Children's Home run by Cambian Childcare Limited in Tameside

Inspection report for children’s home: SC430239 1 SC430239 Registered provider: Cambian Childcare Limited Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

The home is owned and managed by a large private company. The home provides care for up to five children. The provider states in its statement of purpose that it provides care for children with social and emotional difficulties. There were three children living in the home at the time of this inspection.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager registered with Ofsted in May 2023.

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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: 28 November 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: SC430239 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

28/11/2023 Full Good 27/07/2022 Full Good 08/12/2021 Full Good 13/11/2019 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: SC430239 3

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improvement to be good

No children have moved into or out of the home since the last inspection. This has given the children living there a level of stability. However, some shortfalls in staff practice and management oversight have meant that children have not always received a good level of care and protection.

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improvement to be good

For one child who is preparing to move out, there is not yet an agreed plan in place from the local authority. This means that the child is not certain of their future, and it has also led to inconsistent staff practice. Although the manager has made attempts to escalate her concerns about the child’s care plan with the local authority, she has not filed a formal complaint following the local authority statutory process. Therefore, this has still not been resolved.

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improvement to be good

The children get on well with one another. Additionally, the children have developed relationships with staff. One child said, ‘I like my staff.’ Children are also supported to see their family if they wish. If there are concerns around children seeing family members, staff supervise to ensure the child’s safety.

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improvement to be good

Two children attend education provision. For one child, this has been a recent achievement that was supported by the manager and the staff. However, their access to education is minimal. Another child is currently not in education, employment or training. Two children do not have education, health and care (EHC) plans that reflect their current needs. As a result, children are not receiving the support needed, and one child was not offered a college placement as their plan did not reflect the progress they have made.

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improvement to be good

The home feels homely and lived in; it is nicely furnished and has been decorated with Halloween decorations. The children’s bedrooms are personalised, and there is a separate games room for children. However, there are locks on communal doors.

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improvement to be good

Children’s health needs are met, and all children have up-to-date health assessments. Children are supported to access appropriate health services and attend appointments that support their emotional and physical well-being.

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improvement to be good

Generally, incidents are rare, and the children say that they feel comfortable talking to the staff if they have any worries. However, there have been times since the last inspection that children have been left at risk. Inspection report for children’s home: SC430239 4 Although it is not a current concern that children leave the home and do not return, there have been three occasions since the last inspection when this has happened. During two of these incidents, staff did not act to safeguard the child. For example, on both occasions, the child left the home in the early hours of the morning after making the staff aware that was what they were doing. The staff failed to follow guidelines, and despite the time of day, they waited up to two hours to report the child as missing to the police. Additionally, the staff made minimal attempts to establish the child’s whereabouts and ensure their safety.

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improvement to be good

For several weeks, one child has been staying with family members. There has been a lack of communication between the manager and the local authority, and there is not an agreed plan for this to happen. The staff have failed to inform the local authority when the child is away. This impacts the authority’s oversight of the child’s safety and well- being. Additionally, the staff have not followed the plans in place with regards to agreed overnight stays with family and have not always ensured that the child is where they say they are. This leaves children at risk.

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improvement to be good

There have been two allegations made against staff members. While one of these has been appropriately managed, the most recent allegation has not. This allegation was not shared with the local authority designated officer or Ofsted. This lack of transparency means that other professionals do not have oversight of the actions taken to keep children safe.

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improvement to be good

The manager ensures she follows safer recruitment processes, which reduces the risk of unsuitable people working with the children.

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

The manager is also the registered manager of another of the company’s homes. The manager is supported by a deputy manager. However, during this inspection, shortfalls were identified with regards to the leadership and management of the home.

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

The manager is a strong advocate for the children, and all the children report having a positive relationship with her.

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

The staff are regularly supervised and attend team meetings. These provide staff with the opportunity to reflect on their practice. The manager is confident discussing her concerns with staff about their practice to ensure their development.

