Children's Home run by Cambian Childcare Limited in Suffolk

Assurance inspection report for children’s home: 2707907 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

The home is privately owned. It provides care for up to 5 children who experience mental health difficulties and may not be able to live in the community without ongoing support. At the time of this inspection, 5 children were living at the home.

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Information about this children’s home

The registered manager left in February 2025. A new manager is in post. She has applied to register with Ofsted.

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Information about this children’s home

There is a separately registered school on site. The inspectors only inspected the social care provision.

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Inspection date: 19 January 2026

Date of last inspection: 8 September 2025

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Inspection date: 19 January 2026

Judgement at last inspection: requires improvement to be good

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Inspection date: 19 January 2026

Enforcement action since last inspection: none

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Information about this inspection

At this inspection, the inspectors evaluated:

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Information about this inspection

 the care of children  the safety of children  the effectiveness of leaders and managers. Inspectors have looked closely at the experiences and progress of children, using the social care common inspection framework. This assurance 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’. Assurance inspection report for children’s home: 2707907 2

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Findings from the inspection

We did not identify any serious or widespread concerns in relation to the care or protection of children at this assurance inspection.

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Findings from the inspection

Since the full inspection, 2 children have moved out of the home, and 3 children have moved in. Three children participated in this inspection.

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Findings from the inspection

Managers have responded to safeguarding allegations appropriately. One member of staff was suspended, and another had a detailed investigation regarding their practice. This demonstrates that allegations against staff are managed effectively and taken seriously.

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Findings from the inspection

The manager has worked collaboratively with social workers to provide a rigorous approach to a complaint from a child’s parents.

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Findings from the inspection

Managers have made improvements to children’s care plans and risk assessments. Care plans are more individualised and include better detail about children’s needs. Risk assessments have been updated to provide staff with instructions when incidents happen.

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Findings from the inspection

Staff have become better at utilising the home’s therapeutic model. Records indicate a more nurturing approach from staff. When children are showing signs of distress, staff offer reassurance and kindness.

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Findings from the inspection

Staff respond to incidents appropriately. When children leave the site, staff follow them. When staff lose sight of children, the police are called. When required, staff will restrain children to prevent harm. These actions minimise the risk of harm to children.

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Findings from the inspection

Following a particularly complex incident, the manager updated the report to highlight areas where it lacked clarity and information. She has carried out comprehensive debriefs with staff to clearly understand the incident and explore what could have been done differently. The manager has coached the staff to fully articulate their decision-making process. In part, this helps the manager to encourage staff to minimise risk with an agreed approach. However, some inconsistencies remain in the rigour of management oversight and staff debriefs. On one occasion, staff did not seek immediate medical attention in response to a child who had a sore mouth from a battery incident. Instead, staff sought advice from the on-site nurse; however, this took approximately 3 hours. The nurse advised staff to take the child to hospital, which they did. Once at the hospital, the child told the nurse that they had put the broken battery inside their clothes, causing a burn. Had

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Findings from the inspection

staff sought external medical support sooner, this could have been avoided.

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Findings from the inspection

Following this incident, a debrief took place with the shift leader. This did not cover all the issues in the report. For example, there is no discussion about why the Assurance inspection report for children’s home: 2707907 3 decision was made to wait for the on-site nurse instead of seeking external medical advice. The debrief does not consider how the child was able to put a battery in their mouth given the high level of staffing observations in place.

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Findings from the inspection

To add to this, further debriefs lack reflection and full understanding from managers about what needs to be discussed with staff. For one incident, the debrief document was completed by the staff involved and is handwritten. Staff have not identified the practice issues. The lack of dialogue and reflective discussion from managers means that staff are not being provided with continuous opportunities to identify where they need to improve their practice in safeguarding children.

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Findings from the inspection

The staff member who initially becomes aware of an incident does not act themselves but immediately seeks advice from a more senior member of staff. Staff are either unwilling to take accountability for their actions or are not confident. There are no records to demonstrate that managers have identified how this has been explored with individual staff members. This lack of accountability is not discussed during staff supervision sessions. This means that the reasons for this continuing pattern and how best to empower staff have not been explored.

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Findings from the inspection

Staff from other homes on the site have been redeployed to work at this home. One of these staff members said that they were not told anything about the child who they would be working with. The child attempted to harm themselves using a kettle. The staff member was unaware that a kettle was inappropriate. Managers have failed to provide redeployed staff with sufficient information to fully comprehend the children’s needs.

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Findings from the inspection

Three older children participated in the inspection. They expressed difficulty living with younger children who demonstrate their feelings through behaviours. There has not been sufficient consideration and risk assessment regarding group living. The clinical team has not supported the staff team in understanding the complex dynamics at the home. A risk assessment to consider potential risks associated with older children has not been carried out. This means staff lack guidance on how to respond to any potential scenarios. Assurance inspection report for children’s home: 2707907 4

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

08/09/2025 Full Requires improvement to be good 07/05/2024 Full Good 27/06/2023 Full Good Assurance inspection report for children’s home: 2707907 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 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

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

ensure that the home’s workforce provides continuity of care to 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. (Regulation 13 (1)(a)(b) (2)(a)(e)(f)(h))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, ensure that the manager and deputy manager identify practice issues as part of their evaluation of incidents.

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Requirement Due date

Ensure that the manager and deputy manager provide staff with effective and meaningful debriefs following incidents.

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Requirement Due date

Ensure that the manager and deputy manager promptly address practice issues with individual staff, such as why 1 March 2026 Assurance inspection report for children’s home: 2707907 6 they have not taken action themselves, and explore the reasons for this.

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Requirement Due date

Ensure that staff redeployed from other homes have a full induction to the home and are provided with enough time to read children’s care plans and risk assessments before working with them.

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Requirement Due date

This requirement was raised at the last inspection and will be reviewed at the next inspection.

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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. (Regulation 14 (1)(a))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, carry out a risk assessment of the changing group dynamics between young adults and children, and seek advice from the clinical team to ensure that staff understand the underlying reasons for any difficulties. 1 March 2026

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Recommendation

 The registered person should ensure that risks associated with young adults over the age of 18 will be managed in a home with children. They should explain, for example, if a young person brought alcohol into the home, how this would be managed and whether staff have received training on the protection of vulnerable adults. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 42, paragraph 9.7) Assurance inspection report for children’s home: 2707907 7

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Cambian Childcare Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Caretech, Parkview, 82 Oxford Road, Uxbridge UB8 1UX

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Inspectors

Hannah Phillips, Social Care Inspector Sarah Orriss, Social Care Inspector Assurance inspection report for children’s home: 2707907 8 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 children looked after, safeguarding and child protection.

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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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