Children's home run by Cambian Childcare Limited in Stockport

Inspection report for children's home: SC450992 1 SC450992 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 provides care for up to six children with a variety of complex needs, including behavioural difficulties. The home is privately owned and forms part of a large social care organisation, which offers therapeutic support.

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Information about this children’s home

The home has been without a registered manager for almost eight months. The previous manager was in day-to-day charge of the home for five months and did not submit a completed application to register with Ofsted. A new manager was appointed on 10 October 2021 and is in the process of applying to register. She is suitably experienced and is working towards the level 5 qualification in leadership and management.

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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

Ofsted carried out an assurance visit in December 2020 and the report is published on our 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 inadequate

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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. Inspection report for children's home: SC450992 2 Date of last inspection: 7 October 2019

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requires improvement to be good

Overall judgement at last inspection: good

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requires improvement to be good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

07/10/2019 Full Good 04/02/2019 Interim Sustained effectiveness 25/06/2018 Full Good 13/03/2018 Interim Improved effectiveness Inspection report for children's home: SC450992 3

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improvement to be good

A lack of consistent management oversight means that aspects of risk management have negatively affected children’s overall experiences and welfare at times. Shortfalls in staff training and safer recruitment practice have also contributed to the judgement of requires improvement in the experience and progress for children.

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improvement to be good

Since the assurance visit, six children have left the home and two children have moved in. At the time of the inspection, two children lived at the home. Children experience well-planned moves in and out of the home. With the support of staff, children learn the skills they need to succeed when moving on to independence.

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improvement to be good

The home is spacious and provides a homely place for the children to live. The communal areas are inviting, and children have input into the decoration of the home. More recently, the home has undergone extensive refurbishment of the kitchen and bathroom.

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improvement to be good

Staff ensure that healthcare plans clearly identify children’s individual needs. Statutory health assessments have been completed, and children attend required medical appointments. Children have access to specialist help when needed, such as mental health services. Collaborative working ensures that children’s health needs are promoted effectively.

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improvement to be good

Children build some trusted and secure relationships with some core staff. Children informed the inspector that they have adults around them that they trust and can speak to if they are upset or worried. This helps children to feel confident about their relationships with staff and supports their progress.

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improvement to be good

Children express their views, wishes and feelings through children’s meetings and ‘my chat’ sessions. This practice helps children to inform staff about what they think of the home and their care, and how they want to improve it. Current affairs are discussed as part of these meetings, which help the children to be informed about and understand the world around them. Children have undertaken some targeted work around online safety and equality, which was informative and well received by them.

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improvement to be good

Since the last inspection, eight new staff members have joined the home. Relevant recruitment checks are undertaken. However, when concerns are highlighted in references, managers have not shown professional curiosity to follow these up thoroughly to seek clarity and reassurance. This has the potential to result in staff working in the home who are not suitable to do so. Inspection report for children's home: SC450992 4 The manager does not always ensure that staff understand how to respond to children’s known vulnerabilities. For example, risk management plans for children do not consider key vulnerabilities around their age and cognitive understanding. Additionally, the risks for one child and their vulnerabilities around relationships have not been fully explored or assessed. This has left one child exposed to potentially vulnerable situations.

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improvement to be good

Staff respond to children’s challenging behaviours in a positive way, with the use of restraint kept to a minimum and only as a last resort. The manager and staff review most incidents that happen and consider ways of reducing the need to have to physically intervene to keep children safe. However, staff involved in restraint are not always spoken to in a timely way following an incident. This is a missed opportunity to take prompt action if needed.

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improvement to be good

One child has an education, health and care plan which details their low cognitive level of understanding. This is not reflected in the child’s care plans and risk assessments. As a result, it is not clear that the support being given to and the work being undertaken with the child around safe relationships are appropriately targeted to help her to understand what is safe and how she can keep herself safe if faced with vulnerable situations.

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improvement to be good

The manager has not reviewed the location assessment, and there is a lack of information about known risks within the local area. Out-of-date information and a lack of awareness of risk factors in the community mean that staff do not always understand potential risks to children in the area and how to respond should the need arise.

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improvement to be good

During the inspection, the manager acted to remove a potential ligature point in a child’s bedroom. Although staff supervision and support mitigated the risk to a degree, it is important that all potential risks are identified and addressed fully and quickly.

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improvement to be good

Children take part in regular fire drills to ensure that they know how to safely evacuate the home in case of such an emergency. However, recent refurbishment of the home has compromised the viability of the fire safety system. For example, several fire doors intumescent strips had been painted over. Leaders and managers took immediate action to rectify this during the inspection.

