Children's Home run by Cambian Childcare Limited in Lancashire

Inspection report for children’s home: SC456535 1 SC456535 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 is registered to provide care for one child who may have social and emotional difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager has been registered with Ofsted since March 2013.

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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 (SCIFF) 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 requires improvement to be 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: 18 February 2020

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good

Overall judgement at last inspection: good

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children’s home: SC456535 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

18/02/2020 Full Good 04/07/2018 Full Good 15/11/2017 Full Good 20/03/2017 Interim Improved effectiveness Inspection report for children’s home: SC456535 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

There is one child living at the home. The child lives in a caring and nurturing environment where they receive care and support that brings stability to their life. She receives the help that they need to recover from harmful experiences and to move forward in their life. Parents and professionals said that they are extremely proud of everything that the child has achieved and that they are safer because of living here.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff build warm, consistent and positive relationships with the child. The child knows that staff care about them and know what is important to them.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The child has made very good progress in education. Her educational provision is individualised to suit her needs and wishes. Staff identified additional barriers for her and they are working with education providers to ensure that she has the support she needs. As a result, her attendance and attainment have increased. She is looking forward to starting college and is being effectively supported to explore her options.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children move in and out of the home in a planned way. Careful planning is undertaken to ensure that children’s wishes and feelings are taken into consideration. This means children settle quickly in their new homes.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The child’s emotional health and well-being is supported well. Staff have a clear understanding of their needs and meet these well. Staff actively encourage the child to eat a healthy diet and this is successfully helping her to develop a positive attitude towards food and healthy eating.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

A social worker said that because of the therapeutic support from staff and the child’s progress, the Child and Adolescent Health Care service has amended their plan of support. This has been welcomed by the child.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff worked hard during the COVID-19 pandemic to ensure that each child remained in contact with their families. Contact arrangements are generally managed appropriately. However, further clarity is needed for the child currently living in the home as to the arrangements to meet with specific family members. The child said that they are enjoying the freedom that they now have as the restrictions have been lifted. Inspection report for children’s home: SC456535 4

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

The manager and staff have created a safe home environment that protects children from harm. The child feels safe and has a strong sense of belonging. They know that they can talk to staff about their worries and that the staff will help them to be safe.

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

Staff are trained in safeguarding and child protection. Consequently, staff have the skills and knowledge to observe and identify any potential concerns and act to protect children.

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

Many risks to the child’s safety have reduced, for example, she has only been missing from home on one occasion. Furthermore, there has been a reduction in incidents of aggression towards staff and self-harm.

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

While drug misuse continues to be an area of concern, it is evident that this is being monitored and action is being taken staff to address this. Consequently, the child is engaging well with external services in relation to drug misuse.

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

Staff work creatively to enhance the child’s understanding about specific issues, such as fire setting. Staff are using a television series about a fire station to have open discussions with the child about the dangers associated with fire setting and the potential impact upon others.

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

Bullying is not currently an issue; however, this was a concern for a previous child. The records indicated that the child declined to engage in discussions around equality and diversity. It is unclear as to how staff supported the child’s understanding of this and how staff helped the child to develop their tolerance and understanding of others.

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

Staff recruitment practices are sound. However, recruitment records do not demonstrate why staff have been deemed suitable for their role. This is because managers have failed to explore of all the information available to them. Immediate action was taken to address this.

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

The child’s bedroom is personalised and reflects their individuality. However, some areas of the home appear tired, dirty and worn. The bathroom on the ground floor requires attention and the lock on the electric cupboard and light fitting in the lounge are not in keeping with a family home. The maintenance department visited during the inspection and work will commence on the property next week. Inspection report for children’s home: SC456535 5

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good

The home is led by an experienced and qualified registered manager and she is supported by her deputy manager. The manager and staff have created a family environment in which children can grow and develop.

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good

The manager and deputy are ambitious for children. There is a clear aspirational ethos across the team. This helps each child with their long-term plans and achieving good outcomes.

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good

Staff receive regular supervision and appraisal. They feel fully supported in their role and enjoy working at the home. This helps to retain staff and keep them motivated.

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good

Staff attend regular team meetings that help them to share current issues and practice. They attend a wide range of training to develop their skills and knowledge. This helps them to provide better care for each child.

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good

Monitoring of the home has not identified the shortfalls in the premises or record keeping. Some records, such as incident records and key worker record, do not fully tell the story of the child. This is because they contain misleading or conflicting information and some of the language contained in records is not appropriate, such as ‘absconding behaviour,’ or ‘challenging behaviour’.

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good

The manager works in partnership with other professionals and families to ensure that children have the right support. She ensures that professionals are kept up to date on the child’s progress and any emerging concerns. Professionals are very complimentary about the manager and staff and their commitment to the child. Inspection report for children’s home: SC456535 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

enable each child to participate in the daily life of the home. (Regulation 6 (1)(a)(b) (2)(c)(i)(ii)) 13 May 2022

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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

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)) 13 May 2022

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must recruit staff using recruitment procedures that are designed to ensure children’s safety. 13 May 2022 Inspection report for children’s home: SC456535 7 The registered person may only—

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Requirement Due date

employ an individual to work at the children’s home; or

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Requirement Due date

if an individual is employed by a person other than the registered person to work at the home in a position in which the individual may have regular contact with children, allow that individual to work at the home, if the individual satisfies the requirements in paragraph (3).

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Requirement Due date

the individual is of integrity and good character. (Regulation 32 (1) (2)(a)(b) (3)(a)

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Recommendations

 The registered provider should ensure that children are actively encouraged to explore topics around race, culture, gender, identity and diversity so that they can develop understanding and empathy towards each other. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations including the quality standards’, paragraph 8.11, page 39)  The registered provider should continually assess the risks around children’s contact with their families and other people who are important to them and detail the steps staff will take to manage any risks daily. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations including the quality standards’, paragraph 9.5, page 42)  The registered provider should ensure that written records tell the story of the child’s time in the home and that they are written in a way that is helpful to children. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations including the quality standards’, paragraph 14.4, page 62)

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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: SC456535 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, Hertfordshire, EN6 1AG

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Inspectors

Chris Scully, Social Care Inspector Marie Cordingley, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: SC456535 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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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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