Children's Home run by Cambian Childcare Limited in Devon

Inspection report for children’s home: SC467704 1 SC467704 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 can provide care for two children who may have experienced social and emotional difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

At the time of this inspection, two children were living in the home.

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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

Date of last inspection: 2 December 2024

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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: SC467704 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

02/12/2024 Full Good 27/02/2024 Full Good 12/12/2022 Full Outstanding 30/11/2021 Full Outstanding Inspection report for children’s home: SC467704 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The children who live at the home were present for this inspection. The inspector spent time talking to them about their life in the home. One child has enjoyed a holiday abroad this year, and the other child enjoys activities such as getting their nails done with staff.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff are committed to providing stability for children. Staff know the children well and invest time in them. One child has trusted and secure relationships with the adults who are looking after them. Staff continue to support the other child to develop those relationships. Staff provide a range of positive experiences for children, including holidays abroad, trips out, beauty treatments and time with those important to children.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Both children are supported to engage in education. The home is aware of the challenges each child faces, but continues to encourage and advocate for them. Staff are ambitious for children to do well in their education. There is effective liaison with the virtual school which ensures children can make individual progress from their starting points.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

One child has moved into the home since the previous inspection. The move was well planned and at a pace that was suitable for the child moving in and the child already in the home. Work was completed with the placing authority, the previous care provider and family. There was consideration of the other children in the home and if the staff have the skills to meet all of the children’s needs.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children receive effective and timely help to prepare them for their futures. They are supported to develop their independence according to their individual needs, while protecting themselves from being in unsafe situations or with unsafe people. The home challenges and supports children to challenge the responsible placing authority when staff have concerns about the plans for children’s futures, including the timing of moving on from the home.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Records for children overall are written in a non-judgemental and child-friendly way. Staff discuss a range of topics that are focused on the developmental needs of each child. Staff do not have isolated conversations. They repeat topics over the course of months to ensure that support is fully received. The quality of the records is not consistent. Some records show behavioural detail and how the staff employed their model of care. Others do not, and they are too brief and do not provide a clear overview of the care provided.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Both children have their own rooms, which are personalised. However, there has been a lack of ongoing curiosity about one child’s needs, which has become a blind spot in their care. Staff have not identified issues in the child’s bedroom to ensure that there is timely support in place. There is no robust monitoring system in place to maintain an adequate and comfortable sleeping environment. Inspection report for children’s home: SC467704 4

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

There are practical resources in place to support staff to understand and decode the children’s social media, these include face to face training, reference packs and guides for staff. This has resulted in staff knowing how to support children to use social media safely and report any concerns.

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

The home’s response to matters of safeguarding outside the home is robust. There is a multi-agency response to all concerns that seeks to reduce the risk of actual harm to children. Individual up-to-date risk assessments address effectively any known vulnerabilities for each child and set out what action staff should take to manage the risks. Staff work with the police to protect the children living in the home from any unnecessary involvement in the criminal justice system.

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

Children who go missing experience well-coordinated responses. The staff take appropriate steps to escalate concerns. Parents and external professionals are made aware of incidents where the child has been or is missing. Staff look for children when they are missing.

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

Children are supported to take risks appropriate to their age or level of understanding as part of their development of independent living skills, and are encouraged to learn from any incidents when things do not go to plan. The manager is clear that children need to be able to experience things that others in their age range would, in a safe and supported way.

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

On the whole, children can identify a trusted adult they can talk to about any concerns. Some practice in response to children has fallen short of working in line with the home’s model of care.

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

There are physical restrictions in the home in the form of external door alarms. While these have been agreed by the children’s placing authorities and are in individual children’s risk assessments, the children’s views on the use of these restrictions have not been considered. Children who are subject to any kind of restrictions have a right to know that they are being used in their home, have their views heard and recorded on those restrictions and be part of the review of those restrictions.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The home is managed by a permanent and suitably experienced registered manager. He regularly monitors the quality of care provided. He can identify strengths and areas for improvement in the home. The manager is always seeking to improve systems in place for the benefit of the children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Training, development and induction activities are effective. They are focused on ensuring that staff can meet the specific needs of the children who they are responsible for. Managers and staff are up to date with current practice in their specialist area. Inspection report for children’s home: SC467704 5 The manager takes supervision seriously. Staff receive regular and effective supervision that is focused on children’s experiences, needs, plans and feedback. Supervision is enhanced by safeguarding scenarios to keep safeguarding at the forefront of staff’s minds.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Team meetings are well attended and take place consistently. The manager has created a culture of shared practice via a shared agenda. The children and safeguarding are discussed.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager and staff work proactively and positively with other agencies and professionals. This has been seen across safeguarding documents. They seek to build effective working relationships with placing authorities to secure positive outcomes for children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager understands the need to have effective plans for the children and strives for achievement of important milestones, goals and permanence for children’s futures. This is echoed by staff, who have also come in line with this and want the children to achieve in all aspects of their lives.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff report being happy at work and motivated to do a good job. Staff work collaboratively to provide stability. There are clear responsibilities and accountabilities, and staff have a sense of shared ownership about their practice of care. Staff report that they are well led and feel supported. Inspection report for children’s home: SC467704 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—

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Requirement Due date

protect and promote each child’s welfare;

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Requirement Due date

treat each child with dignity and respect;

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Requirement Due date

provide to children living in the home the physical necessities they need in order to live there comfortably. (Regulation (6)(1)(a)(b) (2)(b)(ii)(iii)(vii))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person must ensure that children’s welfare is promoted by timely referrals to specialist support as required.

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Requirement Due date

In addition, the registered person must ensure that staff are able to identify when children are not living in a clean bedroom and ensure that all bedroom furnishings are fit for purpose. 24 July 2025

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Requirement Due date

The children’s views, wishes and feelings standard is that children receive care from staff who—

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Requirement Due date

develop positive relationships with them;

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Requirement Due date

engage with them; and 24 July 2025 Inspection report for children’s home: SC467704 7 take their views, wishes and feelings into account in relation to matters affecting the children’s care and welfare and their lives.

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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

ascertain and consider each child’s views, wishes and feelings, and balance these against what they judge to be in the child’s best interests when making decisions about the child’s care and welfare;

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Requirement Due date

help each child to understand how the child’s views, wishes and feelings have been taken into account and give the child reasons for decisions in relation to the child;

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Requirement Due date

help each child to understand how the child’s privacy will be respected and the circumstances when it may have to be limited;

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Requirement Due date

help each child to prepare for any review of the child’s relevant plans and to make the child’s views, wishes and feelings known for the purposes of that review. (Regulation (7)(1)(a)(b)(c) (2)(a)(i)(iii)(v)(vi))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person must ensure that children are made aware of any restrictions in the physical setting of the home, and that their views around those restrictions are gathered regularly as part of the home’s review process.

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that staff respond consistently to children and in line with the home’s statement of purpose. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, pages 15 and 16, paragraph 3.11)  The registered person should ensure that the language used to record incidents is non-judgemental to the child, careful and objective, with language the child can understand. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 62, paragraph 14.4)

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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 Inspection report for children’s home: SC467704 8 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: SC467704 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: 4th Floor, Parkview, 82 Oxford Road, Uxbridge UB8 1UX

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Inspector

Hannah Spencer-Townesend, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: SC467704 10 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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