Children's home run by Cambian Childcare Limited in Hammersmith and Fulham

Good

The children’s home provides effective services that meet the requirements for good.

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The children’s home provision is good because:

 The registered manager and staff are committed to the young people in their care. Their consistent and reliable care provides stability and security for young people, who develop a strong sense of belonging.  Staff spend time investing in young people. Consequently, staff develop a detailed understanding of their experiences and behaviour, which enables them to provide highly individualised care.  Young people develop strong, positive relationships with staff, which allows them to talk about what is difficult and to develop strategies to improve their behaviour and self-regulation.  Young people consistently make excellent progress from their starting points, which is sustained over time. This is particularly evident in young people’s progress at school.  Staff work proactively with professional stakeholders and families, with whom they have exceptionally effective working relationships. This partnership working improves outcomes for young people.

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The children’s home provision is good because:

 Leaders and managers within the home are strong, and robustly advocate on behalf of young people to ensure that they are safeguarded and that their welfare is promoted.  The registered manager and staff are skilled in identifying and managing risks to support young people to become increasingly safe.  There is a shortfall in the leadership and management of the home at an organisational level. A young person was admitted to the home when the registered manager’s impact risk assessment indicated that the young person’s needs could not be safely met in the home. This resulted in the new admission not receiving well-planned care and impacted on the young person who was already living in the home.

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Statutory requirements

This section sets out the actions which must be taken so that the registered person(s) meets the Care Standards Act 2000, 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

14: The care planning standard In order to ensure the care planning standard is met, the registered provider must ensure — 1(a) children receive effectively planned care in or through the children’s home; and (b) have a positive experience of arriving at or moving on from the home. 26/08/2016

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Information about this children’s home

The home is registered to provide care for two children with emotional and/or behavioural difficulties. The home forms part of a large social care company.

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Recent inspection history

Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

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Recent inspection history

30/03/2016 Interim Sustained effectiveness

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Recent inspection history

17/03/2015 Interim Improved effectiveness

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Good

Young people develop strong and positive relationships with staff, which ensures that they are able continually to make excellent progress from their starting points. Young people benefit from living in an environment which provides consistency in their lives and they are cared for by staff they know and who really care about them. Young people are able to develop a sense of permanence and belonging and are able to talk about what is difficult for them. One young person said: ‘I made strong bonds with all of the staff – I was able to talk to them.’

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Good

Young people attend school and make exceptional progress from their starting points. For example, staff support those who have been disengaged from education for a long time to attend education, and within two weeks they are attending full time. Staff work effectively with schools and maintain good communication. Staff support young people to access additional tutoring to maximise their potential and outcomes. A head teacher said: ‘The home ha[s] consistent boundaries and support my young person to make the right decisions. I have only worked with this home recently, but from my own observations of staff and the rapid progress my young person has made, I am confident that they are driven to meet his needs.’

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Good

Staff ensure that young people enjoy a range of social and recreational activities. Young people attend explorers, boxing and youth clubs as well as enjoying spending time on walks, and going to the cinema, bowling or shopping. Staff make good use of their delegated authority to enable young people to go on trips abroad with youth groups and to visit friends. This promotes young people’s independence and self-confidence as well as broadening their experiences and being fun.

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Good

Staff support young people to live healthy lives. Young people access universal health services and specialist health services as required. Staff work effectively with health professionals to support young people to take responsibility for managing their own health needs to good effect. Staff are highly skilled in supporting young people to develop strategies to manage their own conflicts. Staff are clear about what constitutes unsafe behaviour and provide consistent boundaries for young people. As a result, young people’s ability to self-regulate improves.

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Good

Young people benefit from contact with their family and friends when it is safe and in their best interests. Staff are proactive in maintaining relationships by taking young people to see family and friends and by making them welcome when they visit the home.

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Good

Staff welcome young people who join the home and learn quickly from their experiences. They do this despite their reservations about the senior manager’s decision to admit young people. Staff are quick to understand young people’s needs and are inventive in ensuring that they are able to meet young people’s needs when they are placed in an emergency. They are also able to alleviate the impact on the resident young person. Staff support young people with their transition to new placements. Those who move on to semi-independence feel well prepared, and the progress made while living at the home is maintained.

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Good

Young people live in a safe environment. They say that they feel safe and staff take robust action to reduce any risks. An independent social worker commented that: ‘staff have done so much in such a short space of time. They are massively exceeding expectations.’

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Good

Staff’s detailed knowledge of young people means that they can safely manage their behaviours. Staff respond effectively to any triggers. They are trained to use de-escalation techniques, which they do effectively, and restraint has not been used in the home for over six years. Staff evaluate their responses often to ensure that they drive forward improvements in their management of young people’s behaviour. Stakeholders recognise the difference that staff’s practice makes. A teacher said: ‘In terms of outbursts within school, my young person now has much better control over his anger.’

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Good

Young people can identify a trusted adult to talk to and feel confident in the response. There have been no complaints by young people since the last inspection. One young person said: ‘I feel safe. I can talk to any of my carers, all of them listen and understand me.’

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Good

Staff understand the risks that the internet poses and ensure that young people receive support to understand how to keep safe online and on social media. Staff have in place appropriate parental controls so that young people are supported to keep safe. Staff are trained to recognise the signs of child sexual exploitation and remain alert to these issues.

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Good

Staff understand what to do when young people go missing. They have plans in place which are agreed with the police; there have been no incidents of missing young people since the last inspection. Staff develop proactive relationships with the police, who work in partnership with them to prevent the criminalisation of young people and to support and protect them. A local police community support officer (PCSO) said: ‘I have nothing but good and positive things to say about the home and the staff. They engage fully with myself, and any issues that arise they know they can call on me for assistance, and I think we work well together. I find the staff very professional.’

