Children's Home run by Cambian Childcare Limited in Durham

Inspection report children’s home: SC456602 1 SC456602 Registered provider: Cambian Childcare Limited Interim inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This privately owned and managed children’s home provides care for up to three children who may have emotional and/or social difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager registered with Ofsted on 10 May 2018.

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Inspection date: 12 January 2022

Date of last inspection: 11 October 2021

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Inspection date: 12 January 2022

Judgement at last inspection: requires improvement to be good

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Inspection date: 12 January 2022

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report children’s home: SC456602 2

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

This home was judged requires improvement to be good at the last full inspection. At this interim inspection, Ofsted judged that it has sustained effectiveness.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

There are three children currently living in the home. The inspector spoke to two of the children during this inspection.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

Children continue to have good relationships with the staff. The children present as happy and relaxed in the presence of their caring adults.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

There has been a recent outbreak of COVID-19 in the home. The manager allocated specific staff to spend the whole isolation period in the home, together with the children, to minimise the risk of spreading the infection further.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

The staff do not always provide each child with a clean and hygienic bedroom. One child’s bedroom is dirty, unkempt and has damaged furniture. This fails to show the child that they are valued and important.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

Some of the communal areas have been redecorated and new items of furniture have been purchased, which the children say that they like. There is further work to be completed in other communal areas to improve the quality of the home.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

Children’s care planning documents often contain conflicting information. One child’s care plan has not been updated to include the strategies that have been requested by their placing authority. Therefore, the staff do not always have the current or correct guidance to follow to help them to understand how to meet the children’s needs.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

The staff support and encourage the children to attend their education provisions. This ensures that the children have good attendance and continue to make progress with their education.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

The manager has identified that, occasionally, there may be the need to lock the kitchen door in order to safeguard all the children in the home. However, there is no written guidance to help staff to understand the specifics of this measure. The manager does not keep this measure under review, therefore fails to consider whether this practice continues to be necessary.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

The staff hold children who display crisis behaviour to help to keep the children safe. The manager scrutinises this practice, which includes seeking the children’s views. This helps to ensure that the staff’s actions are necessary, proportionate and safe. Inspection report children’s home: SC456602 3 Staff still do not record all the sanctions that they impose on the children. The manager’s monitoring systems do not identify this issue. Therefore, there continues to be insufficient oversight of this practice, or consideration as to whether the children are treated fairly.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

The staff make persistent attempts to locate the children who go missing from the home. This helps to send the message to children that their safety is important. However, the manager does not ensure that the children are visited by an independent person following a missing-from-home incident. This is a missed opportunity to explore the issues that the children face or to identify measures to help to make the children safer.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

There are no shortfalls in relation to health and safety. However, health and safety documents could not initially be accessed and were not provided to the inspector in a timely manner. This, together with a failure to meet the previously issued requirements under regulations 6, 21, 35 and 39, demonstrates shortfalls relating to the leadership and management of the home. Inspection report children’s home: SC456602 4

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

11/10/2021 Full Requires improvement to be good 04/02/2020 Interim Sustained effectiveness 02/07/2019 Full Good 26/02/2019 Interim Improved effectiveness Inspection report children’s home: SC456602 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 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 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

ensure that the premises used for the purposes of the home are designed and furnished so as to—

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Requirement Due date

meet the needs of each child. (Regulation 6 (1)(a)(b) (2)(c)(i)) 12 February 2022

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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

provide personalised care that meets each child’s needs, as recorded in the child’s relevant plans, taking account of the child’s background. (Regulation 6 (1)(a)(b) (2)(b)(iv)) 12 February 2022 Inspection report children’s home: SC456602 6 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

helps children aspire to fulfil their potential; and

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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

use monitoring and review systems to make continuous improvements in the quality of care provided in the home. (Regulation 13 (1)(a)(b) (2)(h)) 12 February 2022

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Requirement Due date

any limitation placed on a child’s privacy or access to any area of the home’s premises—

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Requirement Due date

is kept under review and, if necessary, revised. (Regulation 21 (c)(iii)) 12 February 2022

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Requirement Due date

within 24 hours of the use of a measure of control, discipline or restraint in relation to a child in the home, a record is made which includes—

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Requirement Due date

details of the child’s behaviour leading to the use of the measure;

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Requirement Due date

the date, time and location of the use of the measure;

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Requirement Due date

a description of the measure and its duration;

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Requirement Due date

details of any methods used or steps taken to avoid the need to use the measure;

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Requirement Due date

the name of the person who used the measure ("the user"), and of any other person present when the measure was used;

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Requirement Due date

the effectiveness and any consequences of the use of the measure; and 12 February 2022 Inspection report children’s home: SC456602 7 within 48 hours of the use of the measure, the registered person, or a person who is authorised by the registered person to do so ("the authorised person")—

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Requirement Due date

has spoken to the user about the measure; and

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Requirement Due date

has signed the record to confirm it is accurate; and

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Requirement Due date

within 5 days of the use of the measure, the registered person or the authorised person adds to the record confirmation that they have spoken to the child about the measure. (Regulation 35 (3)(a)(i)(ii)(iii)(iv)(v)(vi)(vii)(b)(i)(ii)(c))

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that a record is made of any complaint, the action taken in response, and the outcome of any investigation. (Regulation 39 (3))

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Requirement Due date

There have been no complaints made since the last inspection. Therefore, the progress in meeting this requirement cannot be evaluated. For this reason, the requirement is restated. 12 February 2022

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Recommendation

 The registered person should ensure that the responsible local authority provides an opportunity for the child to have an independent return home interview, following a child returning to the home after being missing from care. Homes 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)

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Information about this inspection

This inspection focused on the effectiveness of the home and the progress and experiences of children and young people since the most recent full inspection.

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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: SC456602 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: Caretech Estates Limited, Metropolitan House, 3 Darkes Lane, Potters Bar EN6 1AG

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Inspector

Paula Kelly, Social Care Inspector Inspection report children’s home: SC456602 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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