Children's Home run by Cambian Childcare Limited in Manchester

Inspection report for children's home: SC064666 1 SC064666 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

A private provider operates this children’s home. The home is registered to provide care for up to 2 children with social and emotional difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

At the time of the inspection, one child was living in the home. They spoke with the inspector.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager registered with Ofsted in January 2026.

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Overall experiences and progress of

children and young people, taking into account

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inadequate

How well children and young people are helped and protected inadequate

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inadequate

The effectiveness of leaders and managers inadequate

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inadequate

There are serious and/or widespread failures that mean children are not protected or their welfare is not promoted or safeguarded and the care and experiences of children and young people are poor and they are not making progress.

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inadequate

Date of last inspection: 18 November 2025

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inadequate

Overall judgement at last inspection: good

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inadequate

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children's home: SC064666 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

18/11/2025 Full Good 12/06/2024 Full Good 27/02/2024 Full Requires improvement to be good 25/05/2022 Full Good Inspection report for children's home: SC064666 3

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Summary of findings

Significant shortfalls in safeguarding practice and in the leadership and management arrangements have impacted on the quality of care provided to children.

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Summary of findings

Children’s moves into the home are not always planned effectively. Leaders, managers and staff do not consistently ensure that all known risks are fully understood prior to a child’s move into the home. As a result, staff are not always equipped with the skills, knowledge and understanding required to meet children’s needs safely and effectively.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: inadequate

Shortfalls in safeguarding practice and the leadership and management of the home have impacted on the child’s progress.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: inadequate

Since the last inspection, 2 children have moved into the home and 3 have moved on. Two of these moves from the home were planned and in line with the children’s care plans. However, one child’s move was not in line with their care plan.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: inadequate

Planning for one child’s move into the home was not sufficiently robust. Leaders did not demonstrate adequate professional curiosity when assessing referral information, resulting in known risks and support needs not being fully reflected in the child’s plans. This limited staff’s ability to provide care informed by the child’s individual needs and risks. In addition, some required legal documentation was not obtained before children moved into the home, meaning staff did not have access to all relevant information and consents needed to provide care in line with local authority plans .

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: inadequate

Leaders and managers have not maintained the home to ensure that children live in a nurturing and welcoming environment. Internal areas of the home are unclean, including doors, skirting boards and walls. In addition, health and safety concerns were identified both inside and outside of the property, including broken garden furniture, damaged bedroom furniture and a hazardous television in a child’s bedroom. During the inspection, leaders and managers took action to address some of the health and safety concerns.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: inadequate

The child is enrolled in an education setting. However, staff were unaware of the arrangements for the child’s return following the summer holidays. Staff only became aware of this when education staff attended the home and informed them that the child was expected to attend that day. This does not demonstrate effective communication, planning or oversight to ensure that the child’s educational arrangements are understood and appropriately supported. Inspection report for children's home: SC064666 4 Staff do not consistently ensure that children’s health needs are met. One child moved into the home with an identified need for an optician’s appointment. However, staff did not take action to arrange the appointment. As a result, the appointment remained outstanding throughout the child’s time in the home and had not been arranged by the time the child moved out of the home.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: inadequate

Staff do not have access to local authority’s care plans for all children. Furthermore, one child’s support plan lacked sufficient detail about their current health needs. This significantly limits staff’s understanding of children’s needs and reduces their ability to provide informed support to promote progress in key areas, including relationships, education and health.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: inadequate

Staff support children to experience activities in line with their interests, including go- karting and fishing. Staff also support children to spend time with their families and maintain important family relationships.

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

Shortfalls in safeguarding practice mean that staff do not consistently protect children from harm. On one occasion, staff failed to seek medical advice or continue welfare checks when a child returned to the home under the influence of alcohol and subsequently became unwell in their bedroom. Furthermore, staff did not demonstrate professional curiosity when collecting children from addresses that were unknown or unfamiliar to them. As a result, staff did not take all necessary steps to assess and respond to potential risks to children’s safety.