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Good

Staff are clear about the procedures to be followed when there are child protection concerns or allegations against staff, although they have not needed to implement them. Staff undertake regular health and safety checks, which ensure that the physical environment is safe and secure.

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Good

The home is managed by a suitably experienced and qualified registered manager who has recently achieved her level 5 diploma in residential childcare leadership and management. She has been in post for six years and has developed a cohesive and stable staff team whose members are suitably qualified and experienced to meet the young people’s needs.

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Good

The home is generally run in line with the Statement of Purpose, where staff genuinely care for young people and ensure that they feel safe and understood as individuals. However, senior managers accepted a new admission to the home despite the registered manager’s concerns regarding inappropriate matching and safeguarding issues. This resulted in the new admission not receiving well-planned care into or through the home as they were only in the placement for two weeks.

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Good

The registered manager regularly monitors the quality of care provided to improve the experiences of young people. She learns from serious events such as the inappropriate matching of placements and takes robust action to tackle these. The previous recommendation to ensure that fire safety assessment requirements are completed has been met during this inspection.

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Good

Leaders and managers develop positive relationships with professional stakeholders and families to ensure that they secure positive outcomes for young people. For example, one young person benefits from the consistent care and support provided by staff, parents, school staff and the local PCSO working in partnership regarding attendance. There is a positive outcome and the young person attends school regularly and on time.

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Good

Leaders and managers understand young people’s plans and are able to demonstrate the positive difference the home makes for young people. For example, one young person was not attending school when he arrived and within two weeks was attending full time.

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Good

Leaders and managers make child-centred decisions about the young people coming to live in the home. They give priority to the security and stability of the group environment and consider the impact of a new young person joining the home. Senior managers did make a decision despite the position of the registered manager being clear and a young person was placed at a time when the registered manager was on leave and who was unable to be safely cared for within the home. This resulted in disruption and instability for the young person, who moved on within two weeks. Leaders and managers learn from these experiences, and the next admission to the home was well matched and settled quickly after a planned introduction.

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Good

Good transitions are in place for those that move on. One young person has moved into semi-independent living successfully. They said: ‘Staff helped me by encouraging me to be independent. I did my own meals and they carried on giving me advice.’ Staff ensure that case records reflect young people’s everyday lives and show that staff really understand them and are clear and consistent with them in managing their behaviours.

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Good

The registered manager ensures that staff are safely recruited and vetted, which ensures that only those who are safe work in the home. Staff benefit from regular supervision and informal support from leaders and managers. They ensure that staff receive appropriate training so that they are able to meet young people’s needs and maximise their progress.

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What the inspection judgements mean

The experiences and progress of children and young people are at the centre of the inspection. Inspectors will use their professional judgement to determine the weight and significance of their findings in this respect. The judgements included in the report are made against the ‘Inspection of children’s homes: framework for inspection’.

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What the inspection judgements mean

An outstanding children’s home provides highly effective services that contribute to significantly improved outcomes for children and young people who need help and protection and care. Their progress exceeds expectations and is sustained over time. A good children’s home provides effective services that help, protect and care for children and young people and have their welfare safeguarded and promoted. In a children’s home that requires improvement , there are no widespread or serious failures that create or leave children being harmed or at risk of harm. The welfare of children looked after is safeguarded and promoted. Minimum requirements are in place. However, the children’s home is not yet delivering good protection, help and care for children and young people. A children’s home that is inadequate is providing services where there are widespread or serious failures that create or leave children and young people being

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What the inspection judgements mean

harmed or at risk of harm or that result in children looked after not having their welfare safeguarded and promoted.

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Information about this inspection

Inspectors have looked closely at the experiences and progress of children and young people living in the children’s home. Inspectors considered the quality of work and the difference that adults make to the lives of children and young people. They read case files, watched how professional staff work with children, young people and each other and discussed the effectiveness of help and care given to children and young people. Wherever possible, they talked to children, young people and their families. In addition the inspectors have tried to understand what the children’s home knows about how well it is performing, how well it is doing and what difference it is making for the children and young people who it is trying to help, protect and look after. This inspection was carried out under the Care Standards Act 2000 to assess the effectiveness of the service and to consider how well it complies with the Children’s

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Information about this inspection

Homes (England) Regulations 2015 and the ‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’. the guidance ‘Raising concerns and making complaints about Ofsted’, which is available from Ofsted’s website: www.ofsted.gov.uk . If you would like Ofsted to send you a copy of the guidance, please telephone 0300123 4234, or email enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk .

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Information about this inspection

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, work- based learning and skills training, adult and community learning, and education and training in prisons and other secure establishments. It inspects services for looked after children and child protection. If you would like a copy of this document in a different format, such as large print or Braille, please telephone 0300 123 4234, or email enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk . You may reuse this information (not including logos) free of charge in any format or medium, under the terms of the Open Government Licence. To view this licence, visit www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence , write to the Information Policy Team,

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Information about this inspection

The National Archives, Kew, London TW9 4DU, or email psi@nationalarchives.gsi.gov.uk .

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Information about this inspection

Interested in our work? You can subscribe to our monthly newsletter for more information and updates: http://eepurl.com/iTrDn .

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Information about this inspection

Store Street Manchester M1 2WD T: 0300 123 1231 Textphone: 0161 618 8524 E: enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk W: www.ofsted.gov.uk

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