Children's Home run by Cambian Childcare Limited in Bolton

Inspection report for children’s home: 1156098 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

This home is operated by a private company. It is registered to provide care for up to three children with social and/or emotional difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager has not yet submit a full application to register with Ofsted.

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Overall experiences and progress of

children and young people, taking into account

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inadequate

How well children and young people are helped and protected inadequate

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inadequate

The effectiveness of leaders and managers inadequate

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inadequate

There are serious and widespread failures that mean children and young people are not protected or their welfare is not promoted or safeguarded, and the care and experiences of children and young people are poor, and they are not making progress.

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inadequate

Overall judgement at last inspection: declined in effectiveness

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Enforcement action since last inspection:

This home was judged as requires improvement to be good at the full inspection on 14 and 15 December 2021. The home was judged to have declined in effectiveness at the interim inspection on 28 March 2022. Following that inspection, Ofsted issued two compliance notices under regulation 12 (the protection of children standard) and regulation 13 (the leadership and management standard). Inspection report for children’s home: 1156098 2 At a monitoring visit on 10 May 2022, it was determined that the provider had made sufficient progress to meet the steps in the compliance notices.

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

28/03/2022 Interim Declined in effectiveness 15/12/2021 Full Requires improvement to be good 09/04/2019 Full Requires improvement to be good 26/09/2018 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: 1156098 3

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inadequate

There are serious shortfalls in care planning, management oversight of the home and the safeguarding of children. Consequently, children’s progress and experiences have been limited, and their safety has been compromised.

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inadequate

There have been several serious incidents in the home. Staff struggle to de-escalate situations when children are in need of support. Consequently, the home environment is tired and worn. In addition, staff have regularly relied on support from the police due to incidents in the home. As a result, children have been criminalised.

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inadequate

Since the last inspection, three children have moved out of the home. Due to staff being unable to meet their needs, some children have had to move out with little notice. This means that some children’s experiences of moving on from the home are not planned or positive.

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inadequate

Staff do not support children effectively to follow structured routines. While a school placement has been sourced for one child, staff have struggled to support them to attend. This impacts on the daily experiences of the child and limits their progress in education.

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inadequate

Staff support children to spend time with their family members. However, staff have not understood one child’s plan for family time. This led to confusion around the arrangements of family time and left one child upset. This has had an impact on the relationship between staff and the child.

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

There is a lack of effective strategies to protect and support children. Although staff have had appropriate training in relation to behaviour management, this training is not consistently implemented in practice. This means that responses to serious incidents in the home vary, which leaves children at risk when in crisis.

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

When serious incidents have occurred, there have been delays in holding care planning meetings. Subsequently, incidents have increased in severity and frequency, which has resulted in one child having to move out of the home.

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

Staff sickness and the increase in serious incidents have led to additional staff from across the organisation caring for children. This impacts on the continuity of care offered to children. Despite the implementation of additional staffing to the home, the frequency and severity of incidents have continued. Inspection report for children’s home: 1156098 4 Risk assessments carried out prior to children moving in lack analysis of how risks will be mitigated. As a result, staff have not been able to meet the needs of each child living in the home due to the number of incidents that they have been unable to de-escalate.

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

Children are not receiving consistent help and support to develop their understanding about acceptable behaviour. Staff struggle to engage children in meaningful work. This is not consistent with the therapeutic programme outlined in the home’s statement of purpose.

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

A serious incident involving children accessing the office filing system has left paperwork in disarray. This means that children may have had access to confidential information and impacts on the staff’s ability to make plans for the day and access the information that they need.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

Since the last inspection, three managers have been in post. The current manager has not yet submitted a full application to register with Ofsted as required by regulation. The manager reported that the delay in submitting the application is due to managing a number of significant incidents in the home.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

Staff are not consistently receiving adequate support from the manager. Staff informed inspectors that they do not receive regular supervision or attend regular team meetings. This reduces opportunities for staff to reflect and debrief, and it impacts on the consistency of care for children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

Monitoring of the home is ineffective. When potential risks are identified, appropriate action is not always taken to address the concerns. An internal audit by senior managers identifies weaknesses in staff practice. However, appropriate action has not been taken to ensure that the risks identified are minimised.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

Managers’ and staff’s practice is not in line with the home’s statement of purpose or ethos. Consequently, children are not receiving therapeutically informed care or living in a therapeutic environment.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

Due to the safeguarding concerns raised, Ofsted is of the view that should any more children move into the home it would compromise the safety of children. Consequently, Ofsted has issued a notice restricting accommodation. Inspection report for children’s home: 1156098 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, the 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

In meeting the quality standards, the registered person must, and must ensure that staff—

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Requirement Due date

seek to involve each child's placing authority effectively in the child's care, in accordance with the child's relevant plans;

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Requirement Due date

seek to secure the input and services required to meet each child's needs;

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Requirement Due date

if the registered person considers, or staff consider, a placing authority's or a relevant person's performance or response to be inadequate in relation to their role, challenge the placing authority or the relevant person to seek to ensure that each child's needs are met in accordance with the child's relevant plans. (Regulation 5(a)(b)(c))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person should ensure that care planning meetings are undertaken in timely manner following serious incidents. 09 February 2023

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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; ensure that staff—

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Requirement Due date

provide to children living in the home the physical necessities they need in order to live there comfortably. 09 February 2023 Inspection report for children’s home: 1156098 6 (Regulation 6 (2)(b)(vii)(c)(i)(ii))

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Requirement Due date

This specifically relates to improvements being made to the physical environment of the home. The education standard is that children make measurable progress towards achieving their educational potential and are helped to do so.

