Children's home run by Cambian Childcare Limited

Inspection report for children’s home: 1280629 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

The home provides care for up to three children who have social and emotional difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager registered with Ofsted in June 2023, and they are suitably qualified.

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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: good

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children’s home: 1280629 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

13/03/2023 Full Good 14/12/2021 Full Good 16/12/2019 Full Good 15/10/2019 Full Inadequate Inspection report for children’s home: 1280629 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Two children lived at the home at the time of the inspection. Since the previous inspection, one child has had a positive transition out of the home with the support of staff.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The home has a nurturing ethos, and staff are committed to improving children’s experiences. Children have formed trusting relationships with staff who support them, which helps children to make good progress in all areas of their development.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The home is clean, and children have equipment to support them in activities they enjoy, such as basketball and kick-boxing. On the whole, the home is well maintained.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children have opportunities to express their views, and staff listen to them and act on their wishes. For example, children have personalised bedrooms. One child explained how they had planned their room decoration and showed the inspector the wall art they had chosen. This means children are able to express themselves and help to create an individualised environment where they can relax.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children regularly attend education provisions. Staff work closely with the provider’s education coordinator to advocate for children, ensuring that their education provision meets their needs. One child has started attending a new provision which is closer to where they live. This will improve the child’s well-being. A social worker said, ‘[Name of child] now has an education provision they’re comfortable in and that can meet their needs.’

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff support children to improve their health and well-being. Children attend health appointments. The registered manager acts as an advocate for children, ensuring that their health needs are met and kept under review by health professionals.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are encouraged to have a healthy diet and lifestyle and receive support to develop these skills independently. One child explained they are learning to budget, go food shopping and cook their own meals. Staff encourage children and equip them with skills they will need for the future. A member of staff said, ‘[Name of child] has come on in leaps and bounds, being independent. They want to do things for themselves, like cleaning their room.’

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff understand the importance of helping children to keep in touch with people who are important to them. Children are supported to maintain regular contact with families and friends. Children have spent time with their families in the summer break. One child explained how they enjoy spending time with their school friends after school and at weekends. Inspection report for children’s home: 1280629 4

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

Children feel safe at the home. A social worker said, ‘[Name of child] said they feel looked after by staff and feels safe.’ Staff are passionate about maintaining children’s safety and work proactively with professionals to achieve this. For example, staff work with police community support officers to help educate children about the risks associated with their behaviour.

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

Staff are aware of individual risks for children and support them in a safe way, in accordance with the guidance set out in their support plans. When children’s needs change, staff share information consistently with each other and professionals to develop behaviour management strategies to keep children as safe as possible. There have been no physical interventions with children since the previous inspection.

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

Staff encourage children’s positive behaviours by using clear boundaries and individualised incentives. This helps children to improve their behaviour. As a result, there have been no incidents of children going missing from home.

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

Five new members of staff have been recruited to work at the home since the previous inspection. The management team ensures that staff are safely recruited and makes checks to determine that staff are suitable to work safely with children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager was away at the time of the inspection, and senior staff acted on their behalf.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Five new staff members have been recruited since the previous inspection. Staff are positive about how well the new staff team works together. Staff have a robust induction and refresher training that equips them with the skills they need to support children. Staff also receive training that is specifically tailored to help them meet the individual needs of children. They recently received trauma-informed training to help them improve how they support one child.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff receive regular, reflective supervision and say they feel supported in their role. Some staff receive additional support to help them communicate more effectively. A member of staff explained that this helps them to better understand slang terms used by children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff and professionals who support children have given positive feedback about the manager’s leadership qualities. A member of staff explained that they feel confident they can raise any concerns and that these would be addressed. They said, ‘We have a happy home.’

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager has oversight of the children’s welfare, and there are quality assurance systems in place to monitor the quality of the service and care provided to children. However, there are some aspects relating to the environment that had been missed. Inspection report for children’s home: 1280629 5 For example, there is excess plant growth around the oil tank in the garden, which may make it difficult to access in the case of an emergency or for maintenance work. In addition, there are no records of any safety checks made on the trampoline since it was installed in 2022. Senior staff took action to address these issues during the inspection and updated the health and safety audit to ensure that these areas will be reviewed in the future. Inspection report for children’s home: 1280629 6

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Recommendation

 The registered person should ensure that the home complies with relevant health and safety legislations. In particular, they should ensure that the external oil tank is accessible for maintenance and that checks are undertaken on play equipment as needed. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 15, paragraph 3.9)

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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: 1280629 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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Inspector

Virginia Vickers, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 1280629 8 regulates and 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 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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