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

Staff do not consistently follow children’s safety plans. On one occasion, there was a delay in reporting a child as missing from home, despite concerns that they may have sustained a concussion and were at risk in the community. When the child returned to the home, staff did not seek medical advice or carry out welfare checks to assess the child’s condition and wellbeing. The following day, a staff member transported the child to the area where they had reportedly been assaulted the previous day, placing the child at further risk. Subsequently, the child was involved in another safeguarding incident in the community.

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

Risk management plans do not include all known risks for children and are not consistently updated following incidents. As a result, they do not provide clear guidance for staff on how to respond to emerging or ongoing risk, including risks in the community, smoking in children’s bedrooms, and friends visiting the home. These shortfalls in guidance expose children to potential harm and leave staff without the direction they need to respond safely and effectively.

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

Direct work with children is not effective. Staff do not consistently speak with children following incidents, and where discussions do take place they are not reflective or exploratory of the children’s feelings and experiences. This is a missed opportunity to Inspection report for children's home: SC064666 5 help children develop coping strategies to manage their emotions and to educate them about keeping themselves safe.

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

Incidents of children being physically held are rare. However, when such incidents have occurred, debriefs with children and staff have not always been completed. This limits opportunities to review practice, reflect on the effectiveness of interventions and identify any learning to improve staff practice.

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

The lone working risk assessment is not effective, as regular welfare checks are not undertaken when staff are working alone with a child. This potentially leaves staff and children at risk as it reduces oversight and the ability to respond promptly to potential safeguarding or staff welfare concerns.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

Management oversight of the care provided to the child is poor. The registered manager is also registered for another home within the organisation, which limits the time they spend at this home and reduces their ability to maintain effective oversight of practice and the care provided to children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

Leaders and managers have not established effective monitoring systems to oversee the quality of care provided. As a result, they do not consistently identify shortfalls in practice, including recording deficiencies, or recognise patterns and trends in incidents. This limits their ability to take timely action to improve outcomes and safeguard children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

Management oversight of the home is ineffective during periods when the registered person is absent. As a result, leaders do not consistently review safeguarding incidents appropriately or ensure that discussions take place with staff and children following incidents. In addition, leaders and managers have not notified Ofsted of all serious incidents.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

Not all staff have completed the training required to meet the needs of all children. This includes training on knife crime, attention deficit hyperactivity disorder and refresher training in physical intervention. As a result, staff may not have the knowledge and skills needed to understand, manage and respond to children’s risks and needs effectively.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

There has been a delay in leaders and managers enrolling staff on the required qualifications within expected timescales. Although leaders and managers are now taking steps to support staff to meet these requirements, delays may affect timely completion of the qualifications.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

Leaders and managers do not consistently escalate concerns when local authorities fail to provide care planning documents or when independent return home interviews have not been completed. As a result, leaders and managers do not take all necessary steps to ensure that they have the information required to meet children’s needs and promote their welfare. Inspection report for children's home: SC064666 6 The manager has not ensured that the home’s statement of purpose is up to date. In addition, regulation 45 reports are not always evaluative of the quality of care being provided and do include recent feedback from children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

Staff benefit from regular team meetings, although these have not always been sufficiently reflective or evaluative of children’s needs, risks and safeguarding incidents and do not include set actions.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

Management and staff have developed positive working relationships with other professionals and staff spoken with were positive about the support they receive from the manager. Inspection report for children's home: SC064666 7

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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

*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;

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Requirement Due date

that the premises used for the purposes of the home are designed, furnished and maintained so as to protect each child from avoidable hazards to the child’s health; and 11 October 2026 Inspection report for children's home: SC064666 8 that the effectiveness of the home’s child protection policies is monitored regularly. (Regulation 12 (1) (2)(a)(i)(ii)(iii)(iv)(v)(vi)(vii)(b)(d)(e))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person should ensure that staff take action to safeguard children at all times.

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Requirement Due date

Ensure that all risks for children are assessed and that staff can meet all children’s needs.

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Requirement Due date

Ensure that plans are in place to safeguard children from all known and emerging risks and that these plans include clear guidance for staff to follow.

