‘Inadequate’ children’s home where kids go missing for ‘prolonged periods’

A children’s home in Oldham has been slammed as unsafe by a government watchdog after it was found kids have gone missing and can vape and smoke ‘unchallenged’. 

Ofsted deemed the private residential facility run by Cambian Childcare Ltd ‘inadequate’ in all areas after an inspection in September. In a report published this month, inspectors Hayley Smith and Nicola Ruthford stated there were ‘serious and widespread failures that mean children and young people are not protected’ at the home. 

These included kids going missing from ‘for prolonged periods of time’, with ‘inconsistent and at times insufficient search efforts by staff’ and a failure to report missing persons to police in a timely manner, Smith and Ruthford found. 

The home, responsible for four kids at the time of the inspection, also found that ‘staff responses to children’s use of substances are poor’ with ‘children smoking and vaping in the home unchallenged’. Staff also failed to carry out spotchecks despite kids rooms smelling like Cannabis, and in one case delayed searching a room when there had been a concern for them carrying a weapon, Smith and Ruthford wrote. 

The home is supposed to cater for up to seven kids with social and emotional difficulties. But the report also laid bare a lack of support for struggling kids and a lack of training to deal with youngsters who become aggressive.

“Staff do not follow children’s plans to manage behaviour,” the report reads. “They do not have the skills to de-escalate incidents of violent and aggressive behaviour involving children. This has led to the police being called to manage children’s behaviour.” 

One child, whose English ability was limited, was not given the opportunity to receive information in their own language or freely share their views. This means they were at ‘greater risk’ of not having their needs met by the home. 

In general, the report concluded that the ‘home conditions do not provide a warm and nurturing environment’. Parts of the house were left in a state of disrepair and none of the children’s rooms were personalised. 

Some of the issues seemed to stem from the home’s leadership, according to the report. The residential setting was without a manager at the time of the inspection due to ‘serious allegations about the leadership and management team in the home’. The allegations were investigated but there were ‘delays’ in taking action and informing Ofsted, according to the watchdog. 

The provision, which first opened in 2003, has been rated ‘good’ for the last four years until now. All the children at the home engage with education and are supported in maintaining links with people who are important to them. But, the report concludes: “There are shortfalls in safeguarding practices which have led to an increase in risks for some children in the home.” 

A spokesperson for Cambian Childcare Ltd said: ““This home was rated ‘good’ by Ofsted for the last four years.  We have taken the action required to address the concerns highlighted in this report, under a new management team we expect to return the home to a standard we expect.  Our company’s quality ratings exceed the national average reported by Ofsted.”