Children's Home run by Cambian Childcare Limited in Dudley

Inspection report for children's home: SC472465 1 SC472465 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 registered to care for up to five children with complex needs who have experienced early childhood trauma. It is owned by a large organisation.

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Information about this children's home

The manager registered with Ofsted in May 2022 and holds the relevant qualification.

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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: SC472465 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

07/05/2024 Full Requires improvement to be good 03/10/2023 Full Inadequate 26/06/2023 Full Inadequate 15/11/2022 Full Good Inspection report for children's home: SC472465 3

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improvement to be good

Three children were living in the home at the time of this inspection. They were all seen and two were spoken to. Since the last inspection, one child has moved in. All children say that they are happy living in the home.

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improvement to be good

One child moved in two weeks ago. Risks in relation to this child's mental health are not clearly understood. Professionals, including the placing authority, did not provide adequate information about this. The registered manager has been raising their concerns with them. However, senior managers have not escalated this further on their behalf. As a result, the suitability of the home’s location in relation to this child's safety remains a concern.

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improvement to be good

Children live in a comfortable and homely environment. Staff encourage them to personalise their bedrooms. Photos of children taking part in activities with adults are on display around the home. The garden is a lovely space for children to play in. For example, they can play ball games and on the trampoline. Children and adults are looking forward to hosting a summer fete.

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improvement to be good

Two children are attending school and making good progress from their starting points. One child's attendance was sporadic before they moved in. Another child has been able to maintain their attendance, with staff support. Staff are supporting one child's education in the home. They are also advocating for their return to school after a period of absence due to being unwell.

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improvement to be good

The registered manager is a good advocate. They have enabled one child's assessment by specialist professionals to take place sooner than expected. The manager and staff know this child well. They are assisting professionals to better consider the child's complex needs. This is contributing to the child’s future care planning.

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improvement to be good

Staff form positive relationships with children. Social workers are positive about the support children receive from the home and how this is helping them to progress .

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improvement to be good

Children identify staff who they are fond of and enjoy being with. Staff have developed a good rapport with one child who has only been living in the home for two weeks. This is helping the child to confide in them about their worries and anxieties.

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improvement to be good

Staff help children to maintain links with their family members. They listen to children's wishes and feelings, ensuring that any contact is at the child's pace. Staff have also facilitated one child to see their pet. This has had a very positive impact on the child's emotional well-being. Inspection report for children's home: SC472465 4

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improvement to be good

The home has recently experienced an unsettled period. Two incidents have occurred where staff have not followed correct reporting procedures. During and after the incidents, two children made allegations about staff. There was a delay in reporting this to the on-call manager as there was no identified manager for staff to call. Staff did not inform the children's placing authority or record what had happened. This caused a delay in the manager’s evaluation of these incidents. Once aware, the manager took prompt action to report the concerns to professionals, such as social workers, the local authority designated officer and the police.

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improvement to be good

During one of these incidents, a child's behaviour escalated very quickly. This was as a result of them witnessing another child's behaviour. The child was new to the home and became very distressed and wanted to leave. They displayed behaviours that had the potential to be very harmful to them and staff. Staff physically intervened to keep them safe. However, this was not in line with the home’s behaviour management policy. Staff were unable to manage the situation safely and called the police. The child later alleged that a staff member had hurt them. The manager has taken appropriate action to ensure the child’s safety. An investigation of the incident is taking place.

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improvement to be good

Staff do not always consider children's emotional well-being when risk assessing situations. During another incident, a child's behaviour escalated. Initially, staff felt that it was not appropriate to take them out shopping. However, shortly after, they changed their mind. The child's behaviour escalated while out in the community and they ran away from staff.

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improvement to be good

Incidents of children going missing are very few. When they do, staff respond immediately and recognise the increased risk for some children. Staff take prompt action as outlined in children's detailed risk assessments. This helps staff to locate children quickly and support them to return home.

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improvement to be good

Staff respond to ensure children's safety when children self-harm. However, one child's risk assessment does not outline the frequency of room checks. This has the potential to compromise their safety. Staff use professional curiosity to explore concerns that the child may have self-harmed. However, it is not always clear that the manager revisits with them how this happened, such as how the child was able to obtain an object to self-harm with. This is a missed opportunity to identify concerns in relation to staff practice. However, for another child, incidents of self-harm have significantly decreased. Staff have helped them to develop safer ways to process their feelings. They have also supported them to receive and engage with specialist help and support.

