Children's Home run by Cambian Childcare Limited in Lancashire

Inspection report for children’s home: SC483846 1 SC483846 Registered provider: Cambian Childcare Limited

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Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This privately operated children’s home provides care for up to five children. The provider states in their statement of purpose that they support children with emotional and social difficulties and can offer a wraparound care experience to children from a range of culturally and ethnically diverse backgrounds.

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Information about this children’s home

A permanent manager is in place, but they are not yet registered 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/or widespread failures that mean children 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: requires improvement to be good

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inadequate

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children’s home: SC483846 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

26/04/2022 Full Requires improvement to be good 25/01/2022 Full Requires improvement to be good 09/03/2020 Interim Sustained effectiveness 18/06/2019 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: SC483846 3

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inadequate

Children’s overall progress and experiences have been adversely affected by significant shortfalls in safeguarding practice and the leadership and management of the home.

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inadequate

The home’s appearance looks institutionalised. The home is situated next to another children’s home and attached to a school that is operated by the same company. Some of the outside area belongs to the school, and there is a high fence separating the small garden area that is available for the children to use from the school area. Additionally, the home environment is not personalised to children’s individual needs. This does not help children to feel comfortable in a homely environment.

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inadequate

There have been significant staff changes over the last year. This has had a negative effect on children’s overall experiences and progress. A child told the inspector that ‘everybody leaves’. Therefore, children do not have the opportunity to build relationships with staff who can support them and help them make progress in their lives.

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inadequate

Children do not have structures and routines in their day-to-day lives. When children do not attend education, they do not have any structure to their days. One of the children has not attended education or been involved in educational activities for some time. Staff do not help the child to attend school or to complete educational activities at home. This means that children are missing out on the opportunity to learn and socialise with their peers. This limits their future opportunities.

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inadequate

Staff do not have the necessary training to help them meet children’s individual needs. The new acting manager has started to address this by putting in place training that will support staff’s knowledge, although this has just started.

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

The leadership team does not notify Ofsted or the relevant person within the local authority when there are allegations against staff. The actions of the leadership team does not demonstrate that children are kept safe. The leadership team decided that members of staff could remain working at the home during an investigation into these allegations, and this was not agreed with the relevant person in the local authority. This left children at risk of harm.

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

A child’s friend stayed overnight in the child’s bedroom. The staff were not aware of this. The child was only discovered the following morning. This demonstrates that children are not monitored effectively to ensure that they are safe. Inspection report for children’s home: SC483846 4 Risk management plans are not updated to include children’s vulnerabilities. This does not help staff in practice to keep children safe.

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

Records of the physical holding of children do not include sufficient details. The documents do not provide a clear overview of the behaviour that led to the measure and the holds used. There is no evidence of an individual debrief with both the child and staff member. The manager could not demonstrate that this practice is safe.

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

Some staff were not aware of the whistle-blowing policy. This means that staff do not fully understand their roles and responsibilities in protecting children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

The home has not had a registered manager in post since January 2022. There has been an acting manager in post who has now left the company. Currently, another acting manager is in post. The new acting manager has not submitted her application to register with Ofsted.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

Staff describe feeling unsupported by the previous acting manager and senior leaders and have made allegations of a bullying culture being present in the home. This negatively effects staff morale.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

Staff do not receive consistent supervision. Supervision records do not demonstrate that staff reflect on incidents to improve the care they provide for children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

Some staff are inexperienced and do not have the knowledge and skills to meet the children’s needs. Staff training is not sufficient for them to care for the children in the home effectively.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

The manager’s monitoring had several significant omissions. The children’s records do not accurately describe staff actions while on duty. This means important issues and actions are missed, and not all staff are aware of what actions have been taken the night before, leading to inconsistencies in the care of the children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

Children’s consequences are ineffective and, at times, unfair. The new manager has picked up on some of these issues and is starting to make positive changes. The manager also has oversight of another home within the organisation. This means that some of the changes required are taking time to take effect. Inspection report for children’s home: SC483846 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 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

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

are familiar with, and act in accordance with, the home’s child protection policies;

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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)(v)(vii)(b)) 2 July 2023

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Requirement Due date

* 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

help each child to achieve the child’s education and training targets, as recorded in the child’s relevant plans; 2 July 2023 Inspection report for children’s home: SC483846 6 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

promote opportunities for each child to learn informally. (Regulation 8 (1) (2)(a)(i)(iii)(v))

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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 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

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

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Requirement Due date

research and developments in relation to the ways in which the needs of children are best met; and

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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)(c)(d)(e)(g)(i)(ii)(h))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, ensure that the home is fully staffed with skilled, experienced and trained people who can meet children’s needs. In addition, ensure that staff’s practice is evaluated through reflective supervision. 31 July 2023 Inspection report for children’s home: SC483846 7 The registered person must notify HMCI and each other relevant person without delay if—

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Requirement Due date

a child is involved in or subject to, or is suspected of being involved in or subject to, sexual exploitation;

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Requirement Due date

an incident requiring police involvement occurs in relation to a child which the registered person considers to be serious;

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Requirement Due date

there is an allegation of abuse against the home or a person working there;

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Requirement Due date

a child protection enquiry involving a child —

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Requirement Due date

concludes (in which case, the notification must include the outcome of the child protection enquiry); or

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Requirement Due date

there is any other incident relating to a child which the registered person considers to be serious. (Regulation 40 (4)(a)(b)(c)(d)(i)(ii)(e)) 31 July 2023

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must recruit staff using recruitment procedures that are designed to ensure children’s safety.

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Requirement Due date

employ an individual to work at the children’s home; or

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Requirement Due date

if an individual is employed by a person other than the registered person to work at the home in a position in which the individual may have regular contact with children, allow that individual to work at the home,

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Requirement Due date

if the individual satisfies the requirements in paragraph (3). The requirements are that—

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Requirement Due date

the individual is of integrity and good character;

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Requirement Due date

the individual has the appropriate experience, qualification and skills for the work that the individual is to perform;

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Requirement Due date

the individual is mentally and physically fit for the purposes of the work that the individual is to perform; and

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Requirement Due date

full and satisfactory information is available in relation to the individual in respect of each of the matters in Schedule 2. 31 July 2023 Inspection report for children’s home: SC483846 8 32 (1) (2)(a)(b) (3)(a)(b)(c)(d))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, ensure that staff are properly equipped with the knowledge and skills that will support them to meet the needs of the children in the home.

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that the home is welcoming and nurturing and that it conveys a homely and domestic rather than institutional impression. (‘Guide to the Children’s Home’s Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 14, paragraph 3.9)  The registered person should ensure that managers and staff receive timely and supportive supervision that allows them to reflect on and learn from their practice. (‘Guide to the Children’s Home’s 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: SC483846 9

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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 Darkes Lane, Potters Bar EN6 1AG

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Inspector

Cathy Wilkins, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: SC483846 10 inspects 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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