Cambian Group PLC

Last updated

Cambian Group Holding Limited
Cambian Group logo.svg
Type of business Private limited company
Type of site
Specialist Educational and Behavioural Health Services
HeadquartersMetropolitan House, 3 Darkes Lane, Potters Bar, England, EN6 1AG
EmployeesAbout 4,000
Parent CareTech Holdings PLC
URL www.cambiangroup.com
Launched2004

Cambian Group Holdings Limited (previously Cambian Group PLC) is a private limited company [1] known colloquially as 'Cambian'. The company provides specialist residential and educational services for children and young adults with a range of Special Educational Needs (SEN) and social, emotional and mental health needs (SEMH). Cambian is one of the largest providers of specialist behavioural health and care services for children in the United Kingdom.[ citation needed ] Its children's services comprise specialist education, specialist residential care, foster care, and specialist mental health services. The company looks after approximately 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. [2]

Contents

Cambian has gained notable and widespread media attention multiple times in the British press for numerous abuse allegations. In 2017 undercover ITV journalists filmed Cambian staff abusing residents including children, which was then broadcast in a television documentary. [3] [4] [5] [6] In 2018 an investigation by Buzzfeed accused Cambian of putting profit above care. [5] In 2020 Ofsted reported that Cambian staff did nothing to help children at their Warrington care home who were sexually exploited by adult men. [6] In 2021 the BBC reported that some children had been locked in their rooms alone for 10 days. [7] Other allegations of abuse at Cambian care homes include an excessive use of restraint against children, and a lack of basic necessities such as soap, toilet paper, food, and adequate furniture. [5]

History

Cambian Group was formed in 2010 with the amalgamation of two operating divisions, Cambian Healthcare (formed 2004) and Cambian Education (formed 2005).[ citation needed ]

In 2014 Cambian Group merged with Advanced Childcare. [8] The merged company became listed on the London Stock Exchange as Cambian Group plc, [9] [10] and acquired three specialist further education colleges from Mencap (including Dilston College). In December 2014 the group acquired Woodleigh Community Care, a community care provider running 13 residential homes and supported living units and one hospital in Yorkshire. [11]

At the end of 2014 the group ran 23 schools, 35 hospitals, and 188 specialist care homes, in addition to providing day services and organising foster care. It had over 6,000 employees.[ citation needed ] Analysts noted that changes in Care Quality Commission operations and a revised assessment system for home operators were "creating challenges" for smaller groups in the mental health and learning difficulties care sector, with an increase in mergers and acquisitions. In such an environment it was believed that Cambian would have increased opportunities to selectively expand its operations. [12] in 2017 it had 25 sites with 36 wards and 686 beds. [13]

In December 2016, it sold its adult services business to Cygnet Health Care in a deal worth £377 million, in order to concentrate on children's services. [14]

In 2018, in an acquisition worth £372 million, the company was acquired by CareTech Holdings PLC. [15] On 16 October 2018, the Competition and Markets Authority (CMA) served an initial enforcement order under section 72(2) of the Enterprise Act 2002 on CareTech Holdings PLC and Cambian Group PLC, in relation to the anticipated acquisition. [16] On 8 February 2019, the acquisition was cleared by the CMA.

In 2021 a Cambian school in North Yorkshire was shut down after Ofsted had found that they had failed to protect their children and give them a safe living environment. [17]

2017 ITV Television abuse exposé

In December 2017, Cambian Group received heavy criticism from British newspapers and healthcare authorities after an ITV exposé of a Cambian Group PLC school. In the resulting fallout, the group's share prices slumped. At the time, Cambian owned 250 schools, hospitals and care homes. Cambian made public promises to change and improve their services. However, currently no significant action has been taken.[ citation needed ]

In August 2018 Cambian was taken over by CareTech for £372 million. [18]

2020 sexual abuse scandal

Ofsted reported in 2020 that children in a Warrington care home run by Cambian were sexually exploited by men, but staff did nothing to help them. The regulator, which withheld the home's name and address, issued a notice restricting accommodation, as well as two compliance notices concerning the protection of children, and leadership and management. [19] [20]

