Children's Home run by Cambridgeshire County Council in Cambridgeshire

Inspection report for children’s home: 2605508 1 Registered provider: Cambridgeshire County Council Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This home is operated by a local authority.

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Information about this children’s home

This home provides short breaks for up to 5 children with diagnosed learning difficulties and/or complex health needs. The home offers long-term placements for 3 children.

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Information about this children’s home

The registered manager has been in post since 22 April 2022.

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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: good

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requires improvement to be good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children’s home: 2605508 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

19/03/2025 Full Good 30/10/2023 Full Good 09/08/2022 Full Good 19/05/2021 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: 2605508 3

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improvement to be good

Children do not always attend appointments to help them to manage their complex health needs. This is because staff do not always take them to these appointments. Staff do not monitor one child’s toileting needs, which means they are not following a recommendation from a health professional. As a result, children’s health and wellbeing are not fully promoted.

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improvement to be good

Children’s written plans do not reflect their current care plans and are not updated or reviewed. One child’s information related to their short-breaks stay and not their current permanency plan. Important information, such as education, health and care plans, is not on file. The lack of review and updates by managers and staff make it difficult to evaluate children’s progress in line with these plans.

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improvement to be good

One unused bedroom in the home is being used to store furniture and children’s records from another home in the organisation, which has recently closed. This decision by managers to facilitate this does not show children that records about them are stored safely and appropriately. In addition, their home is also being used as a storage facility.

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improvement to be good

Children enjoy new experiences and a wide range of activities. All children enjoy going on holiday and on days out in the local community. For example, they like going to the local farm and airfield with staff. These shared experiences that children enjoy with staff help them to develop positive relationships that foster trust and connection.

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improvement to be good

Staff support children to communicate their views. For example, staff are supporting one child who shows curiosity in changing their diet. Consultation is taking place with professionals and family members to discuss how this will be introduced. Therefore, children feel listened to.

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improvement to be good

Important memories are captured in memory books. This helps children to look back on and understand meaningful memories and achievements.

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improvement to be good

When children move into the home, the manager completes an assessment of need. However, these assessments do not consistently reflect the child’s behaviours and do not include what impact this may have on other children. This does not help to promote children’s safety. One child had to move bedrooms to manage behaviours where children hurt one another.

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improvement to be good

Some children’s needs are such that they need to be checked on regularly during the night. However, staff do not consistently complete reports to show that these checks are Inspection report for children’s home: 2605508 4 always completed as needed. Staff also show a lack of curiosity. For example, when children have an injury, this is not always explored to understand why. This means that the manager cannot investigate concerns if and as needed.

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improvement to be good

Some records in the home are not legible. For example, incident records are difficult for managers to read. Therefore, it makes it difficult for the manager to have effective oversight.

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improvement to be good

Sometimes children need extra help from staff to be safe. This help is tailored to children’s individual needs. Sometimes physical intervention is needed to support children when they become distressed and are not safe. These approaches are used proportionately to ensure that children are safe.

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improvement to be good

Complaints and allegations raised about staff are taken seriously. The manager shares the information with the relevant professionals, such as the local authority designated officer and the child’s social worker, as well as their family members. Professionals say they are kept well informed and are provided with regular updates about children and their progress.

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

Senior leaders consulted with staff when an organisational merger was taking place. The staff feel that their views were not listened to, and the manager has raised concerns with senior leaders about this change. This has placed additional pressures on the manager despite consultation with all those affected. Staff morale has been affected, and there is a disconnect between senior leaders and the staff who directly support children.

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

Specialist and mandatory training is not up to date for staff and managers. Training is not prioritised, which increases the risk of children not having their care needs met well. For example, 18 out of 40 staff have not had epilepsy training, and 11 staff have either not completed or updated their safeguarding training. As a result, some staff do not have the knowledge, understanding and skills they need.

