Children's home run by Cambian Childcare Limited

Inspection report for children’s home: 2662847 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 operated by a large national provider of children’s homes. It provides care for one child who may experience social and emotional difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

The home was registered with Ofsted in December 2021. The new manager has applied to register with Ofsted.

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Information about this children’s home

There was one child living in the home at the time of the inspection.

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Overall experiences and progress of

children and young people, taking into account

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inadequate

How well children and young people are helped and protected inadequate

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inadequate

The effectiveness of leaders and managers inadequate

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inadequate

There are serious and widespread failures that mean children and young people are not protected or their welfare is not promoted or safeguarded.

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inadequate

Date of last inspection: 17 December 2024

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inadequate

Overall judgement at last inspection: requires improvement to be good

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inadequate

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children’s home: 2662847 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

17/12/2024 Full Requires improvement to be good 10/09/2024 Full Inadequate 19/07/2023 Full Requires improvement to be good 14/09/2022 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: 2662847 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: inadequate

The child’s overall safety, progress and experiences are compromised by poor safeguarding practice and inadequate leadership and management of the home.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: inadequate

The child living in the home has not received a consistent level of care from the staff team. Significant incidents have continued to escalate due to the poor and ineffective levels of care overseen by leaders and managers, alongside the staff team lacking the skills and experience to meet the child’s needs.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: inadequate

Staff have not consistently provided the child with access to support to maintain their health and well-being, despite the child requesting particular support with their sexual health. Staff are provided with training from the in-house psychologist that provides them with guidance on how to support the child’s emotional health needs. Despite this positive area of practice, the staff have not used the skills and knowledge they have acquired to improve care practices.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: inadequate

Staff support the child to maintain relationships with their family and friends. However, staff are not professionally curious when taking them to visit friends. Staff do not follow plans to ensure that the child is safe when in the community and spending time in friends’ homes.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: inadequate

Staff support the child to take part in activities and provide opportunities to broaden their interests. Staff include photos of the child enjoying these activities in their care plans.

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

Leaders and managers do not adequately consider appropriate strategies to safeguard the child. This inspection found multiple failings where the child has been left at risk of harm.

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

Staff’s actions have placed the child and others at significant risk of harm. This included a serious incident when the child accessed the home’s car and left the home in it. Despite this significant risk, staff failed to take action to report this immediately to managers.

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

When there have been serious incidents involving the child, staff have failed to follow safeguarding practices detailed in the child’s plans. Clear and predictable risks have not been responded to appropriately by staff. These shortfalls have placed the child at risk of harm.

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

There have been repeated incidents of the child using electronic cigarettes, incidents of theft and assaults on others. Staff do not follow strategies outlined in the child’s risk Inspection report for children’s home: 2662847 4 assessments despite ongoing discussions as a staff team about how staff should respond to any such incident. As a result, strategies implemented to reduce the risk are ineffective as incidents continue to happen.

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

When there are concerns regarding staff’s practice, the manager ensures that information is shared with partner agencies to ensure that appropriate action is taken to investigate concerns. Following incidents, the manager considers lessons learned through evaluation; however, this is not effective. There continue to be repeated incidents in respect of known risks and behaviours for the child escalating.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

The manager in post has applied to register with Ofsted. The manager has remained in the role since the last inspection.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

Leaders and managers have not taken effective action to address all requirements identified at the last inspection. Requirements have been restated.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

Since the last inspection, leaders and managers have failed to ensure that staff fully understand their roles and responsibilities. Staff undertake training on topics relevant to the child’s individual needs and this is repeated following incidents. However, there continue to be repeated shortfalls in staff practice. In addition, some staff members are not yet qualified, despite their time spent working in residential care.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

The staff team lacks the skills and understanding to meet the child’s needs. This means that the child has not always had consistent responses from staff. As a result, incidents have occurred.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

Staff receive regular supervision. For some staff, this includes more frequent supervision when there is an identified need to support them in their roles. Team meetings take place regularly to discuss the child’s progress and any emerging needs. However, records of these meetings show that staff do not always feel confident and safe in their roles when caring for the child. Staff have identified that there are inconsistencies in the staff team’s approach to minimising risks and supporting behaviours, leading to an inconsistent and unsafe level of care for the child. Inspection report for children’s home: 2662847 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 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; and

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Requirement Due date

are familiar with, and act in accordance with, the home’s child protection policies;

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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 effectiveness of the home’s child protection policies is monitored regularly.

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Requirement Due date

(Regulation 12 (1) (2)(a)(i)(iii)(v)(vi)(vii)(b)(e))

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Requirement Due date

Specifically, leaders and managers must ensure that all staff understand their roles and responsibilities in keeping the child 1 June 2025 Inspection report for children’s home: 2662847 6 safe. In addition, leaders and managers must ensure that there are clear plans are in place for staff to follow in practice.

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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

ensure that staff have the experience, qualifications, and skills to meet the needs of each child;

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Requirement Due date

ensure that the home’s workforce provides continuity of care to 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;

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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.

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Requirement Due date

(Regulation 13 (1)(a)(b)(2)(c)(e)(f)(h))

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Requirement Due date

Specifically, leaders and managers must ensure that effective action is taken to address shortfalls in staff practice and that staff have the skills to meet the needs of the child in their care. 1 June 2025

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Requirement Due date

The health and well-being standard is that—

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Requirement Due date

the health and well-being needs of children are met;

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Requirement Due date

children receive advice, services, and support in relation to their health and well-being; and

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Requirement Due date

children are helped to lead healthy lifestyles.

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to ensure— 9 July 2025 Inspection report for children’s home: 2662847 7 that staff help each child to—

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Requirement Due date

achieve the health and well-being outcomes that are recorded in the child’s relevant plans; and

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Requirement Due date

that each child has access to such dental, medical, nursing, psychiatric and psychological advice, treatment, and other services as the child may require.

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Requirement Due date

(Regulation 10 (1)(a)(b)(c)(2)(a)(i)(c))

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Requirement Due date

Specifically, leaders and managers must ensure that staff support children to attend appointments for their health needs, including when children request specific treatment.

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Requirement Due date

employ an individual to work at the children’s home; or

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Requirement Due date

if an individual is employed by a person other than the registered person to work at the home in a position in which the individual may have regular contact with children, allow that individual to work at the home,

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Requirement Due date

if the individual satisfies the requirements in paragraph (3).

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Requirement Due date

the individual has the appropriate experience, qualification, and skills for the work that the individual is to perform.

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Requirement Due date

For the purposes of paragraph (3)(b), an individual who works in the home in a care role has the appropriate qualification if, by the relevant date, the individual has attained—

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Requirement Due date

a qualification which the registered person considers to be equivalent to the Level 3 Diploma.

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Requirement Due date

in the case of an individual who starts working in a care role in a home after 1st April 2014, the date which falls 2 years after the date on which the individual started working in a care role in a home.

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Requirement Due date

(Regulation 32 (1)(2)(a)(b)(3)(b)(4)(b)(5)(a)) 9 July 2025 Inspection report for children’s home: 2662847 8 * These requirements are subject to a compliance notice.

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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: 2662847 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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Children’s home details

Responsible individual: Beverley Williams

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Inspector

Nicola Rutherford, Social Care Regulatory Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2662847 10 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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