Children's Home run by Cambian Childcare Limited in Cambridgeshire

Inspection report for children’s home - monitoring visit: 1257796 1 Registered provider: Cambian Childcare Limited

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Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This home is owned by a large national organisation. It is registered to provide care for up to 12 children who may be experiencing mental health difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager has applied to register with Ofsted and was present for this visit. The responsible individual was also present throughout this visit.

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Information about this children’s home

There were eight children living at the home at the time of this monitoring visit. One child contributed to the inspection.

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This monitoring visit

This monitoring visit was undertaken to review the progress made to meet the three compliance notices set following the last full inspection. Compliance notices were made in relation to regulation 12, the protection of children standard, regulation 13, the leadership and management standard and regulation 14, the care planning standard. This monitoring visit was also undertaken to review compliance with a restriction of accommodation notice issued following the full inspection. At this monitoring visit, the home was compliant with the restriction of accommodation notice, with no other children admitted to the home.

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This monitoring visit

Children remain at risk of harm because of poor care practice in respect of the safeguarding of children and the risk management practices of staff and managers. There is a lack of understanding of contextual safeguarding and professional curiosity, which is having an impact on safe practice and keeping children safe. For example, one child has met an unknown adult male, who they met through the internet, and has been exposed to explicit photographs and videos. There has been a failure to provide an immediate response to these concerns. This has subsequently led to the child receiving inappropriate messages, which has caused distress to the child. Inspection report for children’s home - monitoring visit: 1257796 2 Risk management assessments have been reviewed but updates consist of a chronology of incidents. Leaders and managers have failed to evaluate the risks and learning from incidents and include these within the children’s relevant plans.

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This monitoring visit

Children’s plans do not include how neurodivergent needs would be supported or how best to communicate with children with additional needs. This means that staff do not have clear guidance or understanding of how best to support children in crisis and manage their risks and vulnerabilities.

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This monitoring visit

There is little understanding of the risks that children may pose to each other within the home or the impact of behaviour on other children. The group-living risk assessment has not considered the risks of children harming each other or of going missing together. On one occasion, this led to a poor response in preventing children from leaving the home and going missing, which led to children accessing and taking illegal substances. There have been several incidents of children becoming involved in physical altercations with each other and causing harm. There has been no work carried out with the children about bullying behaviours or restorative work done to improve relationships.

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This monitoring visit

Some poor staff practice has been identified, particularly with decision-making and managing risks to children. This is being managed through HR processes in the organisation. However, staff are still being left in positions of trust and making decisions about shift management. This has the potential to impact on more- inexperienced staff and their responses to incidents and concerns.

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This monitoring visit

New management oversight plans have been implemented very recently so are not yet embedded in practice. These are extensive documents with lists of actions to complete. However, it is unclear how these are being monitored and scrutinised to ensure completion of essential tasks. A programme of staff training has been scheduled. This has not yet been carried out. Consequently, staff’s knowledge and skills have not yet been improved.

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This monitoring visit

The responsible individual has not provided sufficient support and oversight to effect change and improvement, particularly in relation to children’s experiences of care and safeguarding. They lack knowledge and understanding of key elements of safeguarding and risk management, and standards are yet to improve. Improvement is minimal, so far, and is not yet embedded.

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This monitoring visit

One child left the home after managers decided they could no longer meet their needs. The manager has not recorded where the child has moved to, which is a requirement to ensure that children’s records are kept up to date and accurately maintained.

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This monitoring visit

At this visit, none of the compliance notices were met and have been restated in their entirety. In addition, another compliance notice has been issued under regulation 26, fitness of registered provider. Inspection report for children’s home - monitoring visit: 1257796 3 The restriction of accommodation notice will remain because the home is not currently able to accept new children. This is because there has been little improvement since the last inspection and children remain at risk of harm.

