Children's Home run by Cambian Childcare Limited in Middlesbrough

Inspection report for children’s home: 1229417 1 Registered provider: Cambian Childcare Limited 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. It offers care for one child who may experience social and emotional difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager registered with Ofsted in April 2025.

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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: 1229417 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

28/05/2024 Full Good 15/06/2023 Full Good 18/01/2023 Full Requires improvement to be good 02/03/2022 Interim Sustained effectiveness Inspection report for children’s home: 1229417 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

One child has moved on from the home since the last inspection. Children move into the home following planned introductions to the environment and the staff. When children move on from the home, staff work with professionals to prepare them and support them as they get to know their new surroundings. This helps children start to develop relationships and become familiar with their new home before they move.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff build positive relationships with children’s families. Children are encouraged to spend time with people who are important to them. A parent and social worker both expressed satisfaction with the level of communication they receive from professionals. This has helped one child to repair their relationship with their parents and progress a plan for them to return home.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff actively promote children’s health and well-being. Children are registered with local dentists, doctors and opticians. When children need emotional support, staff make referrals to external professional services. Staff also carry out key-work sessions with children to educate them on the importance of good health. Children receive the support they need in a timely manner.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

When monitoring or surveillance are implemented, this is not clearly documented. One child is subject to restrictions, including a tracking app on their mobile phone. The child's plan does not detail the necessity for this monitoring, nor does it undergo review. Furthermore, the necessary consent for the use of surveillance has not been sought. This could breach the child’s right to privacy.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

When children are not accessing full-time education, staff advocate for them and escalate issues to the local authority and headteacher of the virtual school. However, this has not been effective in securing an appropriate school placement for one child. Furthermore, staff do not provide the child with a structured routine and opportunities for informal learning. As a result, not all children make good progress in their education.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are not fully equipped to acquire the skills they need as they move into adulthood. Staff help children learn how to carry out tasks such as doing laundry and preparing meals. However, there is limited evidence of staff assisting children in developing skills that are essential for managing their finances and running a home. This could leave children feeling anxious about living independently when they reach adulthood.

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

Staff use effective de-escalation techniques to support children’s behaviour. Physical intervention is used only as a last resort to reduce risks to the child and others. The manager reviews each incident, and the child has the opportunity to reflect on their Inspection report for children’s home: 1229417 4 experiences and express their views. Staff carry out direct work with children and help them learn how to better manage their emotions. This helps children to learn new ways to express themselves when they are angry or upset.

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

Key-work sessions take place to help the child understand risks, such as those associated with use of the internet and social media. Staff educate children to help them understand their individual risks and provide them with the knowledge they need to make safer choices.

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

When children go missing from home, staff know how to respond. Staff search for children and collaborate with a multi-agency team to help children return home safely. When children return, they are spoken to and offered emotional support. However, missing-from-home incidents are not always clearly recorded by staff. This hinders the manager’s ability to maintain oversight of the actions taken by staff to safeguard children.

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

Risk assessments do not provide staff with all the information about known risks to children. The assessments do not provide staff with clear instructions on how to respond to and mitigate risks. This could mean that staff are not consistent or effective in safeguarding the child.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

There have been changes in the management of the home since the last inspection. The home is being overseen by an interim manager. The recent change has been well managed to support consistency for the child and the staff. The interim manager is committed to improving outcomes for the child and upskilling the staff team.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Leaders and managers actively maintain oversight of, and review, the quality of care provided. The manager has a clear process in place for auditing and monitoring staff practice across the home. These audits identify actions, and managers regularly review the progress staff are making in their learning and development. The manager provides staff training that is specific to the child's needs. This helps to ensure that all staff are equipped with the skills and knowledge they need to care for the child.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Not all staff receive regular supervision. When supervision takes place, staff’s well-being and children’s needs are discussed; however, there are no opportunities for staff to have reflective discussions around safeguarding incidents. This means there are missed opportunities for staff to learn from their experiences and for the manager to better understand staff's individual development needs.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Leaders and managers fail to escalate issues effectively to the local authority. For one child, the manager did not actively challenge issues with their plan and the support that was available to them. This prevented the child’s plan from progressing in a timely manner. Inspection report for children’s home: 1229417 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 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. (Regulation 12 (1) (2)(a)(i)) 10 July 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)) 10 July 2025

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Requirement Due date

The registered person may only use devices for the monitoring or surveillance of children if—

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Requirement Due date

the monitoring or surveillance is for the purpose of safeguarding and promoting the welfare of the child concerned, or other children;

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Requirement Due date

the child’s placing authority consents in writing to the monitoring or surveillance. and

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Requirement Due date

the monitoring or surveillance is no more intrusive than necessary, having regard to the child’s need for privacy. (Regulation 24 (1)(a)(b)(d)) 10 July 2025 Inspection report for children’s home: 1229417 6

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that staff keep a record detailing all individual incidents when children go missing from the home. An evaluation of missing-from- home incidents should be carried out to identify any gaps in training, skills or knowledge for staff or to record and retain evidence of what worked well. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 46, paragraph 9.31)  The registered person should work closely with the placing authority so that the child is supported and enabled to resume full-time education as soon as possible. In the interim, the child should receive support to maintain or regain their confidence in education and engage in suitable structured activities. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 28, paragraph 5.15)  The registered person should ensure that staff help children prepare for moving on

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Recommendations

from the home. This specifically relates to assisting children in developing the emotional and mental resilience to manage without the home’s support and acquiring practical skills, such as budgeting. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 17, paragraph 3.27)  The registered person should have systems in place so that all staff, including the manager, receive supervision in accordance with the home’s statement of purpose, allowing them to reflect on their practice and the needs of the children in their care. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 61, paragraph 13.2)

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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: 1229417 7

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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

Natalie Clark, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 1229417 8 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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