Children's Home run by Cambian Childcare Limited in Somerset

Inspection report for children’s home: SC457327 1 SC457327 Registered provider: Cambian Childcare Limited Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

p.1

Information about this children’s home

The home registered with Ofsted in February 2013 and provides care for up to three children with emotional and behavioural needs. It is owned and managed by a large national organisation. At the time of the inspection, one child was living at the home.

p.1

Information about this children’s home

The manager registered with Ofsted in May 2023.

p.1

Overall experiences and progress of

children and young people, taking into account

p.1

good

How well children and young people are helped and protected requires improvement to be good

p.1

good

The effectiveness of leaders and managers requires improvement to be good

p.1

good

The children’s home provides effective services that meet the requirements for good.

p.1

good

Overall judgement at last inspection: good

p.1

good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children’s home: SC457327 2

p.1

Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

01/10/2024 Full Good 24/05/2023 Full Good 30/08/2022 Full Requires improvement to be good 10/05/2022 Full Inadequate Inspection report for children’s home: SC457327 3

p.2

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The inspector spent some time with the child who lives at the home. This child gave some positive feedback about staff and their experiences of the home. Warm relationships were observed between the child and the staff. The inspector spoke with another child who had moved on to semi-independence since the previous inspection. This child said that they enjoyed living at the home and received good support from staff to help them live semi-independently. This child is now enrolled onto a university course and said that the support from staff helped them achieve their goals. The child has specific identity needs, which they feel were well supported by staff, and they were given space and opportunity to explore their identity in a home that embraced this.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The child is helped to achieve their academic potential. The child previously missed considerable schooling and has been helped to engage with education on a full-time basis and sit GCSE exams. The child has also made progress with their emotional well- being. One professional commented that the child’s emotional well-being has considerably improved while they have lived at the home.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

When the child has needed support from specialist services, this has been actioned quickly. When external agencies are not providing the service that is necessary to support the child’s progress, this is challenged. One professional commented that the manager advocates for the child when needed, and that there is good multi-agency working in place to support the child’s complex needs.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff understand the child’s needs well, and they are knowledgeable about the child’s background. However, care plans are missing important information on how staff are to support the child, which means that staff are not always working with the child in a consistent way. The child is encouraged to engage with activities that are fun and varied, and that are in line with their own preferences.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The home is decorated to a good standard but lacks a homely feel in a number of rooms. Some areas of the home lack soft furnishings, which does not create an inviting feel. The child is pleased with the decoration of their room and has various personal items on display.

p.3

improvement to be good

Staff are not consistently clear on how to support the child with the risks that they face. There have been several recent changes to protocols to support the child and keep them safe. However, this has meant that staff are not always clear on how to respond when incidents take place. When the child has harmed themselves, staff are not always clear on when to seek medical attention, nor is this outlined effectively in the child’s plans. It Inspection report for children’s home: SC457327 4 is not clear from records whether the child is receiving a caring response when self-harm incidents take place.

p.3

improvement to be good

When the child is missing from home, staff diligently search for them and try to maintain contact with them. However, there is a lack of reflection following incidents, meaning that opportunities to learn from incidents and think about using different strategies are missed. Additionally, it is not always clear whether the child has meaningful conversations with staff to reconnect and reflect following significant incidents. This may have contributed to the child’s behaviours escalating.

p.4

improvement to be good

Staff do not consistently understand or implement a therapeutic approach when working with the child, and at times lack an understanding of how and when to use this. The importance of using a therapeutic approach when working with children is embedded in the child’s plans as a tool for staff to use to help the child calm down when significant incidents take place. Leaders and managers are aware of some of these weaknesses in staff practice and have implemented additional training in response.

p.4

improvement to be good

When children make allegations against staff, these are taken seriously and are investigated diligently. When children have moved out of the home, the relevant professionals are informed of the outcome of any investigations. This helps the children feel valued by staff.

p.4

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

A lack of effective planning for children moving in alongside one another had an impact on three children. Two children moved into the home in close succession, and both children’s behaviour deteriorated. As a result, one child moved on from the home in a relatively unplanned way, and another child’s transition to the care of family was negatively impacted by the instability at the home.

p.4

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

Children’s needs and risks are considered in impact risk assessments, which are contributed to by a range of professionals who know the children well. However, the impact that one child may have on another is not well considered in these plans.

