Children's Home run by Cambian Childcare Limited in Essex

Inspection report for children’s home: 1258092 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

This home is privately owned and provides care for up to four children who may have had traumatic experiences that have left them vulnerable.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager registered with Ofsted in February 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 outstanding

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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: 15 November 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: 1258092 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

15/11/2022 Full Good 10/05/2021 Full Good 23/09/2019 Full Good 19/06/2018 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: 1258092 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Four children were living at the home at the time of this inspection. Two children have recently arrived, and two children have moved on from the home. One child moved in a planned way to specialist adult social care with the same provider. Another child moved on from the home after their needs changed. This led to leaders and managers carrying out a learning review.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are happy at this home. There is a real sense of family and togetherness, and the children thrive in a therapeutic environment. Staff respond to children in a playful and emotionally warm way that helps them to make progress. Staff like using the approach and feel confident to implement it in their work with children.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff support children to receive education through local mainstream primary and secondary schools and alternative provision. The management team communicates consistently with other professionals regarding plans for education, especially when a move to the home results in a change of educational provision for a child. For children experiencing delays in accessing education, staff organise a creative and realistic home-learning schedule. This includes swimming lessons, trips to the farm and core subjects, such as English and mathematics.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff act on children’s individual interests and link these to rewards, where appropriate. Activities, celebrations and holidays are carefully planned. For one child, this included travelling to Wales and climbing Mount Snowdon to raise money for charity. Holidays to Paris and Spain were arranged for individual children. In the summer, a community event was arranged where the children sold home-made baked goods to raise money to support the local food bank. A neighbour’s dog visits the home regularly, which the children enjoy. These experiences enhance a sense of community and belonging for the children.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The home is large and spacious. Ongoing issues relating to subsidence are being monitored and dealt with appropriately. However, some additional maintenance jobs have not been addressed. This detracts from the otherwise homely feel.

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

Staff ensure that children feel safe and are safe. Suitable safeguarding training is in place for all staff. Staff understand their safeguarding roles and responsibilities. They are confident to raise concerns to keep young and highly vulnerable children safe.

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

Since the last inspection, several physical interventions and holds have taken place. These were proportionate and necessary to ensure the safety of children and staff. Physical interventions are well recorded, and strategies to de-escalate incidents are clear. Inspection report for children’s home: 1258092 4 Safeguarding concerns are reported to the appropriate agencies and are fully investigated by the manager and responsible individual. Investigation reports are provided to the relevant professionals and appropriate actions are swiftly taken as a result.

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

A new human resources lead works with the manager to understand the home’s recruitment needs and ensure that staff vacancies are quickly addressed. Comprehensive safer recruitment checks are also carried out centrally by the provider and shared with the manager.

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

A medication error was made and reported as a notification to Ofsted. Following the incident, swift actions were taken. The manager ensured that the staff involved received supervision and additional training.

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

Staff praise children when they have made positive choices. Staff use a range of rewards that help children to build self-esteem and confidence. On occasions when consequences are used, they are well considered. This increases the potential for children to learn from mistakes.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

The manager is dedicated and highly experienced in working with children. She is working towards her level 5 qualification. She has a warm and empathetic approach, demonstrating a genuine commitment to meeting children’s needs. This was evident when she adapted the children’s meeting to make it individualised with thoughtful ways for the children to share their wishes and feelings in a personalised way.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

Staff say they feel valued and express high levels of job satisfaction. They speak with genuine pride about how they are making a difference to children’s lives. One member of staff said, ‘Morale is great, we are a family and look out for each other.’ An education professional said:

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

‘All staff regularly demonstrate that they are invested, knowing [name of child] and his needs well. They advocate for him strongly and support the school, working collaboratively to ensure we are all meeting his needs to the best of our abilities. Staff communicate effectively on a daily basis and take a full interest in his education and progress, both academically and socially. [Name of child] is incredibly lucky to be cared for in such a consistent manner, I wish all of our children resided in homes that had such a nurturing, safe yet firm and fair environment.’

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

The manager knows all the children exceptionally well. She has an open-door policy. The children love being around the manager and frequently seek her out to spend time with her. The manager takes appropriate action when she identifies that children need additional support or guidance. She also ensures that children are provided with activities and experiences that enrich their lives, such as ambitious and adventurous holidays. Inspection report for children’s home: 1258092 5 The manager works exceptionally well with other professionals, such as social workers and teachers. This was reflected in the amount of positive feedback received from external professionals and has significantly contributed to children’s experiences and progress. An independent reviewing officer said:

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

‘The manager is a strong advocate for [name of child] and there are excellent professional relationships in place, which includes strong links with the local authority social worker and other associated professionals, along with school. [Name of child]’s schooling is an important factor and strong advocacy has been evident to ensure the child is placed in a school provision suited to his needs.’

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

Since the last inspection, there have been several staff changes. Some staff have moved on to further develop their careers. Despite the changes to the staff team, the children continue to make progress and have highly positive relationships with staff. The introduction of a team leader role has ensured a core base of four highly experienced and committed staff who lead and guide new staff in their caring role. In addition, the manager meets with the team leaders regularly, which allows reflection, discussion and planning to maintain high standards of care. Inspection report for children’s home: 1258092 6

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Recommendation

 The registered person should provide a nurturing, homely environment. This specifically relates to ensuring that the wardrobe door and the manhole cover are fixed and that the Christmas lights are removed. (‘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: 1258092 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:

Emily Stevens, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 1258092 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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Inspector:

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Inspector:

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Inspector:

T: 0300 123 1231 Textphone: 0161 618 8524 E: enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk W: www.gov.uk/ofsted

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