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to ensure—

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Requirement Due date

support each child’s learning and development, including helping the child to develop independent study skills and, where appropriate, helping the child to complete independent study;

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Requirement Due date

understand the barriers to learning that each child may face and take appropriate action to help the child to overcome any such barriers;

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Requirement Due date

help each child to understand the importance and value of education, learning, training, and employment. (Regulation 8 (1) (2)(a)(ii)(iii)(iv))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person should ensure that children are registered with and attending an education provision. 12 February 2023

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Requirement Due date

The positive relationships standard is that children are helped to develop, and to benefit from, relationships based on—

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Requirement Due date

an understanding about acceptable behaviour; and

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Requirement Due date

positive responses to other children and adults.

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to ensure—

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Requirement Due date

meet each child’s behavioural and emotional needs, as set out in the child’s relevant plans;

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Requirement Due date

help each child to develop socially aware behaviour; 12 February 2023 Inspection report for children’s home: 1156098 7 encourage each child to take responsibility for the child’s behaviour, in accordance with the child’s age and understanding;

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Requirement Due date

help each child to develop and practise skills to resolve conflicts positively and without harm to anyone;

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Requirement Due date

help each child to develop the understanding and skills to recognise or withdraw from a damaging, exploitative or harmful relationship;

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Requirement Due date

strive to gain each child’s respect and trust;

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Requirement Due date

are provided with supervision and support to enable them to understand and manage their own feelings and responses to the behaviour and emotions of children, and to help children to do the same;

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Requirement Due date

de-escalate confrontations with or between children, or potentially violent behaviour by children. (Regulation 11 (1)(a)(b)(c) (2)(a)(i)(ii)(iii)(iv)(vii)(viii)(x)(xi))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person should ensure that staff develop positive relationships with children and are able to use de-escalation techniques effectively when children are in crisis.

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Requirement Due date

*The protection of children standard is that children are protected from harm and enabled to keep themselves safe.

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to ensure—

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Requirement Due date

assess whether each child is at risk of harm, taking into account information in the child’s relevant plans, and, if necessary, make arrangements to reduce the risk of any harm to the child;

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Requirement Due date

help each child to understand how to keep safe;

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Requirement Due date

have the skills to identify and act upon signs that a child is at risk of harm; 12 February 2023 Inspection report for children’s home: 1156098 8 understand the roles and responsibilities in relation to protecting children that are assigned to them by the registered person;

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Requirement Due date

that the home’s day-to-day care is arranged and delivered so as to keep each child safe and to protect each child effectively from harm. (Regulation 12 (1) (2)(i)(ii)(iii)(v)(b))

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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

lead and manage the home in a way that is consistent with the approach and ethos, and delivers the outcomes, set out in the home’s statement of purpose;

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Requirement Due date

ensure that staff work as a team where appropriate;

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Requirement Due date

demonstrate that practice in the home is informed and improved by taking into account and acting on—

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Requirement Due date

feedback on the experiences of children, including complaints received; and

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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)(a)(b)(g)(ii)(h)) 12 February 2023

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Requirement Due date

*The care planning standard is that children—

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Requirement Due date

receive effectively planned care in or through the children’s home; and

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Requirement Due date

have a positive experience of arriving at or moving on from the home.

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to ensure—

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Requirement Due date

that children are admitted to the home only if their needs are within the range of needs of children for whom it is intended 12 February 2023 Inspection report for children’s home: 1156098 9 that the home is to provide care and accommodation, as set out in the home’s statement of purpose;

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Requirement Due date

manage and review the placement of each child in the home; and

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Requirement Due date

plan for, and help, each child to prepare to leave the home or to move into adult care in a way that is consistent with arrangements agreed with the child’s placing authority;

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Requirement Due date

that each child’s relevant plans are followed;

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Requirement Due date

that, subject to regulation 22 (contact and access to communications), contact between each child and the child’s parents, relatives, and friends, is promoted in accordance with the child’s relevant plans. (Regulation 14 (1)(a)(b) (2)(a)(b)(ii)(iii)(c)(d))

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must compile in relation to the children’s home a statement (“the statement of purpose”) which covers the matters listed in Schedule 1. (Regulation 16 (1))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person should ensure that the service provided to children is in line with that set out in the home’s statement of purpose. 12 February 2023

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Requirement Due date

* These requirements are subject to a compliance notice.

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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: 1156098 10

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Cambian Childcare Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: 5th Floor, Metropolitan House, 3 Darkes Lane, Potters Bar EN6 1AG

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Inspectors

Rob Neild, Social Care Inspector Colin Jones, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 1156098 11 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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