p.4

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

A lack of management oversight means that there has been a lack of effective work with the child to help them learn about the risks that they face. Some meaningful conversations take place with the child when they place themselves at risk of harm. These discussions consider the child’s individual needs and how they are feeling. However, important conversations do not take place often enough to help the child learn effectively about the risks that they face, nor is there a clear plan about the themes of these conversations. This means that opportunities to help the child learn about how to keep themselves safe effectively are missed. Inspection report for children’s home: SC457327 5 Team meetings and supervision sessions take place regularly and are well attended by staff. However, discussions lack reflection regarding the staff’s response to incidents, which means that opportunities to improve practice are missed.

p.4

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

Considerable staffing changes have taken place and there continue to be several staff vacancies. This has contributed to instability at the home and some staff expressing concern about new children coming into the home too quickly.

p.5

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

Professionals from education speak highly of the manager and the efforts that have been made to safeguard and support the child’s complex needs. Numerous multi-agency meetings have taken place, and the manager has been an integral part of these. Inspection report for children’s home: SC457327 6

p.5

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.

p.6

Requirement Due date

The quality and purpose of care standard is that children receive care from staff who—

p.6

Requirement Due date

understand the children’s homes overall aims and the outcomes it seeks to achieve for children;

p.6

Requirement Due date

use this understanding to deliver care that meets children’s needs and supports them to fulfil their potential.

p.6

Requirement Due date

In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to—

p.6

Requirement Due date

provide personalised care that meets each child’s needs, as recorded in the child’s relevant plans, taking account of the child’s background. (Regulation 6 (1)(a)(b) (2)(b)(iv))

p.6

Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person must ensure that staff are consistently clear on how to support children, and that staff practice is in line with the child’s care plans. Additionally, the registered person must ensure that children’s plans are clear and up to date with all the information necessary to allow staff to care for children effectively. 06 October 2025

p.6

Requirement Due date

The protection of children standard is that children are protected from harm and enabled to keep themselves safe.

p.6

Requirement Due date

In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to ensure—

p.6

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; 06 October 2025 Inspection report for children’s home: SC457327 7 help each child to understand how to keep safe. (Regulation 12 (1) (2)(a)(i)(ii))

p.6

Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person must ensure that all staff are familiar with plans that set out children’s risks and the action staff are to take to protect children from harm. Additionally, the registered person must ensure that staff are holding regular conversations with children that help them to learn how to keep themselves safe.

p.7

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—

p.7

Requirement Due date

helps children aspire to fulfil their potential; and

p.7

Requirement Due date

In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to—

p.7

Requirement Due date

use monitoring and review systems to make continuous improvements in the quality of care provided in the home. (Regulation 13 (1)(a)(b) (2)(h)

p.7

Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person must ensure that they have effective oversight of significant incidents and use these to reflect on staff practice and consider how practice can be adapted and improved to help children achieve good outcomes. Additionally, the registered manager should ensure that staff practice is regularly considered in staff supervision sessions to provide further opportunity to learn from incidents and improve practice at the home. 06 October 2025

p.7

Requirement Due date

The care planning standard is that children—

p.7

Requirement Due date

receive effectively planned care in or through the children’s home; and

p.7

Requirement Due date

have a positive experience of arriving at or moving on from the home. (Regulation 14 (1)(a)(b))

p.7

Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person should ensure that when children move into the home, the impact of one child’s behaviours on another is considered within impact risk 06 October 2025 Inspection report for children’s home: SC457327 8 assessments. Additionally, the timing of children moving into the home needs to be considered effectively to allow children to settle into the home and start to build relationships with staff, before new children come into the home.

p.7

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: SC457327 9

p.8

Children’s home details

Registered provider: Cambian Childcare Limited

p.9

Children’s home details

Registered provider address: 4th Floor, Parkview, 82 Oxford Road, Uxbridge UB8 1UX

p.9

Inspector

Minnette Sims, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: SC457327 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.

p.9

Inspector

If you would like a copy of this document in a different format, such as large print or Braille, please telephone 0300 123 1231, or email enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk . You may reuse this information (not including logos) free of charge in any format or medium, under the terms of the Open Government Licence. To view this licence, visit www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence , write to the Information Policy Team, The National Archives, Kew, London TW9 4DU, or email: psi@nationalarchives.gsi.gov.uk .

p.10

Inspector

Interested in our work? You can subscribe to our monthly newsletter for more information and updates: http://eepurl.com/iTrDn .

p.10

Inspector

T: 0300 123 1231 Textphone: 0161 618 8524 E: enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk W: www.gov.uk/ofsted

p.10