Children's Home run by Cambian Childcare Limited in Halton

Inspection report for children's home: SC457175 1 SC457175 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 provider. It provides care for one child who may experience social and emotional difficulties. At the time of the inspection, one child was living at the home.

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Information about this children’s home

The registered manager is no longer employed at the home and has applied to voluntarily cancel their registration.

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Information about this children’s home

The inspection started on 3 February 2026. Inspectors returned to gather additional evidence on 26 February 2026, in line with Ofsted inspections and visits: deferring, pausing and gathering additional evidence policy.

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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

Date of last inspection: 25 February 2025

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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: SC457175 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

25/02/2025 Full Good 08/02/2024 Full Good 05/10/2022 Full Outstanding 14/09/2021 Full Good Inspection report for children's home: SC457175 3

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improvement to be good

Shortfalls in safeguarding and the leadership and management at the home have impacted negatively on the child’s experiences and overall progress since the last inspection.

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improvement to be good

Staff speak warmly and affectionally about the child. The child said that they are happy living at the home. Staff previously built positive relationships with the child and actively involved them in activities. However, during the past few months, they have not sustained the child’s engagement and involvement with staff, activities or education.

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improvement to be good

Managers and staff do not provide the child with a consistent daily routine. The child spends most days in their bedroom often online or asleep. Although staff attempt to engage the child, they are unable to influence any change to the child’s daily routine. This limits the child’s social interaction, physical activity and overall wellbeing.

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improvement to be good

Staff have been effective in helping the child to cease their substance misuse and use of vapes. However, the child’s health needs are currently not being fully met. Despite staff providing support to the child to eat healthily, be physically active and attend health appointments, these efforts have not been successful. The child’s dental needs and poor diet remain unaddressed.

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improvement to be good

The child’s education needs are not being met effectively. The child is not engaging with the education tutor and staff have been unable to encourage participation or put alternative strategies in place to promote learning. The home provides an education learning mentor, but the child’s engagement with them is now minimal. Managers have not taken effective action to ensure that the child’s education plan is reviewed within timescale and staff do not have access to the child’s up to date personal education plan. Attempts by managers to escalate this with education professionals have not been effective.

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improvement to be good

Staff support the child to develop their independence skills. Some progress has been made with the child undertaking daily tasks and chores and maintaining their personal hygiene.

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improvement to be good

Concerns regarding the risks to the child have increased in recent months, and staff have not been able to effectively reduce or manage these risks. Inspection report for children's home: SC457175 4 Staff follow the safeguarding procedures when the child goes missing from the home and they actively search for them. Staff work with other agencies to secure the child’s safe return home. Although staff discuss the risks of going missing with the child, their interventions are not effective because the frequency and length of time the child is missing has increased.

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improvement to be good

Missing from home records are detailed and there is evidence of management oversight. Shortfalls in staff practice are highlighted. Risk assessments are in place; however, they are not always updated in a timely way following significant incidents. For example, there is a detailed risk assessment in place for exploitation that does not reflect the recent increase in frequency and duration of the missing episodes. This reduces the staff ability to assess current risks accurately and respond effectively to keep the child safe.

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improvement to be good

Managers and staff engage well with other agencies and seek to build effective working relationships with professionals. Managers regularly attend multi agency meetings. Although managers challenge other agencies about how to meet the child’s needs, this does not always lead to improved outcomes or increased safety for the child.

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improvement to be good

Staff have completed training in safeguarding and exploitation. They understand the child’s individual risks; however, they do not consistently demonstrate professional curiosity in exploring or responding to the risks.

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improvement to be good

Staff implement a restorative model of behaviour management and there have been no incidents of physical intervention. Staff are trained in using de-escalation techniques which work well for the child. As a result, incidents when the child is dysregulated do not require physical intervention.

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improvement to be good

Room searches are carried out sensitively and appropriately by two staff. All searches are appropriately recorded, including the reasons for the search.

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good

There have been changes in the management of the home since the last inspection. Following the departure of the registered manager, the deputy manager has been overseeing the home with support from the responsible individual and managers from other homes within the organisation. Although there is a stable staff team in place who provide the child with consistency, the lack of permanent manager based at the home has impacted negatively on the quality of care being provided.

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good

Management oversight is not consistently effective resulting in missed opportunities to keep the child safe and improve their quality of care. Previous and current management arrangements have not supported consistent oversight of staff practice. There is a lack of professional curiosity demonstrated by the manager and staff with limited learning from incidents. Shortfalls in staff practice have not always been Inspection report for children's home: SC457175 5 identified and addressed. Opportunities have not taken place to review strategies to reduce risk and improve the quality of care provided to the child.

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good

Supervision takes place regularly and allows staff time to reflect about their practice, but this does not always translate into learning for the wider team or improvement in the quality of practice more broadly. Team meetings take place monthly and cover training and learning for the team.

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good

Staff have opportunities to reflect on their practice and discuss the child with a therapist, both individually and in groups. These discussions include strategies to engage the child and how they can support them. However, these sessions have not helped improve the child’s engagement or ensure their safety more recently.

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good

Staff are provided with training which is specific to the child’s individual needs. They receive a good variety of training, covering topics such as exploitation, youth gambling and cyber safety. This helps staff to understand the child’s risks and vulnerabilities. However, managers do not consistently ensure that any learning is embedded in daily practice. Inspection report for children's home: SC457175 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 then 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

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; and

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Requirement Due date

are familiar with, and act in accordance with, the home’s child protection policies;

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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)(v)(vi)(vii)(b))

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Requirement Due date

Specifically, the registered person must ensure that staff take action to safeguard the child missing from home; that the child’s records are reviewed and updated to include up to date information and strategies and that strategies are in place to manage all known and emerging risks for the child. 15 April 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— 15 April 2026 Inspection report for children's home: SC457175 7 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

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)(f)(h))

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Requirement Due date

Specifically, the registered person must have good oversight of the work being completed by the staff team in the home and use effective evaluation and monitoring to identify shortfalls and patterns of behaviours and improve the quality of care.

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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; and

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Requirement Due date

children are helped to lead healthy lifestyles.

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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

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. (Regulation 10 (1)(a)(b)(c) (2)(a)(i)(iii)) 15 April 2026 Inspection report for children's home: SC457175 8 Specifically, the registered person must identify barriers and support the child to access necessary medical treatment. Additionally, they must do more to support the child to make healthy lifestyle choices. 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

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 understand the importance and value of education, learning, training and employment. (Regulation 8 (1) (2)(a)(iii)(iv))

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Requirement Due date

Specifically, the registered person must understand and actively support children to overcome barriers to education. 15 April 2026

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must compile in relation to the children’s home a statement ("the statement of purpose") which covers the matters listed in Schedule 1.

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Requirement Due date

keep the statement of purpose under review and, where appropriate, revise it; and

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Requirement Due date

notify HMCI of any revisions and send HMCI a copy of the revised statement within 28 days of the revision. (Regulation 16 (1) (3)(a)(b))

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Requirement Due date

Specifically, the registered person must keep the statement of purpose up to date with all relevant changes and send a copy to Ofsted. 15 April 2026

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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 Inspection report for children's home: SC457175 9 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: SC457175 10

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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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Children’s home details

Responsible individual: Beverley Williams

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Inspector

Rose Maddocks, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children's home: SC457175 11 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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