Children's Home run by Cambian Childcare Limited in Devon

Inspection report for children’s home: SC458352 1 SC458352 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 children’s home can provide care for three children with social and emotional needs. At the time of this inspection, two children were living in this home.

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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: requires improvement to be good

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requires improvement to be good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children’s home: SC458352 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

07/08/2024 Full Requires improvement to be good 18/07/2023 Full Requires improvement to be good 26/07/2022 Full Good 01/09/2021 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: SC458352 3

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improvement to be good

There are shortfalls in the effectiveness of leadership in the home and the arrangements that are in place to keep children safe. This means that children’s experiences of the home are mixed. Children do not always receive clear and consistent support from staff who know them well.

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improvement to be good

Two children are living in the home. One child has continued to live in the home since the last inspection. One child moved on to a supported accommodation and another child moved to live at the home several months ago. Two children were seen and spoken to. One child said that they like living in the home and usually get on well with the staff. They like their bedroom and have been able to personalise it in a way that they like. This child spoke positively about their recent fishing trips. During the inspection, they went out with staff and caught their first fish. They were very proud of this achievement. Another child has been going to college and has recently completed some exams. They are looking forward to moving into supported accommodation soon.

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improvement to be good

The home is clean and there are spacious rooms for children to use. There is some damage that has been caused in the home and there is a plan of maintenance to make it feel more homely. This includes areas inside the home that need to be redecorated or need new curtains. There are also plans to improve the garden and to clear rubbish from the outside buildings. There are plans to rearrange the use of rooms to create more spaces downstairs for children to use. The office door is currently being locked by the staff to prevent the children from having access to it; this makes the home feel less homely.

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improvement to be good

The children currently have clear routines in place. Staff support children to get up and be ready for the day’s activities in a timely way. Children are encouraged to attend their educational settings and to take part in activities outside of the home. Children are well supported to attend health appointments and are supported with any health needs. The children are developing their independence skills by learning to do their own washing and to cook for themselves. Staff are respectful to the children and seek their views about their experiences, activities and family time. When children are experiencing challenges in the local community or with friendships, they are well supported by the staff to learn from these experiences. Children have made better progress in the last month.

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improvement to be good

There has been a high level of staff sickness during recent months, and this has had an impact on the children and the staff. On some occasions, children have been cared for by unfamiliar staff from other homes or by agency staff. Children have found this difficult to manage, and they have not always felt safe. Staff said that there have been occasions when they have been physically hurt, and they have felt emotionally drained on some occasions when they have needed to work longer hours. Inspection report for children’s home: SC458352 4

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improvement to be good

There have been some serious incidents involving the children. On some occasions these incidents were managed well, but on other occasions staff did not take enough action to keep children safe. On one occasion a child had possession of the keys to the office for several days. They were able to access the medication cupboard and take their medication incorrectly. There was no monitoring of this child during the night to ensure there were no negative side effects. There have been some concerns raised about staff practice and one investigation is ongoing.

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improvement to be good

Staff do not always know how to support children with their behaviour and keep them safe. Support is sometimes inconsistent, giving children mixed messages. During one incident, a child was allowed to read sensitive information on their file without support from staff. This information would have been emotionally distressing for the child to read. Staff training has been arranged to develop their skills. There has been a noticeable reduction in incidents over the past month.

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improvement to be good

One child has raised some concerns about their previous carers. This was not followed up with the child in a timely way and information about this has not been shared with external agencies. Leaders do not recognise the potential risk to the safety of other children. Leaders identify and respond to concerns about staff practice however they do not share information with external agencies in a timely way.

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improvement to be good

There have been no incidents of restraint in this home. When children leave the home without telling anyone, the staff will go out and look for them and try to communicate with children by phone. This means that children do not go missing, as staff are regularly monitoring where children are and ensuring they are safe. One social worker acknowledged that a child’s experiences had improved over the past month. The children are feeling more settled and their feelings around emotional safety have increased.

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

Staff have raised some worries about how the home has been managed. They said that they did not always feel supported by their managers and have not had regular supervision. The are worried that children have sometimes been cared for by staff who do not know them well. This has had an impact on children’s emotional safety. Children have been aware of negative staff dynamics. The staff say that this has improved over the past month, as support arrangements have been changed.

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

Children have positive care and support plans in place for them, but these documents are not kept up to date. There is conflicting information about children’s care needs, and information about current risks has not been included. Although some staff have had access to suitable levels of supervision and training, this is not consistent. Some staff have not had supervision for several months. Poor communication between managers Inspection report for children’s home: SC458352 5 and staff has resulted in staff missing opportunities for training with the organisations mental health practitioner.

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

The home is experiencing a more settled period with changes to management arrangements in place. Prior to this, staff had found it challenging to work in the home. Leaders have identified some of the shortfalls and are making improvements, including a clinical training plan and regular supervision. Inspection report for children’s home: SC458352 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 ensure that the premises used for the purposes of the home are designed and furnished so as to meet the needs of each child; and

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Requirement Due date

that effective and up to date care plans are in place for each child. (Regulation 6 (1)(a)(b) (2)(c)(i)(ii)) 1 July 2025

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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 that staff—

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Requirement Due date

have the skills to identify and act upon signs that a child is at risk of harm. (Regulation 12 (1) (2)(a)(iii))

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Requirement Due date

The registered person should ensure that any worries about the care of children are followed up in a timely way and that information is shared appropriately with external agencies. 1 July 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

ensures that staff have the experiences, qualifications and skills to meet the needs of each child. (Regulation 13 (1)(c) 1 July 2025 Inspection report for children’s home: SC458352 7 The registered person should ensure that staff have the skills to meet the needs of each child and are provided with regular supervision.

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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: SC458352 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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Inspector

Sarah Sheffield, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: SC458352 9 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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