Allegations of filling beds for profit

Journalists covering the allegations of abuse and mismanagement at Cambian care homes found that Cambian had cut necessities and crammed children into overcrowded facilities to make higher profits. [21] They also reported that many facilities lacked basic necessities and were cramped, decrepit, and children were forced to share close quarters with violent peers despite Cambian profits soaring since their 2018 takeover by CareTech. [5] Cambian management sent young and vulnerable children to live with older violent teenagers in order to keep care facilities at a high capacity. [5] One former Cambian manager described the competition between privately companies such as Cambian as "like a cattle market for children". [5] To meet the allegations, Cambian's chief operating officer Anne Marie Carrie offered to establish an interview with journalists, however she withdrew the offer later stating that she “has better things to do tomorrow than assist in a journalistic exercise which is devoid of legitimacy”. [5]

Multiple former employees at Cambian accused the company of putting profits over the needs of children, and that they had to fight for even the most basic necessities such as toilet paper and soap, and that managers at monthly meetings grilled them over expenses and constantly pushed for ways to cut costs. [5] Cambian responded to these allegations by labelling the staff as "malcontents", and claimed that toilet paper and other items posed a "safeguarding risk" to children with learning disabilities and autism. [5] The Times journalists also found that Cambian had made increased profits for its shareholders despite many of its homes being rated as the worst in the UK. [22]

Cambian Education

Cambian Education's main focus is to assist young people who have difficulties in accessing learning. They have a variety of special schools and vocational centres along with at-home education for young people with complex difficulties. They help to educate young people who present emotional and behavioural challenges, those with more complex needs including autism, and for young people who have experienced abuse. Ages range between 6–19 years. [23] [ non-primary source needed ]

SACCS

Sexual Abuse Child Consultancy Services (SACCS) is part of the residential care provision for children. SACCS assists abused children through therapy. One aim of SACCS is to suggest the idea that a lot of children and young people in care today are fostered, but for those who have suffered severe trauma this may be increasing problems and leading to fostering breakdown and multiple moves. [24] [ page needed ]They wish to help children come to terms with their experiences by addressing the conflict between the child's chronological and emotional ages and by working at the child's pace. [25] [ page needed ] For SACCS, recovery means 'when the child has internalized their attachments and consolidated their emotional development to a point where these can be successfully transferred to other environments and relationships. The child is then deemed to have the potential to achieve full ability in all aspects of their life.'[ citation needed ]

Cambian Foster Care

Cambian Foster Care is a fostering agency based in Midlands, North West, South West and Yorkshire providing a service for young people who are unable to stay with their birth parents.[ citation needed ]

Advanced Childcare Ltd

Advanced Childcare Ltd merged with Cambian in 2014. Based in Stockport, it was the largest provider of specialist care and education for children in the UK, with revenues of over £50m. [26] Advanced Childcare had 155 children's homes and 474 beds. The company offered care pathway services ranging from CSE homes, solo homes, complex needs homes, small group homes, group homes to post-16 homes. They also offered therapeutic, residential, fostering and special education services. They aimed to enable Looked After Children to gain the skills and confidence to progress from specialist residential homes to family placements, such as fostering, or independent living.[ citation needed ]

Advanced Childcare was founded in 1996 by Riz Khan. [27] Formerly owned by Bowmark Capital, it was sold for £28 million to private equity group GI Partners in March 2011. In September 2011 it bought the privately owned Clifford House, which operated 13 children's homes, for £10 million. [28] By May 2012, Advanced Childcare operated 143 children's homes and 15 special schools, employing 1,400 people. [28]

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Orphanage</span> Residential institution devoted to the care of orphans

An orphanage is a residential institution, total institution or group home, devoted to the care of orphans and children who, for various reasons, cannot be cared for by their biological families. The parents may be deceased, absent, or abusive. There may be substance abuse or mental illness in the biological home, or the parent may simply be unwilling to care for the child. The legal responsibility for the support of abandoned children differs from country to country, and within countries. Government-run orphanages have been phased out in most developed countries during the latter half of the 20th century but continue to operate in many other regions internationally. It is now generally accepted that orphanages are detrimental to the emotional wellbeing of children, and government support goes instead towards supporting the family unit.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Foster care</span> System of non-parental temporary child-care

