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:

 Young people make progress in relation to their education, health, and their emotional and social well-being.  Staff encourage young people to develop their level of responsibility to prepare for the transition to adulthood.  Staff encourage young people to sustain positive relationships with their family.  Young people feel safe and live in a safe environment where staff protect them from harm.  Staff develop warm and nurturing relationships with young people.  Staff have the skills and knowledge to meet the young people’s needs.  The manager ensures that young people’s care is personalised, well planned and takes into account their individual needs.  The manager and staff ensure that young people’s views and opinions are central to the running of the home and carefully considered in all decision- making.  The manager makes sure that staff work well with other agencies to promote positive outcomes for young people.

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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

The registered person must maintain records (‘case records’) for each child which include the information and documents listed in Schedule 3 in relation to each child; are kept up to date; and are signed and dated by the author of each entry. (Regulation 36(1(a)(b)(c)) 30/09/2016

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must make arrangements for the handling, recording, safekeeping, safe administration and disposal of medicines received into the children’s home. (Regulation 23(1)) 30/09/2016

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Information about this children’s home

The home is registered to provide care and accommodation for up to two young people between the ages of eight and 18 who have social, emotional and behavioural difficulties. The service is privately owned.

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Recent inspection history

Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

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Recent inspection history

23/02/2016 Interim Sustained effectiveness

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Recent inspection history

28/01/2015 Interim Sustained effectiveness

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Good

Positive relationships with staff enables the young people to engage in regular one- to-one sessions. These are used to discuss subjects and gain views that are relevant to the young people, including bullying, health and routines. This enables young people to make informed decisions about aspects of their live that are important to them. Young people take part in meetings and staff respond accordingly to issues and requests raised. As a result, young people feel that their views matter and are important.

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Good

Young people are in good health. Staff ensure that they are registered with primary healthcare and specialist services. This ensures that young people can access services and receive treatment without undue delays. This in turn helps to enhance their physical, emotional and psychological well-being. For example, care planning includes input from specialist services in drugs and alcohol, smoking cessation services, child and adolescent mental health services and sexual health services. This collaborative approach creates a responsive plan that reflects the young person’s needs and the responsibilities of staff in meeting their emotional and psychological health.

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Good

Staff encourage young people to attend education and support them to overcome any barriers for engagement. Overall, young people make educational progress because of the support they are receiving. Staff work hard to engage young people and source appropriate educational placements on admission.

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Good

Staff recognise the importance of healthy activities to young people’s emotional well-being and self-esteem. For example, young people enjoy a wide range of activities such as attending wildlife parks, the cinema, seaside resorts and hosting dinner parties for each other. Staff discuss any identified areas of interest with young people and endeavour to arrange for them to try out new things. These daily experiences help young people to develop a sense of self-worth and to have a positive connection with their community.

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Good

Staff have a commitment to ensuring that the home is well maintained. Staff encourage young people to personalise their bedrooms by choosing the colour of the walls and buying individual items to create a warm environment. This gives them a sense of belonging and identity.

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Good

When it is appropriate, young people are encouraged to develop their levels of responsibility in preparation for the transition to adulthood. This is reflected in the key skills that young people develop. For example, young people are supported to manage money and to cook their own meals. This ensures that they are able to advance their own self-resilience and life skills.

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Good

Contact arrangements are assessed, safe and in the best interests of young people. Staff are available for parents who wish to discuss the current and future needs of the young people. Staff work with parents and have good lines of communication. This gives young people a sense of identity and helps them maintain links with people who are important to them. One social worker commented that staff have assisted her young person to make `massive’ progress in all areas including education, health and contact with his previous foster family.

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Good

Young people are safe and live in a safe environment where they are protected from harm. The young people arrive with complex needs and challenging behaviour. Staff use their skills and in-depth knowledge of behaviour management to understand young people’s needs. This helps young people to manage their emotions safely and to begin understanding the triggers that can place them at risk.

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Good

Teaching young people to be accountable for their own behaviour is central to the ethos of the home. Staff promote and encourage a culture of trust in, and respect for, everyone in the home. Young people who were previously at high risk of aggressive and criminal behaviour have chosen, through discussions and positive relationships with staff, to change this behaviour. For example, there has been a reduction in the use of physical interventions. There is currently a strong focus on de-escalation techniques. The manager has developed a team whose primary focus is to use appropriate rewards and consequences. Physical interventions are extremely rare and are only ever used as a last resort. Staff deploy a strength- based approach to supporting young people to take responsibility for their behaviour. Young people are now able to make positive decisions about their behaviour.

