Children's Home run by Cambian Childcare Limited in Warrington

Inspection report for children's home: 2556596 1 Registered provider: Cambian Childcare Ltd

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Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This is a privately owned children’s home. It is registered to provide care for up to two children who may have social and emotional difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

At the time of this inspection, two children were living at the home.

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Overall experiences and progress of

children and young people, taking into account

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requires improvement to be good

How well children and young people are helped and protected requires improvement to be good

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requires improvement to be good

The effectiveness of leaders and managers requires improvement to be good

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requires improvement to be good

The children’s home is not yet delivering good help and care for children and young people. However, there are no serious or widespread failures that result in their welfare not being safeguarded or promoted.

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requires improvement to be good

Date of last inspection: 25 October 2023

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requires improvement to be good

Overall judgement at last inspection: good

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requires improvement to be good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children's home: 2556596 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

25/10/2023 Full Good 24/05/2022 Full Requires improvement to be good 11/05/2021 Full Inadequate Inspection report for children's home: 2556596 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: requires

Staff spend time getting to know children. They help children personalise their bedrooms in line with their preferences. This helps children feel settled when they move into the home.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: requires

Staff try to support children to engage in activities. However, strategies to support children are not effective because children do not pursue their individual interests. This means that children do not always engage in positive experiences outside of the home.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: requires

Children’s engagement in education and learning is variable. One child’s attendance has improved. Staff try to support the other child to attend education, although this is not effective. As a result, they have missed a significant amount of education. This could negatively impact on their future opportunities.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: requires

Children do not attend all relevant health appointments. Children’s health plans do not include all their health needs or strategies for staff to follow to encourage children to attend health appointments. Therefore, staff do not consistently meet children’s health needs to ensure their health needs are met.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: requires

Children’s plans are individualised and include relevant information. However, plans are descriptive and do not include clear actions for staff to follow in practice to help children make progress in all areas of their lives.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: requires

Managers and staff talk about the progress that children have made since they moved into the home. However, children’s plans and records do not demonstrate this. This is a missed opportunity for staff to record children’s progress and review how the care they provide helps children to make progress. Leaders and managers recognise this shortfall.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: requires

Children are cared for by a stable staff team. Children said they can talk to staff and there are warm relationships between children and staff.

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

Children are not receiving good enough help and protection.

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

Children said they can talk to staff if they are worried about anything.

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

Staff demonstrate an understanding of children’s individual vulnerabilities. Leaders, managers, and staff are aware of the risks in relation to children, for example, child sexual exploitation. Leaders and managers try to reduce this risk by educating children and staff. However, children’s plans do not include strategies to manage this in practice. Inspection report for children's home: 2556596 4 There has been an escalation in incidents of children going missing. When a child is missing from home, staff follow the child’s missing-from-home plan. Records demonstrate that staff look for the child to support them to return home safely. The manager demonstrates professional curiosity and works hard to understand any triggers that may lead to the child going missing. However, incidents of going missing continue. Leaders and managers recognise that they have been unable to reduce this risk.

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

The manager has developed relationships with external professionals involved in children’s care. The manager communicates well and shares information with relevant safeguarding professionals.

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

Children’s risk assessments and behaviour management plans are in place. However, they do not include up-to-date strategies for staff to follow in practice to reduce the risk of harm. Managers do not review and evaluate children’s risk assessments to ensure that strategies to reduce risk are effective.

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

The manager follows safer recruitment procedures and staff are suitably vetted. This helps to ensure that only suitable adults are employed to work with children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

Since the previous inspection, an interim manager has taken over the management of this home. She has applied to register with Ofsted.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

The manager is child-centred, and she is working to create a nurturing environment for children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

The shortfalls in leadership and management have impacted on children’s overall progress and experiences. The manager recognises this, and she is working to address these shortfalls. The manager has identified some areas for improvement, although they are not embedded into practice.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

Staff are positive about the new manager and say they are supported. Staff receive regular practice-related supervision. Staff attend team meetings where they talk about the children and reflect on their practice.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

Staff receive training that is specific to children’s individual needs and vulnerabilities. The manager identifies specialist training from external professionals to help staff develop their understanding in specific areas, for example, child exploitation.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

Monitoring and review systems are not effective. For example, children’s plans and records do not consistently have management oversight and management evaluation is missing. This does not help the manager to make continuous improvements to children’s care. The manager recognises this, and she is working to improve these systems. Inspection report for children's home: 2556596 5 Children’s plans and case records are not consistently signed by staff. This does not demonstrate that staff have read and understood children’s plans.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