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

Inspection report for children's home: SC472465 5 Since the last inspection, there have been changes to the home’s management team. There is a new responsible individual. They are very experienced in children's residential care.

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

The registered manager sets high expectations for staff. They are passionate about the children in their care. However, there have also been changes to the staff team, with several staff leaving and joining. This does not appear to have had a negative impact on children. Staff speak highly of the manager. They speak fondly of children and understand their needs well.

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

Staff receive regular supervision sessions, of which the quality varies. Some staff supervision lacks reflection and exploration around practice issues. This is a missed opportunity for staff to learn and improve their practice, particularly for newer staff members. This does not help staff to feel fully supported in their roles.

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

The independent visitor did not share significant information with the manager. This was in relation to a child's physical presentation during one of their visits. The manager was already aware of the concern. However, not sharing this information could have compromised the child's safety as well as the quality of the home’s external monitoring systems.

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

The manager ensures that staff receive training that is pertinent to children’s needs. This includes refresher training after incidents occur. Staff practice is also supported by the company's clinical team.

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

The manager has good monitoring systems in place, with senior oversight. These systems provide the manager with oversight of daily practice and children's records. The manager is curious and regularly completes consultations with children, the outcome of which contributes to the home’s quality improvement plan. This aims to improve and enhance children's experiences of living in the home. Inspection report for children's home: SC472465 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

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))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, ensure that senior managers escalate as soon as possible when emerging concerns occur about children’s safety that are exacerbated by the performance of a child's placing authority. 20 August 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—

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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

help each child to understand how to keep safe;

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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 20 August 2025 Inspection report for children's home: SC472465 7 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. (Regulation 12 (1) (2)(i)(a)(ii)(iii)(v)(vi)(b))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person must ensure that appropriate measures are in place for staff to reduce and mitigate risk to children. In addition, ensure that staff understand their roles and responsibilities and have the skills to protect children and prevent them and staff being harmed.

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that all employees—

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Requirement Due date

undertake appropriate continuing professional development;

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Requirement Due date

receive practice-related supervision by a person with appropriate experience. (Regulation 33 (4)(a)(b))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person must ensure that staff receive reflective and meaningful supervision. 20 August 2025

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must prepare and implement a policy ("the behaviour management policy") which sets out—

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Requirement Due date

how appropriate behaviour is to be promoted in the children's home; and

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Requirement Due date

the measures of control, discipline and restraint which may be used in relation to children in the home.

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must keep the behaviour management policy under review and, where appropriate, revise it.

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Requirement Due date

within 24 hours of the use of a measure of control, discipline or restraint in relation to a child in the home, a record is made which includes—

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Requirement Due date

details of the child's behaviour leading to the use of the measure;

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Requirement Due date

the date, time and location of the use of the measure; 20 August 2025 Inspection report for children's home: SC472465 8 a description of the measure and its duration;

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Requirement Due date

details of any methods used or steps taken to avoid the need to use the measure;

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Requirement Due date

the name of the person who used the measure ("the user"), and of any other person present when the measure was used;

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Requirement Due date

the effectiveness and any consequences of the use of the measure; and

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Requirement Due date

a description of any injury to the child or any other person, and any medical treatment administered, as a result of the measure;

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Requirement Due date

within 48 hours of the use of the measure, the registered person, or a person who is authorised by the registered person to do so ("the authorised person")—

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Requirement Due date

has spoken to the user about the measure; and

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Requirement Due date

has signed the record to confirm it is accurate; and

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Requirement Due date

within 5 days of the use of the measure, the registered person or the authorised person adds to the record confirmation that they have spoken to the child about the measure. (Regulation 35 (1)(a)(b) (2) (3)(a)(i)(ii)(iii)(iv)(v)(vi)(vii)(viii)(b)(i)(ii)(c))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person must ensure that staff have adequate guidance to follow to keep children safe and, in particular, when there are emerging risks. The registered person must also ensure that staff complete adequate records when any physical intervention is used and the rationale.

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Recommendation

 The registered person should satisfy themselves that the independent visitor has the skills and abilities to fulfil their role. In the absence of those skills and abilities, they should escalate this to the appropriate persons. ('Guide to the Children's Homes Regulations, including the quality standards', page 65, para 15.8) Inspection report for children's home: SC472465 9

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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: SC472465 10

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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 Berry, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children's home: SC472465 11 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 children looked after, safeguarding and child protection.

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Inspector

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Inspector

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Inspector

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