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Good

The staff teams knowledge about the individual needs of young people in their care is enhanced by effective multi-agency working. A police officer said, ‘There is a good working relationship that enhances effective communication to the benefit of both parties and the young people in care.’ Collaborative working ensures that consistent approaches to care are promoted. This provides certainty for young people, and their sense of stability and security is enhanced. Staff ensure that information is shared with each placing authority. A social worker said, ‘I have had a good dialogue with the home, with an extremely high level of communication between them and myself.’ However, the absence of local authority care plans in the files of some recently admitted young people leave staff inadequately informed regarding the basis of young people’s individual care histories. The opportunity to do life story work with young people is hampered as a result.

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Good

There have been some incidents of one young person being missing from care since the last inspection. The registered manager works effectively with local police and placing authorities to ensure that young people stay protected. For example, this partnership means that every young person has a detailed missing from home plan. This plan specifies the actions to be taken by staff and others to ensure that young people are quickly located and returned to the home. This integrated approach protects young people through good shared resources that place the best interests of young people at the heart of safeguarding practice.

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Good

Staff understand the risks to young people of sexual exploitation. They know the signs and symptoms, and proactively work with and monitor all young people. These effective measures ensure that young people are protected from risks posed by others.

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Good

Staff develop warm and nurturing relationships with young people by listening to them. Young people build trusting relationships with key staff members, and this helps staff to keep them safe.

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Good

The manager ensures that medication is stored safely, and that records accurately reflect the administration of medication. Although there is a clear procedure in place for lone working and the administration of medication, there is no clear written policy that underpins this good practice.

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Good

The registered manager has been in post since September 2015. He has considerable experience and is qualified to a level 5 diploma in leadership and management. In addition, the home have seven members of staff and six of these are qualified to a level 3 diploma in childcare, or have a suitably equivalent qualification. The remaining one member of staff is currently working within his probation period. The staff team is child focused and committed to improving the home. Since the last inspection, the team has worked hard to implement recommendations and to make positive changes to the home. The registered manager understands young people’s individual needs, and ensures that staff have the skills and knowledge to meet them. Staff receive regular supervision and consequently work safely and consistently together. The registered manager also receives regular supervision.

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Good

The registered manager is aware of the home’s strengths and weaknesses, and has recently implemented processes to further improve monitoring. An independent visitor undertakes monthly visits and produces a report. The registered manager finds these useful. These visits, together with other systems, enable the manager to monitor the quality of care. The registered manager has taken time to ensure that there is a development plan in place for the home. As a result, young people benefit from consistency of care that achieves better outcomes than previously.

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Good

The manager ensures that the home’s statement of purpose accurately reflects the services offered to young people, and that it is updated when necessary. The statement of purpose is shared with placing authorities and helps social workers to be well informed about the provision of care.

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Good

Effective team meetings ensure good communication and consistency of practice across the staff group. All staff attend these meetings. Mutually supportive and respectful relationships exist across the staff group. These demonstrate positive role models and consistency for the young people.

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Good

Partnership working with other agencies remains important in helping young people to make good levels of progress educationally, socially and emotionally. The manager actively challenges other agencies when necessary to obtain the best outcomes for young people. The manager escalates any concerns effectively to bring about the necessary change in the best interests of young people in a timely fashion. For example, when a local authority did not recognise the individual views of a young person, the registered manager raised this and a meeting took place. This process enabled the young person’s views to be fully considered in line with multi-agency care planning.

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Good

Robust recruitment and vetting processes are in place. Applicants undergo appropriate checks, including criminal history and employment history checks. These reduce the possibility of young people being harmed by those in positions of trust.

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Good

Staff feel valued and supported by the registered manager and each other. They feel listened to, and that their views are valued. This helps the staff to remain highly motivated in their care of young people. A member of staff commented, ‘We have a great manager who values us and the care we provide young people.’

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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 ‘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.gov.uk/government/organisations/ofsted . 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, workbased 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.gov.uk/government/organisations/ofsted

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