Children's home run by Cambian Childcare Limited

Inspection report for children’s home: 2631595 1 Registered provider: Cambian Childcare Limited Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

p.1

Information about this children’s home

This home is privately owned by a national provider. The home provides care for up to five children who have experienced, or who are at risk of, child sexual exploitation and who are likely to experience social and emotional difficulties due to past trauma.

p.1

Overall experiences and progress of

children and young people, taking into account

p.1

good

How well children and young people are helped and protected good

p.1

good

The effectiveness of leaders and managers good

p.1

good

The children’s home provides effective services that meet the requirements for good.

p.1

good

Date of last inspection: 16 November 2021

p.1

good

Overall judgement at last inspection: good

p.1

good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children’s home: 2631595 2

p.1

Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

16/11/2021 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: 2631595 3

p.2

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Two children were living at the home at the time of the inspection. Children build positive and trusting relationships with staff and this helps them to make progress in different areas of their lives.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children have made good progress with their education. Staff have close links with the children’s school, which is run by the same provider. This helps ensure that any challenges relating to children’s education are addressed. Both children have excellent attendance, despite previous disruption to their education. One child has received an award for how much their attendance has improved, which they are very proud of. Staff prioritising children’s education has led to the children achieving more in this area.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff work with children to ensure that their health needs are met. They help and encourage children to access medical appointments when needed. There is a programme of therapeutic support available to children. This focuses on understanding children’s needs and then identifying and providing individualised support for them. Children engage well in this work. This provide them with different strategies to manage the trauma they have experienced and risks that are present for them.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The staff generally plan children’s care well. Children’s plans are detailed and contain clear information about how staff meet their needs. Children are encouraged to contribute to their plans and their views are included. However, one child’s plan relating to when they see their family was lacking in detail and not up to date. Lack of accurate information in relation to children seeing their families means that plans are not clear for staff and, potentially, for children.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children take part in a wide range of activities. They have recently been on days out to the beach and a theme park, which they enjoyed. Activities are well planned and the dynamics of group activities carefully considered. A good range of activities provides children with positive and fun experiences.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Due to risks for children, there are a number of restrictions on their freedom. However, staff still encourage independence for children. Going out unsupervised is carefully planned and risks are balanced with the need to allow appropriate levels of freedom. Children are also helped to learn skills that they will need later in life. They often cook with staff and are encouraged to do jobs around the home.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The house is generally well maintained and is homely and welcoming. It is furnished to a high standard and children are able to contribute to its decoration, including personalising their bedrooms. However, the garden is not well maintained, with a large number of weeds throughout. This makes it a less inviting environment for children to spend time in. Inspection report for children’s home: 2631595 4

p.3

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

Children have highly complex needs and are assessed to be at high risk of child sexual exploitation. Staff understand these risks well. Children’s risk assessments are clear and detailed. They contain strategies for staff to manage risks and keep children safe.

p.4

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

Specific protocols for children who go missing from home are shared with police. Sharing this information has helped ensure good responses from police when needed. Staff are proactive in their response to incidents of children going missing from home. They search for children and report them to police without delay. Staff work closely with police and other relevant people to help locate children and, when they are found, staff welcome them home. On numerous occasions, this approach has prevented children being exposed to greater levels of risk.

p.4

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

One incident involved two children going to London, where there was a significant risk of exploitation. Staff shared information about these risks and took steps to ensure children were returned safely. However, staff do not routinely ensure that children have contact numbers for the home on them. The manager took steps during the inspection to change this.

p.4

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

There have been a number of allegations made against staff. Staff respond to these well and managers are made aware without delay. Managers take prompt actions, referring allegations to the local authority designated officer (LADO) and sharing concerns with children’s social workers. Managers work with others to ensure that investigations are completed. The LADO gave positive feedback about communication from managers and the quality of the investigations. Good responses to safeguarding concerns help ensure children are kept safe.

p.4

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Managers are passionate about the home and strive to provide the best possible care for children. Managers are skilled and knowledgeable and have developed good systems, which ensure there is effective monitoring of children’s care.

p.4

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff feel well supported by managers, saying that they provide a visible presence. Regular supervisions include a good level of discussion about children’s needs and how these are met.

p.4

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Team meetings are used to good effect. They provide a forum for staff to think about different challenges and reflect on these. After a child recently moved on, a section of the team meeting was put aside for staff to discuss their feelings about this. This demonstrates that managers have a good understanding of the effect that their roles can have on staff, and seek to provide a supportive environment for them to be able to manage this. Inspection report for children’s home: 2631595 5 Staff are provided with a wide range of training. Before new staff work at the home, they undertake a 12-day programme of training. This helps provide them with a good level of knowledge. Once in role, training is ongoing and related to the specific needs of children. Good levels of training help ensure that staff are skilled and knowledgeable about how to meet children’s needs.

p.4

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager is an effective advocate for children. When she felt one child was not being provided with the right service from their local authority, she challenged them in a professional manner. She also responds well to concerns raised by children. If children make a complaint, then the manager undertakes a thorough investigation, involving children and feeding back the outcome of it. Being a strong advocate for children and taking their concerns seriously demonstrates to children that their views are important and that staff work to promote their rights.

p.5

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

There have been significant staffing challenges at the home. A number of staff have left, some due to unforeseen circumstances, and recruiting new staff has been difficult. However, managers work closely with other homes owned by the organisation to manage this situation in a way that minimises disruption for children as much as possible. This helps maintain good consistency of care, despite these challenges. Inspection report for children’s home: 2631595 6

p.5

Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that the home is a nurturing and supportive environment that meets the needs of children. In particular, ensure that the garden is well maintained and suitable for children to use. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 15, paragraph 3.9)  The registered person should ensure that staff support children to be aware of and manage their own safety both inside and outside the home to the extent that any good parent would. In particular, ensure that children are provided with contact details for the home which they can carry on them, and that they are helped to understand how to manage situations that could present a risk for them. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 34, paragraph 9.9)  The registered person should ensure that the arrangements for contact with families are included in children’s placement plans, agreed between the registered

p.6

Recommendations

person, the child’s placing authority and updated regularly. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 58, paragraph 11.15)

p.6

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: 2631595 7

p.6

Children’s home details

Registered provider: Cambian Childcare Limited

p.7

Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Metropolitan House, 3 Darkes Lane, Potters Bar EN6 1AG

p.7

Children’s home details

Responsible individual: Dennise Springett

p.7

Inspectors

Joe Cox, Social Care Inspector Paula Lewis, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2631595 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.

p.7

Inspectors

If you would like a copy of this document in a different format, such as large print or Braille, please telephone 0300 123 1231, or email enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk . You may reuse this information (not including logos) free of charge in any format or medium, under the terms of the Open Government Licence. To view this licence, visit www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence , write to the Information Policy Team, The National Archives, Kew, London TW9 4DU, or email: psi@nationalarchives.gsi.gov.uk .

p.8

Inspectors

Interested in our work? You can subscribe to our monthly newsletter for more information and updates: http://eepurl.com/iTrDn .

p.8

Inspectors

T: 0300 123 1231 Textphone: 0161 618 8524 E: enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk W: www.gov.uk/ofsted

p.8