Children's Home run by Cambian Childcare Limited in Essex

Inspection report for children’s home: 1258092 1 Registered provider: Cambian Childcare Ltd Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

The home is operated by a private organisation. It provides care for up to 4 children who experience social, emotional difficulties and learning disabilities.

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Information about this children’s home

At the time of this inspection, 4 children were living at the home.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager registered with Ofsted in February 2023.

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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: not applicable Inspection report for children’s home: 1258092 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

21/05/2025 Full Good 20/08/2024 Full Good 06/02/2024 Full Good 15/11/2022 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: 1258092 3

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Summary of findings

The managers and staff provide a good level of care. Staff are well trained, which supports their understanding of the children’s needs. The children have individual plans that provide good guidance for staff. Children enjoy different activities that are tailored to their interests. Staff support the children to build a social network. Overall, the children receive good support that enables all-round progress.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

At this inspection, there were 4 children living at the home who all contributed their views.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The home feels comfortable and well decorated. The children’s bedrooms are tailored to their tastes and styles. Children said that they like their bedrooms and the decoration. Children have painted the garden sheds in bright colours. Children benefit from a designated and pleasant outdoor therapy room.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Three of the children are enrolled in education. Two of them attend full time, while the other attends an alternative provision 2 days a week and therefore benefits from 5 days of education and a good routine. The staff support children with their education and homework. The remaining child has a home tutor while an education provision is sourced. Staff implement a good routine for the child who does not attend school. This includes wearing school uniform and good daily opportunities that support the child’s learning and development.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The children are encouraged to engage in activities. They enjoy swimming, theme parks, gaming, football and other activities. Children have been to holiday parks, and they enthusiastically showed photos of these trips. Staff have created photo memory books for children to remember their time at the home.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The children benefit from meaningful key-work sessions that support their understanding of relevant topics and provide time for them to reflect. One child was supported by a visit to the police station for learning and reflection on their behaviour. Another child had online safety support from staff to enable staff to implement an appropriate safety plan for phone usage.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Two children have left the home since the last inspection. One child’s ending was well planned; staff created a child-friendly timeline of events, which supported the child to have a positive move. One child’s ending was not planned, although it was required for safety reasons. To help the child understand this, the staff wrote a letter to the child. Inspection report for children’s home: 1258092 4

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

Children feel safe at the home. They said that they would go to any of the staff to raise concerns. The children find that the staff are available and approachable.

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

Leaders and managers respond to allegations about staff practice well, and appropriate action is taken. Children’s views are listened to and reflected in records of investigations.

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

The children’s risks are identified, understood and managed well. When incidents occur, staff use appropriate de-escalation techniques that work well. There have been several physical interventions that have been clearly documented and were proportionate to safeguard children and staff. The children’s risk assessments are kept up to date with any new concerns. These are clear and include appropriate information to support staff in caring for the children safely.

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

There have been no missing-from-home or self-harm incidents. When historic self-harm concerns are known, these are taken into consideration, and a bespoke risk assessment is created. There have been bullying incidents, which have been managed well by staff. Staff are creative in supporting children’s understanding of bullying and their behaviour by using learning resources and themed worksheets.

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

The manager has good oversight of incidents. Actions that are routinely followed up in key-work sessions positively improve children’s behaviour. A family member said that their child has thrived, that the child has learned the rules and is kept safe by the staff. This has supported the child with their confidence and anger management.

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

Staff are safely recruited, and all relevant checks are carried out.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

A professional, knowledgeable and reflective management team runs the home. Managers have identified areas of strength and weakness and have plans to make changes.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The staff receive mandatory and additional training in accordance with the children’s individual needs. Staff receive additional training at team meetings and reflect on scenarios, which supports their understanding of safeguarding concerns and how to manage them.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff receive regular supervision, allowing them to express any concerns, look at their training and development and discuss the children and their needs. Supervision is also used for further development of staff’s understanding of potential safeguarding concerns. Inspection report for children’s home: 1258092 5 There has been a high staff turnover, and there are roles that are vacant. The manager has a plan to reduce the vacancies. The manager does not use agency staff; they use staff from other homes to provide consistent care for children. Feedback from staff is positive; staff feel supported, and they said that managers are generous with their time and knowledge and that the children are their top priority.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff communicate effectively with professionals, and they advocate for the children. The manager expressed their views about a move as they did not feel this was in the child’s best interests. This advocacy helps children feel heard and valued.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Feedback from professionals and family members is positive. One parent said that the staff are like family, and she has no concerns. Inspection report for children’s home: 1258092 6

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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: 1258092 7

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Cambian Childcare Ltd

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Caretech, Parkview, 82 Oxford Road, Uxbridge UB8 1UX

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Inspector

Abby Lynch, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: 1258092 8 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 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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