Children's home run by Area Camden Limited

Inspection report for children’s home - monitoring visit: 1272461 1 Registered provider: Area Camden 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 owned home provides care for up to four children with social and emotional needs.

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Information about this children’s home

The home was registered in February 2018. A new manager has been in post since 4 September 2023 and has submitted an application to register with Ofsted.

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Information about this children’s home

At the time of the inspection, one child was living in the home.

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This monitoring visit

This monitoring visit was undertaken to monitor the home’s progress against a compliance notice under regulation 12, the protection of children standard, of the Children’s Homes Regulations (England) 2015, which was issued on 1 December 2023. This compliance notice was issued as a result of an assurance inspection undertaken on 27 November 2023 in response to an allegation that a serious incident had occurred at the home. The assurance inspection identified widespread concerns in relation to the care and protection of children.

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This monitoring visit

Leaders and managers have worked diligently since the assurance inspection. In response to the compliance notice, they have been working to a detailed action plan, and progress is evident.

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This monitoring visit

Leaders and managers have reviewed their recruitment processes to ensure that there are robust procedures to assess the suitability of staff to work with children. For example, they have clear expectations in relation to references and improving practice in staff interviews to determine their motivation and abilities to work with children.

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This monitoring visit

Leaders and managers have reviewed and strengthened their induction policy to ensure that staff receive relevant levels of support, mentoring, supervision and training to enable them to meet the needs of the children in their care. A revised Inspection report for children’s home - monitoring visit: 1272461 2 assessment process has been put in place for staff to demonstrate clear competencies to care for children.

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This monitoring visit

Leaders and managers have strengthened their lone working policy, specifically assessing whether individual staff have the relevant training and experience to work on their own with individual children. This helps to make safer arrangements for children, to help keep them safe.

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This monitoring visit

Staff complete meaningful key-work sessions with children that are focused on their needs, previous experiences and worries. Recent key-work sessions have positively focused on children’s histories, their understanding of their past experiences and its impact on their current circumstances. These sessions are sensitively recorded and reflect children’s lived experiences.

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This monitoring visit

Leaders and managers have used staffing profiles, which identify staff’s experience and training to help ensure that there are always a sufficient number of suitably experienced staff on shift to meet the needs of children in their care.

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This monitoring visit

Children’s risk assessments and behaviour support plans are consistently updated when there are significant events or incidents affecting children. These reflect children’s changing circumstances and identify appropriate actions, including necessary further work to help keep children safe and to understand the reasons for any inappropriate behaviour.

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This monitoring visit

Children have specific plans to identify the actions to be taken when children go missing from the home. However, these individualised plans do not sufficiently clarify the actions required when children are missing. In particular, plans do not include the time frames that certain actions need to be completed in to help keep children safe.

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This monitoring visit

Staff and managers receive regular supervision. However, supervision is focused on case records and management tasks and does not sufficiently discuss the needs of the children or staff practice. This means there is insufficient management oversight of the quality and the impact of care that children receive.

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This monitoring visit

The provider has met the compliance notice. Two recommendations have been made as a result of this monitoring visit. Inspection report for children’s home - monitoring visit: 1272461 3

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

02/08/2023 Full Outstanding 15/02/2023 Full Good 02/03/2022 Full Outstanding 28/01/2020 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home - monitoring visit: 1272461 4

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Recommendations

 The registered person should specify the procedures to be followed and the roles and responsibilities of staff when a child is missing from care or away from the home without permission and how staff should support the child on return to the home. In particular, staff should follow the home’s set protocols for individual children and work to this guidance when reporting children as missing from home to the police and local authority. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 45, paragraph 9.28)  The registered person should ensure that they have systems in place so that all staff, including the manager, receive regular supervision of their practice from an appropriately qualified and experienced professional which allows them to reflect on their practice and the needs of children assigned to their care. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 62,

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Information about this inspection

The purpose of this visit was to monitor the action taken and the progress made by the children’s home since its last Ofsted inspection.

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Information about this inspection

This inspection was carried out under the Care Standards Act 2000. Inspection report for children’s home - monitoring visit: 1272461 5

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Area Camden Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Malvern View, Hanbury Road, Stoke Prior, Bromsgrove B60 4AD

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Inspector

Andy Whippey, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home - monitoring visit: 1272461 6 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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