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Requirement Due date

Ensure that meaningful work is completed with the children to help them understand how to keep safe. This includes following all incidents.

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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 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; 11 October 2026 Inspection report for children's home: SC064666 9 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)(a)(c)(e)(f)(i)(ii)(h)

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person should ensure that there is oversight of all care provided in the home. This includes ensuring that care is provided to the child in line with local authority care plans.

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Requirement Due date

Ensure that all incidents are reviewed and that all shortfalls in staff practice are identified and action is taken to address these. This should also include undertaking debriefs with the child and staff following all incidents.

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Requirement Due date

Ensure that staff have the skills, knowledge and understanding to meet children’s needs, and to identify and manage risks.

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Requirement Due date

Ensure that leaders have oversight of relevant documentation to identify any safeguarding concerns or emerging risks and ensure that appropriate action is taken.

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Requirement Due date

The health and well-being standard is that—

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Requirement Due date

the health and well-being needs of children are met;

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Requirement Due date

children receive advice, services and support in relation to their health and well-being; and

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Requirement Due date

children are helped to lead healthy lifestyles.

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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

achieve the health and well-being outcomes that are recorded in the child’s relevant plans; 11 October 2026 Inspection report for children's home: SC064666 10 take part in activities, and attend any appointments, for the purpose of meeting the child’s health and well-being needs. (Regulation 10 (1)(a)(b)(c) (2)(a)(i)(iii))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, ensure that staff actively arrange children’s health appointments and support them to attend, in line with children’s health needs and healthcare plans.

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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

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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;

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Requirement Due date

plan for, and help, each child to prepare to leave the home or to move into adult care in a way that is consistent with arrangements agreed with the child’s placing authority. (Regulation 14 (1)(a)(b) (2)(a)(b)(iii))

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Requirement Due date

Specifically, managers and leaders must ensure that when a child is admitted to the home, they aquire local authority documentation including delegate authority and care plans, including those that have been reviewed. 11 October 2026

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must recruit staff using recruitment procedures that are designed to ensure children’s safety.

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Requirement Due date

employ an individual to work at the children’s home; or

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Requirement Due date

if an individual is employed by a person other than the registered person to work at the home in a position in which the 11 October 2026 Inspection report for children's home: SC064666 11 individual may have regular contact with children, allow that individual to work at the home,

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Requirement Due date

if the individual satisfies the requirements in paragraph (3).

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Requirement Due date

the individual has the appropriate experience, qualification and skills for the work that the individual is to perform.

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Requirement Due date

For the purposes of paragraph (3)(b), an individual who works in the home in a care role has the appropriate qualification if, by the relevant date, the individual has attained—

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Requirement Due date

the Level 3 Diploma for Residential Childcare (England) (“the Level 3 Diploma”); or

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Requirement Due date

a qualification which the registered person considers to be equivalent to the Level 3 Diploma.

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Requirement Due date

in the case of an individual who starts working in a care role in a home after 1st April 2014, the date which falls 2 years after the date on which the individual started working in a care role in a home. (Regulation 32 (1) (2(a)(b) (3)(b) (4)(a)(b) (5)(a))

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Requirement Due date

Specifically, the registered person should ensure that staff are enrolled onto the qualification in a timely manner to ensure that they complete this qualification within the relevant timescale.

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must prepare and implement a policy which—

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Requirement Due date

is intended to safeguard children accommodated in the children’s home from abuse or neglect; and

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Requirement Due date

sets out the procedure to be followed in the event of an allegation of abuse or neglect.

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must prepare and implement a policy (“the missing child policy”) setting out—

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Requirement Due date

the steps taken, and to be taken, to prevent children from being absent without permission; and 11 October 2026 Inspection report for children's home: SC064666 12 the procedures to be followed, and the roles and responsibilities of persons working at the home, in relation to a child who is, or has been, so absent.

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Requirement Due date

Before implementing, or making an amendment which the registered person considers to be substantive to, the missing child policy, the registered person must—

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Requirement Due date

have regard to any relevant local authority or police protocols on missing children.

