Children's home run by Cambian Childcare Limited in Stockport

Inspection report for children’s home: SC476236 1 SC476236 Registered provider: Cambian Childcare Ltd Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This home is owned by a private company. The home provides care for up to four children who have had adverse childhood experiences that have led to associated trauma and presenting complex behaviours.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager has been registered with Ofsted since 21 July 2021.

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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: 12 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 for children’s home: SC476236 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

12/10/2021 Full Good 11/02/2020 Interim Sustained effectiveness 09/07/2019 Full Good 12/09/2018 Full Requires improvement to be good Inspection report for children’s home: SC476236 3

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improvement to be good

The home’s registered manager has resigned and is currently working her period of notice. No children are living in the home, and the company has made the decision to relocate the staff team to other homes while they recruit a new manager. The home is in need of a refresh and refurbishment. This is in part due to the damage caused while children were living in the home. Staff had to remove items such as pictures, ornaments and mirrors from the home to reduce the risk of children harming themselves or staff.

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improvement to be good

Children’s experiences of living in this home have been inconsistent since the last inspection. Staff were unable to maintain consistent boundaries and the number and severity of incidents involving some children increased. As a result, some children lived in the home for only a short period of time.

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improvement to be good

Children who have lived in the home for longer have benefited from the good relationships they have developed with staff. As a result, they have made positive improvements in their lives. Children have moved on in a planned way with positive outcomes, such as returning home or moving on to semi-independent living.

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improvement to be good

Staff have supported children to get specialist health services when they have needed them. As a result, children have benefited from being prescribed medication or successfully moving away from drug use. Children who settled in the home enjoyed getting involved in new activities such as fishing, trampolining, horse riding and volunteering with rescue dogs.

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improvement to be good

Children have been helped to maintain and repair relationships they had with people who were important to them. For some children, this led to them spending more time safely with their families, and others were able to return home or to live nearer their families.

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

Risk assessments are in place and guide staff in how to respond to behaviours. For example, when a child went missing from the home, staff followed the guidance for the individual child. Over time, missing-from-home incidents reduced for all children.

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

The number of incidents where children were physically restrained increased during November 2022 from a previously low level. Incidents were clearly recorded and show that physical intervention was only used as a last resort and for as short a period as possible. Inspection report for children’s home: SC476236 4 Children are helped to understand risk through sessions that are planned or held in response to issues as they arise. As a result, children were able to increase the times they were able to have their phones and were allowed access to the internet.

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

Safer recruitment processes are in place, reducing the likelihood of unsuitable people working in the home. When the registered manager was not satisfied with the recruitment practice of an agency, she did not employ the staff they offered.

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

Allegations are responded to and referred to the relevant safeguarding agencies.

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good

The requirements and recommendations made at the last inspection have been met. Staff speak warmly about the registered manager, describing her as incredibly knowledgeable and supportive. All of the staff spoken to during the inspection were upset at her decision to leave the home.

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good

Since the last inspection, the home has experienced a period of disruption. Staff have not always been able to support the children’s complex needs, despite increased staffing levels and waking night staff. Impact assessments, that were completed when children moved into the home, have identified that risks may increase because of the profile of the children’s needs. However, the steps identified to address this were not sufficiently effective.

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good

Staff describe a period of extreme pressure when they worked exceptionally long hours to provide additional staffing and waking-night cover in the home. For some, this had an impact on their well-being. While most staff are up to date with core training, pressures in the home have led to some being unable to complete new or refresher training. Some staff felt ill-equipped to meet the needs of some of the children living in the home. Team building, planned for some months after staff from other homes joined the team, had not taken place by the time of this inspection. Although staff spoke of being supported by colleagues, records showed that some staff were concerned that not all staff adhered to the same boundaries. Supervision and appraisals have all been negatively impacted by the need for managers to step into operational roles to support the staff team.

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good

Staff advocate for children and have challenged local authorities when they consider they have not acted in the child’s best interest. Children are supported by advocates to express their views. They know how to make complaints and receive a timely response to them. The language used in letters they receive following a complaint is overly formal and not child-friendly. Inspection report for children’s home: SC476236 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 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 (2) requires the registered person to—

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Requirement Due date

ensure that staff work as a team where appropriate;

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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. (Regulation 13 (1)(a)(b) (2)(b)(c)(d)) 9 June 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 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)) 9 June 2023 Inspection report for children’s home: SC476236 6

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Recommendation

 The registered person should ensure that the complaints procedure is reviewed to ensure the outcome of any complaint is shared with a child in a way they can understand, and that if they are sent a letter, it is written in clear, child-friendly language. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 22, paragraph 4.13.)

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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: SC476236 7

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Cambian Childcare Ltd

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Children’s home details

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

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Inspector

Janet Fraser, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: SC476236 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 looked after children, safeguarding and child protection.

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Inspector

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Inspector

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Inspector

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