Children's Home run by Cambian Childcare Limited in Birmingham

Inspection report for children’s home: SC065855 1 SC065855 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 children’s home is privately owned. It provides care for up to three children with emotional or behavioural difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager registered with Ofsted in May 2023.

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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

Date of last inspection: 6 December 2022

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good

Overall judgement at last inspection: good

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children’s home: SC065855 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

06/12/2022 Full Good 08/03/2022 Interim Improved effectiveness 22/06/2021 Full Requires improvement to be good 27/01/2020 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: SC065855 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Three children lived at the home at the time of the inspection. Since the last inspection, one child has moved on from the home and one child has moved in.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Caring and committed staff provide individualised support to the children. Because of the good support that they receive, each child makes good progress in different aspects of their development.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff promote children’s individuality and identity. They encourage children, and know each child’s strengths and needs. For example, one child enjoys cooking and is supported to do this, cooking meals from scratch. Other children are receiving support to understand their feelings about relationships that matter to them and how they can manage their emotions around this.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The home is well maintained and children are consulted about the home’s decoration. Children’s bedrooms reflect their individual interests. This helps the children to feel comfortable in their surroundings. However, night staff use the lounge to sleep in at night and this restricts the children’s freedom within the home.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff listen to the children’s wishes and feelings about their care and act on these, as needed. Children can express themselves in different ways to suit their individual needs. For example, some children prefer to have chats with staff and some use a software application to give their views about their experience of living at the home. This helps the children to engage well and have their say about things that matter to them.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

When there are barriers to children’s education, staff work hard to address these and help the children to have positive learning experiences. Two children are attending school, and the registered manager is advocating for the third child to ensure that they receive education that is appropriate to their needs. A school leader explained how the registered manager was proactive in assessing the needs of the child they support and said, ‘I am confident that the home have the best interests of their youngsters at heart.’

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff help children to keep in touch with people who are important to them. Staff understand the importance of the children’s relationships with their families and friends and how these improve their well-being. They provide emotional support for the children when visits are made. One child explained how excited they were about visiting their friend soon.

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

Children feel safe and they know who to talk to about any worries they may have. The home has a strong safeguarding ethos. Staff receive training to equip them to Inspection report for children’s home: SC065855 4 identify and manage the children’s individual risks, and to ensure that they are helped and protected to stay safe. When risks to children change, staff share information effectively with each other and professionals to keep the children as safe as possible.

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

Staff use behaviour management strategies effectively to reduce the need for physical interventions with children. When physical intervention has been used, it is as a last resort. Reflective work is carried out with the children and staff to ensure that the action taken was proportionate. Staff communicate clear boundaries to the children, which provide them with a sense of security. As a result, children’s relationships with each other have developed and they have become more respectful of each other.

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

When children go missing from home, staff take effective action in accordance with the children’s individual protocols. This helps them to return the children to the home safely and promptly. There is proactive partnership working with local agencies, such as the police and staff from children’s placing authorities. Professionals are positive about how staff keep children safe. A social worker said that ‘staff go above and beyond’ to keep one child safe.

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

New staff are safely recruited. This means that appropriate checks have been made to help to determine that staff are suitable to work safely with children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

There is a registered manager at the home who is suitably qualified. There have been significant staffing changes in recent months, and five new staff members have been recruited. The registered manager demonstrates inspiring leadership qualities and has been instrumental in bringing new staff together, along with positive changes to the home.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff receive regular, reflective supervision. One member of staff explained how they receive meaningful feedback on the quality of their performance. Staff are praised when things go well and are encouraged to share their learning with the staff team. This openness between the staff team drives improvement in the quality of care that the children receive.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff have a robust induction and training programme that equips them to meet children’s individual needs. A staff member said that they were able to request additional training if they felt that there were gaps in their knowledge. Staff have recently received specific trauma-informed training to help them to further improve how they support one child.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager has effective oversight of the children’s welfare. There are quality assurance systems in place to monitor and review the quality of the service, to ensure that improvements are made. However, some records, including the statement of purpose for the service, are not kept up to date. In addition, staff rosters do not include information about when the manager is in the home. Inspection report for children’s home: SC065855 5 The registered manager and staff have developed strong working relationships with professionals who support the children. Professionals have provided positive feedback about the quality of the support that staff provide to children. A team manager said that they are ‘impressed in how passionate the staff are’. The registered manager acts as an effective advocate for children, particularly around maintaining their safety and ensuring that they are individually supported with their

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

One member of staff is out of timescales for completing the required qualification, or equivalent, in the residential care of children. The manager has put in place an action plan, which she monitors to ensure that this staff member completes the qualification as soon as practicable. Inspection report for children’s home: SC065855 6

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that the statement of purpose is kept under review. (‘Guide to the Children’ Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’ page 14, paragraph 3.5)

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that the design of the home provides staff who sleep in the home overnight with appropriate accommodation and facilities to do so. (‘Guide to the Children’ Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’ page 17, paragraph 3.26)

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that staff rosters include the hours worked by the manager in the home. (‘Guide to the Children’ Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’ page 62, paragraph 14.3)

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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: SC065855 7

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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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Inspectors

Virginia Vickers, Social Care Inspector Michelle Spruce, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: SC065855 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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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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