. Staff recognise how contact can affect the child and provide her with the emotional support she needs when contact has ended. Inspection report children’s home: 2623004 4

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

The child said that she feels safe. She expressed a confidence in staff, recognising their commitment to keeping her physically and emotionally safe.

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

The manager has a good knowledge of safeguarding and takes her responsibilities seriously in this respect. She can identify key safeguarding agencies and has used these effectively to enhance the support for the child in relation to child sexual exploitation.

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

Effective safeguarding practice contributes to the child’s sense of safety and well- being. Risk management plans are detailed, understood and consistently implemented by staff. Staff are trained in safeguarding. They are knowledgeable about specific subjects, such as child sexual exploitation and keeping safe online. This ensures that the child’s specific safeguarding needs are understood and met.

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

Incidents of risk-taking behaviour are extremely rare. This is considered to be a significant improvement on behaviour seen prior to the child moving to this solo home. It is difficult to genuinely assess whether this is down to her making better choices or to the restrictions imposed by the child’s DLO. Staff recognise the need to test this and are working with the child to reduce the external measures that are currently in place.

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

The manager and staff model consistent and caring behaviours that engender a genuine sense of security and belonging. Incidents of conflict are rare, primarily because of the respectful relationships that exist between the child and the staff. When fallouts do occur, staff work hard to rebuild relationships through reflective discussion and compromise.

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

Thorough vetting and checking during recruitment ensure that only adults safe to work with vulnerable children are employed. The manager is keen to be involved in the recruitment of staff and places a great deal of emphasis on matching new staff with the needs of the child.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The home is run effectively by a competent, nurturing and child-focused manager. Underpinned by genuine care and good childcare principles, the manager has worked hard to develop an ethos that places the needs of the child at the centre of the day-to-day running of the home.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager is supported by a young and enthusiastic team of staff that works hard to get the best out of the child. The staff are positive about their work and talk with pride and affection about the child. They are respectful of the manager’s leadership qualities and benefit from her wealth of residential experience. Inspection report children’s home: 2623004 5 New staff are inducted well, and ongoing support is delivered through regular formal supervision. Staff performance is regularly reviewed to ensure that staff remain effective in practice.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff benefit from a range of mandatory and needs-led training opportunities. Due to the pandemic, many of these have been online. It is positive that as restrictions have lifted the organisation has started to further enhance learning through face-to- face training, an essential component for this newly formed team.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager has a good understanding of the home’s strengths and a clear vision for moving forward. She makes good use of a range of internal and external monitoring systems to promote an improvement agenda.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Links with partner agencies are extremely strong. Professionals spoke with confidence and positivity about the impact that living at this home has had on the child’s safety and well-being. A social worker said, ‘The manager has a great awareness of where staff are up to with [name of child]. The manager is integral to planning [name of child]’s care and involves her all of the way.’ Inspection report children’s home: 2623004 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: 2623004 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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Inspector

Paul Scott, Social Care Inspector Inspection report children’s home: 2623004 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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