Children's Home run by Cambian Childcare Limited in Shropshire

Assurance inspection report for children's home: SC476252 1 SC476252

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Registered provider: Cambian Childcare Ltd

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Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This home cares for up to three children who have experienced early life trauma.

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Information about this children’s home

There has been no registered manager since June 2021. There is an interim manager in post who has applied to registered with Ofsted. However, they informed Ofsted during this inspection that they have resigned from their post.

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Information about this children’s home

Date of last inspection: 7 September 2022

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Information about this children’s home

Judgement at last inspection: requires improvement to be good

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Information about this children’s home

Enforcement action since last inspection: none

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Information about this inspection

At this inspection, the inspector evaluated:

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Information about this inspection

 the care of children  the safety of children  the effectiveness of leaders and managers. The inspector looked closely at the experiences and progress of children, using the social care common inspection framework. This assurance 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’. Assurance inspection report for children's home: SC476252 2

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Findings from the inspection

We identified the following serious and widespread concerns in relation to the care or protection of children at this assurance inspection:

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Findings from the inspection

 The home does not have enough staff to safely care for the number of children it is registered for.  Safeguarding arrangements in the home are not always effective.  Leaders and managers do not take effective action when shortfalls are identified in the quality of care children receive.  Leaders have not taken sufficient action to address requirements made at previous inspections.  The home has not had a registered manager since June 2021.

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The care of children

The inspector found significant failures in the management and oversight of this home. This has resulted in shortfalls in the safeguarding of children. Children are receiving extremely poor care from an insufficient and inexperienced staff team. Consequently, children who live in the home do not have positive experiences. As a result, Ofsted has issued a notice of restriction of accommodation.

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The care of children

Prior to children moving into the home, managers complete an assessment of their needs. However, they do not consider in detail the needs of children already living in the home or the views of their professionals. Contingency plans are also ineffective. This has had a negative impact on the safety of children living in the home. When one child’s behaviour began to escalate, there was not enough staff to safely care for all children. Some children have been unable to remain in the home and have had to move to alternative placements. This is unsettling for those children and causes them further instability.

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The care of children

Children feel sad and unhappy living in this home, and they do not have positive experiences. One child became tearful when talking to the inspector. The child described how other children had broken their toys and belongings. This child sometimes felt frightened to attend school because of this.

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The care of children

Managers and staff do not help children enough to understand changes that occur in the home, for example new staff arriving and leaving and when children move in and out of the home. As a result, children feel anxious and live with uncertainty about their futures.

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The care of children

The instability in the home has had a negative impact on children’s attendance at school. Academically, one child is not achieving their potential. One teacher said one child often arrives late to school and without the correct uniform. They also report that the child often attends school looking dishevelled. Assurance inspection report for children's home: SC476252 3 Children are not receiving care in line with the home’s statement of purpose. They do not receive care that is therapeutic. Staff said to one child that their social worker would not come to see them if they did not change their behaviour. Inaccurate statements to children may result in children not trusting staff or professionals.

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The safety of children

Unsafe staffing levels have compromised children’s safety. Managers have raised concerns about this with the home’s responsible individual. However, the responsible individual did not take sufficient action to rectify this.

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The safety of children

Children’s risk assessments and plans do not contain up-to-date information. Neither do they contain enough detail about incidents that have occurred. As a result, staff do not have accurate guidance to respond to children’s behaviours and keep them safe.

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The safety of children

Staff are inconsistent when implementing routines and boundaries for children. As a result, children live in an environment that is unpredictable. Children feel helpless and frustrated. This has led to an increase in significant incidents occurring in the home.

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The safety of children

Staff do not have the skills to safely de-escalate children’s behaviours. This has led to children physically assaulting each other and staff. Other children living in the home have witnessed these incidents. Staff do not support and reassure children afterwards. As a result, children have felt frightened and scared. One child said to the inspector they would like to lock their bedroom door to feel safer.

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The safety of children

During incidents, there has been extensive damage to the home environment. Managers have taken action to repair some of this damage. However, some of this remains outstanding. This does not help children to settle.

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The safety of children

The recording of some incidents is of poor quality and littered with errors. There are gaps in the home’s physical intervention records. This compromises the manager’s oversight of children’s safety. Managers recognise this but have not taken effective action to improve staff practice.

