Children's Home run by Cameron & Cooper Limited in Hampshire

Inspection report for children's home: 2662095 1 Registered provider: Cameron & Cooper Limited

p.1

Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

p.1

Information about this children’s home

This home is registered to provide care for up to two children with social and emotional difficulties. It is owned and run by a private organisation. At the time of the inspection, two children were living in the home.

p.1

Information about this children’s home

The manager registered with Ofsted in February 2025.

p.1

Overall experiences and progress of

children and young people, taking into account

p.1

good

How well children and young people are helped and protected good

p.1

good

The effectiveness of leaders and managers good

p.1

good

The children’s home provides effective services that meet the requirements for good.

p.1

good

Date of last inspection: 7 September 2023

p.1

good

Overall judgement at last inspection: good

p.1

good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children's home: 2662095 2

p.1

Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

07/09/2023 Full Good 05/04/2022 Full Good Inspection report for children's home: 2662095 3

p.2

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are very settled and enjoy living in their home. The home environment is well presented and has a comfortable feel, like being in a family home. Children are actively involved in decisions regarding the home, including redesigning the sensory room and their bedrooms being personalised based on their preferences.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Moves into the home are carefully planned and involves the child already living in the home. This helps children settle in quickly, feel safe and form positive relationships. Children are proud of themselves and the progress that they have made. Children are equally well supported when moving on from the home.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff know the children well, speak about them with pride, warmth and positivity and celebrate each step with them. Children thrive in the care of staff, who want only the best for them. The therapeutic ethos is fully embedded in all the work that staff do. Staff are creative in building children’s sense of self and help them when they struggle. For example, children are part of creating their own safety plans, allowing them to feel empowered and take ownership.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children’s relationships with the people who are important to them are understood and valued by staff. Staff have built supportive and respectful relationships with family members and professionals, ensuring that they are kept informed about the children’s well-being and any important events. This approach helps families remain actively engaged in their children’s lives, and family time is well supported, irrespective of the distance staff may have to travel. Consequently, family members, as appropriate, continue to feel fully involved in the child’s life. One parent said, ‘Staff offer amazing support - they get them [the child].’ Another said, ‘Their [the child’s] care has changed their life and ours.’

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children experience care that is sensitive and responsive to their identity and individual needs. The children’s physical and emotional needs are well met. Staff ensure that children are up to date with all their routine health appointments. They support children to access and engage with relevant therapeutic support services as appropriate. The organisation’s therapist spends time in the home each week to give children time to get to know them, so that they can feel more comfortable accessing therapy.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are supported to engage in education. Staff maintain regular communication with professionals from children’s schools, liaise with virtual schools and attend all education meetings. For one child, this has helped them move from being highly resistant to education and not attending school to starting to express more interest in learning, and both are attending some education. Inspection report for children's home: 2662095 4 Children are developing age-appropriate independence skills with the support of staff. They are given responsibilities and encouraged to do things for themselves, such as budgeting, doing washing and cooking.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff encourage children to express their views, wishes and feelings and ensure that there are plenty of opportunities for them to do so. Children feel listened to, valued and respected. If requests cannot be acted on, staff explain the reasons to children. Meaningful conversations about important issues take place and these are captured well. This helps to strengthen relationships between children and staff and address pertinent issues or subjects.

p.4

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

Managers and staff have a good understanding of their responsibilities to keep children safe. When concerns arise, they take appropriate action to ensure that children get the support they need to stay safe. Complaints and allegations are managed appropriately, and investigations into poor practice are clear and detailed. Children are spoken with to help them understand the outcomes.

p.4

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

Staff help children to understand their emotions and behaviours and build emotional resilience. Consequently, children learn to better manage difficult emotions and incidents, and instances of them harming themselves have significantly decreased. One child said they can now talk to or text staff to say how they feel, and they always support them.

p.4

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

Staff treat children with respect and understanding and provide consistent boundaries. This approach enables children to feel safe and to understand the consequences of their actions. When children struggle, staff support them in a compassionate and consistent manner. They use de-escalation techniques and allow the child the time and space that they need. Staff show appropriate professional curiosity and consistently act to ensure that children remain safe.

