Children's Home run by Cambian Childcare Limited in Cornwall

Inspection report children’s home: 2617923 1 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

The home provides care for up to two children who may have emotional and/or behavioural care needs. It is part of a large organisation that operates children’s homes in the local area.

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Information about this children’s home

A new manager is in post and has applied to register with Ofsted. One child was living in the home at the time of the inspection.

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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 good

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requires improvement to be good

The effectiveness of leaders and managers requires improvement to be good

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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.

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requires improvement to be good

Date of last inspection: 26 October 2021

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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 Inspection report children’s home: 2617923 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

26/10/2021 Full Good Inspection report children’s home: 2617923 3

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improvement to be good

Currently, one child lives in this warm and friendly home. It is well kept. There are photos of the child’s activities with staff and the child’s family throughout the home. There are no locked doors, and staff and the child spend lots of time together. They speak to one another with humour and affection.

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improvement to be good

Since the last inspection, the children living in the home have left as the manager and staff were not able to meet their needs. Despite this, staff kept positive relationships with both children. They were able to support them to move on and kept in contact with them.

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improvement to be good

The manager and staff use a playful and compassionate approach to help the current child to manage his routines. He now accepts reasonable boundaries around his behaviour. He has made progress in several aspects of his life. He regularly attends school and health appointments. The inspector observed a loving, close relationship between the child and staff. However, his views are not consistently recorded and considered by staff.

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improvement to be good

Leaders and managers do not review children’s care plans effectively to show how children are developing. For example, important conversations with the current child are linked to how he behaves but are not always linked to how this helps him to progress. Leaders and managers acknowledge that care planning needs to improve.

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improvement to be good

The manager and staff are familiar with the child’s religious beliefs. They encourage the child to attend his faith group and follow his traditions. This approach has helped the child to stay close to his family. Staff understand that the child’s family is very important to him, and they make sure that he sees his family regularly.

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improvement to be good

The manager made a careful plan to welcome the current child. She made sure that the recent disruption to the management of the home, and one child leaving the placement, had minimal impact on him. However, the manager accepts that further action is needed to show how their care is positively affecting the child’s outcomes.

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

The manager and staff understand and manage risks to the child to keep him safe. For example, they responded quickly to online safety risks to the child. Staff worked in partnership with other agencies and the child’s family to create a consistent protective response.

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

Despite considerable efforts, staff were not able to keep the children who previously lived in the home safe or themselves safe. The manager and staff have made Inspection report children’s home: 2617923 4 changes to how children are introduced to the home. This has reduced the risk of incidents happening again.

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

Staff did work in partnership with other agencies to disrupt one child’s connection to criminal exploitation. When he went missing, staff provided a well-planned and coordinated response. Their care gave him a choice about how to respond to his risk-taking behaviour.

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

Staff had a long and trusting relationship with the other child. However, they were not able to meet the child’s changing needs.

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

Leaders and managers effectively pursue safeguarding incidents involving staff. They use the outcomes to improve practice in the home. For example, leaders have strengthened the role of the safeguarding lead who has oversight of a case.

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good

Leaders and the manager have spent time with the staff and other agencies to reflect on the breakdown of the other children’s placements. They are developing a better understanding of how staff can effectively support a child in the home. For example, managers put in place relevant diversity training for staff to support the current child’s needs.

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good

Leaders and the manager recognise that staff did not always respond consistently to children’s behaviours due to management and staff changes in the home. This had a negative impact on one child and reduced the ability of staff to respond to the other child. They are addressing these issues, but there is further progress to make.

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good

The manager is relatively new and stepped up to the position at short notice. Leaders support the manager; for example, they are introducing coaching for all managers. However, changes in management have left the children and staff feeling unsettled. Some staff are new. The manager is at an early stage of building a cohesive team to increase staff’s confidence and experience. All staff are suitably qualified or enrolled to be qualified.

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good

Team meetings are under used and form part of the plan to develop and support staff. The manager has involved clinical support to better understand the child’s needs. She is setting up a supportive team leader group, which will include a deputy manager to strengthen the team’s performance.

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good

The manager listens to external advice to improve practice. This has helped to build relationships between staff and the child. Inspection report children’s home: 2617923 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 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

understand and apply the home’s statement of purpose;

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Requirement Due date

understand and apply the home’s statement of purpose;

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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)(a)(b)(i)(iv))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, ensure that care plans are sufficiently detailed to enable staff to consistently respond to a child’s needs. 26/08/2022

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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

understand the impact that the quality of care provided in the home is having on the progress and experiences of each 26/08/2022 Inspection report children’s home: 2617923 6 child and use this understanding to inform the development of the quality of care provided in the home. (Regulation 13 (1)(a)(b) (2)(f))

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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: 2617923 7

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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: Nicola McClements

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Inspector

Justine Hosking, Social Care Inspector Inspection report children’s home: 2617923 8 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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