Foster care is a system in which a minor has been placed into a ward, group home, or private home of a state-certified caregiver, referred to as a "foster parent", or with a family member approved by the state. The placement of a "foster child" is normally arranged through the government or a social service agency. The institution, group home, or foster parent is compensated for expenses unless with a family member.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Child care</span> Care and supervision of children

Child care, otherwise known as day care, is the care and supervision of a child or multiple children at a time, whose ages range from two weeks of age to 18 years. Although most parents spend a significant amount of time caring for their child(ren), child care typically refers to the care provided by caregivers that are not the child's parents. Child care is a broad topic that covers a wide spectrum of professionals, institutions, contexts, activities, and social and cultural conventions. Early child care is an important and often overlooked component of child development.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Action for Children</span> United Kingdom childrens charity

Action for Children is a UK children's charity created to help vulnerable children and young people and their families in the UK. The charity has 7,000 staff and volunteers who operate over 475 services in the UK. They served a total of 671,275 children in 2021 and 2022. Action for Children's national headquarters is in Watford, and it is a registered charity under English and Scottish law. In 2017/2018, it had a gross income of £151 million.

Foster children in Canada are known as permanent wards. A ward is someone, in this case a child, placed under protection of a legal guardian and are the legal responsibility of the government. Census data from 2011 counted children in foster care for the first time, counting 47,885 children in care. The majority of foster children – 29,590, or about 62% – were aged 14 and under. The wards remain under the care of the government until they "age out of care." This age is different depending on the province.

Potterspury Lodge School is a Cambian Group school in Northamptonshire, England. It is an Independent School that caters to children with ASD [autism spectrum disorder] alongside behavioural, SEMH, or barriers to learning. In February 2020 the school achieved a double "Good" from Ofsted for the educational and residential provisions. In August 2020 students achieved the best-ever grades in the school's 64-year history. The grades achieved far exceeded the national averages for special schools with 25% of all passes in English and Maths achieved at Grades 9-5 against the national average for special schools of just 1%.

Residential care refers to long-term care given to adults or children who stay in a residential setting rather than in their own home or family home.

A group home, congregate living facility, care home, adult family home, etc., is a structured and supervised residence model that provides assisted living and medical care for those with complex health needs. Traditionally, the model has been used for children or young people who cannot live with their families or afford their own homes, people with chronic disabilities who may be adults or seniors, or people with dementia and related aged illnesses. Typically, there are no more than six residents, and there is at least one trained caregiver there 24 hours a day. In some early "model programs", a house manager, night manager, weekend activity coordinator, and four part-time skill teachers were reported. Originally, the term group home referred to homes of 8 to 16 individuals, which was a state-mandated size during deinstitutionalization. Residential nursing facilities, also included in this article, may be as large as 100 individuals in 2015, which is no longer the case in fields such as intellectual and developmental disabilities. Depending on the severity of the condition requiring one to need to live in a group home, some clients are able to attend day programs and most clients are able to live normal lifestyles.

The North Wales child abuse scandal was the subject of a three-year, £13 million investigation into the physical and sexual abuse of children in care homes in the counties of Clwyd and Gwynedd, in North Wales, including the Bryn Estyn children's home at Wrexham, between 1974 and 1990. The report into the scandal, headed by retired High Court judge Sir Ronald Waterhouse QC, which was published in 2000, resulted in changes in policy in England and Wales into how authorities deal with children in care, and to the settling of 140 compensation claims on behalf of victims of child abuse.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Safeguarding</span> Measures to protect the health, well-being and human rights of individuals

Safeguarding is a term used in the United Kingdom, Ireland and Australia to denote measures to protect the health, well-being and human rights of individuals, which allow people—especially children, young people and vulnerable adults—to live free from abuse, harm and neglect.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Residential treatment center</span> Live-in healthcare facility

A residential treatment center (RTC), sometimes called a rehab, is a live-in health care facility providing therapy for substance use disorders, mental illness, or other behavioral problems. Residential treatment may be considered the "last-ditch" approach to treating abnormal psychology or psychopathology.

