Children's Home run by Cambian Childcare Limited in Staffordshire

Inspection report for children's home: 1258091 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 is part of a large private organisation. Staff provide care for up to five children aged between six and 12 on admission. The children who live at the home may have experienced childhood trauma.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager has been registered with Ofsted since December 2018. She holds a level 5 diploma in leadership and management in residential care.

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Information about this children’s home

At the time of the inspection, four children lived at the home.

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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: requires improvement to be good

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children's home: 1258091 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

20/04/2022 Full Requires improvement to be good 16/11/2021 Full Requires improvement to be good 04/08/2021 Full Inadequate 08/05/2019 Full Good Inspection report for children's home: 1258091 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff support children to move from the home positively. For example, for one child, staff helped them to move closer to their family home area as part of a plan for them to eventually live with family. Staff supported the child to take part in meetings about the move and have visits to their new home. Keeping the child at the centre helped the child to move well after living in this home for a long time.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children have supportive and trusting relationships with staff, who value them. One staff member told the inspector, ‘The kids are all fantastic. I love them all so much for their individual spark.’ Children are well supported by staff during difficult times in their lives. A creative approach by staff helps children understand how to manage their emotions and equips them to manage challenging situations.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff are thoughtful in their one-to-one work with children. Key-work sessions focus on the areas that are important to each child. For example, children have regular discussions on body safety and personal hygiene. As a result, children are confident and have increased self-awareness.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The home environment is warm and welcoming. The home is tastefully decorated and provides a safe space for children. Children choose the decor for their bedrooms and help to decorate the home for celebrations, including Halloween and Pride. Photos of children and staff around the home give a family feel.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff support children to attend health appointments. Attention by staff to ensuring recommendations by health professionals are acted on helps to ensure that children maintain good health. For example, children have been given specific support with their oral health and to eat healthily.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children enjoy a variety of positive experiences and are active members of the local community. One child has recently been awarded the ‘Child of the Year’ award by the community. Children regularly attend local events and take part in hobbies, including swimming lessons, dancing and free running activities. This allows the children to develop their skills and feel a sense of belonging.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff support children to make progress in education. Staff and the manager attend regular meetings with teachers. Children are encouraged by staff to do homework and to engage in additional tuition. However, on some occasions, there has not been a clear handover between the staff and teachers. This has hindered the school’s understanding of any issues that may impact the child’s school day. Inspection report for children's home: 1258091 4

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

Staff encourage kindness between children and have spoken to children about what bullying is and how to be nice to each other. In the home, there is a kindness wall where children and staff leave complimentary messages to each other. This promotes a positive and encouraging environment for all.

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

Children do not go missing from the home. The children told the inspector that they felt safe and happy living at the home. Children are educated by staff about the risks of going missing from the home. This has increased children’s understanding and has reduced the likelihood that they will go missing.

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

Consequences are only used when necessary. When a consequence is given, the child is spoken to about the reasons for the consequence. This allows the child to reflect on their behaviour. Children have recently been involved in discussions with staff about the approach to consequences. As a result, the use of consequences has been reviewed to include a more restorative approach.

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

When children need to be held by staff, this is mostly managed well. However, on one occasion, a staff member used a technique outside of the agreed guidance. This led to a child being injured. Relevant professionals were informed, and the situation is being investigated by managers. The child told the inspector that they felt happy with the support received.

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

Some safeguarding concerns have not been shared with Ofsted in a timely manner. This has reduced the regulator’s oversight of how the welfare and safety of children are being promoted.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager has been in post for over four years. The manager is well supported by senior managers. This helps to ensure that children’s care is consistent and of a good standard.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The staff have received training in communicating with children and working with children who have experienced complex trauma. This bespoke training helps the staff to meet the individual needs of children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff speak positively about the support that they receive from managers. Team meetings are used to discuss the progress that children are making and their ongoing needs. These discussions provide an opportunity for reflection and feedback, creating an open culture between the staff and the manager.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff benefit from good-quality professional supervision that is practice led. The manager ensures that the welfare of staff is routinely discussed. This helps to ensure that staff are well and able to work effectively with children. Managers and staff regularly discuss training and development needs during supervision and share views to develop practice. Inspection report for children's home: 1258091 5 The monitoring systems used by the manager and senior managers are effective. The quality of care is regularly reviewed and includes monthly checks by the registered manager and audits by the responsible individual. These regular checks have helped the manager to identify and act quickly when shortfalls have arisen. Inspection report for children's home: 1258091 6

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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, The 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

understand the roles and responsibilities in relation to protecting children that are assigned to them by the registered person. (Regulation 12 (1) (2)(a))(v))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person must ensure that staff only carry out trained physical intervention techniques. 26 October 2023

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Recommendations

 The registered person has a key role in developing the home’s effective working relationships with each child’s placing authority and with other relevant persons. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 52, paragraph 10.03)  The registered person should have a system in place so that all serious events are notified, within 24 hours, to the appropriate people. The system should cover the action that should be taken if the event arises at the weekend or on a public holiday. Notification must include details of the action taken by the home’s staff in response to the event. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 63, paragraph 14.13) Inspection report for children's home: 1258091 7

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Information about this inspection

The inspector has 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: 1258091 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 Darkes Lane, Potters Bar EN6 1AG

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Inspector

Chanel Bryant, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children's home: 1258091 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 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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