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The safety of children

Staff have helped and supported one child who has suffered a bereavement. The child’s social worker was complimentary about this support.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers

The home has not had a registered manager since June 2021. The interim manager has applied to Ofsted to register. However, they informed the inspector that they have now resigned from their post. The deputy manager is also leaving.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers

Staff continue to leave. As a result, the home does not have enough staff to care for the number of children they are registered to care for. The staff team is Assurance inspection report for children's home: SC476252 4 inexperienced and new. As a result, Ofsted has issued a notice of restriction of accommodation.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers

There has been a high turnover of staff. Since the last inspection, several members of staff no longer work in the home. As a result, children do not receive continuity of care. Children who have attachment disorders experience frequent endings due to staff leaving. This is detrimental to their recovery and has caused a delay in their progress.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers

The manager has been compensating for the shortfalls in staffing levels and has spent a high number of hours working directly with the children. This has had a negative impact on their oversight and monitoring of the home. This includes monitoring to ensure that children’s medication is managed and administered safely. Senior managers have identified this. However, the minimal action they have taken has been ineffective.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers

Communication with external professionals is poor. Social workers and education professionals are not always made aware of significant events. Therefore, they are not able to provide oversight or monitor the impact on children. This compromises children’s safety and well-being.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers

Leaders and managers do not understand children’s experiences living in the home. This is because consultation with children is poor.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers

There has been a lack of progress in meeting the requirements raised at the last inspection. As a result, Ofsted has reissued most of them in addition to seven new requirements. Assurance inspection report for children's home: SC476252 5

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

07/09/2022 Full Requires improvement to be good 24/05/2022 Full Inadequate 23/03/2022 Interim Sustained effectiveness 14/04/2021 Full Requires improvement to be good Assurance inspection report for children's home: SC476252 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

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 develop and maintain effective professional relationships with such persons, bodies or organisations as the registered person considers appropriate having regard to the range of needs of children for whom it is intended that the children’s home is to provide care and accommodation. (Regulation 5 (a)(d))

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Requirement Due date

The registered person should ensure that there is good communication with professionals. In particular, they should inform professionals of events that could have a negative impact on a child’s well-being, therefore enabling them to support the child accordingly. 7 April 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; and

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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; 7 April 2023 Assurance inspection report for children's home: SC476252 7 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 children receive care as outlined in the home’s statement of purpose.

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Requirement Due date

This requirement was made at the last inspection and is restated.

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Requirement Due date

The children’s views, wishes and feelings standard is that children receive care from staff who—

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Requirement Due date

develop positive relationships with them; and

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Requirement Due date

take their views, wishes and feelings into account in relation to matters affecting the children’s care and welfare and their lives.

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the standard in paragraph requires the registered person to—

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Requirement Due date

ascertain and consider each child’s views, wishes and feelings, and balance these against what they judge to be in the child’s best interests when making decisions about the child’s care and welfare;

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Requirement Due date

help each child to express views, wishes and feelings;

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Requirement Due date

help each child to understand how the child’s views, wishes and feelings have been taken into account and give the child reasons for decisions in relation to the child; and

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Requirement Due date

regularly consult children, and seek their feedback, about the quality of the home’s care. (Regulation 7 (1)(a)(c) (2)(a)(i)(ii)(iii)(iv))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, ensure that children’s views, wishes and feelings about their experiences living in the home are ascertained and any concerns that arise are acted on immediately. Children should be supported to understand changes in the home, such as other children moving in and out of the home, in addition to changes in the staff team, including the manager leaving. 7 April 2023 Assurance inspection report for children's home: SC476252 8 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 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;

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Requirement Due date

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

communicate to each child expectations about the child’s behaviour and ensure that the child understands those expectations in accordance with the child’s age and understanding;

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Requirement Due date

help each child to understand, in a way that is appropriate according to the child’s age and understanding, personal, sexual and social relationships, and how those relationships can be supportive or harmful;

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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

understand how children’s previous experiences and present emotions can be communicated through behaviour and have the competence and skills to interpret these and develop positive relationships with children; 7 April 2023 Assurance inspection report for children's home: SC476252 9 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; and

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Requirement Due date

that each child is encouraged to build and maintain positive relationships with others. (Regulation 11 (1)(a)(b)(c) (2)(a)(i)(ii)(iii)(iv)(v)(vi)(vii)(viii)(ix)(x)(xi)(b))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, children should be helped to understand the expectations of behaviour in the home. Children should have consistent boundaries and routines from the onset. In addition, children should be encouraged to form positive relationships with one another and staff. This should be consistent and routinely implemented.

