Children's Home run by Cambian Childcare Limited in Plymouth

Inspection report for children’s home: SC471058 1 SC471058 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 and is operated by a national provider of children’s homes.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager was registered with Ofsted in March 2022.

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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

Date of last inspection: 10 January 2022

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good

Overall judgement at last inspection: requires improvement to be good

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children’s home: SC471058 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

10/01/2022 Full Requires improvement to be good 31/01/2020 Full Outstanding 13/03/2019 Full Good 06/02/2018 Interim Sustained effectiveness Inspection report for children’s home: SC471058 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

One child successfully moved on from the home recently in accordance with her plan and one child has moved in. He is settling well following a carefully planned move. The child is already making progress and is benefiting from the staff’s nurturing and individualised care. This is notable, as the child has experienced multiple moves in the last three years as his carers were not able to meet his complex care needs. The members of the consistent and stable staff team are building trusting relationships with him, from which he can begin to make further progress.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Care plans generally offer staff the guidance they need to meet the care needs of the child. However, the aims of the child’s placement, how these aims will be achieved and the required timescales are not clear in the child’s care plan.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The staff understand the importance of education and ensure that the child is attending and making progress and is placed at a school that can meet his educational needs. Before coming to live at the home, the child refused to engage with education. In addition to attending school, he is enjoying attending a vocational college course two days a week. This course will equip him with the skills that he will need to secure employment in the future.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The child’s physical and emotional health needs are met at the home. The staff support the child effectively to attend medical and dental appointments. The staff receive specialist training so that they can understand how to best meet the child’s health needs.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The staff are building positive relationships with the child’s family and ensure that visits are positive. These visits are gradually being increased. This will ensure that when the child leaves the home, he has established and positive relationships with his family members and therefore has a support network.

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

The child benefits from the clear routines and boundaries in the home because this helps him to feel safe and secure. The staff work consistently using effective behaviour management strategies which include playfulness, acceptance, curiosity and empathy (PACE). The use of this therapeutic method of behaviour management enables the staff to de-escalate difficult situations. Consequently, incidents are reducing.

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

The child is supported to learn from his mistakes and is rewarded for positive behaviour. He is encouraged to participate in regular physical activities, such as swimming and cycling. As a result, he has lost weight, has a good night-time sleep routine and is positively channelling his energy. Inspection report for children’s home: SC471058 4 Comprehensive assessments of risk take place and effective risk management strategies are available for staff to follow. The staff succeed in ensuring that the child is encouraged to take age-appropriate risks, such as cycling to school alone and being trusted to have free time out of the home.

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

The child reports that he feels safe living at the home and could name adults that he would speak to if he felt worried or unsafe. He knows how to make a complaint and feels listened to by the staff.

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

Comprehensive staff recruitment procedures are in place and are implemented effectively by managers. This helps to ensure that only suitable people are employed in the home.

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

The manager and staff work closely with safeguarding professionals. Following a safeguarding incident involving a previous member of staff, an extensive safeguarding review was undertaken by managers and an effective action plan implemented. This work has further strengthened the home’s safeguarding procedures.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager has had a positive impact in the home since her appointment. She provides strong and effective leadership and is creating a culture where all the staff have high aspirations and high expectations for the child they care for.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The staff team is consistent and stable. The staff report that they enjoy caring for the child and feel well supported and supervised by the manager. Because the staff are well led and supported by the manager, they in turn can offer high-quality support to the child.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Feedback from professionals is entirely positive. School staff praise the level of communication from staff to ensure that the child is given consistent messages by school and home staff. The manager actively challenges other services and professionals if she believes that they are not offering the child what he needs. For example, the manager successfully obtained a specialist medical assessment and emotional support for the child to ensure that his emotional and physical needs are being fully met.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The home provides the child with a homely and comfortable environment. Any damage to the home is promptly repaired. Photos of the child are displayed throughout the house, giving him a sense of belonging. The home has recently been further improved, for example through the purchase of a new bed for the child. Inspection report for children’s home: SC471058 5

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Recommendation

 The registered person should ensure that a child’s plan forms the basis of their care and providers should use their judgement as to what is relevant in each case, taking the plans listed in the definition in the Regulations as a starting point rather than a complete list or a tick-box exercise. This particularly refers to ensuring that a child’s plan documents the aims of their placement at the home, how these aims will be achieved and required timescales. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 10, paragraph 2.1)

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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: SC471058 6

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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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Children’s home details

Responsible individual: Victoria Elworthy

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Inspector

Tina Maddison, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: SC471058 7 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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