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must keep under review and, as necessary, revise the home’s child protection policies. (Regulation 34 (1)(a)(b) (4)(a)(b) (5)(b) (6)

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Requirement Due date

Specifically, the registered person must ensure that children receive an independent return home interview following being missing from care.

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must prepare and implement a policy (“the behaviour management policy”) which sets out—

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Requirement Due date

how appropriate behaviour is to be promoted in the children’s home; and

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Requirement Due date

the measures of control, discipline and restraint which may be used in relation to children in the home.

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must keep the behaviour management policy under review and, where appropriate, revise it.

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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

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 11 October 2026 Inspection report for children's home: SC064666 13 (c)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 (1)(a)(b) (2) (3)(a)(b)(i)(ii)(c))

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Requirement Due date

Specifically, the registered person must ensure that following incidents that physical debriefs are completed with both children and staff.

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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. (Regulation 36 (1)(a)(b)(c))

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Requirement Due date

This specifically relates to the registered person ensuring that the children’s placement plans are completed and reviewed regularly. That they reflect the local authority’s care plan for the child, including their support needs, health, education and care plan. 11 October 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—

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Requirement Due date

provide to children living in the home the physical necessities they need in order to live there comfortably. (Regulation 6 (1)(a)(b) (2)(b)(vii) 11 October 2026 Inspection report for children's home: SC064666 14 Specifically, leaders and managers must ensure that all areas of the home are clean and maintained to a good standard, including flooring, skirting boards, doors and walls.

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must notify HMCI and each other relevant person without delay if—

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Requirement Due date

an incident requiring police involvement occurs in relation to a child which the registered person considers to be serious;

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Requirement Due date

there is any other incident relating to a child which the registered person considers to be serious. (Regulation 40 (4)(b)(e))

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Requirement Due date

This specifically relates to the registered person ensuring that Ofsted is informed of all serious incidents where children have been victims of a crime in the community. 11 October 2026

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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

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. (Regulation 5 (c))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person must ensure that they escalate concerns when local authority documents are not received, namely care plans, health assessments, personal education plans and education healthcare plans. 11 October 2026

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Requirement Due date

keep the statement of purpose under review and, where appropriate, revise it; and

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Requirement Due date

notify HMCI of any revisions and send HMCI a copy of the revised statement within 28 days of the revision.

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Requirement Due date

Subject to paragraph (6), the registered person must ensure that the home is at all times conducted in a manner which is consistent with its statement of purpose. 11 October 2026 Inspection report for children's home: SC064666 15 Nothing in paragraph (5) or regulation 46 (review of premises) requires or authorises the registered person to contravene or not comply with—

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Requirement Due date

any other provision of these Regulations; or

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Requirement Due date

any conditions in relation to the registration of the registered person under Part 2 of the Care Standards Act 2000. (Regulation 16 (3)(a)(b) (5) (6)(a)(b))

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Requirement Due date

Specifically, the registered person must ensure that the statement of purpose is updated following any changes to staffing and shared with Ofsted.

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must complete a review of the quality of care provided for children (“a quality of care review”) at least once every 6 months.

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Requirement Due date

In order to complete a quality of care review the registered person must establish and maintain a system for monitoring, reviewing and evaluating—

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Requirement Due date

the quality of care provided for children;

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Requirement Due date

the feedback and opinions of children about the children’s home, its facilities and the quality of care they receive in it. (Regulation 45 (1) (2)(a)(b))

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Requirement Due date

This specifically relates to the registered person ensuring that a quality care review is evaluative of the quality of care provided to the children and includes feedback from the children. 11 October 2026

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Requirement Due date

* These requirements are subject to a compliance notice.

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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: SC064666 16

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Cambian Childcare LTD

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: 4th Floor Park View, 82 Oxford Rd, Uxbridge UB8 1UX

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Inspector

Michelle McGrath, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children's home: SC064666 17 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

T: 0300 123 1231 Textphone: 0161 618 8524 E: enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk W: www.gov.uk/ofsted

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