Children's Home run by Cambian Childcare Limited in St Helens

Inspection report for children’s home - monitoring visit: 2624711 1 Registered provider: Cambian Childcare Limited

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Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This home is part of a large national provider of children’s homes. It provides care for one child who may experience social and emotional difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

There was one child living in the home at the time of the visit.

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This monitoring visit

This children’s home was judged inadequate at the full inspection on 24 and 25 September. Inspectors identified serious concerns about safeguarding practices in the home, and ineffective leadership and management arrangements.

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This monitoring visit

Following the inspection two compliance notices were issued under Section 22A of the Care Standards Act. Compliance notices were issued under regulation 12, the protection of children standard and regulation 13, the leadership and management standard.

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This monitoring visit

The purpose of this visit was to monitor the actions taken by the provider in meeting the steps in the compliance notices. Since the last inspection, the risks for the child have continued to increase.

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This monitoring visit

Staff do not consistently look for the child when they are missing from the home and do not take sufficient action to collect them when they request to return home during these incidents. As a result, the child has remained missing for increased periods of time and remained at risk of harm in the community. Inspection report for children’s home - monitoring visit: 2624711 2 The manager has reduced the staffing ratios during incidents of the child being missing from the home. This has meant that the child does not have the agreed levels of staffing when they return to the home.

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This monitoring visit

Leaders and managers have not taken sufficient action to ensure that the staff caring for the child understand his risks and vulnerabilities. The staff team have not undertaken all the training needed to meet the child’s needs. This means that the staff do not have the level of skills and knowledge to support the child.

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This monitoring visit

Managers use staff from other homes in the organisation to provide care for the child. This has meant that the child does not receive a consistent level of care. Furthermore, managers are not familiar with some of the staff who work in the home. This does not ensure that managers understand the skills and knowledge of the staff team responsible for the care of the child.

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This monitoring visit

Incidents of challenging behaviour in the home are not managed well. Staff do not explore how the child has access to weapons in the home and do not take action to reduce or prevent incidents of the child causing damage to the home. Furthermore, staff do not prevent the child from misusing substances and electronic cigarettes in the home. As a result, the child has remained in possession of unknown substances and has also been able to retrieve items that have been confiscated by staff during room searches. This poor safeguarding practice places the child at risk of harm.

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This monitoring visit

Staff do not supervise the child effectively when in the home. This has led to incidents of the child’s friend being in the home, without the knowledge of staff. Due to poor staff practice, the children then engaged in sexual activity. When staff became aware that another child was in the home, they failed to take appropriate action to safeguard all the children involved.

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This monitoring visit

A full-time manager is now in place in the home. Some improvements have been made in care practices. However, management oversight of incidents does not always identify shortfalls in staff practice.

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This monitoring visit

This monitoring visit identified further shortfalls in safeguarding practices and the leadership and management of the home.

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This monitoring visit

Further notices are issued under regulation 12 (the protection of children standard) and regulation 13 (the leadership and management standard).

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This monitoring visit

The requirements made at the last inspection were outside of the scope of this visit. These will be reviewed at the next inspection. Inspection report for children’s home - monitoring visit: 2624711 3

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

24/09/2024 Full Inadequate 23/08/2023 Full Good 08/06/2022 Full Good 28/03/2022 Interim Improved effectiveness Inspection report for children’s home - monitoring visit: 2624711 4

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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 with 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

help each child to understand how to keep safe;

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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

take effective action whenever there is a serious concern about a child’s welfare; 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)(ii)(iii)(v)(vi)(b))

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Requirement Due date

This compliance notice is restated. 12 January 2024

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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 12 January 2024 Inspection report for children’s home - monitoring visit: 2624711 5 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

lead and manage the home in a way that is consistent with the approach and ethos, and delivers the outcomes, set out in the home’s statement of purpose;

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Requirement Due date

ensure that staff work as a team where appropriate;

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Requirement Due date

ensure that staff have the experience, qualifications and skills to meet the needs of each child;

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Requirement Due date

ensure that the home has sufficient staff to provide care for each child;

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Requirement Due date

ensure that the home’s workforce provides continuity of care to each child;

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Requirement Due date

understand the impact that the quality of care provided in the home is having on the progress and experiences of each child and use this understanding to inform the development of the quality of care provided in the home;

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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)(a)(b)(c)(d)(e)(f)(h))

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Requirement Due date

This compliance notice has been restated.

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Requirement Due date

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

that children are admitted to the home only if their needs are within the range of needs of children for whom it is intended that the home is to provide care and accommodation, as set out in the home’s statement of purpose; 12 January 2024 Inspection report for children’s home - monitoring visit: 2624711 6 that arrangements are in place to—

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Requirement Due date

ensure the effective induction of each child into the home;

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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;

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Requirement Due date

that each child’s relevant plans are followed;

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Requirement Due date

that the child’s placing authority is contacted, and a review of that child’s relevant plans is requested, if—

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Requirement Due date

the child requests a review of the child’s relevant plans; and

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Requirement Due date

that staff help each child to access and contribute to the records kept by the registered person in relation to the child. (Regulation 14 (1)(a)(b) (2)(a)(b)(i)(ii)(iii)(c)(f)(e))

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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;

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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

In particular, the manager must ensure that the locks are removed from all external doors. 12 January 2024 Inspection report for children’s home - monitoring visit: 2624711 7 The registered person must ensure that all employees—

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Requirement Due date

undertake appropriate continuing professional development;

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Requirement Due date

receive practice-related supervision by a person with appropriate experience; and

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Requirement Due date

have their performance and fitness to perform their roles appraised at least once every year. (Regulation 33 (4)(a)(b)(c)) 12 January 2024

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must maintain records (“case records”) for each child which—

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Requirement Due date

include the information and documents listed in Schedule 3 in relation to each child;

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Requirement Due date

are signed and dated by the author of each entry. (Regulation 36 (1)(a)(b)(c)) 12 January 2024

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Requirement Due date

Schedule 4 sets out the other information that the registered person must keep in relation to a children’s home.

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Requirement Due date

maintain in the home the records in Schedule 4;

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Requirement Due date

ensure that the records are kept up to date; and

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Requirement Due date

retain the records for at least 15 years from the date of the last entry. (Regulation 37 (1) (2)(a)(b)(c))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the manager must ensure that the roster contains full names of staff working in the home and where staff have worked this is clearly displayed on the roster.

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Requirement Due date

This requirement has been restated. 12 January 2024

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Requirement Due date

*These requirements are subject of a compliance notice.

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Information about this inspection

The purpose of this visit was to monitor the action taken and the progress made by the children’s home since its last Ofsted inspection. Inspection report for children’s home - monitoring visit: 2624711 8 This inspection was carried out under the Care Standards Act 2000. Inspection report for children’s home - monitoring visit: 2624711 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

Claire Hobbs, Social Care Inspector Sally Croft, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home - monitoring visit: 2624711 10 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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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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