Children's Home run by Cambian Childcare Limited in Halton

Inspection report children's home: SC457433 1 SC457433 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 one child who may have emotional and social difficulties. It is operated by a large national provider of children’s homes.

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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: good

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report children's home: SC457433 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

15/05/2019 Full Good 11/07/2018 Full Good 08/11/2017 Full Good 16/03/2017 Interim Improved effectiveness Inspection report children's home: SC457433 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children living at the home receive good quality care that meets their individual needs and makes a difference to their lives. A child who lived at the home for five years, up to November 2021, enjoyed positive experiences and made significant progress.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

During their time at the home, this child was cared for by a settled, experienced and nurturing staff team. Staff had a detailed understanding of the child and met his emotional and social needs. The child built positive relationships with staff and developed a strong sense of belonging. Staff helped the child to become resilient and provided the support he needed to improve his emotional well-being, re-engage in education and improve the quality of his relationships with his family.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff helped to develop the child’s self-esteem by promoting his skills, talents and interests and celebrating his achievements. The child loved tennis, so staff helped him to join a local club and took him on holiday to a prestigious tennis academy in Spain.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The manager and staff supported the child to prepare practically and emotionally for adult life. Strong partnership working between staff, the local authority, the child and his family enabled the child to move into his own accommodation successfully.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The child was fully involved in the planning and decision-making relating to the move. Staff helped the child to express his views to the local authority. They made sure that the child had the support of an independent advocate to challenge the local authority. The challenge was successful, and the child was not moved until suitable accommodation was available that met the child’s needs.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

A child moved into the home in December 2021, and this was carefully planned. The manager ensured that the staff had the right skills and knowledge to respond effectively to the child’s assessed needs.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff have built a good rapport with the child and are trying their best to help the child feel at home. They are supporting the child’s interests in boxing, rugby and going to the gym.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The manager and staff understand the importance of education. They encourage and support the child to take part in education and informal learning. They are working closely with local authority and education providers to ensure that the child can resume full-time education as soon as possible. The manager has challenged the local authority about the delays in providing an education setting.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff understand and monitor the child’s health needs. They make sure that the child receives safe and effective advice, support and treatment. Staff encourage healthier Inspection report children's home: SC457433 4 lifestyles and are currently supporting the child to stop smoking, including arranging telephone consultations for the child with the stop-smoking clinic. Staff monitor emotional well-being carefully and, when necessary, seek professional advice on matters including sexual health advice, substance misuse and cognitive behavioural therapy.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The location and design of the house are suitable for meeting the needs of one child. The child’s bedroom is clean and well-maintained. Some parts of the house have been decorated recently, but further work is needed to improve the standard of the kitchen, lounge and dining room.

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

Staff understand children’s vulnerabilities and know what they must do to protect them. Staff actively and continually assess the dangers for each child and follow up- to-date plans effectively to reduce the risk of harm.

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

Staff are vigilant and recognise when a child may be at risk of harm, including from substance misuse, criminal exploitation or going missing from home. When staff have serious concerns about a child’s safety, they take appropriate action, in line with the safeguarding and missing-from-home procedures.

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

When a child goes missing from home, staff make every effort to find the child quickly and encourage them to return. The child is provided with the opportunity to talk to an independent person about the reasons for going missing from home.

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

The manager and staff escalate their concerns about a child’s safety, such as a child being missing from home frequently, to the local authority and police appropriately. They work well with these agencies to understand the dangers to the child, and they put plans in place to manage the risks and meet the child’s current needs.

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

Staff support the child to manage their feelings safely. Staff provide emotional warmth together with clear boundaries and expectations that help the child to feel safe. They understand the impact of children’s experiences on their development, relationships and decision-making. Staff are calm and understand that the child may communicate their feelings through their behaviour. Staff think about what is currently happening in the child’s life and what they can do to help . This includes listening to the child about how they want to be supported when they are upset.

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

Staff use clear and effective communication and their positive relationships with the children to deal with any problems constructively. For example, staff and a counsellor helped a child to learn the skills to cope better when things did not go their way. Inspection report children's home: SC457433 5

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager provides strong and effective leadership. The manager and staff are ambitious for the child to be safe, happy and to reach their potential, despite the difficulties experienced.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff are caring and resilient. They place the well-being of the child at the centre of their practice. Together, they make up an experienced, skilled and qualified staff team that provides the child with a high level of care and consistency. There are enough suitable staff available to meet the child’s needs and respond flexibly to any unexpected changes. The manager has made sure that the child is always looked after by staff who know them well.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager and staff have strong relationships with partner agencies. They work together to make sure that the child’s needs are met effectively. The manager makes sure that the plans for the child’s care are followed and reviewed regularly. The manager challenges the placing authority and other services appropriately if sufficient support is not being provided.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager uses monitoring and review systems effectively to gather a detailed understanding of the quality of care and how this affects the child’s progress and experiences. The manager uses this understanding to inform practice and find new and better ways to support the child. The manager uses the views of the child and the people in their life to help her understand what is working well and what needs to improve.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager provides staff with the right support, advice and guidance. Staff receive regular practice-related supervision. However, staff do not always use supervision to reflect critically on their practice, the child’s progress and learning from training. Supervision plays an essential part in the manager’s evaluation of staff’s performance and whether staff have the required knowledge and skills to support the child in their care. Inspection report children's home: SC457433 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

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) (2)(c)(i)) 30 March 2022

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that all employees—

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Requirement Due date

receive practice-related supervision by a person with appropriate experience. (Regulation 33 (4)(b))

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Requirement Due date

This relates to the registered person making sure that:

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Requirement Due date

During supervisions, staff are encouraged and supported to reflect critically on their practice, involvement in serious incidents and learning from training.

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Requirement Due date

Staff’s learning is evaluated following training and how staff use the knowledge to improve the care and support they provide for each child.

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Requirement Due date

Staff have the required knowledge and skills to meet children’s needs. 28 February 2022 Inspection report children's home: SC457433 7

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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: SC457433 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

Nick Veysey, Social Care Inspector Inspection report children's home: SC457433 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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