Children's home run by Cambian Childcare Limited in Stockport

Inspection report for children’s home: SC457434 1 SC457434 Registered provider: Cambian Childcare Ltd Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This home is run by a private provider. It provides short- and long-term care for one child who may experience emotional and behavioural difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

There has been no registered manager since September 2024.

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Information about this children’s home

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

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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: 16 January 2024

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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: SC457434 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

16/01/2024 Full Good 21/09/2022 Full Good 17/03/2022 Interim Sustained effectiveness 17/08/2021 Full Requires improvement to be good Inspection report for children’s home: SC457434 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The inspector spoke to the child living in the home during the inspection.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are supported to have a positive experience when moving into and out of the home. One child was welcomed following a planned introduction to the home and staff. When a child moves out of the home, staff support them to move through a gradual process that is at the child’s pace. This supports children to feel prepared for their next steps.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff actively promote family relationships for children. One child has been able to maintain relationships with their family and friends despite living some distance from them. One professional said, ‘They go above and beyond with the family time arrangements to make sure that [name of child] sees them.’

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff advocate for children to have an education or training provision. When children are not accessing full-time education or training, they are provided with structured activities that offer alternative learning opportunities. Staff complete key-work sessions to support children to return to education. One child has made good progress with their education since moving to the home.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff do not always promote social opportunities and activities to allow children to make connections in the local area. The child has been living in the home since April and has only recently started to go out. This lack of focus on the child’s social development has hindered them from making progress with their confidence and social skills.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff are not always proactive in meeting children’s health needs. Children are registered with the dentist and the opticians. However, some health appointments are outstanding and have not been followed up in a timely manner. This means that the child is not accessing the necessary services to meet their needs. Furthermore, staff have completed key-work sessions to support the child around vaping, however, allowed the child to vape in the home for a period of time.

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

Children are safeguarded effectively because staff understand their individual risks and ensure that their safety plans are updated when any changes occur. The plan includes clear actions for staff to follow to mitigate any concerns. Staff include information from a range of sources to ensure that their response is effective. This includes information from specialist assessments. This helps to ensure that staff are responding to the child in the right way. Inspection report for children’s home: SC457434 4 Staff have been consistent in implementing routines and boundaries in the home. The child understands why these are in place and recognises the positive impact this has had on their engagement with education.

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

Positive behaviour is promoted in the home through the use of incentives and consequences. Staff know the child well and use effective de-escalation techniques that are aligned to their individual needs. When consequences are used, they are proportionate and support the child to understand staff’s expectations around their behaviour. The child’s views are sought and the manager reviews the consequences that are used to ensure they are effective.

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

There is a robust recruitment process in place. Staff are suitably vetted before working in the home. They are supported to complete a comprehensive induction programme, which includes two weeks of mandatory training. This means that children are cared for by adults who are safe and able to meet their needs.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The home is currently managed by an interim manager, who has not yet applied to register with Ofsted.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The new manager has been proactive in implementing changes in the home. She has high expectations for staff and is ambitious for what the child can achieve. One professional said, ‘Since there has been a change in management, there has been a positive change in terms of [name of child] listening to staff, their behaviour and engagement.’ The child also recognised a positive change around their routine.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Team meetings are held regularly. They focus on the needs of the child and what actions staff need to take to meet these needs. Staff share their views and review previous actions to ensure they are completed. This helps the manager to maintain oversight of progress made by the child and in the home.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager and staff have developed strong working relationships with multi-agency professionals and parents. They have provided appropriate challenge and have advocated for the children when this has been required. For example, staff have advocated for a child to move towards independence gradually. This has been effective in helping children to achieve better outcomes.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Supervision sessions take place regularly between the staff and manager. Staff say that they feel supported. The manager provides staff with emotional and practical support to help them to carry out their roles. However, sessions do not include opportunities for staff to reflect on their practice and learn lessons from mistakes and successes. This may hinder their professional development and ability to analyse what works well for children. Inspection report for children’s home: SC457434 5 The manager completes a regular review of the quality of care provided to children and shares this with Ofsted. However, the manager does not have a system in place to gather feedback from children, their families or professionals to include in the report. This means that they are not able to contribute their views and influence the organisation’s plans for improving and developing the service. Inspection report for children’s home: SC457434 6

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Statutory requirements

This section sets out the actions that the registered person 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 must comply within the given timescales.

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Requirement Due date

The health and well-being standard is that—

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Requirement Due date

the health and well-being needs of children are met;

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Requirement Due date

children receive advice, services and support in relation to their health and well-being; and

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Requirement Due date

children are helped to lead healthy lifestyles.

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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

achieve the health and well-being outcomes that are recorded in the child’s relevant plans; and

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Requirement Due date

that each child has access to such dental, medical, nursing, psychiatric and psychological advice, treatment and other services as the child may require. (Regulation 10 (1)(a)(b)(c) (2)(a)(i)(c))

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must complete a review of the quality of care provided for children ("a quality of care review") at least once every 6 months.

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Requirement Due date

In order to complete a quality of care review the registered person must establish and maintain a system for monitoring, reviewing and evaluating—

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Requirement Due date

the quality of care provided for children.

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Requirement Due date

The system referred to in paragraph (2) must provide for ascertaining and considering the opinions of children, their parents, placing authorities and staff. (Regulation 45 (2)(a) (5)) 28 February 2025 Inspection report for children’s home: SC457434 7

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that the child’s talents and interests are understood and nurtured, with children selecting activities based on their personal preferences and abilities. Staff should also support children to try activities that are ‘new’ for them. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 31, paragraph 6.4)  The registered person should have systems in place so that all staff, including the manager, receive supervision which allows them to reflect on their practice and the needs of the children assigned to their care. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 61, paragraph 13.2)

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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: SC457434 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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Inspector

Natalie Clark, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: SC457434 9 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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