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improvement to be good

Children receive some good-quality direct work, and staff support children with compassion and understanding. There has been some thoughtful ‘staying safe online’ work done with children. Children told the inspector that they feel confident in discussing issues with staff and that staff always support and never judge them.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

The registered manager left the post in May 2021. A new manager was recruited and started in the same month. They started an application to register with Ofsted but did not complete it before leaving in October 2021. The current manager was Inspection report for children's home: SC450992 5 promoted from the role of deputy manager. She submitted her application to register with Ofsted 10 weeks later. This is being reviewed by the applications team at Ofsted to check that it is a complete application and can be accepted. The provider has not ensured that managers who are appointed apply to register with Ofsted as soon as possible.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

Due to inconsistencies in management arrangements, there have been shortfalls in the oversight of the standard of care provided to children. For example, managers have not addressed shortfalls in staff training and recruitment.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

Four staff hold the required level 3 diploma qualification. Three are currently working to achieve this within the required timescales. However, leaders and managers have not ensured that all staff have received mandatory training to meet children’s needs. For example, some staff have not completed safeguarding training and the safe administration of medication training. This has left staff working on their own with children without all the knowledge and skills they need in two areas that are key to maintaining children’s safety and well-being.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

Complaints are managed effectively and strategy meetings are arranged when needed, following allegations of harm. This ensures a multi-agency approach to concerns and that children receive support when incidents happen.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

However, there has been a lack of professional curiosity and challenge to a local authority to fully understand a significant relationship, cultural expectations and potential impact on the child’s life. This has left the child at potential risk of harm in a relationship that was not understood by staff. Although some action is now being taken, there was a delay in seeking a review of this arrangement.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

The new manager has worked in the home for several years. She is experienced and, in her short tenure, has already made some improvements. The manager is aware of the home’s strengths and needs, and has a clear plan for how she sees the home progressing. Inspection report for children's home: SC450992 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 positive relationships standard is that children are helped to develop, and to benefit from, relationships based on—

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Requirement Due date

an understanding about acceptable behaviour; and

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Requirement Due date

positive responses to other children and adults.

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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

meet each child’s behavioural and emotional needs, as set out in the child’s relevant plans;

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Requirement Due date

help each child to understand, in a way that is appropriate according to the child’s age and understanding, personal, sexual and social relationships, and how those relationships can be supportive or harmful;

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Requirement Due date

help each child to develop the understanding and skills to recognise or withdraw from a damaging, exploitative or harmful relationship; (Regulation 11 (1)(a)(b)(c) (2)(a)(i)(vi)(vii))

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Requirement Due date

This relates to ensuring children’s level of understanding of relationships reflects their cognitive developmental age as defined in their statutory plans. 17 February 2022

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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

that staff— 17 February 2022 Inspection report for children's home: SC450992 7 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;

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Requirement Due date

have the skills to identify and act upon signs that a child is at risk of harm;

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Requirement Due date

that the premises used for the purposes of the home are located so that children are effectively safeguarded;

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Requirement Due date

that the premises used for the purposes of the home are designed, furnished and maintained so as to protect each child from avoidable hazards to the child’s health. (Regulation 12 (1) (2)(a)(i)(iii)(c)(d))

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Requirement Due date

This relates to ensuring appropriate risk assessments are in place for children in relationships and environmental risks in the home environment are assessed.

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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

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

ensure that staff have the experience, qualifications and skills to meet the needs of 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 child and use this understanding to inform the development of the quality of care provided in the home;

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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)(c)(f)(h))

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Requirement Due date

This relates to ensuring that all staff undertake mandatory training to meet children’s needs and that monitoring and review systems are effective in capturing shortfalls. 17 February 2022 Inspection report for children's home: SC450992 8 The registered provider must appoint a person to manage the children’s home if—

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Requirement Due date

there is no registered manager in respect of the home; and

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Requirement Due date

is not, or does not intend to be, in day-to-day charge of the home. (Regulation 27 (1)(a)(b)(i)(ii)(iii))

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Requirement Due date

This relates to ensuring that any person appointed to manage the home applies to register as soon as possible and no later than six weeks after they have taken up post. 17 February 2022

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must prepare and implement a policy ("the behaviour management policy") which sets out—

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Requirement Due date

how appropriate behaviour is to be promoted in the children’s home; and

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Requirement Due date

the measures of control, discipline and restraint which may be used in relation to children in the home.

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Requirement Due date

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. (Regulation 35 (1)(a)(b) (3)(b)(i)(ii))

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Requirement Due date

Specifically ensuring staff involved in physical intervention are spoken to within timescale. 17 February 2022

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must review the appropriateness and suitability of the location of the premises used for the purposes of the children’s home at least once in each calendar year taking into account the requirement in regulation 12(2)(c) (the protection of children standard). 17 February 2022 Inspection report for children's home: SC450992 9 When conducting the review, the registered person must consult, and take into account the views of, each relevant person. (Regulation 46 (1) (2))

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Requirement Due date

This relates to ensuring the locality of the home is assessed each year and key people are consulted.

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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 for children's home: SC450992 10

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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

James Tallis, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children's home: SC450992 11 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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