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

Generally, the manager has oversight of the children’s experiences, and the independent person visits each month. However, one incident that the manager was involved in did not have independent oversight to ensure that it had been appropriately managed. In addition, there have been gaps in oversight of staff practice, when the manager has been on leave, that have resulted in delays in action being taken. However, once aware, the manager has responded appropriately to address these shortfalls in staff practice. Inspection report for children’s home: SC430239 5

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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

have the skills to identify and act upon signs that a child is at risk of harm;

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Requirement Due date

understand the roles and responsibilities in relation to protecting children that are assigned to them by the registered person;

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Requirement Due date

are familiar with, and act in accordance with, the home’s child protection policies; and

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Requirement Due date

that the home’s day-to-day care is arranged and delivered so as to keep each child safe and to protect each child effectively from harm. (Regulation 12 (1) (2)(a)(i)(iii)(v)(vii)(b))

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Requirement Due date

This relates specifically to the registered manager ensuring that staff follow risk assessments when children leave the home and do not return, and that they take appropriate steps to locate children.

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Requirement Due date

This further relates to staff following plans for children from the placing authority, regarding overnight stays, and also informing the local authority of the child’s whereabouts.

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Requirement Due date

This also relates to allegations against staff being reported to the local authority’s designated officer and Ofsted. 6 December 2024 Inspection report for children’s home: SC430239 6 The care planning standard is that children—

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Requirement Due date

receive effectively planned care in or through the children’s home; and

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Requirement Due date

have a positive experience of arriving at or moving on from the home.

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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

manage and review the placement of each child in the home; and

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Requirement Due date

plan for, and help, each child to prepare to leave the home or to move into adult care in a way that is consistent with arrangements agreed with the child’s placing authority. (Regulation 14 (1)(a)(b) (2)(b)(ii)(iii))

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Requirement Due date

This relates specifically to the registered manager ensuring that she obtains the current agreed plans for a child’s move back to their family by following the local authority’s escalation and complaints process without any delay. 6 December 2024

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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

raise any need for further assessment or specialist provision in relation to a child with the child’s education or training provider and the child’s placing authority; and

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Requirement Due date

help each child who is above compulsory school age to participate in further education, training or employment and to prepare for future care, education or employment, 6 December 2024 Inspection report for children’s home: SC430239 7 help each child to attend education or training in accordance with the expectations in the child’s relevant plans. (Regulation 8 (1) (2)(a)(i)(vii)(ix)(x))

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Requirement Due date

The relates specifically to the registered manager ensuring that children’s EHC plans are current and reflective of their needs. The manager must ensure that reviews of EHC plans are completed so that children receive the right support.

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Requirement Due date

Additionally, the manager must ensure the escalation and complaints process is followed in a timely manner.

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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 relates specifically to the registered manager ensuring that there is appropriate independent oversight of incident records when the manager has been involved. In addition, that there is no delay in the review when the registered manager is not available. 6 December 2024

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Requirement Due date

the privacy of children is appropriately protected;

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Requirement Due date

children can access all appropriate areas of the children’s home’s premises; and

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Requirement Due date

any limitation placed on a child’s privacy or access to any area of the home’s premises—

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Requirement Due date

is intended to safeguard each child accommodated in the home; 6 December 2024 Inspection report for children’s home: SC430239 8 is necessary and proportionate;

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Requirement Due date

is kept under review and, if necessary, revised; and

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Requirement Due date

allows children as much freedom as is possible when balanced against the need to protect them and keep them safe. (Regulation 21 (a)(b)(c)(i)(ii)(iii)(iv))

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Requirement Due date

This relates specifically to the registered manager ensuring that there are no locks on communal doors so that children can access all areas of their home freely.

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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: SC430239 9

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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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Inspectors

Kerri Lynch, Social Care Inspector Kitty Wiper, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: SC430239 10 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 children looked after, safeguarding and child protection.

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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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