Child and family services (CFS) is a government or non-profit organisation designed to better the well being of individuals who come from unfortunate situations, environmental or biological. People who seek or are sought after to participate in these homes have no other resource to turn to. Children might come from abusive or neglectful homes, or live in very poor and dangerous communities. There are also agencies that cater to people who have biological deficiencies. Families that are trying to live in stable lives come to non-profit organisations for hope of a better future. Child and family services cater to many different types of people who are all in different situations. These services might be mandated through the courts via a governmental child protection agency or they might be voluntary. Child and family services may be mandated if:

The Mulberry Bush Charity was founded in 1948 as an independent residential special school in the village of Standlake in Oxfordshire, for children aged 5 to 12 years; nowadays it is a not-for-profit charity. It has now grown to include MB3 , The Mulberry Bush Outreach service, The Mulberry Bush Researchand The Mulberry Bush Consulting.

Children's Institute Inc. (CII) is a nonprofit organization that provides services to children and families healing from the effects of family and community violence within Los Angeles. Founded in 1906 by Minnie Barton, Los Angeles's first female probation officer, the organization was first designed to help troubled young women who found themselves adrift in Los Angeles." The organization has since expanded its services to at-risk youth in Los Angeles who are affected by child abuse, neglect domestic and gang violence as well as poverty. CII is a multi-service organization that combines evidence-based clinical services, youth development programs and family support services designed to address the whole child and entire family. The organization provides various forms of trauma support—including therapy, intervention services, parenting workshops, early childcare programs and other support services offered in English, Spanish and Korean.

Forgotten Australians or care leavers are terms referring to the estimated 500,000 children who experienced care in institutions or outside a home setting in Australia during the 20th century. The Australian Senate committee used the term in the title of its report which resulted from its 2003–2004 "Inquiry into Children in Institutional Care", which looked primarily at those affected children who were not covered by the 1997 Bringing Them Home report, which focused on Aboriginal children, and the 2001 report Lost Innocents: Righting the Record which reported on an inquiry into child migrants.

Institutional abuse is the maltreatment of a person from a system of power. This can range from acts similar to home-based child abuse, such as neglect, physical and sexual abuse, and hunger, to the effects of assistance programs working below acceptable service standards, or relying on harsh or unfair ways to modify behavior. Institutional abuse occurs within emergency care facilities such as foster homes, group homes, kinship care homes, and pre-adoptive homes. Children who are placed in this type of out of home care are typically in the custody of the state. The maltreatment is usually caused by an employee of the facility.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Foster care in the United States</span> System of non-parental care in America

Foster care is the term used for a system in which a minor who has been made a ward is placed in an institution, group home, relative placement, or private home of a state certified caregiver. The placement of the child is usually arranged through the government or a social-service agency. The institution, group home, or foster parent is paid. The state via the family court and child protection agency stand in loco parentis to the minor, making all legal decisions, while the foster parent is responsible for the day-to-day care of the minor. The foster parent is remunerated by the state for their services.

Residential child care communities or children's homes are a type of residential care, which refers to long-term care given to children who cannot stay in their birth family home. There are two different approaches towards residential care: The family model and the shift care model.

Sequel Youth and Family Services is a private for-profit operator of behavioral healthcare facilities for children and youth in the United States. The company is headquartered in Huntsville, Alabama and owns a nationwide network of over 40 facilities in more than 15 states, including residential treatment centers, group homes, special schools, and community-based programs.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Southlands School</span> School in Vicars Hill, Boldre, Lymington, Hampshire, England

Southlands School is a specialist school and children's home, located in the parish of Boldre, near Lymington, Hampshire, England. On 13 May 1987 it became a grade II listed building. In May 2023, Southlands ceased to be an approved independent specialist school.

