Children's Home run by Cambian Childcare Limited in Shropshire

Inspection report for children’s home: SC476292 1 SC476292 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

The home is owned by a private company. It provides care for up to five children with emotional and behavioural needs. At the time of this inspection, two children were living at the home. Since the previous inspection, three children have moved in and two children have moved out of the home.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager registered with Ofsted in June 2024.

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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

Overall judgement at last inspection: good

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children’s home: SC476292 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

03/04/2024 Full Good 12/12/2023 Full Inadequate 12/07/2022 Full Good 21/04/2021 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: SC476292 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

As a result of the care provided by the staff, children are making progress. Risks to children have reduced from their starting points and this has helped children’s plans progress, for example being able to move closer to family and friends.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff are committed to maintaining and promoting children’s relationships with their families, as specified within their plans. This is regardless of geographical challenges. As a result, children can sustain meaningful relationships with their families. This contributes to their emotional well-being and sense of identity.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are making good progress with their education. One child, who previously had poor attendance at school, now attends every day. School staff attribute this improvement to the proactive support provided by the home’s staff, who offer ongoing presence and availability during the school day. This collaborative approach has helped the child to feel more secure in the school environment and, as a result, they are undertaking GCSEs.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children contribute to their living environment and are supported to decorate their bedrooms to their individual taste and interests. This encourages a sense of ownership. Since the last inspection, improvements have been made to the home’s environment, which has made it more homely. This enhances children’s overall experiences.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff are nurturing and build trusting relationships with children. When children have shown distress, they provide emotional warmth and comfort. As a result, children feel supported and are able to reflect on their behaviour and achieve growth.

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

Staff have a good understanding of risks to children and work with them to ensure that these risks are managed effectively.

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

Incidents of children being missing from home have been rare. When these incidents have occurred, staff have immediately followed children and made good attempts to locate them. The manager ensures that when children return, they can speak to an independent person. This coordinated approach helps keep children safe.

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

Children are aware of the complaints procedure and feel comfortable in raising concerns. Where children have made a complaint, the manager considers children’s experiences and takes action to enhance them. When allegations are made, these are taken seriously and referred to the appropriate agencies. This approach supports children’s welfare and safety. Inspection report for children’s home: SC476292 4 There have been occasional incidents where staff have needed to use physical interventions. Where these interventions have taken place, they have been necessary to keep children safe and used as a last resort. Staff clearly document incidents and the manager evaluates these. Following incidents, the manager ensures that staff and children have been provided with the opportunity to reflect on incidents. This enables learning and ensures that practice is safe and protects children’s rights.

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

Room searches are carried out only when necessary. Where possible, children are present during these searches, which helps promote transparency and trust between them and staff.

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

The manager has reflected on the use of consequences and, as a result, no longer uses these as a behaviour management strategy. Instead, staff support children to understand the consequences of their behaviour by developing insight and understanding of them.

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

Children have at times struggled with group living. On these occasions, staff and managers have been proactive in educating children and helping them understand how their actions affect others. This helps children better understand and build positive relationships.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager is passionate about her work and knows the children and staff well. Staff report that they enjoy their work and feel supported by the manager.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The organisation provides a thorough induction process for new staff. Staff report that they find this beneficial. Staff do not work with children until they have successfully completed the onboarding process. This increases staff’s skills and, in turn, improves the quality of care provided to children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager ensures that staff receive training to enable them to undertake their roles and responsibilities. Where children have specific needs, the manager has sought additional training. As a result, staff are confident that they can meet children’s needs and are enabled to deliver a good quality of care.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Since the previous inspection, several staff have left the home. The manager has worked hard to reduce the impact of this on children and has taken action to try and understand the reasons why staff have left. New staff have been recruited, and the manager has ensured that suitability checks are appropriately made. This supports leaders in being assured that they have safe adults working at their home, while promoting consistency for children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff receive frequent supervision, and this provides them with opportunities to reflect on their practice. However, annual appraisals have not been completed. This is a missed opportunity to formally review staff practice. Inspection report for children’s home: SC476292 5

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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 registered person must ensure that all employees—

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Requirement Due date

have their performance and fitness to perform their roles appraised at least once every year. (Regulation 33 4(c)) 16 July 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: SC476292 6

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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

Chrisoula Contoyianni, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: SC476292 7 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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