Children's Home run by Cambian Childcare Limited in Birmingham

Inspection report for children’s home: SC066187 1 SC066187 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 home is owned by a private company. It provides care for 3 children with social and emotional difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager is suitably qualified and registered with Ofsted on 7 March 2025.

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Overall experiences and progress of

children and young people, taking into account

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good

How well children and young people are helped and protected good

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good

The effectiveness of leaders and managers good

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good

The children’s home provides effective services that meet the requirements for good.

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good

Date of last inspection: 18 February 2025

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good

Overall judgement at last inspection: good

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children’s home: SC066187 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

18/02/2025 Full Outstanding 27/02/2024 Full Good 07/03/2023 Full Outstanding 13/12/2021 Full Outstanding Inspection report for children’s home: SC066187 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Three children live in the home. All children were seen and spoken to. One child who has recently moved in, said they ‘love’ the home. Another child has lived at the home for almost two years. They have developed safer ways to process and manage their emotions. As a result, incidents in the home have decreased. They now attend school independently, full time and have 100% attendance.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The home is clean, tidy, and generally well maintained. The environment provides children with a cosy and comfortable place to live. There are photos displayed around the home of children having fun with one another and staff. This contributes to a homely feel and promotes a sense of belonging for children.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children enjoy activities and developing hobbies. One child enjoys horse riding, swimming, and dancing. Children are well travelled. Staff provide them with opportunities to visit different cities and countries. They continue to document these trips which create special memories for children.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children enjoy caring for pets. They form healthy attachments and develop a sense of independence. Children learn responsibility and enjoy feeding, cleaning, and nurturing their pets.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children receive care from a diverse staff team. Staff support children’s cultural backgrounds and ethnicities. They support children with their hair and skin care. Children enjoy cooking and eating familiar foods. This creates a strong sense of comfort and belonging for them.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff support children to stay in touch with people who are important to them. One child’s father says that they, the child, and their siblings, have ‘better family time’. This is because of the care the child now receives. The child’s father described their child as now feeling ‘stable and supported.’

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

One child who has lived at the home for four years wishes to move. They have strict boundaries in place to ensure their safety online. Staff are supporting the child’s emotional and mental well-being after a decline in their mental health. The child is also receiving external counselling. But there are long delays in the child receiving specialist health assessments.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

In general, staff demonstrate good practice in seeking children’s views. However, one child identifies strained relationships with other children. This highlights the need for better communication to ensure that children feel understood.

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

Inspection report for children’s home: SC066187 4 Overall managers and staff understand their safeguarding roles and responsibilities. The registered manager has good oversight of incidents. They use a model of reflection to help staff reflect on their practice. Staff are able to empathise and identify how they can improve. Safeguarding incidents for some children have reduced.

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

Staff are supportive of children who self-harm. Skilled staff help children to develop safer coping strategies. Children contribute to their safety plans. They outline with staff triggers and identify how they want staff to respond. Children call this their ‘love language’.

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

Staff receive good clinical support to help them respond safely to childrens behaviours. Staff help children to identify and understand their feelings and responses. Children use their senses to identify their preferred self-soothing techniques such as listening to the sound of rain or squeezing a soft object. Thus, enabling them to use safer ways to process their feelings and emotions.

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

Staff build trusting relationships with children. Children know how to complain. They are able to identify staff they can confide in about any worries they have. When children complain or make allegations, managers investigate. However, they do not always provide children with clear outcomes. For example, one child’s complaint was partially upheld. The managers response to them was not clear about which part. This did not help the child to feel listened to and reassured.

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

Incidents of missing have reduced. When children go missing staff respond immediately. They follow and search for children, attempting to maintain contact by telephone. Staff also inform relevant professionals such as social workers and the police. However, on one occasion a child was missing overnight. The records did not evidence staff attempts to contact and locate them during the night.

