Children's home run by Claybridge Care Ltd

Inspection report for children’s home: 2835386 1 OFSTED USE ONLY

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Registered provider: Claybridge Care Ltd

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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 may provide care for up to two children who have social or emotional difficulties. There were no children living in the home at the time of inspection.

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Information about this children’s home

The home and manager registered with Ofsted on 15 May 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

Date of last inspection: not previously inspected

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good

Overall judgement at last inspection: not applicable

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: not applicable Inspection report for children’s home: 2835386 2 OFSTED USE ONLY

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

There were no children living in the home at the time of inspection. Since its registration, the staff at the home have cared for one child. Staff were committed to providing the child with stability. They listened to the child’s wishes and feelings and supported them to spend time doing activities that they enjoy. This included horse riding, escape rooms and meals out.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The child’s move into the home was planned well. Leader’s and managers took time to consider the child’s needs against the staff’s skill set. The child was at the centre of decision-making. They undertook planning to understand the child’s needs with the local authority, previous carers, family and external professionals.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The staff cared for the child during the period of the school summer holidays, and they had started to work with education professionals to advocate for the child to return to education as soon as possible, the child left the home prior to the start of the new school term.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff promoted achievements and celebrated in activities that were important to the child. The day-to-day needs of the child were understood. They were supported to have a positive routine. Support to help the child develop their self-care skills was positive and the child made progress.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The staff team supported the child to manage previous negative experiences and make progress. Staff have reflected on the time they cared for the child. They have considered what went well and what could have been done differently. Decision-making is positively impacted on by their learning from previous experiences.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The staff worked closely with the child’s family and friends to promote meaningful and safe time for the child with those important to them.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The child moved on in an unplanned way. Since moving from the home, they have advocated for the placing authority to collect the child’s belongings and have written a letter to the child to promote a positive ending. Staff have put together information about their time in the home in a child-friendly way should they wish to understand this part in the life story.

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

There was a strong and immediate response to reduce the possible risk of harm to the child they cared for. Guidance for staff to understand known risk and vulnerabilities was clear. This helped to promote consistent practice within the staff team. Inspection report for children’s home: 2835386 3 OFSTED USE ONLY

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

There was a well-coordinated response to reduce the risk of harm to the child while they were missing. Staff looked for the child when they were missing. The child was spoken with by their placing authority and staff from the home to help adults learn and understand the child’s motivations for going missing and to help prevent this happening in the future.

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

There have been significant incidents in and out of home which has resulted in police involvement. Although staff responded to incidents with boundaries and researched- informed care involving low-level demand parenting, they were not always able to manage the level of aggression being shown towards them. Police were also injured during interventions that they were needed to support.

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

There is safer recruitment in place to prevent unsuitable people from being recruited. When agency staff are used, checks are completed in relation to experience, training, right to work and enhanced disclosure and baring checks.

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

Staff know how to respond to concerns about the safety of a child. Regular meetings were held with external professionals in a timely way. This promoted a strong multi agency response to any concerns.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The home is run by a registered manager. The home is effectively staffed. Staff are suitably qualified to safeguard children and to promote best outcomes.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager of the home knows what is happening in the home. She monitors the quality of care through being in the home, supervision, team meetings and internal audits. They are able to pull out the strengths and areas for improvement for the home. They seek to continually improve to enhance the experiences of the children in her care.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

When the child was not immediately settling, the manager took steps to review this and include the placing authority. They considered what could be done, including additional support for the child and the staff team. Managers challenged the placing authority as they were concerned that care planning decisions were not in the child’s best interests.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager of the home ensured that guidance for staff was clear and that identified the needs of the child were fully understood. She worked with external professionals and the family of the child to build effective working relationships to help secure safe outcomes for the child.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff receive regular and effective supervision that is focused on staff well-being, professional development and the ability of staff to meet the needs of children in the home. The manager encourages her staff to take ownership of self-learning through guided research and sharing resources within the wider team. Staff speak positively about the impact of supervision on their practice. Team meetings are used to support an environment of shared good practice and to support the staff with the impact of their role on their well-being. Inspection report for children’s home: 2835386 4 OFSTED USE ONLY

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The culture in the home is one of high expectations and aspirations for children. The staff have reported finding the manager approachable, committed to them as a team and keen to support their professional development. Staff have confidence in managers at all levels. They are happy and enthusiastic about the work they are doing. Inspection report for children’s home: 2835386 5 OFSTED USE ONLY

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure staff are familiar with the home’s policies on record keeping and understand the importance of careful, objective, and clear recording. Staff should record information on individual children in a non-stigmatising way that distinguishes between fact, opinion and third-party information. Information about the child must always be recorded in a way that will be helpful to the child. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 62, paragraph 14.4)

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Information about this inspection

The inspector has 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: 2835386 6 OFSTED USE ONLY

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Claybridge Care Ltd

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Price Bailey LLP, 36 Commerce Road, Lynch Wood, Peterborough PE2 6LR

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Inspector

Hannah Spencer-Townesend, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2835386 7 OFSTED USE ONLY

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Inspector

regulates and 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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