Children's Home run by Cambian Childcare Limited in Wigan

Inspection report for children’s home: 2628010 1 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. The home provides care for one child who may have social and emotional difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

At the time of the inspection, one child was living in the home.

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Information about this children’s home

At the time of inspection, there was no registered manager in post.

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Overall experiences and progress of

children and young people, taking into account

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requires improvement to be good

How well children and young people are helped and protected requires improvement to be good

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requires improvement to be good

The effectiveness of leaders and managers requires improvement to be good

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requires improvement to be good

The children’s home is not yet delivering good help and care for children and young people. However, there are no serious or widespread failures that result in their welfare not being safeguarded or promoted.

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requires improvement to be good

Overall judgement at last inspection: good

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requires improvement to be good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children’s home: 2628010 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

12/03/2024 Full Good 25/01/2023 Full Good 23/03/2022 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: 2628010 3

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improvement to be good

Since the last inspection, one child has moved out of the home, and one child has moved into the home. Children living in the home make progress from their individual starting points.

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improvement to be good

The child does not attend formal education. Leaders and managers do advocate for an educational provision that is best suited to meet the child’s needs. There is a plan in place for the child to have a tutor. Staff provide the child with daily educational activities and life skills. Staff offer indirect learning through activities. This supports the child to begin to engage in education. This is progress from their starting point.

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improvement to be good

The child who moved out of the home made progress and had a positive end to their time living in the home. Staff helped the child to develop skills to live independently. Staff advocated for the child to make sure their next home was in line with their wishes and feelings. The staff team joined in celebrating the child’s achievements before the child moved out of the home.

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improvement to be good

Staff have positive relationships with children. The organisation’s clinical team supports the staff to engage with children, and this is beginning to provide children with opportunities to talk about things that are important to them. This helps children to maintain positive relationships with staff who care about them.

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improvement to be good

Staff support children to spend time with their families and friends. One child’s social worker said that staff are ‘fantastically supportive’ of family time. The child’s parent said that ‘staff go out of their way’ to support their time with their child.

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improvement to be good

One child’s bedroom is not maintained to an acceptable standard. The manager does not take sufficient action so that maintenance to the child’s bedroom is carried out in a timely manner. This does not ensure that the child lives in a homely environment.

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improvement to be good

Staff understand how to keep children safe. They recognise their roles and responsibilities in safeguarding children.

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improvement to be good

There are clear plans in place for staff to follow if the child goes missing from home. Staff search for the child and work with their family and friends to ensure that the child returns home safely. Missing-from-home incidents have reduced.

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improvement to be good

The child’s risk assessments include all known risks and behaviours. There is clear guidance for staff to follow for some risks. However, there is not an effective risk Inspection report for children’s home: 2628010 4 management strategy in place to ensure that the child is safe when they are using their mobile phone. This shortfall could leave the child at risk of harm given the concerns in respect of exploitation. Staff do not have effective strategies to manage the child using electronic cigarettes. This could impact negatively on the child’s health.

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improvement to be good

Staff provide the child with a calm and consistent approach. This approach helps to de- escalate incidents without using physical restraint.

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improvement to be good

There have been incidents of self-injurious behaviour. Staff demonstrate empathy when they manage these incidents. This helps the child to feel safe. However, on one occasion, staff did not ensure that items used to cause harm were removed from the child’s bedroom in a timely manner. This left the child vulnerable to further harm.

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improvement to be good

Managers and staff manage allegations well. The manager talks to the child and listens to their views. The manager follows relevant safeguarding processes to ensure that the child is safe.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

Since the last inspection, there have been changes to the management arrangements. The previous registered manager left the organisation and there is a new manager in post. However, there is a delay in the new manager applying to register with Ofsted.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

The manager is making improvements to the quality of care that staff provide for the child. The manager knows the child well and has a good relationship with them. The manager works to understand the child’s behaviours to keep them safe.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

There are shortfalls in the manager’s review of incidents. This means that opportunities have been missed to continually improve the quality of care that staff provide for the child.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

Staff are positive about the previous registered manager and current acting manager. Staff receive regular supervision and feedback on their practice, which supports their development.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

The manager has implemented monitoring and reviewing systems that are helping her to monitor the child’s progress. Therefore, the manager is developing her understanding of the child’s progress and areas of ongoing need. This is reflected within the child’s care plans.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

Leaders and managers do not challenge effectively the local authority when they are concerned about specific plans in relation to the child’s care. For example, the manager does not take action to implement strategies for staff to follow to reduce the risk of harm in relation to mobile phone use. Therefore, there are shortfalls in how staff reduce this risk in practice. This has led to a further incident. Inspection report for children’s home: 2628010 5 When shortfalls are identified in staff practice, this is addressed by leaders and managers within supervisions, team meetings and probation reviews. The manager identifies learning from incidents and shares these with the staff team. Inspection report for children’s home: 2628010 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

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. (Regulation 12 (1) (2)(a)(i)(v)(vi))

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Requirement Due date

Specifically, leaders and managers must ensure that there are effective risk management strategies in place to reduce the risks to the child of online child exploitation and vaping. 9 May 2025

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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

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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

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; 9 May 2025 Inspection report for children’s home: 2628010 7 use monitoring and review systems to make continuous improvements in the quality of care provided in the home. (Regulation 13 (1)(a)(b) (2)(f)(h))

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Requirement Due date

Specifically, that leaders and managers use their review and monitoring systems effectively to continually improve the quality of care that staff provide for children.

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Requirement Due date

The quality and purpose of care standard is that children receive care from staff who—

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Requirement Due date

provide to children living in the home the physical necessities they need in order to live there comfortably;

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Requirement Due date

ensure that the premises used for the purposes of the home are designed and furnished so as to—

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Requirement Due date

meet the needs of each child. (Regulation 6 (2)(vii)(c)(i))

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Requirement Due date

Specifically, leaders and managers must ensure that the child’s bedroom is maintained to a high standard and that any repairs are carried out in a timely manner. 9 May 2025

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Requirement Due date

In meeting the quality standards, the registered person must, and must ensure that staff—

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Requirement Due date

if the registered person considers, or staff consider, a placing authority’s or a relevant person’s performance or response to be inadequate in relation to their role, challenge the placing authority or the relevant person to seek to ensure that each child’s needs are met in accordance with the child’s relevant plans. (Regulation 5(c))

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Requirement Due date

Specifically, leaders and managers must ensure that they challenge effectively and escalate any concerns that they have in relation to the child’s care planning. 9 May 2025

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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 Inspection report for children’s home: 2628010 8 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: 2628010 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: 5th Floor, Metropolitan House, 3 Darkes Lane, Potters Bar, Hertfordshire, EN6 1AG

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Inspector

Hayley Smith, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2628010 10 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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Inspector

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