Children's Home run by Cambian Childcare Limited in Nottingham

Inspection report for children’s home: SC457500 1 SC457500 Registered provider: Cambian Childcare Ltd

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Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This home is owned and operated by a large national provider. It provides care for up to six children with learning difficulties. The accommodation is split between the main house, where four children can live, and an annex attached to the home for two children. Staff work in both areas of the home.

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Information about this children’s home

At the time of the inspection, there were five children living at the home.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager is registered with Ofsted and is suitably qualified and experienced.

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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

Date of last inspection: 21 November 2023

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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: SC457500 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

21/11/2023 Full Requires improvement to be good 22/06/2022 Full Requires improvement to be good 25/01/2022 Full Requires improvement to be good 03/11/2021 Full Inadequate Inspection report for children’s home: SC457500 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

At the time of the inspection, there were five children living at the home and a child moved into the home in March.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children have been supported to personalise their rooms. However, some areas of the home look tired and are in need of redecoration. This detracts from the homely, nurturing atmosphere. A maintenance plan is in place to address this, and work has commenced now that repairs to the roof have been completed.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children have lived in this home for varying lengths of time and have made progress in line with their individual experiences. One parent said, ‘It was an unbearable thing my child having to go into care, but the care they give my child is incredible. I can’t thank them enough for all that they have done for me and my child. They are 10 out of 10.’

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children receive well-planned care. Children’s care plans are clear and focused on each child’s individual needs. Targets are set with children. These targets are reviewed and updated regularly. This ensures that children are involved in planning for their futures.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff are good at sensitively supporting children who are exploring their own sense of identity to celebrate their uniqueness and individuality. Staff help children to have high self-esteem and to be proud of who they are, making sure that children do not feel judged or stigmatised.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children enjoy good health. Their health needs are well considered and met by staff. Staff work very closely and proactively with a variety of health services. They support children to attend medical and healthcare appointments. This maintains children’s physical and emotional well-being.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The manager and staff take the education of children very seriously. When one child was struggling in education, staff worked with the school to ensure that the timetable was reduced. This enabled the child to continue to attend daily and reduced the child’s anxiety and frequency of incidents, making this a positive experience. Another child who is not currently in education has been supported to attend two college interviews and will start a course in September.

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

Staff understand children’s vulnerabilities when they use the internet and social media platforms. They work in partnership with local authorities and develop safety plans that are specific to the child and designed to keep them safe online. Managers ensure good oversight of social media use to ensure children’s safety. In addition, staff educate children through key-work sessions about the dangers and safe use of the internet, preparing them well for adulthood. Inspection report for children’s home: SC457500 4 Children are supported to recognise and become increasingly able to manage their behaviours and feelings. The manager and staff use this information to update and amend risk management plans for children. These plans are accurate and sufficiently detailed to support staff in providing the best care for children, including during times when children are struggling to manage their behaviour.

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

A great deal of work has been carried out to promote positive behavioural changes and a reduction in the use of physical intervention. This has been successful and there has been a significant reduction in recent months. Staff use incentives well with children to promote positive behaviour.

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

Partnership working with external professionals is a strength of the home. On identifying potential concerns of radicalisation for one child, the manager has worked closely with partner agencies, ensuring prompt action to safeguard the child and making referrals to relevant services. This has been instrumental in keeping the child safe.

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

Staff ensure that children feel safe and secure by setting consistent boundaries and clear expectations. Children benefit from well-established routines, tailored to the needs of each child. For example, children who had previously experienced anxiety and distress around bedtimes now have much healthier sleep routines. Their quality of life is considerably better as a result.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The home is led by an experienced, qualified manager. She is supported by a committed deputy manager, who shares the manager’s passion, vision and aspirations for the children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Management oversight has largely improved since the last inspection. However, one incident that occurred was not well managed when a child was able to access scaffolding outside of the home. Staff did not act quickly enough to reduce the risk. As a result, the same child was able to climb on to the scaffolding on three separate occasions on the same day. The manager failed to notify Ofsted of this incident. This does not provide Ofsted with the ability to have oversight of relevant regulatory requirements. The manager completed a lessons learned the following day and shared this with the team to prevent further incidents of this nature, which was successful and the child did not access the scaffolding again for the duration that this remained in place.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The management team has a good understanding of the home’s strengths and what needs to improve. The team uses external and internal monitoring systems alongside children’s views to inform service development.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff benefit from a thorough and varied training programme, supporting staff to complete bespoke training where this is identified as a need. This provides staff with the skills and knowledge they need to care for the children effectively. The manager is Inspection report for children’s home: SC457500 5 proactive with her continual professional development, which is grounded in her aspirations to provide the best care and experience for the children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff morale is excellent, and the team feels well supported by the management team. One staff member said, ‘The management team is the best I have ever worked with.’

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Individual staff discussions and team meetings are held regularly. They offer a space for learning and reflection. Staff utilise this time to speak about children in depth and think of additional ways to best support them. This helps staff to learn and develop their confidence and skills to meet the needs of children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager is acutely aware of the impact of staff changes on children. She has worked hard to ensure the careful recruitment of staff who are committed to promoting consistent care for children. Children have a good relationship with the management team, which remains visible and available to the children. Inspection report for children’s home: SC457500 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 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

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

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Requirement Due date

This specifically relates to managers ensuring that lessons are leant from incidents and strategies implemented in a timely manner to prevent the risk of reoccurrence. 26 August 2024

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must notify HMCI and each other relevant person without delay if—

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Requirement Due date

a child is involved in or subject to, or is suspected of being involved in or subject to, sexual exploitation;

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Requirement Due date

an incident requiring police involvement occurs in relation to a child which the registered person considers to be serious;

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Requirement Due date

there is an allegation of abuse against the home or a person working there;

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Requirement Due date

a child protection enquiry involving a child —

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Requirement Due date

is instigated; or 26 August 2024 Inspection report for children’s home: SC457500 7 concludes (in which case, the notification must include the outcome of the child protection enquiry); or

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Requirement Due date

there is any other incident relating to a child which the registered person considers to be serious.

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Requirement Due date

A notification made under this regulation—

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Requirement Due date

the other persons, bodies or organisations (if any) who or which have been notified;

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Requirement Due date

and any actions taken by the registered person as a result of the matter;

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Requirement Due date

must be made or confirmed in writing. (Regulation 40 (4)(a)(b)(c)(d)(i)(ii)(e) (5)(a)(i)(ii)(iii)(b))

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Requirement Due date

This specifically relates to the manager notifying Ofsted of any serious incident that occurs in the home.

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Recommendation

 The registered person should ensure that the children’s home is a nurturing and supportive environment that meets the need of their children, and they will, in most cases, be homely, domestic environments. Children’s homes must comply with relevant health and safety legislations; however, in doing so, homes should seek as far as possible to maintain a domestic rather than ‘institutional’ impression. (‘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: SC457500 8

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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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Inspector

Zoey Lee, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: SC457500 9 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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