Child ‘dragged across floor’ at Shropshire children’s home

If a mum dragged her child across the floor she could be reported to social services and the child taken away. But at this children’s home, the perpetrator kept working and the company just got told to “improve”.

Cambian group say: “The Group’s services have a specific focus on children who present high severity needs with challenging behaviours and complex care requirements. Cambian looks after 2,100 children and employs over 4,000 people across a portfolio of 224 residential facilities, specialist schools and fostering offices located in England and Wales.”

In 2018 its income was £105.2m! it is clearly profiteering from children’s misery.

BBC Shropshire 8 March 2021

Children were locked in their rooms alone for up for ten days and a staff member was drunk at a home ordered to improve by Ofsted.

Two compliance notices have also been issued to the Shropshire children’s home, run by Cambian Childcare Ltd.

The home was inspected after a worker reported concerns after a child was allegedly dragged across a floor by a member of staff.

The firm said it had taken action to address the concerns.

The watchdog inspected the home in Shropshire on 24 January.

The inspection report said it had been alleged the staff member pulled a child across the floor by her arms and held a bedroom door shut to stop her leaving her room.

They added managers and staff failed to act swiftly in response to the allegation.

“As a result, the member of staff continued to work with the child despite the serious allegation against them,” it said.

Inspectors also found children shut in their rooms alone for 10 days after confirmed cases of Covid-19 and a staff member turned up drunk to work.

Ofsted said it had not been notified of the incidents which stopped the watchdog being able to effectively monitor it.

Their report added “serious and widespread shortfalls” were identified in the leadership of the home, risk assessments were incomplete and out of date and poor staff practice went unchallenged.

As well as the two compliance notices over protection of children and management, nine more requirements were also identified.

The home is registered to care for children aged eight to 18 with complex behaviour.

A full inspection in 2019 judged it to “require improvement”.

A monitoring visit in October found “no serious or widespread concerns were identified” but the latest report said there had since been a change in management.

A Cambian Group spokesperson said the actions it had taken “will return this home to the standard we expect.”