Children's Home run by Cambian Childcare Limited in Cambridgeshire

Inspection report for children’s home - monitoring visit: SC456911 1 SC456911 Registered provider: Cambian Childcare Ltd

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Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

The home is privately owned. It provides care for up to 6 children who may experience social and emotional difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

At the time of this inspection, one child was living in the home.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager registered with Ofsted in September 2022.

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This monitoring visit

This monitoring visit was undertaken following a monitoring visit on 2 July 2026 after concerns were received by Ofsted from external agencies and professionals.

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This monitoring visit

At the monitoring visit on 2 July 2026, compliance notices were served under regulation 13, the leadership and management standard, regulation 12, the help and protection standard and regulation 35 the behaviour management standard. A restriction of accommodation notice remains in place. This means no new children can be admitted to the home while this is in place.

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This monitoring visit

At this monitoring visit insufficient action has been taken by the provider to address the shortfalls identified. Therefore, the compliance notices served under regulation 12 and 13 have not been met. The compliance served under regulation 35 has been met. However, some shortfalls remain and therefore the requirement is restated. Several requirements set at the last inspection were not tested as part of this inspection. These have therefore been restated. One requirement was met.

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This monitoring visit

Since the last inspection one child has moved out in an unplanned way because staff were unable to meet this child’s needs. This follows on from two other children also moving out quickly in unplanned ways just before the July monitoring visit. This has meant lots of change for several children in a short space of time. One child remains Inspection report for children’s home - monitoring visit: SC456911 2 living at the home, they were seen but did not want to share their views as part of this inspection.

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This monitoring visit

Staff are not yet effectively working together to keep children safe. There have been several serious incidents at the home, when staff have been hurt or a child has caused damage to the home. One event included electrical and water damage to the home which made the house unsafe for several days. Both children remained living at the home during this time. On several occasions, staff have not responded quickly to escalating risks and have not followed the actions specified in the children’s plans, to help them better support children and keep them safe.

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This monitoring visit

Staff have not effectively supervised children. Consequently, on one occasion a child accessed items that may cause them harm from the staff office. Staff have not been curious about what children may take and how they could use items unsafely. On occasions access to these items has led to further incidents.

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This monitoring visit

Staff have not consistently responded to children when they go missing from home. Although staff have made some improvements in this area of their practice this has not been effective. On one occasion a child used their bike to go missing because this was not appropriately locked away at nighttime. On one occasion it is not clear if staff continued to search for a child when they remained missing from home at night. On another occasion staff did not follow the child when they left the home to go missing a second time. There was no management oversight to suggest why this may not have been done. As a result, leaders and managers have not demonstrated effective decision making and safeguarding practice.

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This monitoring visit

There has been a reduction in the number of physical interventions with children. Leaders now speak with children following any incidents. However, staff’s records about these incidents remain poorly recorded. Frequently leaders and managers require staff to rewrite these records, so that they are accurate and factual. Following these incidents, debriefs with staff are not taking place quickly. This undermines leaders and managers ability to take learning from these incidents or review staff practices.

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This monitoring visit

The registered manager is being supported by having an additional manager in the home. This has provided an extra level of oversight and there is now clearer manager’s monitoring on some records. However, actions by leaders and managers have not gone far enough to address practice shortfalls by staff or in consistently challenging this poor practice.

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This monitoring visit

Leaders and managers have not been able to effectively address some of the negative staff culture that exists within the home. Staff are not yet consistently attending training, and they are not subsequently applying learning from training in their day-to-day interactions with children. This undermines the ability to promote change in practice or demonstrate how leaders, managers and staff have met the steps in the compliance notices. Inspection report for children’s home - monitoring visit: SC456911 3

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

02/06/2026 Full Requires improvement to be good 16/06/2025 Full Requires improvement to be good 20/08/2024 Full Good 30/08/2023 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home - monitoring visit: SC456911 4

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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 with the given timescales.

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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

have the skills to identify and act upon signs that a child is at risk of harm;

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Requirement Due date

manage relationships between children to prevent them from harming each other;

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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;

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Requirement Due date

take effective action whenever there is a serious concern about a child’s welfare; and

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Requirement Due date

are familiar with, and act in accordance with, the home’s child protection policies;

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Requirement Due date

that the home’s day-to-day care is arranged and delivered so as to keep each child safe and to protect each child effectively from harm. (Regulation 12 (1) (2)(a)(i)(ii)(iii)(iv)(v)(vi)(vii)(b)) 18 September Inspection report for children’s home - monitoring visit: SC456911 5 This requirement was raised at the last inspection and is restated.

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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

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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

lead and manage the home in a way that is consistent with the approach and ethos, and delivers the outcomes, set out in the home’s statement of purpose;

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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 has sufficient staff to provide care for 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

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)(a)(b)(c)(d)(e)(f)(g)(ii)(h))

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Requirement Due date

This requirement was raised at the last inspection and is restated. 18 September Inspection report for children’s home - monitoring visit: SC456911 6 The registered person must ensure that—

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Requirement Due date

within 24 hours of the use of a measure of control, discipline or restraint in relation to a child in the home, a record is made which includes—

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Requirement Due date

details of the child’s behaviour leading to the use of the measure;

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Requirement Due date

the date, time and location of the use of the measure;

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Requirement Due date

a description of the measure and its duration;

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Requirement Due date

details of any methods used or steps taken to avoid the need to use the measure;