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

Staff do not always pre-empt emotional distress for children. One child went missing after a difficult conversation with their social worker. The response of some staff has led to children feeling shame. This has resulted in them going missing on at least two occasions. This approach is not in line with the homes model of care outlined in the statement of purpose. The language used in records can also be blaming.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager is suitably qualified and experienced. They are passionate and dedicated. Staff describe them as very supportive. However, there has been a period of instability. Some permanent staff have left, and new staff are being recruited.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Professionals provided unanimous positive feedback about the care children receive. One social worker said, during life story work, one child speaks highly about the staff. They said the child had grown in confidence and previously had barely spoke. Now, they talk and share their views openly and confidently. Inspection report for children’s home: SC066187 5 The registered manager has good monitoring systems in place. They identify shortfalls in the quality-of-care children receive. They are aware of the home’s areas of development and have an action plan in place to address them. There are new systems in place for monitoring staff training. After a period of absence, the registered manager is not yet familiar with them. Therefore, unable to monitor effectively whether staff receive training pertinent to children’s needs.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

There has been gaps in the oversight of the home when the registered manager was absent from work. One child reported to the independent visitor that they did not feel safe. They said this was due to another child’s behaviour. Whilst this was explored it was not clear what immediate action was taken to reassure the child. Or whether the child was spoken to at the time. This had the potential to compromise the child’s safety.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager and staff receive regular formal supervision which is reflective. However, records do not illustrate that the responsible individual receives regular formal supervision. An external consultant is assisting them in their role. Inspection report for children’s home: SC066187 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

In meeting the quality standards, the registered person must, and must ensure that staff—

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Requirement Due date

seek to secure the input and services required to meet each child’s needs;

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Requirement Due date

if the registered person considers, or staff consider, a placing authority’s or a relevant person’s performance or response to be inadequate in relation to their role, challenge the placing authority or the relevant person to seek to ensure that each child’s needs are met in accordance with the child’s relevant plans; and

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Requirement Due date

seek to develop and maintain effective professional relationships with such persons, bodies or organisations as the registered person considers appropriate having regard to the range of needs of children for whom it is intended that the children’s home is to provide care and accommodation. (Regulation 5 (b)(c)(d))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person must ensure that when there are delays in children receiving specialist assessments, they must escalate to the highest level, to ensure that children receive the specialist assessment and support they require. 20 June 2026

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Requirement Due date

The quality and purpose of care standard is that children receive care from staff who—

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Requirement Due date

understand the children’s home’s overall aims and the outcomes it seeks to achieve for children;

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Requirement Due date

use this understanding to deliver care that meets children’s needs and supports them to fulfil their potential.

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to— 20 June 2026 Inspection report for children’s home: SC066187 7 understand and apply the home’s statement of purpose;

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Requirement Due date

understand and apply the home’s statement of purpose; (Regulation 6 (1)(a)(b) (2)(a)(b)(i))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person must ensure that all staff are trained and have the skills and abilities to deliver the model of care outlined in the homes statement of purpose. This includes during the absence of the registered manager.

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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 promotes their welfare.

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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 work as a team where appropriate;

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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

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

demonstrate that practice in the home is informed and improved by taking into account and acting on—

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Requirement Due date

research and developments in relation to the ways in which the needs of children are best met; and

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Requirement Due date

feedback on the experiences of children, including complaints received; and

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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)(b)(c)(e)(f)(g)(i)(ii)(h)) 20 June 2026 Inspection report for children’s home: SC066187 8 In particular, the registered person must ensure that there are contingency plans in place when the registered manager is absent from the home. This includes the monitoring of and response to concerns rasied by children to the independent visitor. In addition to when staff leave or are unable to work in the home. Every effort must be made to ensure that children receive care by staff who know and understand their needs.

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must also ensure that the responsible individual is provided with regular and reflective supervision which includes their oversight and monitoring of the home, particularly when the registered manager is absent from the home.

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that they consider better ways of ensuring children feel listened to, heard, and understood, in particular about their relationships with one another. In addition to de-briefs with all children who live in the home after incidents, regardless of whether they are involved. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 22, paragraph 4.11)  The registered person should ensure that staff are familiar with the home’s policies on record-keeping and understand the importance of careful, objective, and clear recording and the use of non-stigmatising language. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 62, paragraph 14.4)

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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: SC066187 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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Inspectors

Sarah Berry, Social Care Inspector Shabana Warne, His Majesty’s Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: SC066187 10 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 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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