Children's Home run by Cambridgeshire County Council in Cambridgeshire

Inspection report for children’s home: 2605508 1 Registered provider: Cambridgeshire County Council

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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 provides short breaks for up to five children with diagnosed learning difficulties and/or complex health needs. The home offers long-term placements for three children.

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Information about this children’s home

The registered manager has been in post since 22 April 2022.

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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 requires improvement to be 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: 30 October 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: 2605508 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

30/10/2023 Full Good 09/08/2022 Full Good 19/05/2021 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: 2605508 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Two children were staying at the home at the time of inspection. Both children were spoken to. The home currently supports 18 children for short breaks, and two of these children receive shared care.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The judgement is good overall. However, some shortfalls in how well children are helped and protected have been identified. Some of these concerns were raised over a year ago and these have been considered as part of the overall judgement.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff understand children’s communication methods. Children’s meetings and key-worker sessions take place regularly to gain children’s views. Staff clearly record what communication methods children use when giving their views. This shows that staff are committed to ensuring they regularly consult with children in ways they understand.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

An advocate visits the home regularly. They spend time with the children to get to know them. One child came to the home as an emergency and the manager requested for the advocate to be involved due to concerns about the child’s presentation. The advocate and staff both ensured that the child’s views and best interests were at the heart of decision-making. Appropriate referrals to other professionals were made to support the child.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

A nurse is based at the home two days a week. The nurse offers training to staff about children’s health needs. The nurse also undertakes regular medication audits. Following medication errors a clear investigation is completed. Staff seek medical advice following any errors. The nurse meets with the staff involved to have reflective discussions. This means staff are given opportunities to understand about how their actions contributed to the error and to ensure that staff are clear about their roles and responsibilities in this area.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff offer children a range of activities. One child has been on holiday with staff. Another child went to a restaurant for a meal for the first time. Children from local services are invited to the home when an entertainer visits. This gives children opportunities to socialise with other children.

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improvement to be good

Staff did not follow safeguarding processes following a child arriving at the home with safeguarding concerns. There was a delay in staff reading the communication book, so they were unaware of changes to the child’s health. This led to a delay in medical advice being sought. An unexplained bruise was also found, and while this was reported to the placing authority, no medical advice was sought promptly. A staff member also asked the child leading questions about the safeguarding concerns. Inspection report for children’s home: 2605508 4 An investigation was completed about the concerns. However, this was not robust. There was a lack of investigation into the whole situation and the concerns. This meant that learning has not been identified clearly. There is no recorded evidence that the staff member who did not follow the correct safeguarding procedures was spoken to about their actions. A separate investigation into an allegation was also not carried out

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improvement to be good

thoroughly. Despite this, the local authority designated officer and the allocated social worker were informed in a timely manner.

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improvement to be good

The staff do not use restraints frequently, and these are proportionate when they are used. Debriefs with the child and staff take place. However, there are no dates to say when the debriefs took place. This means it is not possible to see whether they were completed in a timely manner.

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improvement to be good

Safer recruitment processes are generally followed. However, full employment histories are not always gained, and gaps in these are not always explored. While the gaps identified were historic, these were not explored, and the manager had not identified this missing information. New staff have an induction booklet to complete to support learning their roles.

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improvement to be good

Actions set in the fire risk assessments are not always completed in a timely manner. The fire risk assessment was completed by an external company and identified a number of actions. Most of the actions have been completed. However, some which require work by external contractors have not yet been completed. One action identified in a previous fire risk assessment and raised as a requirement at the last Ofsted inspection, took 8 months after the requirement date to be completed. There is currently one action which requires completing. The delay appears to be coming from the property team and not directly from the manager. However, there are limited actions recorded to show this has been chased or escalated by the manager.

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improvement to be good

Children’s documents and risk assessments are individualised and provide strategies for staff to support children. The plans are kept up to date. Staff use the de-escalation skills identified in children’s plans during incidents where required.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager is experienced and suitably qualified. She is supported by an equally committed deputy manager. The managers are aware of the areas for development for the home. Families and professionals speak positively about the support provided.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

There is an ongoing investigation by the provider into concerns received by Ofsted. The provider is ensuring that an impartial investigation is completed. Leaders and managers are keen to identify if there is any learning from this investigation. This shows a commitment to continual development of the service. Inspection report for children’s home: 2605508 5 Recent recruitment has been successful and there is a stable staff team. Temporary staff are not used. This enables children to be cared for by people they know and who know their needs.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Supervision sessions and team meetings take place regularly. Safeguarding scenarios are used in supervision sessions and team meetings to ensure that staff have the correct knowledge. This means that staff knowledge and skills are regularly refreshed.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff receive regular and relevant training. The training matrix is not clear about the expectation of how often training needs to be refreshed. Leaders and managers have identified this concern, and a new system is being implemented. This means there will be a clearer way for managers to ensure that all staff are in date with their training.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

There is management oversight following all incidents and restraints. However, this is limited and does not involve a clear review of actions taken, patterns identified or identify learning. This means that opportunities to improve staff practice may be being missed. The manager has identified this area of development and is organising additional training for the team leaders who provide management oversight.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff receive appraisals of their performance. However, the records of these are brief and there is no feedback from professionals, colleagues or children as part of these appraisals. This reduces opportunities for staff to reflect on their practice and identify any potential areas for further development. Inspection report for children’s home: 2605508 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;

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Requirement Due date

take effective action whenever there is a serious concern about a child’s welfare;

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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; and

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Requirement Due date

that the premises used for the purposes of the home are designed, furnished and maintained so as to protect each child from avoidable hazards to the child’s health. (Regulation 12 (1) (2)(a)(i)(iii)(v)(vi)(b)(d))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered manager must ensure that staff report safeguarding concerns promptly and respond in line with the home’s policies and ensure that actions from the fire risk assessment are completed promptly. 9 May 2025 Inspection report for children’s home: 2605508 7 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

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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 have the experience, qualifications and skills to meet the needs of 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; and

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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)(c)(f)(h)) 6 June 2025

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that records of restraint enable the registered person and staff to review the use of control, discipline and restraint to identify effective practice and respond promptly where any issues or trends of concern emerge. There should be dates added for staff and child debriefs to demonstrate these are being completed in a timely manner. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 49, paragraph 9.59)  The registered person should ensure that all Schedule 2 checks are completed when recruiting new staff. In particular, ensure that full employment histories are gained and any gaps are explored. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 61, paragraph 13.1)  The registered person should ensure that staff appraisals are completed in detail and take into account, when reasonable and practical, the views of other professionals

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Recommendations

who have worked with the staff member over the year and children in the home’s care. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 61, paragraph 13.5) Inspection report for children’s home: 2605508 8

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Information about this inspection

The inspector has 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: 2605508 9

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Sunley House, Summers Hill Drive, Papworth Everard, Cambridge CB23 3AB

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Children’s home details

Registered manager: Andreia Alves da Silva

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Inspector

Leanne Lyon, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2605508 10 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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