p.4

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

The manager ensures that measures used to keep children safe, including online, are effective. Staff thoroughly assess risk and understand children’s particular vulnerabilities. Children’s individual risk management plans are regularly updated. Staff are not hesitant to support children to take age-appropriate and developmentally appropriate risks. They understand that well-managed risk is an essential part of children’s development. Staff carefully balance this with the need to keep children safe, by allowing children the freedom and responsibility appropriate for their age, for example, managing independent time with friends.

p.4

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

One professional spoke very highly of the care their child received and how staff managed to keep the child safe and happy, despite their very complex needs.

p.4

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

Safer recruitment procedures are thorough. There are processes in place to ensure that staff are safely recruited and vetted. The checks are robust, clear and well organised and Inspection report for children's home: 2662095 5 demonstrate strong attention to detail. As a result, children are cared for by suitable staff who can keep them safe.

p.4

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The home is led by an ambitious manager who provides children with good-quality care. Leaders and managers create a culture of aspiration and positivity that permeates throughout the home. Staff are committed to consistently supporting the children and helping them to learn the skills that they need to navigate life’s challenges in a positive manner. There is a sense of children being at the centre of everything. External professionals also shared this view.

p.5

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager’s oversight of the home is thorough. She knows the children and the staff team well and uses various monitoring systems to assess the quality of care provided. This approach enables her to understand the children’s experiences and the effects of the care they receive on their well-being. Furthermore, the monthly monitoring ensures that the senior leadership team maintains effective oversight.

p.5

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager ensures that children are always held in mind when staff are completing records. Consequently, records are child friendly and are easy to understand should the children wish to look at them later in life.

p.5

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager has built close partnerships with families and external professionals. She recognises the importance of working in partnership with families, health, education, social care professionals and therapists to meet children’s needs in all areas. Families and professionals say they have positive relationships with the manager and staff and note that staff communicate regularly and effectively. Additionally, professionals emphasise how well the team supports children and the significance of the progress each child has made.

p.5

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff feedback is positive. They feel well supported and appreciate the manager and responsible individual’s presence and input. They receive regular supervision focused on their welfare and development. This has created a strong sense of teamwork, and staff are looking forward to new staff joining the home. One staff member said, ‘I feel supported by the management team and my colleagues. I look forward to seeing what the future holds and further improvements that we can make.’

p.5

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The period since the last inspection has been a time of change, with a new manager starting and changes in staffing. Staff say that they have felt unsettled. While they are now feeling well supported, with clear guidance and support in place, the staff shortages mean staff are feeling tired and have worked long hours, and agency staff have been used. This has meant that children have not always been cared for by a consistent staff team. The organisation is taking action to address the staffing issues and to ensure that the current team continues to be supported. Inspection report for children's home: 2662095 6

p.5

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.

p.6

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—

p.6

Requirement Due date

helps children aspire to fulfil their potential; and promotes their welfare.

p.6

Requirement Due date

In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to—

p.6

Requirement Due date

ensure that the home has sufficient staff to provide care for each child (Regulation 13 (1)(a)(b) (2)(d))

p.6

Requirement Due date

Specifically, the registered person must ensure that there is a sufficient and stable staff team in place to ensure that they meet the needs of the children and can respond flexibly to unexpected events or opportunities. 1 July 2025

p.6

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’.

p.6

Information about this inspection

The inspection started on 18 March 2025. It was paused in line with Ofsted inspections and visits: deferring, pausing and gathering additional evidence policy. The inspector returned on 24 March 2025 to complete the inspection. Inspection report for children's home: 2662095 7

p.6

Children’s home details

Registered provider: Cameron & Cooper Limited

p.7

Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Accord Accountants, 191-193 High Street, Hampton Hill TW12 1NL

p.7

Inspector

Sharron Dormand, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children's home: 2662095 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.

p.7

Inspector

If you would like a copy of this document in a different format, such as large print or Braille, please telephone 0300 123 1231, or email enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk . You may reuse this information (not including logos) free of charge in any format or medium, under the terms of the Open Government Licence. To view this licence, visit www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence , write to the Information Policy Team, The National Archives, Kew, London TW9 4DU, or email: psi@nationalarchives.gsi.gov.uk .

p.8

Inspector

Interested in our work? You can subscribe to our monthly newsletter for more information and updates: http://eepurl.com/iTrDn .

p.8

Inspector

T: 0300 123 1231 Textphone: 0161 618 8524 E: enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk W: www.gov.uk/ofsted

p.8