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This monitoring visit

Other requirements previously set were not reviewed and have been restated. Inspection report for children’s home - monitoring visit: 1257796 4

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

14/04/2025 Full Requires improvement to be good 03/04/2024 Full Good 16/01/2024 Full Good 13/12/2022 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home - monitoring visit: 1257796 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 (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

have the skills to identify and act upon signs that a child is at risk of harm;

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Requirement Due date

manage relationships between children to prevent them from harming each other;

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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;

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Requirement Due date

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)(a)(i)(iii)(iv)(v)(vi)(b))

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Requirement Due date

Ensure that risk assessments contain thorough and up-to- date information about known and emerging risks and vulnerabilities.

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Requirement Due date

Ensure that risk assessments provide staff with clear strategies on how to support children when they exhibit 4 January 2026 Inspection report for children’s home - monitoring visit: 1257796 6 unsafe behaviour and that appropriate action is taken to help reduce risks.

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Requirement Due date

Ensure that risk assessments include details of neurodiversity and the best ways for staff to communicate with children to help them in unsafe situations.

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Requirement Due date

Ensure that managers and staff understand the requirements and expectations in fulfilling risk assessments.

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Requirement Due date

Ensure that staff read risk assessments and acknowledge the information contained within them.

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Requirement Due date

Ensure that contextual safeguarding and professional curiosity are evident when considering incidents and risk management.

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Requirement Due date

This requirement was raised at the last inspection and is restated.

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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—

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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

lead and manage the home in a way that is consistent with the approach and ethos, and delivers the outcomes, set out in the home’s statement of purpose;

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Requirement Due date

use monitoring and review systems to make continuous improvements in the quality of care provided in the home;

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Requirement Due date

understand the impact that the quality of care provided in the home is having on the progress and experiences of each child and use this understanding to inform the development of the quality of care provided in the home;

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Requirement Due date

demonstrate that practice in the home is informed and improved by taking into account and acting on—

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Requirement Due date

feedback on the experiences of children, including complaints received; and 4 January 2026 Inspection report for children’s home - monitoring visit: 1257796 7 use monitoring and review systems to make continuous improvements in the quality of care provided in the home. (Regulation 13 (1)(b) (2)(a)(h)(f)(g)(ii)(h))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, ensure systems are in place to enable effective management oversight of the home, including during periods when the manager is away from the home.

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Requirement Due date

Ensure that poor staff practice is responded to immediately to minimise the likelihood of such practice occurring again.

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Requirement Due date

This requirement was raised at the last inspection and is restated.

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Requirement Due date

*The care planning standard is that children—

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Requirement Due date

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

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Requirement Due date

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

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Requirement Due date

In particular, leaders and managers must implement a more effective system to understand the combined risks of children living together.

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Requirement Due date

This requirement was raised at the last inspection and is restated. 4 January 2026

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Requirement Due date

The education standard is that children make measurable progress towards achieving their educational potential and are helped to do so.

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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

help each child to achieve the child’s education and training targets, as recorded in the child’s relevant plans;

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Requirement Due date

understand the barriers to learning that each child may face and take appropriate action to help the child to overcome any such barriers;

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Requirement Due date

help each child to attend education or training in accordance with the expectations in the child’s relevant plans. 4 January 2026 Inspection report for children’s home - monitoring visit: 1257796 8 (Regulation 8 (1) (2)(a)(i)(iii)(x))

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Requirement Due date

This requirement was raised at the last inspection and is restated.

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Requirement Due date

have the capacity, experience and skills to supervise the management of the home, or the homes, in respect of which the responsible individual is nominated. (Regulation 26 (7)(b)) 4 January 2026

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Requirement Due date

Schedule 4 sets out the other information that the registered person must keep in relation to a children’s home. (Regulation 37 (1))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, this relates to ensuring that the children’s register contains information about the child’s address on leaving the home. 4 January 2026

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Requirement Due date

*These requirements are subject to a compliance notice.

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Information about this inspection

The purpose of this visit was to monitor the action taken and the progress made by the children’s home since its last Ofsted inspection.

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Information about this inspection

This inspection was carried out under the Care Standards Act 2000. Inspection report for children’s home - monitoring visit: 1257796 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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Inspectors

Sarah Orriss, Regulatory Inspector Manager Majella Russell, Regulatory Inspector Manager Inspection report for children’s home - monitoring visit: 1257796 10 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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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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