Children's Home run by Cambian Childcare Limited in Bedford

Inspection report for children’s home: SC476251 1 SC476251 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 provides care for up to four children who are at risk of or subject to exploitation. At the time of the inspection, two children were living at the home. The manager registered with Ofsted in June 2021.

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Information about this children’s home

There is a Department for Education-registered school on the same site. The inspector only visited the social care provision on this site.

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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 requires improvement to be good

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good

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

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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: SC476251 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

09/10/2024 Full Good 18/09/2023 Full Good 15/02/2023 Full Good 18/01/2022 Full Outstanding Inspection report for children’s home: SC476251 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Two children have moved in and two children have moved out of the home since the last inspection. Two children were living in the home at the time of the inspection. Both children met the inspector. One child gave detailed feedback that was mainly positive.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

A warm and homely ethos is promoted by staff. ‘Praise books’ for children and staff promote healthy and positive relations. Children have good relationships with staff. They said they can talk to staff and raise issues with them. Children also said they can talk to managers, and trust that the things they say will be taken seriously.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children’s views are actively sought and well considered through weekly children’s meetings. Children set the agendas for these meetings, and staff record what is said and what is done in response. Complaints are taken seriously and responded to promptly by senior staff.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children’s education is promoted effectively. Attendance for one child has improved, and they are planning to take GCSEs. Staff also support the child to attend art lessons at a specialist school.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children’s health needs are supported with clear and comprehensive records of appointments and appropriately managed medication. Minor medication errors have been addressed, and staff receive training in this area. One child has been supported by staff to attend regular therapy sessions via CAMHS.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff help children to maintain relationships with the people who are important to them. This includes supporting children to make journeys that can involve lengthy travel. Staff and managers collaborate with social workers and parents, and challenge professionals when necessary to maintain arrangements.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The home’s environment is well maintained, clean and spacious, with large outside grounds. Children contribute to the design of shared spaces and their bedrooms, ensuring that these reflect their preferences.

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

Children are well supported and feel safe. Staff know their safeguarding responsibilities and understand the whistle-blowing procedures.

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

Staff have a good understanding of children’s strengths and vulnerabilities. They use risk assessments and behaviour support plans for children. These are detailed, individualised and updated regularly. This helps staff to understand and respond appropriately to children’s specific vulnerabilities. Staff understand what may trigger or upset children and adapt their approaches accordingly. Inspection report for children’s home: SC476251 4 Staff and managers encourage positive behaviour. Staff help increase children’s understanding of risky or acceptable behaviour. Progress plans, known as ‘step-up’, are created with children and help them achieve agreed goals. Incentives and rewards are offered frequently and effectively, including the use of reward charts and positive consequences. Negative consequences are recorded infrequently, but are proportionate and appropriate when used.

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

Children have gone missing from the home frequently. Staff are proactive and act in line with protocols to help children return safely. Managers ensure that missing-from-care assessments are up to date and that individual incidents are reviewed. Strategy meetings take place with social workers and police officers to ensure a coordinated response. This helps staff to understand the risk and make meaningful enquiries quickly. Although this remains a high risk for children, effective measures are in place to reduce this risk.

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

Physical intervention only happens when necessary to protect children or those around them, and only one incident of restraint has been recorded since the last inspection. There is a focus on using de-escalation techniques where possible.

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

A robust assessment of local risks in the vicinity of the home is in place. Staff ensure that health and safety checks are conducted regularly, and that any fire-related risk measures are in place.

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

The home offers an integrated clinical service in a therapeutic environment and specialises in supporting children who are at risk from or have experienced exploitation, according to the statement of purpose. However, the home’s therapeutic programme and ‘bespoke model of care’ is not being delivered. This is primarily due to staff shortages. Consequently, although children are receiving good care, they are not receiving the approach and programmes offered in the home’s statement of purpose.

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

The registered manager is currently on maternity leave. An interim manager was appointed in February and is in the process of submitting an application for registration with Ofsted. Both managers have demonstrated competence and commitment to the home. The home benefits from two deputy managers. The manager, deputies and the responsible individual have aspirations for the home and have shown insight and reflection on how practice can improve.

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

Management oversight was not effective prior to and during the change in manager, and this impacted on the home’s quality of care. A high level of incidents occurred during this time. Documents or reports were not consistently updated, and others were not effectively reviewed. Investigations into staff allegations were delayed, and some documentation was incomplete or missing. Leaders and managers did not ensure that effective leadership and management was in place during this period. Inspection report for children’s home: SC476251 5 One child who moved into the home did not have a positive experience. Planning and matching assessments were not robust, and staff were unable to support the child or meet their needs. This resulted in serious incidents occurring, including episodes of going missing from the home and assaults on staff.

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

The provider offers comprehensive training for staff, which includes courses specific to the needs of the home and refresher courses for core areas of practice. However, samples of records showed that more than one staff member had core training or specific training which was either out of date or not completed. This means that not all staff are fully equipped to deliver the specific care outlined in the statement of purpose.

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

Staff receive regular supervision and speak positively about this being effective. The manager and deputy have an ‘open door’ culture with staff that encourages ad hoc discussions when needed. Team meetings take place regularly to ensure that all staff are informed about events and have a space to express their views.

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

Feedback from external professionals has been largely positive, with no significant concerns raised, and the manager was able to provide mitigating evidence in response to any worries raised. Staff feedback has been positive, highlighting their enjoyment of their roles and their commitment to the children. There is a positive and child-focused ethos in the home among the whole staff team.

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

Leaders and managers ensure that staff recruitment checks are stringent and comply with regulations. A comprehensive induction programme for new staff ensures they have access to good initial training and additional support and supervision in their role. Newer staff spoke positively about support from more experienced staff members.

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

Children’s files are generally of a good standard, case recordings are professional and detailed, day-to-day records are sufficiently detailed, and the language used in the records is child focused. Inspection report for children’s home: SC476251 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 quality and purpose of care standard is that children receive care from staff who—

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Requirement Due date

understand the children’s home’s overall aims and the outcomes it seeks to achieve for children;

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Requirement Due date

use this understanding to deliver care that meets children’s needs and supports them to fulfil their potential.

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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 and apply the home’s statement of purpose ensure that staff—

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Requirement Due date

understand and apply the home’s statement of purpose. (Regulation 6 (1)(a)(b) (2)(a)(b)(i))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person must ensure the delivery of support as outlined in the home’s statement of purpose. 31 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

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; 31 May 2025 Inspection report for children’s home: SC476251 7 ensure that staff have the experience, qualifications and skills to meet the needs of each child;

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Requirement Due date

use monitoring and review systems to make continuous improvements in the quality of the care provided in the home. (Regulation 13 (1)(a)(b) (2)(a)(c)(h))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, ensure that leaders and managers maintain good oversight and monitoring of all aspects of the home’s operation, including the quality of staff practice, the provision of training and the quality of children’s case files and incident records.

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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. (Regulation 14 (1)(a)(b)) 31 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 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: SC476251 8

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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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Children’s home details

Responsible individual: Dennise Springett

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Inspectors

Daniel Rankin, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: SC476251 9 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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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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