Children's Home run by Cambian Childcare Limited in Devon

Inspection report for children’s home: SC458352 1 SC458352

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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 children’s home can provide care for three children with social and emotional needs. At the time of this inspection, two children were living in this home.

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Information about this children’s home

There is a suitably qualified registered manager in post.

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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 requires improvement to be good

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good

The effectiveness of leaders and managers requires improvement to be good

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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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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: SC458352 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

18/07/2023 Full Requires improvement to be good 26/07/2022 Full Good 01/09/2021 Full Good 04/12/2019 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: SC458352 3

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improvement to be good

Two sisters live at this home, they have lived here for a number of months. There was a positive level of planning before the children moved into the home. This included regular visits to them and conversations with people who know the children well. Instability in staffing and a lack of consistent staff has negatively impacted on the relationships between staff and children.

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improvement to be good

Children enjoy spending time with familiar staff and have enjoyed going out with staff for day trips or to do activities. Children said that they can talk to the familiar adults about things they are worried about and feel that they are being listened to. Familiar staff listen to their views and provide positive responses to the children. However, shortfalls in staffing have meant children have been cared for by a number of different staff from other homes within the organisation. Children shared this impacts on how safe and well cared for they feel.

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improvement to be good

The instability of staffing has impacted on how much progress the children have been supported to make. Staff have successfully supported one child to attend school which they are enjoying. However, staff have been unsuccessful to engage the other child in school and they currently do not have sufficient support to meet their health and education needs.

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improvement to be good

Some staff have instilled some positive routines and boundaries for children, but these are not consistent. This is due to the children being cared for by unfamiliar staff on some occasions. Some members of staff are working hard to build strong relationships with the children.

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improvement to be good

The home is clean and suitably decorated. The rooms give a homely feel that helps children to relax and feel at ease. Some repairs have been completed when damage has been caused in the home by the children. There are comfortable sofas in the lounge and a spacious dining area so children can enjoy meals with staff. The garden is overgrown and in need of further attention.

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improvement to be good

When the children moved into the home, plans were not robust enough about known potential risks to the children. Staff practice lacked curiosity about who the child were communicating with on their mobile phones. There was a lack of understanding of potential risk which compromised the safety and well being of children.

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improvement to be good

The risk to children when they go missing is not well understood by managers and staff. Written plans are not kept up to date, information about where children might Inspection report for children’s home: SC458352 4 go or who they spend time with is not clear. There have been several occasions where children have gone missing for extended periods of time. Staff have not been able to successfully disrupt a concerning pattern about the influence of one child on another in these incidents. Staff have said that they are worried that children are more likely to go missing if they are being cared for by unfamiliar staff.

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improvement to be good

On some occasions, managers took strong and decisive action to keep children safe, but this is not always consistent. For example, on some occasions, staff took prompt action to look for children when they went missing from home. They followed them on foot and attempted to remain in contact with them. On another occasion, staff left the child at the local park and returned to the home, even though the child did not have any approved free time outside of the home.

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improvement to be good

Effective oversight has not always been taken from incidents that have happened, to learn from these experiences. This has resulted in some delays in children being reported as missing to the police, and it increases the risks to their safety.

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improvement to be good

When there have been concerns about staff practice in the home, these have been identified and investigated by the managers. One medication error was identified by the manager, and this was investigated thoroughly. Further training was provided to staff to prevent this incident from occurring again. When there have been worries about staff practice positive conversations were held between staff and managers during team meetings and handovers to learn from these.

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good

There are some staffing issues and there has been an elevated level of sickness. This has impacted on the role of the registered manager, who has been trying to cover shifts in the home due to a lack of available staff. The manager has used members of staff from other homes on some occasions and this has impacted on the children when these adults are not familiar to them. The manager and staff said that there is a link between who is working in the home and worries about children’s behaviour.

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good

Staff said that they feel the manager has worked hard to support them. They have regular supervision and access to good levels of training in this home. They feel well supported by their manager, who they say is very approachable. They spoke about the training they have received around the children’s additional needs and how there is a plan for them, the children and their family members to all access further training in this area later in the year.

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good

The social worker identified that they have regular communication with the manager and staff in the home. He said that the manager has tried hard to manage the risks and has a holistic approach. The manager regularly attends meetings about the children and shares information about the current situation in a timely manner. Inspection report for children’s home: SC458352 5 The manager is reflective about what works well and what has gone wrong in this home. They acknowledged that there are things that have been missed because of the current situation, with the staffing problems in the home. The manager is aware of what needs to change to improve things. When the manager has identified concerns about practice in this home, she has worked hard to challenge staff about this and to take steps to improve this. Inspection report for children’s home: SC458352 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 quality and purpose of care standard is that children receive care from staff who—

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Requirement Due date

understand the children’s home’s overall aims and the outcomes it seeks to achieve for children;

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Requirement Due date

use this understanding to deliver care that meets children’s needs and supports them to fulfil their potential. (Regulation 6 (1)(a)(b))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, ensure that children’s health and educational needs are being met so they can reach their full potential. 30 September

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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

promote opportunities for each child to learn informally. (Regulation 8 (1) (2)(a)(v)) 30 September

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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. (Regulation 12 (1) (2)(a)(i)) 30 September Inspection report for children’s home: SC458352 7 In particular, the registered person should ensure that robust plans are in place for when children go missing from home and to ensure that staff take effective action to keep children safe.

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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: SC458352 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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Children’s home details

Responsible individual: Nicola McClements

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Inspector

Sarah Sheffield, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: SC458352 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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