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Requirement Due date

the name of the person who used the measure (“the user”), and of any other person present when the measure was used;

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Requirement Due date

the effectiveness and any consequences of the use of the measure; and

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Requirement Due date

a description of any injury to the child or any other person, and any medical treatment administered, as a result of the measure;

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Requirement Due date

within 48 hours of the use of the measure, the registered person, or a person who is authorised by the registered person to do so (“the authorised person”)—

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Requirement Due date

(has spoken to the user about the measure; and

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Requirement Due date

(has signed the record to confirm it is accurate; and

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Requirement Due date

within 5 days of the use of the measure, the registered person or the authorised person adds to the record confirmation that they have spoken to the child about the measure. (Regulation 35 (3)(a)(i)(ii)(iii)(iv)(v)(vi)(vii)(viii)(b)(i)(ii)(c))

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Requirement Due date

This requirement was raised at the last inspection and is restated. 18 September

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Requirement Due date

The care planning standard is that children— 30 October 2026 Inspection report for children’s home - monitoring visit: SC456911 7 receive effectively planned care in or through the children’s home; and

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Requirement Due date

have a positive experience of arriving at or moving on from the home.

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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

that children are admitted to the home only if their needs are within the range of needs of children for whom it is intended that the home is to provide care and accommodation, as set out in the home’s statement of purpose. (Regulation 14 (1)(a)(b) (2)(a))

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Requirement Due date

The positive relationships standard is that children are helped to develop, and to benefit from, relationships based on—

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Requirement Due date

an understanding about acceptable behaviour; and

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Requirement Due date

positive responses to other children and adults.

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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

meet each child’s behavioural and emotional needs, as set out in the child’s relevant plans;

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Requirement Due date

help each child to develop socially aware behaviour;

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Requirement Due date

encourage each child to take responsibility for the child’s behaviour, in accordance with the child’s age and understanding;

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Requirement Due date

help each child to develop and practise skills to resolve conflicts positively and without harm to anyone;

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Requirement Due date

communicate to each child expectations about the child’s behaviour and ensure that the child understands those expectations in accordance with the child’s age and understanding; 30 October 2026 Inspection report for children’s home - monitoring visit: SC456911 8 help each child to understand, in a way that is appropriate according to the child’s age and understanding, personal, sexual and social relationships, and how those relationships can be supportive or harmful;

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Requirement Due date

strive to gain each child’s respect and trust;

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Requirement Due date

understand how children’s previous experiences and present emotions can be communicated through behaviour and have the competence and skills to interpret these and develop positive relationships with children;

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Requirement Due date

are provided with supervision and support to enable them to understand and manage their own feelings and responses to the behaviour and emotions of children, and to help children to do the same;

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Requirement Due date

de-escalate confrontations with or between children, or potentially violent behaviour by children. (Regulation 11 (1)(a)(b)(c) (2)(a)(i)(ii)(iii)(iv)(v)(vi)(viii)(ix)(x)(xi))

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Requirement Due date

This requirement was raised at the last inspection and is restated.

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Requirement Due date

The children’s views, wishes and feelings standard is that children receive care from staff who—

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Requirement Due date

develop positive relationships with them;

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Requirement Due date

take their views, wishes and feelings into account in relation to matters affecting the children’s care and welfare and their lives.

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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

ascertain and consider each child’s views, wishes and feelings, and balance these against what they judge to be in the child’s best interests when making decisions about the child’s care and welfare;

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Requirement Due date

help each child to express views, wishes and feelings; 30 October 2026 Inspection report for children’s home - monitoring visit: SC456911 9 help each child to understand how the child’s views, wishes and feelings have been taken into account and give the child reasons for decisions in relation to the child;

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Requirement Due date

regularly consult children, and seek their feedback, about the quality of the home’s care. (Regulation 7 (1)(a)(b)(c) (2)(a)(i)(ii)(iii)(iv))

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Requirement Due date

This requirement was raised at the last inspection and is restated.

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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 involve each child’s placing authority effectively in the child’s care, in accordance with the child’s relevant plans;

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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 (a)(b)(c)(d))

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Requirement Due date

This requirement was raised at the last inspection and is restated. 30 October 2026

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must maintain records (“case records”) for each child which—

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Requirement Due date

include the information and documents listed in Schedule 3 in relation to each child;

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Requirement Due date

are signed and dated by the author of each entry. 30 October 2026 Inspection report for children’s home - monitoring visit: SC456911 10 (Regulation 36 (a)(b)(c))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, ensure that children’s plans, daily records, and all incident reports are completed diligently and reviewed by a manager in a timely manner.

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Requirement Due date

This requirement was raised at the last inspection and is restated.

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Requirement Due date

*These requirements are subject to a compliance notice.

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that staff have access to appropriate facilities and resources to support their training needs. This specifically relates to ensuring that training to meet the specific needs of individual children is arranged and provided in a timely manner. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 53, paragraph 10.11)  The registered person should ensure that staff record information about individual children in a non-stigmatising way that distinguishes between fact, opinion and third-party information. Information about the child must always be recorded in a way that will be helpful to the child. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 62, paragraph 14.4)

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Information about this inspection

The purpose of this visit was to monitor the action taken and the progress made by the children’s home since its last Ofsted inspection.

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Information about this inspection

This inspection was carried out under the Care Standards Act 2000. Inspection report for children’s home - monitoring visit: SC456911 11

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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

Rebecca Hannell, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home - monitoring visit: SC456911 12 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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