The manager has not submitted quality of care reports to Ofsted in line with regulation. A requirement is made to reflect this shortfall. Inspection report for children's home: 2556596 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

assess whether each child is at risk of harm, taking into account information in the child’s relevant plans, and, if necessary, make arrangements to reduce the risk of any harm to the child;

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Requirement Due date

help each child to understand how to keep safe;

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Requirement Due date

have the skills to identify and act upon signs that a child is at risk of harm. (Regulation 12 (1) (2)(a)(i)(ii)(iii))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, leaders and managers must consistently review and evaluate information in children’s risk assessments to help staff in practice. Staff must consistently help children to understand how to keep safe. 9 September 2024

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Requirement Due date

The quality and purpose of care standard is that children receive care from staff who—

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to—

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Requirement Due date

protect and promote each child’s welfare;

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Requirement Due date

provide personalised care that meets each child’s needs, as recorded in the child’s relevant plans, taking account of the child’s background; 9 September 2024 Inspection report for children's home: 2556596 7 help each child to understand and manage the impact of any experience of abuse or neglect;

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Requirement Due date

help each child to develop resilience and skills that prepare the child to return home, to live in a new placement or to live independently as an adult;

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Requirement Due date

make decisions about the day-to-day arrangements for each child, in accordance with the child’s relevant plans, which give the child an appropriate degree of freedom and choice. (Regulation 6 (1) (2)(b)(ii)(iv)(v)(vi)(ix))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, leaders and managers need to ensure that children’s plans include actions to help staff support children in practice.

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Requirement Due date

The education standard is that children make measurable progress towards achieving their educational potential and are helped to do so.

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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

help each child to achieve the child’s education and training targets, as recorded in the child’s relevant plans;

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Requirement Due date

support each child’s learning and development, including helping the child to develop independent study skills and, where appropriate, helping the child to complete independent study;

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Requirement Due date

understand the barriers to learning that each child may face and take appropriate action to help the child to overcome any such barriers;

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Requirement Due date

help each child to understand the importance and value of education, learning, training, and employment;

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Requirement Due date

promote opportunities for each child to learn informally. (Regulation 8 (1) (2)(a)(i)(ii)(iii)(v))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, leaders and managers must ensure that they have effective strategies in place to support children to attend education. 9 September 2024 Inspection report for children's home: 2556596 8 The leadership and management standard is that the registered person enables, inspires, and leads a culture in relation to the children’s home that—

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Requirement Due date

helps children aspire to fulfil their potential; and

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to—

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Requirement Due date

understand the impact that the quality of care provided in the home is having on the progress and experiences of each child and use this understanding to inform the development of the quality of care provided in the home;

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Requirement Due date

demonstrate that practice in the home is informed and improved by taking into account and acting on—

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Requirement Due date

use monitoring and review systems to make continuous improvements in the quality of care provided in the home. (Regulation 13 (1)(a)(b) (2)(f)(g)(h))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, leaders and managers must ensure they review, monitor, and evaluate the care staff provide for children. 9 September 2024

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must maintain records (“case records”) for each child which—

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Requirement Due date

include the information and documents listed in Schedule 3 in relation to each child;

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Requirement Due date

are signed and dated by the author of each entry. (Regulation 36 (1)(a)(b)(c)) 9 September 2024

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must complete a review of the quality of care provided for children (“a quality-of-care review”) at least once every 6 months.

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Requirement Due date

In order to complete a quality of care review the registered person must establish and maintain a system for monitoring, reviewing, and evaluating—

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Requirement Due date

the quality of care provided for children; 9 September 2024 Inspection report for children's home: 2556596 9 the feedback and opinions of children about the children’s home, its facilities, and the quality of care they receive in it; and

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Requirement Due date

any actions that the registered person considers necessary in order to improve or maintain the quality of care provided for children.

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Requirement Due date

After completing a quality-of-care review, the registered person must produce a written report about the quality-of-care review and the actions which the registered person intends to take as a result of the quality-of-care review (“the quality-of-care review report”).

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Requirement Due date

supply to HMCI a copy of the quality-of-care review report within 28 days of the date on which the quality-of-care review is completed. (Regulation 45 (1) (2)(a)(b)(c)(3)(4)(a))

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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: 2556596 10

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Cambian Childcare Ltd

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Metropolitan House, 3 Darkes Lane, Potters Bar EN6 1AG

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Inspectors

Nicola Rutherford, Social Care Inspector Catherine Fargin, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children's home: 2556596 11 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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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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