Children's Home run by Cambian Childcare Limited in Lancashire

Inspection report for children’s home: SC478468 1 SC478468 Registered provider: Cambian Childcare Limited

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Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This home is owned by a private company. It provides care for up to five children who may have social and emotional difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

A new manager has been appointed but is not yet registered with Ofsted.

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Information about this children’s home

At the time of this inspection, five children were living in 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: SC478468 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

18/07/2023 Full Requires improvement to be good 17/08/2022 Full Good 28/07/2021 Full Good 06/02/2020 Interim Sustained effectiveness Inspection report for children’s home: SC478468 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are cared for by a stable and consistent team of staff, who are committed to ensuring that children’s needs are met. Children have developed positive relationships with staff who know them well. They were able to identify individual staff members that they get on well with and why. One child said that they liked a particular member of staff because, ‘I can talk to them easily.’

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children who are new to the home are welcomed sensitively and effective planning, in the form of visits and sharing of information, takes place so that the child’s risks and needs are fully understood.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Family time is supported in line with the children’s individual plans. The children feel able to share their wishes and feelings about family time with staff, who then act quickly to share these views with the children’s social workers to consider any changes that may be needed to help children maintain relationships that are important to them. Connections with children’s previous carers are supported by staff, so that children maintain a sense of identity.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children’s health needs are met. Staff support children to understand their own health needs. As their health needs are being well managed, children’s self-esteem and confidence are growing.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are encouraged by staff to try new clubs and activities, such as boxing, pool, going to a local youth centre, playing golf and going to music concerts. When children want to explore more activities to increase their social skills, the manager and staff work to put these activities in place.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

One child has recently started a job. They were clearly proud of their achievements, learning new skills such as budgeting and meeting new people, all of which will equip them for the future.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are encouraged to attend education that is suited to their needs. The staff team liaises closely with education providers to ensure that appropriate plans are in place which encourage children to attend and enjoy school. For some children, this means being given individual timetables, which offer a combination of formal study and physical activities. Children who are of school leaving age are supported to apply for further study, with one child hoping to go to college to study A levels and become a teacher.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

However, one child who is new to the home is not yet receiving formal education. The interim plan has been that staff provide the child with tutoring in the home. The manager has challenged relevant professionals from the child’s placing authority regarding the delay in securing an education provision for the child. Inspection report for children’s home: SC478468 4

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

Children are supported to take appropriate risks in line with their age and understanding. They are encouraged to learn from incidents and staff provide appropriate advice, guidance and education in relation to keeping safe online and leading a healthy lifestyle.

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

Staff recognise the importance of supporting children to have age-appropriate and safe friendships. Staff have regular, significant discussions with children around such topics, which enables children to make informed decisions around their own safety. When children have had friendships which are not considered safe, staff are quick to identify the risks and, when necessary, share this information with involved professionals without delay so that safety plans can be implemented.

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

Positive behaviour is promoted. Children receive verbal praise and positive consequences regularly. Physical intervention has not been used and self-harm incidents for one child in particular have been significantly reduced. When it is necessary to search children’s rooms, staff make efforts to obtain the child’s consent. Children are informed of the reason for the search and there is management oversight.

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

When incidents of concern have occurred, the manager has full oversight of the incident. Incident forms are completed, debriefs take place with staff and children and, when necessary, extra training is quickly identified for the staff team to enhance their knowledge and development.

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

There is effective multi-agency working with a variety of professionals. One professional spoke of the progress their child has made since living at the home and how their risks have reduced, saying, ‘Progress is spectacular.’

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

Children know how to make a complaint. Their complaints are treated seriously and responded to in a timely manner. Complaint investigations are thorough and seek to find a positive resolution, with any actions arising from the investigation carried out.

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

The home environment is safe for the children and they are protected from harm. Risk assessments are regularly reviewed and updated to ensure that children’s safety is continually being considered.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Since the last inspection, a new manager has started in post. The manager is supported by an experienced deputy manager. Together as a management team they have good oversight of the home and make use of internal and external monitoring systems to improve the care provided. The managers have an open door policy, encouraging children and staff to share their views.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Training and development are effective and focused on ensuring that staff can meet the specific needs of the children who live at the home. The manager has recently arranged Inspection report for children’s home: SC478468 5 training on report writing for the staff team, after they identified that report writing could be further strengthened to include reflection and analysis of risk and need.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

When children with specific cultural backgrounds come to live at the home, the manager is quick to access additional training for the staff team, so that children receive care based on a full understanding of the child’s heritage.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Managers and staff receive regular supervision and feel supported. The manager has recently introduced a new process in supervision that focuses on staff knowledge of key topics. One member of staff said that if they have a concern that they need to discuss, they do not need to wait for supervision and can discuss issues with leaders and managers at any time.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The home is sufficiently staffed to meet the needs of the children living there. The home provides a warm and welcoming environment for children to live in and for staff to work in. Regular team meetings take place for staff. The manager has implemented practice development in team meetings, which helps staff familiarise themselves with care updates and legislation.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

No recommendations or requirements raised at this inspection.

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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: SC478468 6

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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

Michelle Greenhalgh, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: SC478468 7 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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