Children's Home run by Cambian Childcare Limited in Wigan

Inspection report for children’s home: 2621119 1 Registered provider: Cambian Childcare Limited

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Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

The home provides care for one child who may have social and emotional difficulties. The child spoke to the inspector during the visit.

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Information about this children’s home

The home is operated by a private provider.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager registered with Ofsted in May 2025.

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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: 4 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: 2621119 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

04/02/2025 Full Good 20/02/2024 Full Good 14/03/2023 Full Good 21/12/2021 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: 2621119 3

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improvement to be good

Since the last inspection, one child has moved out of the home and one child has moved in. Children’s moves into and out of the home are generally well managed. The manager gathers information and considers the skills, experience and training of staff. However, one child moved from the home after only three weeks due to notice being given in this period. This limited the opportunity to provide longer-term stability for the child. More positively, the child who is currently living in the home is making progress in a number of ways, but staff member’s responses to some incidents have had a negative impact on her.

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improvement to be good

The child has not consistently attended formal education since moving to the home. The manager escalates concerns and advocates to ensure that the child has access to suitable education when mainstream education is not in the child’s best interests. The child is currently accessing varied informal learning opportunities.

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improvement to be good

Staff support the child to access health services to promote their health and wellbeing. Staff work with health agencies and appropriate mental health services when required. Therapeutic input is available for the child from the in-house therapy team to support the child’s emotional wellbeing. Specialist assessments are progressed to further understand the child’s needs.

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improvement to be good

The child is supported to spend time with their family in line with their care plan. This helps the child to maintain important family connections and supports their sense of identity.

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improvement to be good

The child is encouraged to express their views and opinions about their daily experiences in the home and matters that are important to them. They know how to raise concerns or make a complaint. However, when the child raises concerns about staff practice, these are not always shared with the management team straight away. This does not reassure the child that their concerns are being taken seriously.

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improvement to be good

The child’s hobbies and interests are recognised and supported. The child has an interest in horses and this is encouraged. This supports the child to build relationships with staff and make lasting memories. The child’s social worker stated, ‘It is clear they all genuinely care for [name of child] and this shows, this includes the management.’

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improvement to be good

The child is supported to personalise their bedroom, creating a sense of belonging. When damage occurs to the property, the manager addresses it promptly, ensuring that the property remains safe and homely for the child. Some damage from a recent incident is in the process of being addressed by the leadership team. Inspection report for children’s home: 2621119 4

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improvement to be good

Staff do not consistently manage or identify concerns linked to self-harm. As a result, opportunities to prevent self-injurious behaviour are sometimes missed. The manager has only recently begun to review staff practice. This work is not yet improving safety for the child.

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improvement to be good

Episodes of going missing from home are managed and responded to promptly by staff. Staff follow the missing-from-home protocol and understand what actions to take. Staff and the manager are keen to understand the child’s views and this has positively led to a reduction in risk.

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improvement to be good

Physical intervention is used as a last resort and staff are trained in this process. However, staff are not always using de-escalation processes effectively and this has led to an increase in risk and the need for police involvement.

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improvement to be good

Staff regularly engage the child in purposeful discussions about important topics such as staying safe in the community, online safety, health and wellbeing. Positively, this has helped to reduce the frequency of missing-from-home incidents.

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

The manager is supported by a deputy manager, and together they have oversight of the home and understand the child’s needs. The manager has identified weaknesses in staff practice and safeguarding arrangements. While action is being taken to address this, practice remains variable and not all staff work to the required timescales in completing the actions required, including mandatory training. This results in inconsistent approaches in the care the child receives.

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

The manager is completing the relevant leadership and management qualification. Her practice is child centred and she has a good understanding of the child’s needs. Staff state that they feel well supported.

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

Staff have access to appropriate training aligned to the child’s individual needs, but learning is not yet fully embedded across the whole team. This means that the child is not always benefiting from clear and predictable responses. When the manager has identified any shortfalls in practice, targeted learning and developmental opportunities are implemented for staff, such as workshops. There is also support from the organisation’s therapist to enhance staff understanding.

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

Staff receive supervision sessions that are of good quality, allowing staff to reflect and identify any emerging needs. Team meetings are held regularly and provide further opportunities for the management team to test staff knowledge and share information. Inspection report for children’s home: 2621119 5 However, it is not always clear how well staff have engaged in or understood the advice and guidance shared.

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

The home benefits from a stable and consistent staff team, and staffing levels can be increased when necessary to ensure that the child’s needs are met.

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

The manager has systems in place to allow them to monitor the quality of care. The manager and deputy manager are transparent about where practice could be strengthened and are committed to ongoing improvement. Inspection report for children’s home: 2621119 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;

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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. (Regulation 12 (1) (2)(a)(i)(iii)(v)(vi)(vii))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person must ensure that all staff fully understand the risks related to self-harm and are able to take appropriate action to prevent self-injurious behaviour.

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that staff have a clear and consistent understanding of when physical intervention is necessary and proportionate and to apply this consistently and safely to safeguard children from harm.

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Requirement Due date

This also relates to managers and staff following safeguarding procedures in response to allegations and disclosures to avoid any delay in reporting concerns. 20 April 2026 Inspection report for children’s home: 2621119 7 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; (Regulation 13 (1)(b) (2)(c))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person must ensure that staff have the skills and experience to support the children and lead a team to deliver consistent high-quality care for children. This includes completing the actions identified from any management evaluation of incidents, including mandatory medication training, in a timely manner. 20 April 2026

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Recommendation

 The registered person should ensure that the home is maintained and that any hazards identified are quickly repaired, such as the damage to a child’s bedroom door, repairs to the bathroom and decoration. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards,’ page 15, paragraph 3.9)

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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 Inspection report for children’s home: 2621119 8 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: 2621119 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, England UB8 1UX

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Inspector

Shauna Morley, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 2621119 10 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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Inspector

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Inspector

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Inspector

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