Children's home run by Cambian Childcare Limited

Inspection report for children’s home: 2675886 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 owned and managed by a private provider. It provides care for up to three children who may have physical disabilities, learning disabilities or emotional and/or social difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

The inspector spoke with all three children who live in the home during the inspection.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager registered with Ofsted in June 2022.

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Overall experiences and progress of

children and young people, taking into account

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good

How well children and young people are helped and protected good

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good

The effectiveness of leaders and managers good

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good

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

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good

Overall judgement at last inspection: not applicable

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: not applicable Inspection report for children’s home: 2675886 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

Not previously inspected Inspection report for children’s home: 2675886 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are developing trusted and secure relationships with the staff, who understand the children and their specific communication needs well. This view is supported by children’s families and professionals spoken to. One family member said:

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

‘[Name of child] goes to staff for cuddles. I can’t describe how wonderful they are with him. When [name of child] becomes upset, they deal with it so well. I can’t praise them enough.’

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The home is warm and welcoming. It is decorated and furnished to a high standard. The children’s presence is evident throughout the home. Photos of the children enjoying time with their family, each other and the staff adorn the walls throughout the home and in the children’s bedrooms. This helps the children to settle in quickly and provides them with a sense of security.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The children engage in a wide range of home-based and community-based activities supported by the staff. These activities are then captured in children’s memory books, which are a creative diary of the children’s journey since moving into the home.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff are creative in seeking the views of the children. A range of forums which meet the children’s specific complex needs are used to achieve this. This provides all children, regardless of their needs, with the opportunity to provide feedback and express their views.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

When children move into the home, their transition is managed sensitively and with care. This includes visiting them in a range of venues, including school and their previous home. Prior to moving in, the children and their family visit the home to meet the staff and the other children. This approach allows children to settle into the home quickly.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff ensure that they meet the complex health needs of all the children. This includes attendance at routine and specialist appointments as well as seeking advice from specialist health professionals. As a result, the children are making progress in key areas of health, such as diet, weight gain and toileting.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff understand the importance of the children spending time with the people who are important to them. This includes transporting the children to and from family time and supervising some sessions. Children’s families and previous carers are encouraged to visit the home and spend time with the children. This supports the children to maintain links with their family and therefore their identity. Inspection report for children’s home: 2675886 4

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

Children are kept safe due to the high level of supervision that is provided to them by the staff. Staff support the children well to manage their behaviour. Since the home registered, there have been no safeguarding concerns, missing-from-home incidents, physical interventions or consequences for children’s unwanted behaviour. This indicates that the children feel safe and that their complex needs are being met.

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

Safer recruitment processes are followed, and the appropriate checks are carried out prior to staff working with children. This helps to ensure the children’s safety.

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

Not all staff have an adequate knowledge of basic safeguarding procedures, particularly in relation to missing from home and allegations against staff. This means that not all staff have the necessary knowledge they need to keep the children safe should an incident occur.

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

Prior to children moving into the home, the registered manager carries out an impact risk assessment. This record identifies the potential risks for the children already living in the home as well as the potential risks towards the children coming to live in the home. However, not all known risks are considered in the impact risk assessments. There is also no evaluation from the registered manager as to the rationale of the decision to admit the children to the home. While there has been no impact on the children of this shortfall, they have been matched without consideration of all the known risks and how these behaviours may impact on each other.

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

Children’s records, including risk assessments and positive behaviour support plans, are thorough. They identify all known risks and include strategies for the staff to follow that are easy to understand. However, one example was identified where a child’s known risk has not been included in the risk assessment. This means that the staff do not have all the correct information about the children while providing care for them.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The home is managed by a permanent, relatively inexperienced and qualified registered manager. He enjoys positive relationships with the children and has an excellent understanding of their needs. He is passionate about his role and driven to provide the highest quality of care for the children in his care.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager has a good understanding of the strengths and weaknesses of the home. He is child focused and is willing to take on board challenge from professionals to continually improve the care provided to the children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager ensures that staff have a structured training programme that is specific to the individual needs of the children. The manager and his team complete the provider’s mandatory training, and training records are kept up to date. This Inspection report for children’s home: 2675886 5 means that the staff have the necessary knowledge and skills to care for the children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The most recent statement of purpose, while available at the time of the inspection, has not been sent to Ofsted as required. This means that parents, Ofsted and other professionals do not have the most up-to-date information to scrutinise to ensure that children are cared for in line with the statement of purpose.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager welcomes external scrutiny from the independent visitor. However, no visits were carried out during the first three months of the home opening. There is also a lack of consultation with children, parents, professionals and staff in the reports. Some visits have taken place while the children are at school, which means that the children are not given the opportunity to speak with the independent visitor about their experiences in the home. This also means that the independent visitor is unable to observe interactions in the home. This prevents the independent visitor from assessing appropriately whether the children are safeguarded effectively.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Some shortfalls with regards to record-keeping have been identified. Some children’s files do not contain all the required statutory information. Some children’s records do not include a date, which makes it difficult to understand the timeline of events. Other records do not specify which child the document relates to while others contain duplicated information. This shortfall means that the children’s records are not helpful for them to read and understand their experiences of being cared for.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff feel supported by the management team and are confident to seek advice and support. Supervision takes place regularly; however, the quality of the recording of these sessions varies depending on the supervisor. Some of the supervision records do not evidence any reflective supervision. This lack of consistency means that not all staff are able to reflect and make changes to their practice. Inspection report for children’s home: 2675886 6

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Statutory requirements

This section sets out the actions that the registered person 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 must comply within the given timescales.

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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

are familiar with, and act in accordance with, the home’s child protection policies. (Regulation 12 (1) (2)(a)(i)(vii))

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Requirement Due date

This specifically relates to impact risk assessments and risk assessments. 1 May 2023

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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.

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Requirement Due date

keep the statement of purpose under review and, where appropriate, revise it; and

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Requirement Due date

notify HMCI of any revisions and send HMCI a copy of the revised statement within 28 days of the revision. (Regulation 16 (1) (3)(a)(b)) 1 April 2023

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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; 1 June 2023 Inspection report for children’s home: 2675886 7 are kept up to date; and

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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 must ensure that an independent person visits the children’s home at least once each month.

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Requirement Due date

When the independent person is carrying out a visit, the registered person must help the independent person—

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Requirement Due date

if they consent, to interview in private such of the children, their parents, relatives and persons working at the home as the independent person requires.

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Requirement Due date

The independent person must produce a report about a visit (“the independent person’s report”) which sets out, in particular, the independent person’s opinion as to whether—

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Requirement Due date

children are effectively safeguarded; and

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Requirement Due date

the conduct of the home promotes children’s well-being. (Regulation 44 (1) (2)(a) (4)(a)(b)) 1 May 2023

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Recommendation

 The registered person should ensure that there are systems in place so that all the staff, including the manager, receive regular supervision so that they can reflect on their practice and the needs of the children assigned to their care. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 61, paragraph 13.2)

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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: 2675886 8

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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 Drakes Lane, Potters Bar EN6 1AG

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Inspectors

Paula Shepherd, Social Care Inspector Joanne Wallis, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2675886 9 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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