Children's Home run by Cambian Childcare Limited in Durham

Inspection report for children’s home: SC456602 1 SC456602 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 is privately operated. It provides care for up to 3 children who may experience social or emotional difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager registered with Ofsted in October 2022.

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Information about this children’s home

At the time of inspection, 3 children were living at the home. All 3 children were seen and 2 were spoken with during the inspection.

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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

Overall judgement at last inspection: good

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children’s home: SC456602 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

08/07/2025 Full Good 05/11/2024 Full Good 13/09/2023 Full Good 27/06/2022 Full Requires improvement to be good Inspection report for children’s home: SC456602 3

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Summary of findings

Children develop postive relationship with staff that that helps them to develop a sense of belonging. Staff use creative methods to help children understand their feelings and behaviours. This is helping children to be safer.

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Summary of findings

Staff promote children’s engagement with education and advocate for them to receive the support they need to meet their learning needs.

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Summary of findings

Children who are preparing for independence are helped to develop independence skills and prepare for moving out of the home. However, one child does not yet have a pathway plan.

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Summary of findings

Staff feel valued by managers and are supported to learn and progress in their careers, promoting a happy and stable team.

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Summary of findings

The home environment has been updated and refreshed since the last inspection. However, some areas still require attention to ensure that the home is equally maintained throughout.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children develop trusting relationships with staff. Staff recognise that some children may need more time than others to feel at ease and settle into life at the home. Children who have lived at the home for some time, have established warm, positive relationships with the staff. Children are at ease talking with staff about anything that is worrying them.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff work effectively with the wider network of professionals to ensure that children have well planned time with the people who are important to them. Staff keep informed about the ongoing needs of parents and relevant family members, so they can support children to see their families at important times.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The manager’s collaboration with the schools and colleges that the children attend contributes to helping children make progress in their education. Where children are not receiving the right support the manager advocates strongly for this. Staff support children who have left school to engage with college and work experience opportunities with a view to applying for jobs or further training. Staff have developed a supportive evening and morning routine for one child to maximise their time in school as they approach their GCSE exams.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff encourage children to engage with the health services they need and develop healthy lifestyle habits. Children enjoy walking, swimming, and going to the gym. The Inspection report for children’s home: SC456602 4 older children have completed sponsored walks to raise money for charity and requested that more hiking trips are planned. Furthermore, staff help children to learn how to plan and cook healthy meals.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

When children move on from the home the manager ensures that moves are well- managed; and that the children’s time at the home is celebrated. Children who are preparing for independence have detailed support plans that help them to develop their independence skills in preparation for adulthood. However, one child does not have a completed and agreed local authority pathway plan to guide their development. Further escalation is needed to secure the plan for the child.

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

The manager and staff contribute effectively to multiagency risk assessments and intervention plans led by a specialist team for children who are at risk of harm outside the home. The support is well coordinated and responsive to children’s needs. All staff and professionals understand the risks for children, and this has resulted in risk reducing for one child.

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

The manager’s oversight identifies gaps in risk management practice. When needed, he supports staff to complete learning and development activities to increase their knowledge and skills. One member of staff is currently being supported by a specialist team to deliver interventions to reduce the risk of exploitation. Additionally, the manager has researched and produced detailed resources to support staff in their understanding of how to respond to children misusing dangerous substances. Staff’s confidence in this area has increased and the help children receive has improved.

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

Appropriate age-related restrictions are used to safeguard children when using the internet. Furthermore, staff complete issue specific keywork sessions with children to educate them on current topics in the media around harmful views on gender. Children can identify staff they can talk with if they come across any worrying content online. This is helping children to be safer when using the internet.

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

The staff record all incidents, and restraint holds in detail and the manager’s oversight is consistently effective. After incidents, staff help children to reflect on the incident. This is helping children to understand their behaviour and how it affects them and others. Younger children require a more creative approach using role play and social stories to help them reflect and understand their actions and the actions taken by staff to help them.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager is established in his role and provides consistent and effective leadership to the staff. He has positive relationships with a wide network of professionals and receives feedback regularly to inform his development plan for the home. Professionals say they feel welcome in the home and comment on the consistent approach of the staff and their persistence in securing positive outcomes for children. Inspection report for children’s home: SC456602 5 When children move into the home the manager completes a detailed suitability assessment by gathering information from a range of sources. The manager uses his understanding of the relationships between the children living in the home alongside the needs of the new child to inform his assessment. The manager identifies when staff may need additional resources to meet the children’s needs and ensures that staff have the help and guidance needed.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff receive regular well-planned practice-related supervision that considers their wellbeing and any additional support that they may require. Staff are encouraged to reflect on the care they provide to the children and any incidents they have been involved in or worries they may have. When the manager identifies a learning need for a member of staff, he uses more a more experienced member of staff to mentor their colleague to help improve practice. Staff who want to progress in their career are offered support and opportunities to do so.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Leaders and managers ensure that staff are recruited safely and additional checks are completed when required. The responsible individual works with the manager to review any information received that may be of concern and has oversight of risk assessments for new members of staff if needed.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The home has been updated and refreshed since the last inspection. However, the main upstairs bathroom that the children use is not in keeping with the rest of the home and remains in need of improvement. The manager has requested this to be resolved but there are delays in this work being completed. Inspection report for children’s home: SC456602 6

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that the placing authority provides the input and services needed to assess and support a child preparing to move on from the home, including having a pathway plan at the agreed age. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards,’ page 12, paragraph 2.8)  The registered person should ensure that areas of the home that require repair or redecoration is completed in a timely manner. (‘Guide to the Children's Homes Regulations, including the quality standards,’ page 15, paragraph 3.7)

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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: SC456602 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: Parkview, 82 Oxford Road, Uxbridge UB8 1UX

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Inspector

Kirstie Sutherland, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: SC456602 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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