References

  1. ↑ "CAMBIAN GROUP LIMITED - Overview (free company information from Companies House)". find-and-update.company-information.service.gov.uk. Retrieved 17 June 2021.
  2. ↑ "Specialist Schools, Residential Care & Fostering - Cambian". www.cambiangroup.com. Retrieved 8 June 2021.
  3. ↑ Tickle, Louise (13 December 2017). "ITV film reveals serious failings at UK children's homes". The Guardian. Retrieved 10 January 2021.
  4. ↑ Todman, Lucy (21 December 2017). "Two Shropshire children's homes to be investigated after claims of abuse". Shropshire Star. Retrieved 10 January 2021.
  5. 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 Singer-Vine, Jeremy; Holmes, Richard (26 July 2018). "Danger And Despair Inside Cambian Group, Britain's Largest Private Child Care Home Provider". Buzzfeed. Retrieved 10 January 2021.
  6. 1 2 "Staff in care home failed to prevent children being sexually exploited, Ofsted finds". The Guardian. 5 April 2021. Retrieved 17 June 2021.
  7. ↑ "Child 'dragged across floor' at Shropshire children's home". BBC. 8 March 2021. Retrieved 25 October 2021.
  8. ↑ "Advanced Childcare information". The Cambian Group.
  9. ↑ Armstrong, Ashley (19 March 2004). "Mental health-care group Cambian plans £500m IPO". The Daily Telegraph .
  10. ↑ "BRIEF-Cambian Group IPO priced at 225 pence per share". Reuters. 11 April 2014.
  11. ↑ "Cambian Buys Leeds-Based Woodleigh in £63m Deal." Yorkshire Evening Post, 8 December 2014. "Archived copy". Archived from the original on 29 March 2015. Retrieved 20 January 2015.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: archived copy as title (link)
  12. ↑ Perry. "Share Watch : New Care Home Rules Drive Shake-Up." Scotland on Sunday (Edinburgh, Scotland), 2 November 2014 [ dead link ]
  13. ↑ "Watchdog flags concerns about private health firms' merger". Health Service Journal. 25 August 2017. Retrieved 8 October 2017.
  14. ↑ "CAMBIAN AGREES £377M DISPOSAL". Insider media. 5 December 2016. Retrieved 15 December 2016.
  15. ↑ "UK's CareTech completes £372M acquisition of Cambian Group". www.spglobal.com. Retrieved 17 June 2021.
  16. ↑ "CareTech Holdings plc / Cambian Group plc merger inquiry". GOV.UK. Retrieved 17 June 2021.
  17. ↑ Scheer, Victoria (29 July 2021). "North Yorkshire children's home shut down by Ofsted after child's life found to be in danger". Examiner Live. Retrieved 25 October 2021.
  18. ↑ Javed, Ayesha (16 August 2018). "Cambian agrees to be taken over by CareTech in £372m deal". The Daily Telegraph.
  19. ↑ "Staff in care home failed to prevent children being sexually exploited, Ofsted finds". The Guardian. 5 April 2021. Retrieved 7 April 2021.
  20. ↑ "Care home failed to protect children from sexual exploitation and took inadequate action". Warrington Guardian. Retrieved 7 April 2021.
  21. ↑ Holmes, Richard; Singer-Vine, Jeremy (2 August 2018). "Private Children's Homes Repeatedly Failed Aaron Leafe — Until The Day He Died". Buzzfeed News. Retrieved 25 October 2021.
  22. ↑ Murphy, Simon; Greenwood, George (17 July 2021). "Care firm made £24m profits as Ofsted branded its children's homes 'inadequate'". The Times. Retrieved 25 October 2021.
  23. ↑ "Cambian Education". The Cambian Group.
  24. ↑ Thomas and Philpot, Mike and Terry (2009). Fostering a Child's Recovery. ISBN   9781843103271.
  25. ↑ Tomlinson and Philpot, Patrick and Terry (2008). A Child's Journey To Recovery. ISBN   9781843103301.
  26. ↑ Milmo, Cahal (24 May 2012). "The venture capitalists and the scandal-hit children's homes". The Independent . London. Retrieved 14 September 2013.
  27. ↑ Barry, Chris (18 March 2011). "Advanced Childcare sold for £28m". The Business Desk. Retrieved 14 September 2013.
  28. 1 2 "Advanced Childcare acquires The Continuum Care and Education Group". Manchester Evening News . Manchester. 1 May 2012. Retrieved 14 September 2013.
This page is based on this Wikipedia article
Text is available under the CC BY-SA 4.0 license; additional terms may apply.
Images, videos and audio are available under their respective licenses.