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Inspection report for children’s home: SC457501 1 SC457501 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

This children’s home provides care for up to 3 children who require support with their emotional and/or behavioural care needs. The home may also provide care for children with learning disabilities. It is operated by a national provider of children’s homes.

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Information about this children’s home

At the time of the inspection, 3 children were living in the home, one of whom moved in on day 2 of the inspection. One child has moved out of the home since the last inspection. The inspector spoke with one child in person and with another child over the phone as they were not present during the inspection.

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Information about this children’s home

The children use the term ‘home adults’ to refer to staff, which is therefore replicated in this report.

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Overall experiences and progress of

children and young people, taking into account

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outstanding

How well children and young people are helped and protected good

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outstanding

The effectiveness of leaders and managers outstanding

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outstanding

The children’s home provides highly effective services that consistently exceed the standards of good. The actions of the children’s home contribute to significantly improved outcomes and positive experiences for children and young people who need help, protection and care.

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outstanding

Date of last inspection: 5 November 2024

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outstanding

Overall judgement at last inspection: good

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outstanding

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children’s home: SC457501 2 Inspection report for children’s home: SC457501 3

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

05/11/2024 Full Good 13/09/2023 Full Requires improvement to be good 28/06/2022 Full Requires improvement to be good 25/02/2022 Interim Sustained effectiveness Inspection report for children’s home: SC457501 4

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

Children receive high-quality care from a skilled team. Home adults nurture and support considers their previous experiences and trauma. Home adults are responsive and adaptive to children’s complex needs. Home adults have excellent relationships with the children, which supports their positive day-to-day experiences.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

Children make exceptional progress living in the home. One child has moved on successfully to supported accommodation. Another has made significant steps in developing their confidence and self-esteem. One child has benefited significantly from the support of home adults to greatly enhance and improve their physical health, ability to communicate and general wellbeing.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

Home adults skilfully manage children’s relationships with parents and wider family members. They support these relationships where appropriate but also advocate on their behalf when this is something the child does not wish to take place. Children’s wishes and feelings are placed at the centre of all decision-making.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

All children are in full time education. When there are challenges in respect of children being able to access appropriate education, the manager strongly advocates on behalf of the children, which results in positive outcomes.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

Home adults encourage children to access appropriate health and therapeutic support, which contributes to their long-term wellbeing and welfare. Where appropriate, children are encouraged to access health appointments alone, thus supporting their independence.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: outstanding

Children’s views are considered in decision-making and the manager strongly advocates on their behalf when they feel unable to do so themselves. When children have challenges with communication, home adults use creative methods to support them so share their views.

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How well children and young people are helped and protected: good

Home adults and the manager understand the potential risks related to the children and respond to them in a manner which focuses on lessening risks. One child who moved into the home and presented with high levels of distress was supported in a creative and well-considered way by the manager and home adults, which has significantly improved and had a significant impact on their emotional wellbeing.

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How well children and young people are helped and protected: good

The team understands the potential risks related to mobile phone use and social media and there are robust plans in place to support children in respect of this. Children respond well to these plans and engage with safety mechanisms such as phone checks Inspection report for children’s home: SC457501 5 and handing in devices in the evenings, largely due to the positive relationships they have with home adults.

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How well children and young people are helped and protected: good

The manager expects the team to have an excellent understanding and key focus on understanding children’s experiences prior to moving into the home, so they can understand how this may impact their behaviour, which then informs how they respond to them. When potential risks are identified, these are fully assessed and mitigations are put in place to address them, and this is also undertaken when children move into the home.

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How well children and young people are helped and protected: good

Home adults respond to incidents and behaviour in a consistent manner, and they are clear in respect of boundaries for the children. This supports children to feel safe in the home. When children have complex needs and personal care is required, this is appropriately risk assessed and recorded to identify exactly what care a child has received and why.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

The manager is a tenacious and nurturing leader whose focus on support for the children has resulted in outcomes which are unlikely to have occurred without her strong advocacy. Her creative and therapeutic approach has significantly enhanced the children’s overall experiences.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

Leaders and managers robustly track and review the progress of children on a 3-monthly basis, which is then fed into team meetings where home adults are included in decision- making around next steps. The team identifies key areas to focus on for the next review period, which supports the ongoing progress of children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

The manager has clear oversight of practice in the home, and when concerns have been identified these have been swiftly and directly addressed. When new members of the team join the home, they receive a comprehensive induction which supports them in starting their new role.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

All home adults receive training which is relevant to their roles, and additional training in respect of the specific needs of the children is also provided to further enhance their skills. Learning from training and how it will impact future practice is then assessed using written reflections and within supervisions. Home adults advise that they feel very well supported by the manager and the wider team. Supervision sessions are of a high quality and support home adults to continue to improve on their own individual practice and approaches to the children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

When children move into the home, they are sensitively supported with clear planning. Children already living in the home are consulted with and the manager ensures that all potential competing needs are explored. Professionals working with one child who moved into the home during the inspection noted how positive and helpful the manager Inspection report for children’s home: SC457501 6 and home adults have been during the transition period. A family member also gave very positive feedback.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

The manager has a thorough understanding of the home, identifying strengths and areas for development, and there are clear plans in place to address these. Leaders and managers have productive working relationships with external professionals, robustly advocating and challenging when other agencies have not responded effectively.

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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: SC457501 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: 4th Floor Parkview, 82 Oxford Road, Uxbridge UB8 1UX

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Children’s home details

Responsible individual: Nicola McClements

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Inspector

Helen Cushnie, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: SC457501 8 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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Inspector

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