Children's Home run by Cambian Childcare Limited in Durham

Inspection report for children’s home: SC456602 1 SC456602 Registered provider: Cambian Childcare Limited

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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 managed by a private provider. It provides care for up to three children who may experience social and emotional difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager registered with Ofsted in October 2022.

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Information about this children’s home

At the time of this inspection, two children were living in the home. The inspector spoke to them both.

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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: good

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children’s home: SC456602 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

13/09/2023 Full Good 27/06/2022 Full Requires improvement to be good 12/01/2022 Interim Sustained effectiveness 11/10/2021 Full Requires improvement to be good Inspection report for children’s home: SC456602 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

One child’s time living at the home over the past year has given them stability and helped them to make good progress. Children moving in and out of the home is well planned. This helped the latest child who moved to the home to settle into their new surroundings quickly. Both children said they like living at this home and want to stay.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children know how to complain. Staff explore the children’s views when issues have arisen, reminding them of their rights. Children have spoken about house rules and acknowledge why they are needed. They do not agree with them all, but they understand why they are necessary.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff support children to make progress with their education. One child has taken their GCSE exams and has a place at college. This is a big achievement for them. Another child has started education again after a long period of absence. Staff recognise this child’s potential and are helping them with the gaps in their learning. One child was not able to make much progress with formal education. However, this child developed important independence skills and their ability to care for themselves, in preparation for the next stage of their life.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff support children with their health needs. A lot of work is done educating children about the dangers of vaping and drug use to help them understand the negative health implications. Staff link in with other agencies to strengthen the children’s insight into these issues. One child’s work with a drug support agency has helped them understand the impact of drug use on their own health.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff support the children with their emotional well-being. This is consistent whether they are having a good or a bad day. When children are ready, they work with counselling services to help them deal with past experiences and create better ways of coping with difficult emotions.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The manager and staff take time to get to know families and people who are important to the children. This is a particular strength of the home. Staff go above and beyond to help where they can. For example, one family member broke their phone, so the home purchased them a new one to ensure that they could speak to the child. For another family, staff’s support and advice helped them when they were dealing with an incident with their child during their time together.

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

The strong relationships children have with staff enable them to safely express what they think and feel. Children said they have trusted people that they can go to when they need to talk about anything. Children’s opinions are important, and staff will do Inspection report for children’s home: SC456602 4 anything they can to help children. For some children, this has led to a reduction in harmful behaviour, such as cannabis use and going missing.

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

Staff understand the issues children are dealing with, such as drug use and self-injurious behaviour. Individual risk assessments underpin staff’s practice and help them to support the children. There are clear actions for staff to take when these issues arise, and plans are being followed by the team. However, on one occasion staff did not follow the child’s plan, resulting in the child hurting their arm.

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

Support for one child has not been successful. They continued to use cannabis and staff’s practice in response to challenging behaviours was not effective. Staff used different strategies to help this child and were committed to them for several months. However, incidents and concerns for this child increased. Unfortunately, the decision was made that staff could no longer meet the child’s needs and the child moved out.

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

Bullying and racist comments have been an issue in the home. Staff appropriately challenge these behaviours, whether this is between the children or towards staff. Work with the children helps them understand why comments are considered racist, the impact they have on people, and the personal implications of using such words. Although this work is ongoing, there are fewer incidents of this nature.

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

Staff use their relationships with the children to encourage positive behaviour. Strategies such as physical holds and guides are rarely used. When holds are needed, they are proportionate and in the best interest of keeping children safe. Other tools staff use to encourage children are modelling socially acceptable behaviour, and giving positive praise and rewards. When used, staff help children to understand why a consequence was necessary, giving them the opportunity to share their views.

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

There is a well-coordinated response when children go missing from home. Staff follow procedures and make attempts to find the children, to bring them home as soon as possible, reducing the risks of harm associated with going missing.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager knows the children and advocates for them to ensure that they have the care they deserve. He is aspirational for the children and wants them to do well. This has helped the children make progress.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

There have been a lot of changes within the staff team since the last inspection. The manager is confident that the right people are in place now and is working towards stabilising the team, providing consistency for the children. He understands the staff, their skills, strengths and areas of development.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff say they have gelled as a team, support each other and work well together. They are confident about asking questions, which is important for the less experienced staff. Inspection report for children’s home: SC456602 5 They speak positively about the manager, who they feel gives them good support both in work and with any other issues they may have.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Practice-related supervision allows staff to reflect about different ways to support the children’s needs. Development of the staff’s knowledge and skills also happens through training. As well as mandatory company-wide training, the manager finds other courses that develop staff’s practice specific to the children’s needs, for example supervising children spending time together with their families. As a result, children benefit from a more confident staff team who support different scenarios during family time effectively.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Feedback from professionals is positive. They have confidence in the staff’s skills to meet the children’s needs and support them in the right way. Communication between professionals is excellent. If needed, the wider team is kept informed daily about what is happening for the children. This ensures that children receive a consistent approach to their care.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Due to the increase in safeguarding incidents, the manager has been helping the staff with practical advice and support more often. However, this has affected his oversight of records, leading to some gaps. For example, there are some dates missing on records, and the length of time used for a hold with a child was not clear. Although there is no direct impact on the children, the manager should address these gaps with staff to ensure the information in the records is complete. Inspection report for children’s home: SC456602 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 promotes their welfare.

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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.

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Requirement Due date

(Regulation 13 (1)(a)(b) (2)(h)) 10 January 2025

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Recommendation

 The registered person should ensure that staff skills for safeguarding include being able to identify signs that children may be at risk, and support children in strategies to manage and reduce any risks. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 43, paragraph 9.10)

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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: SC456602 7

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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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Inspector

Miriam Dolman, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: SC456602 8 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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