Children's Home run by Cambian Childcare Limited in Bolton

Inspection report for children's home: 2620950 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

This home is run by a private organisation. It provides care for up to 2 children who may experience social and emotional difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

At the time of this inspection, 2 children were living at the home.

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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: 19 November 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: 2620950 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

19/11/2025 Full Good 07/08/2024 Full Good 15/11/2023 Full Good 05/04/2022 Full Requires improvement to be good Inspection report for children's home: 2620950 3

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Summary of findings

Children make satisfactory progress in relation to their individual starting points. Staff support children with their education. However, children’s attendance and current engagement in education are infrequent.

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Summary of findings

The home is not consistently maintained to a high standard for children. There are staffing shortages that impact on the quality of care provided.

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Summary of findings

Risk management plans do not accurately reflect the level of the children’s risks and emerging vulnerabilities to provide staff with the most up-to-date information.

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improvement to be good

Children make satisfactory progress in relation to their individual starting points and benefit from positive relationships with staff. However, there have been staffing shortages that impact negatively on the quality of care provided to children. Children are not provided with continuity of care from staff who know them well and can offer them consistency and predictability in their lives.

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improvement to be good

Staff promote the health needs of children and ensure that children have access to the services they need to stay healthy. Staff support children to attend their health appointments and provide advice and support on key health issues. Medical consent is in place, and this ensures that staff have a clear understanding of the health responsibilities that are delegated to them. Medication is stored safely and securely by staff.

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improvement to be good

There has been one medication error. A child did not take medication administered to them by staff and the medication was later found discarded by the staff in the home. The manager has addressed this issue with the staff and provided focused supervision with the staff member who administered the child’s medication.

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improvement to be good

Staff do not promote the children’s educational needs effectively. One child has made improvements by progressing from home tutoring to now attending a new school provision. The other child has recently finished school and started a training course at college. However, the children’s attendance is infrequent. Consequently, children’s current learning opportunities and educational progress are limited.

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improvement to be good

Staff promote family time, ensuring that children maintain their close relationships with the people who are most important to them. They provide children with positive activities and encourage their interests and hobbies. Inspection report for children's home: 2620950 4 The accommodation provided by staff is not consistently maintained to a good enough standard for children. Property damage to walls and a bedroom door has not been repaired promptly, and there are discarded items of furniture outside the property. Additionally, there are chalk drawings on the external walls of the property, which staff have yet to remove.

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improvement to be good

Staff promote the safety of children and have a good understanding of their specific needs and vulnerabilities. However, one child’s risk management plans did not accurately reflect their increased levels of risk and emerging vulnerabilities, despite the manager completing a critical analysis of recent concerns.

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improvement to be good

There has been a serious incident that involved one child. The manager has conducted a lessons-learned exercise as safety protocols had not been followed by the staff. As a result, steps have been taken to ensure that the home is safe, and a CCTV system has been implemented to monitor the external premises for additional security.

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improvement to be good

The child will be moving on from the home due to increasing risks and vulnerabilities in the community. They have lived at the home for a considerable period, and staff need to ensure that their transition is well planned and that they experience a positive and thoughtful ending to their time at the home.

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improvement to be good

Significant incidents are reported to the appropriate authorities, and there is a coordinated response to protect children from harm. Staff maintain effective partnerships with the police and other safeguarding agencies to promote the safety of children. Staff take appropriate action when children go missing from the home. They look for children and work in partnership with the police to promote their safe return.

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improvement to be good

Allegations of abuse are treated seriously, and the manager ensures that the local authority designated officer is notified, as well as other involved professionals. There have been no complaints since the last inspection.

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improvement to be good

Children’s behaviour is managed safely, and staff act quickly to prevent unsafe behaviours from escalating. Physical intervention is used as a last resort to protect children from harm.

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

There have been staffing shortfalls since the last inspection. Some staff are currently absent from work, and there are vacant posts that the manager is in the process of addressing through ongoing recruitment. This has led to the regular use of bank staff, agency workers and staff from other children’s homes to cover gaps in the staff rota. Permanent staff have found these changes particularly challenging, as this impacts on Inspection report for children's home: 2620950 5 the team’s performance and does not provide continuity of care, consistency and stability for children.

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

Staff benefit from reflective discussions, and the manager holds regular team meetings to shape staff practice. Staff are provided with practice-related supervision sessions to support them and monitor their performance. Staff benefit from relevant training opportunities to help them meet the specific needs of children.

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

The home is visited monthly by an independent person who reviews the standard and quality of the children’s care. These visits assist leaders and managers to understand the strengths and weaknesses in the care provided for children. Leaders and managers act on reported findings to drive improvement.

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

Staff employed to care for children are recruited and vetted carefully to protect children from unsuitable people. The manager has addressed 2 recommendations from the last inspection. However, a previous requirement is restated. Inspection report for children's home: 2620950 6

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Statutory requirements

This section sets out the actions that the registered person 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 must comply within the given timescales.

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Requirement Due date

The education standard is that children make measurable progress towards achieving their educational potential and are helped to do so.

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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

maintain regular contact with each child’s education and training provider, including engaging with the provider and the placing authority to support the child’s education and training and to maximise the child’s achievement; and

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Requirement Due date

raise any need for further assessment or specialist provision in relation to a child with the child’s education or training provider and the child’s placing authority. (Regulation 8 (1) (2)(a)(vi)(vii))

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must support children to improve their educational attendance and to have access to full-time educational provision. 30 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; and

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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—

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Requirement Due date

ensure that the premises used for the purposes of the home are designed and furnished so as to— 30 June 2026 Inspection report for children's home: 2620950 7 meet the needs of each child; and

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Requirement Due date

enable each child to participate in the daily life of the home. (Regulation 6 (1)(a)(b) (2)(c)(i)(ii))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person must ensure that any property damage is repaired and that children’s bedrooms are kept clean and tidy. The provider must also ensure that discarded furniture and graffiti are removed from the front of the property.

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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

help each child to understand how to keep safe;

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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; and

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Requirement Due date

take effective action whenever there is a serious concern about a child’s welfare. (Regulation 12 (1) (2)(a)(i)(ii)(v)(vi))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person must ensure that staff understand and implement children’s risk assessments and their role in keeping children safe, particularly with regard to the risk of exploitation and offending.

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Requirement Due date

Additionally, the provider must ensure that the keys to the home’s vehicle are stored securely and are not accessible to any unauthorised persons. 8 June 2026

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Requirement Due date

The care planning standard is that children—

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Requirement Due date

receive effectively planned care in or through the children’s home; and 15 June 2026 Inspection report for children's home: 2620950 8 have a positive experience of arriving at or moving on from the home. (Regulation 14 (1)(a)(b))

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that the employment of any person on a temporary basis at the children’s home does not prevent children from receiving such continuity of care as is reasonable to meet their needs. (Regulation 31 (1))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person must ensure that there is a consistent and stable staff team employed to care for children to negate the need for the use of non-permanent staff. 30 June2026

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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: 2620950 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: Caretech, Parkview, 82 Oxford Road, Uxbridge UB8 1UX

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Inspector

Anthony Kyem, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children's home: 2620950 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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