Children's Home run by Cambian Childcare Limited in Shropshire

Inspection report for children’s home: 2626047 1 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 is a privately owned home that provides care for up to five children. The home specialises in providing therapeutic support for children. At the time of this inspection, there was one child living in the home.

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Information about this children’s home

The registered manager is on maternity leave. The interim manager in post is suitably skilled and experienced and has applied to register with Ofsted.

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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: 31 October 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: 2626047 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

31/10/2023 Full Requires improvement to be good 08/03/2023 Full Good 01/09/2021 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: 2626047 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children receive well-planned moves to and from the home. Since the last inspection, two children have left the home, and one child returned to the care of their family. One child has been welcomed to the home. They visited the home before moving in, which gave them the opportunity to meet with staff and see their new home. At the time of this inspection, there was one child living in the home. The inspector spoke with the child.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children experience individualised care. Children’s care is in line with the bespoke model of care provided, which includes clinical support. Furthermore, children’s in-house care plans are child friendly and completed with children, so that they are involved in their care planning and can track the progress they make.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children make progress. Despite one child struggling with progress towards the end of their stay in the home, they left with an equine qualification. When children are new to the home, they are offered a range of experiences and opportunities through different activities. One child enjoys regular use of the local gym, which helps their emotional and physical well-being. Professionals and family commented on the positive progress one child has made in the short time being at the home.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff support children with their education. When children struggle to attend school, staff make arrangements so that children can still access their learning from the home. This means that one child was able to sit their exams before leaving the home. When children move into the home, they visit the school in advance of starting and complete assessments to ascertain their level of learning. This means that children are supported well with their education and achieve.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Health needs are prioritised. Staff register children with local services and support them to attend their appointments. Staff use curiosity and explore children’s health needs with the local GP. As a result, one child was found to have low levels of essential vitamins and minerals and was subsequently prescribed supplements to help. Another child is supported to return to their local authority to attend essential dental health appointments.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are provided with a nurturing place to live. This is because the home is warm and welcoming, and personal touches throughout give it a homely feel. The children are encouraged to personalise their bedrooms and make suggestions about the use of other spaces in the home. Staff take great pride in the presentation of the home and role model positive expectation to the children, who keep their rooms clean and tidy.

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

Inspection report for children’s home: 2626047 4 Staff know the children well. Children have individualised support plans that are written alongside the child and in their voice. Children also have individualised risk assessments. Both these documents are reviewed regularly. These plans give clear guidance to staff, which they follow to reduce risk.

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

There has been one missing-from-home incident. This is a reduction from the previous assurance inspection. Staff ensure that they follow protocol to try and keep children in sight, report them missing if needed and return them to the home quickly. There have been no missing-from-home incidents since February.

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

There have been four incidents of physical restraint since the assurance inspection. Staff use physical intervention appropriately to keep children safe. There has been an improvement in the recording of physical restraints, which was identified as an area of development by the interim manager. However, there has always been timely debrief and appropriate reporting in place.

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

Medication errors are quickly identified by managers. While these errors are not in relation to administration and have had no impact on the children, it has been raised as a practice issue. All staff are undergoing further training and upskilling to ensure competency in this area of care.

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

There has been one complaint made since the assurance inspection. When children make a complaint, they receive an initial response and outcome letter. This means that children feel listened to and their opinion is valued.

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

Staff support children to express their wishes and feelings. This is captured well in house meetings, one-to-one time with the manager and regular direct sessions. Furthermore, children are involved in their care planning and supported to attend statutory meetings about their care.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager began their maternity leave in April 2024. Prior to this, she had been working hard to meet the requirements raised at the previous inspection. The manager provided an informed handover to the interim manager. The interim manager is suitably skilled and experienced and has applied to register with Ofsted.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The interim manager is highly motivated and leads by example. She has high expectations of herself and the staff team, which has been evidenced at this inspection. She has worked hard to carry on the good work of the registered manager to meet the requirements raised at the last inspection and, as a result, there is only one recommendation made.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

There have been changes to the staff team. There has been a positive increase of staff, and this has coincided with the change in manager and changes to the children living in the home. This means that there has been no negative impact for the children, and the new staff have only had the experience of the interim manager. This means that the Inspection report for children’s home: 2626047 5 manager has easily created a new culture in the home, and this is reflected in a motivated team of staff who speak passionately about their new manager and the changes in the home.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff development is prioritised. New staff benefit from an induction period, access to training and increased supervision. Established staff have prioritised their learning and are now in receipt of regular supervision. Appraisals are in date and staff have clear personal development plans. Furthermore, the interim manager is upskilling staff and looking to create team champions to instil accountability amongst the staff team.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Monitoring systems are effective. The interim manager is highly organised and has developed the efficient monitoring and review systems further. This ensures that she has oversight and overview of all aspects of the home and the care children receive. Furthermore, the manager has identified areas of development and has a clear plan of action to make improvements.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The interim manager has demonstrated her ability to advocate for children and challenge a situation she was concerned about. As a result, an appropriate decision has been made about a learning provider.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

There are two members of staff outside of timescales for their qualification. There are mitigating circumstances and a suitable plan in place to resolve this issue. Inspection report for children’s home: 2626047 6

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that all staff in a care role, including external agency or bank staff, must have the qualification in regulation 32(4) within the relevant timescale listed in regulation 32(5). The registered person may extend the time period if the member of staff hasn’t worked in the role for a prolonged period, such as sick leave or maternity leave, or if it is not reasonable to expect the member of staff to complete in this timescale due to the nature of the hours they work. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including quality standards’, page 56, paragraph 10.12)

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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: 2626047 7

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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

Stacie Sharpe, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2626047 8 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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