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Inspection report for children’s home: SC457501 1 SC457501 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

This children’s home is registered to provide care for up to three children who require support with their emotional and/or behavioural care needs. The home may also provide care and accommodation for children with learning disabilities.

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Information about this children’s home

It is operated by a national provider of children’s homes.

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Information about this children’s home

At the time of the inspection, two children were living in the home. Two children have moved out of the home since the last inspection.

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Information about this children’s home

The children use the term ‘home adults’ to refer to staff, which is therefore replicated in this report.

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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: 13 September 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: SC457501 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

13/09/2023 Full Requires improvement to be good 28/06/2022 Full Requires improvement to be good 25/02/2022 Interim Sustained effectiveness 25/08/2021 Full Requires improvement to be good Inspection report for children’s home: SC457501 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The inspector spent time with one of the children over the two days and spoke with them about what it is like to live in their home. The child proudly showed the inspector their personalised bedroom and spoke about the things that make them happy in their home. The second child did not wish to speak to the inspector in-person but gave positive verbal feedback via the telephone.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children make good progress when living in the home. Home adults support them to attain and achieve in their education settings and promote their on-going learning. Home adults encourage children to pursue their hobbies and interests, and these form part of their positive day-to-day experiences.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are helped to become independent and self-sufficient in a safe and well- supported manner, developing the skills they need to succeed in later life. Leaders and managers listen to their views, and these are taken into account as part of the decision- making in the home. This supports children to feel valued.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Home adults meet children’s health needs and ensure essential appointments are made when required. Children’s emotional well-being is taken seriously by all members of the team, and adaptations are made to help children feel comfortable and safe when outside of the home.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Leaders and managers ensure that the care provided for children is based on their individual needs. Home adults communicate with children in a way that ensures they understand and can engage with information that is shared with them. Children know how to make a complaint and are taken seriously when they do. The information about how to complain is not very clear in the children’s guide, which could impact new children moving into the home.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Home adults support the children to have positive experiences in the home. When there are challenges, leaders and managers take steps to help the children feel safe and settled again. Leaders and managers undertake effective planning and assessment when new children move into the home and include the current children in the decision- making. The manager considers and evaluates the potential competing needs of the children and has learned from previous challenges.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Home adults and the manager support and facilitate family time for children. Children’s views and wishes about family time are listened to and acted on appropriately.

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

Home adults act appropriately when children go missing from home, and they follow plans and protocols effectively to ensure children are kept safe. When an incident Inspection report for children’s home: SC457501 4 occurred and a missing-from-home protocol was not followed, the manager addressed it directly to ensure learning took place for the wider team.

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

Leaders and managers have a good understanding of the risks related to the children living in the home and have the appropriate experience and confidence to manage these.

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

Home adults act on any safeguarding concerns and make appropriate referrals when necessary. Safeguarding arrangements are in place to protect the needs of the children. The manager identified a learning need for home adults to widen their understanding of contextual safeguarding, and provided training as appropriate. For example, what a closed culture is and how to identify one. However, home adults are not always able to identify subtler potential vulnerabilities in relation to the children.

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

Home adults and leaders and managers support behaviour using an approach that considers the history and previous trauma experienced by the children. Home adults understand why behaviour is happening and respond in a nurturing manner to challenges.

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

Leaders and managers do not always ensure that all home adults have read and understood updated documentation about the children. This could result in key information being missed.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Leaders and managers demonstrate their confidence and ability to lead through their management of the team. The manager challenges any identified poor practice or staffing concerns swiftly and effectively. Leaders and managers are enthusiastic about the progress of the children and understand their needs and previous experiences.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Supervision takes place regularly. Supervision records are of a good standard and identify any specific concerns and actions required. Home adults describe the support they get from managers as being helpful in assisting them to do their jobs.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Leaders and managers have made appropriate challenges to home adults who have demonstrated poor practice. The manager has continued to pursue any concerns and is dedicated to creating an open learning culture. The manager takes swift action when concerns are raised about any of the home adults, and when appropriate, learning from incidents is shared with the team.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Home adults do not always provide consistent boundaries for children. Leaders and managers are aware of this and are taking steps to address inconsistencies.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Home adults and the manager have good working relationships with professionals outside of the home. The feedback from external stakeholders about the care provided by the home is very positive. Leaders and managers are confident and competent in Inspection report for children’s home: SC457501 5 advocating on behalf of the children and escalating concerns to external agencies where appropriate. Inspection report for children’s home: SC457501 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

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. (Regulation 12 (1) (2)(a)(i)(iii)(v))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person should ensure that home adults are fully aware of children’s relevant plans and keep their safeguarding knowledge up to date. Additionally, ensure that home adults develop their skills and confidence in identifying subtle signs of potential vulnerabilities and safeguarding concerns. 1 January 2025

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Recommendation

 The registered person should ensure that the children’s guide helps children to understand how to make a complaint in line with the home’s complaints procedure. It should be written in a clear and child-friendly way. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 24, paragraph 4.22) Inspection report for children’s home: SC457501 7

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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: SC457501 8

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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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Children’s home details

Responsible individual: Nicola McClements

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Inspector

Helen Cushnie, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: SC457501 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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