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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 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;

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Requirement Due date

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

take effective action whenever there is a serious concern about a child’s welfare; and

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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)(a)(i)(ii)(iii)(v)(vi)(b)) 7 April 2023 Assurance inspection report for children's home: SC476252 10 In particular, ensure that managers and staff understand their role in keeping children safe. They must also ensure that information contained in children’s risk assessments is accurate and that staff have the skills to implement strategies to keep children safe.

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Requirement Due date

Children should also receive support and reassurance after significant incidents occur in the home.

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Requirement Due date

This requirement was made at the last inspection and is restated.

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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 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 have the experience, qualifications and skills to meet the needs of each child;

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Requirement Due date

ensure that the home has sufficient staff to provide care for each child;

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Requirement Due date

ensure that the home’s workforce provides continuity of care to each child;

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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 child and use this understanding to inform the development of the quality of care provided in the home; 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)(c)(d)(e)(f)(h))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, ensure that the home has enough staff who are skilled and experienced to safely care for the number of children the home is registered to care for. 7 April 2023 Assurance inspection report for children's home: SC476252 11 In addition, ensure that the provider, leaders and managers take prompt action to rectify the shortfalls in the quality of care children receive.

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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 that the home is to provide care and accommodation, as set out in the home’s statement of purpose. (Regulation 14 (1)(a)(b) (2)(a))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person should ensure that they consult with all children and their social workers in a considered and meaningful way to explore any potential impact of new children moving into the home. 7 April 2023

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must make arrangements for the handling, recording, safekeeping, safe administration and disposal of medicines received into the children’s home.

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Requirement Due date

In particular the registered person must ensure that—

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Requirement Due date

a record is kept of the administration of medicine to each child. (Regulation 23 (1) (2)(c))

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Requirement Due date

This relates to the registered person ensuring that staff follow the company’s policy in regard to the recording and safe administration of medication. In addition, ensure that there are monitoring systems in place to ensure that children’s medication is managed safely.

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Requirement Due date

This requirement was made at the last inspection and is restated. 7 April 2023

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Requirement Due date

A responsible individual must— 7 April 2023 Assurance inspection report for children's home: SC476252 12 have the capacity, experience and skills to supervise the management of the home, or the homes, in respect of which the responsible individual is nominated. (Regulation 26 (7)(b))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, ensure that the registered provider ensures that the responsible individual has the skills to oversee and supervise the management and the operation of the home effectively.

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Requirement Due date

within 24 hours of the use of a measure of control, discipline or restraint in relation to a child in the home, a record is made which includes—

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Requirement Due date

details of the child’s behaviour leading to the use of the measure;

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Requirement Due date

the date, time and location of the use of the measure;

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Requirement Due date

a description of the measure and its duration;

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Requirement Due date

details of any methods used or steps taken to avoid the need to use the measure;

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Requirement Due date

the name of the person who used the measure ("the user"), and of any other person present when the measure was used;

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Requirement Due date

the effectiveness and any consequences of the use of the measure; and

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Requirement Due date

a description of any injury to the child or any other person, and any medical treatment administered, as a result of the measure;

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Requirement Due date

within 48 hours of the use of the measure, the registered person, or a person who is authorised by the registered person to do so ("the authorised person")—

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Requirement Due date

has spoken to the user about the measure; and

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Requirement Due date

has signed the record to confirm it is accurate; and 7 April 2023 Assurance inspection report for children's home: SC476252 13 within 5 days of the use of the measure, the registered person or the authorised person adds to the record confirmation that they have spoken to the child about the measure. (Regulation 35 (3)(a)(i)(ii)(iii)(iv)(v)(vi)(vii)(viii)(b)(i)(ii)(c))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, ensure that staff clearly record the use of de- escalation techniques and the context of any incident that involves physical restraint.

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must maintain records ("case records") for each child which—

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Requirement Due date

include the information and documents listed in Schedule 3 in relation to each child;

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Requirement Due date

are signed and dated by the author of each entry. (Regulation 36 (1)(a)(b)(c))

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Requirement Due date

The registered person should ensure that children’s records, including risk assessments and safeguarding incidents, contain accurate and up-to-date information that is legible.

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Requirement Due date

This requirement was made at the last inspection and is restated. 7 April 2023

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Recommendation

 The registered person should ensure that improvements are made to provide children with a more homely environment. In particular, ensure that any damage is rectified as soon as possible. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 15, paragraph 3.7) Assurance inspection report for children's home: SC476252 14

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Cambian Childcare Ltd

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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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Inspector

Sarah Berry, Social Care Inspector Assurance inspection report for children's home: SC476252 15 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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Inspector

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