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

Staff meetings take place but not regularly. Some meetings are cancelled at short notice, and other meetings do not have minutes recorded. When meetings do take place, staff attendance is low. As a result, it is not clear how key information discussed in the meeting is then shared with the remaining staff.

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

The regulator is not notified when the manager goes on leave for longer than 28 days. This does not help Ofsted to understand what alternative arrangements are in place during this time.

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

Staff do not receive supervision that is regular and reflective. This does not give staff the opportunity to discuss the needs of the children or their own performance and professional development. This prevents staff from progressing in their roles. Inspection report for children’s home: 2605508 5 Safer recruitment checks are conducted by the organisation. New staff have a Disclosure and Barring Service check, and their identification and references from previous employers are also checked. The manager has oversight of these checks before new staff start. This helps the manager assure herself that staff have received the appropriate safeguarding checks.

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

Leaders and managers recognise that there are shortfalls in the quality of care for children, and there are plans in place to bring about improvement. Inspection report for children’s home: 2605508 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 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. (Regulation 12 (1) (2)(a)(i)(iii)) 28 February 2026

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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

helps children aspire to fulfil their potential; and

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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

ensure that staff have the experience, qualifications and skills to meet the needs of each child;

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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

use monitoring and review systems to make continuous improvements in the quality of care provided in the home. 28 February 2026 Inspection report for children’s home: 2605508 7 (Regulation 13 (1)(a)(b) (2)(c)(f)(h))

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Requirement Due date

If the person who is in day-to-day charge of the children’s home proposes to be absent from the home for a continuous period of 28 days or more, the registered person must give notice in writing to HMCI of the proposed absence.

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Requirement Due date

Except in the case of an emergency or unforeseen absence, a notice under paragraph (1) must—

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Requirement Due date

be given no later than one month before the proposed absence commences, or within such shorter period as may be agreed with HMCI; and

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Requirement Due date

specify with respect to the proposed absence—

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Requirement Due date

the arrangements which have been made for running the home during the absence;

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Requirement Due date

the address, name and qualifications of the person who will be responsible for the home during the absence; and

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Requirement Due date

If the absence arises as a result of an emergency or is unforeseen, the registered person must give notice of the absence—

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Requirement Due date

within one week of the beginning of the absence; and

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Requirement Due date

specifying the matters in paragraph (2)(b). (Regulation 48 (1) (2)(a)(b)(i)(ii)(iii)(iv) (3)(a)(b)) 28 February 2026

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Requirement Due date

The health and well-being standard is that—

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Requirement Due date

the health and well-being needs of children are met;

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Requirement Due date

children receive advice, services and support in relation to their health and well-being.

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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

that staff help each child to— 28 February 2026 Inspection report for children’s home: 2605508 8 achieve the health and well-being outcomes that are recorded in the child's relevant plans;

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Requirement Due date

take part in activities, and attend any appointments, for the purpose of meeting the child's health and well-being needs; and

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Requirement Due date

that each child has access to such dental, medical, nursing, psychiatric and psychological advice, treatment and other services as the child may require. (Regulation 10 (1)(a)(b) (2)(a)(i)(iii)(c)) 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.

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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

manage and review the placement of each child in the home; and

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Requirement Due date

that each child’s relevant plans are followed. (Regulation 14 (1)(a) (2)(b)(ii)(c)) 31 January 2026

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Recommendations

 The registered manager should ensure that staff are familiar with the home’s policies on record-keeping and understand the importance of careful, objective and clear recording. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 62, paragraph 14.4)  The registered person should ensure that systems are in place so that all staff, including the manager, receive regular supervision so that they can reflect on their practice and the needs of the children assigned to their care. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 61, paragraph 13.2) Inspection report for children’s home: 2605508 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: 2605508 10

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Cambridgeshire County Council

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Sunley House, Summers Hill Drive, Papworth Everard, Cambridge CB23 3AB

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Children’s home details

Registered manager: Andreia Alves da Silva

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Inspectors

Laura Roberts, Social Care Inspector Kerry Chater, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2605508 11 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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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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