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

The effectiveness of the home and the progress and experiences of

children and young people since the most recent full inspection. This home was judged good at the last full inspection. At this interim inspection, Ofsted judges that it has improved effectiveness . Young people have been in this home for a significant period of time. They are making excellent progress in all areas of their lives. This is because there are excellent systems in place that start from the point of referral and continue throughout the ever-changing needs of young people. For example, detailed impact risk assessments have been completed to ensure that the home can meet young people’s individual needs. Plus, any additional support, advice or meetings required throughout their placements are promptly sourced. This means that young people are growing and maturing in a supportive and caring environment. Young people say that they are happy, well cared for and safe at this home. One young person said, ‘We are like a family. The other young people are like a brother

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The effectiveness of the home and the progress and experiences of

and sister to me. Staff know us well and treat us like their children.’ Another young person said, ‘I am happy here. I am doing well. It is a really good place to live and staff are fantastic.’ A parent said, ‘This is not a children’s home it is a family home. The manager and staff go the extra mile for the young people and I cannot thank them enough for the care and support they have given to me and my daughter.’ Young people are central to their care because their views, wishes and feelings are sought at every opportunity. For example, young people expressed a desire to take responsibility for writing up their own journals and young people’s meetings. They have taken this responsibility seriously and complete these recordings when required. This means that their voice is represented accurately and that they are involved in the development of the home. Further to this, a member of staff said that it also helps them with their writing skills, spelling and comprehension. This is

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The effectiveness of the home and the progress and experiences of

reflected in the significant improvement of one young person’s English and it has been noted on his positive school report. An outstanding area of practice at this home is how well members of staff and the manager liaise with parents: support and instigate contact, respond to changing needs within contact arrangements and ensure that contact is managed safely. Due to these excellent arrangements, young people have seen their contact being extended and going from supervised to unsupervised. This has enabled young people to have holidays with their parents, have overnight stays and have special days out. A parent said, ‘At previous children’s homes I always felt I was being watched and staff sat away from us. At this home, they treat me with respect, staff joined in the activity and you would have thought we were just a family having a day out.’ He continued to say, ‘Because of this, we now have unsupervised contact

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The effectiveness of the home and the progress and experiences of

which is great.’ In contrast to this, the manager has also recognised when contact has been detrimental to a young person’s emotional health. She has taken quick action to ensure that the young person was safe and benefiting from the contact. As a result, the young person has a more structured contact and there is a good plan to build these visits up or to decrease them, if necessary. This shows that full consideration is given to each young person’s individual needs and that they benefit from seeing people who are important to them. Young people are doing extremely well in education. They all have a 100% attendance and their end of the year school reports were extremely positive. One young person has settled well into mainstream school. The additional support that she has received from members of staff has enabled her to catch up with missed education before coming to live here. This means that she is working in line with

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The effectiveness of the home and the progress and experiences of

her peers and has been entered for a number of exams. She said, ‘School is great. I have made lots of friends and I enjoy going out with them after school. I am working hard for my exams. I have applied for sixth form and I want to be a lawyer.’ Her excellent improvement and progress is evident in the five outstanding and four good judgements given in the nine subjects that she is undertaking. At the last inspection, one young person was struggling in a mainstream setting. The manager worked closely with the local authority and education to identify a more suitable school that would meet his needs. The transition to the new school was successful. He has settled in well and has made a marked improvement especially in English lessons and with his behaviour. This shows that the home reacts quickly to young people’s changing needs: in finding suitable educational placements, that they continue to support young people through difficult periods, that the home

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The effectiveness of the home and the progress and experiences of

provides excellent support through ensuring that homework is completed and that they liaise effectively with a range of educational professionals. This means that young people are progressing in line with their peers and have ambitions for their future. Safeguarding professionals say that this home is excellent at reporting, sharing and taking action to safeguard young people. Since the home’s last inspection, young people have not been reported missing from this home. A young person said, ‘I did go missing when I first came but I have not been missing for ages. I now have a good bond with staff and I can talk to them. I am very happy and settled, so there is no reason to go missing.’ She continued to say, ‘The staff have done lots of work with me around recognising potential dangers and keeping myself safe, so I feel I can now do this. I was a bit naughty at first but I have now grown up. I have learned from my mistakes but I feel they were necessary to get me to the point

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The effectiveness of the home and the progress and experiences of

that I am now.’ This means that young people can reflect on and change their behaviours because they receive good support and advice from members of staff. There has been one occasion were a young person has been held for his own safety. The young person rode on his bike into a road without looking. The manager has recorded this incident as a restraint because the young person was held to stop him from retrieving his bike. Good recordings show the reason and action that staff took. As part of this process, the manager identified that the young person needed to attend a bicycle safety course and his school have agreed to do this. This means that he will be safe while playing out on his bike. There is minimal use of sanctions for negative behaviour in this home. But, when they are applied, young people say that they are fair, that they get the opportunity to discuss other options such as putting things right and that staff often take back

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The effectiveness of the home and the progress and experiences of

sanctions if they earn it. The manager effectively monitors all sanctions to ensure that they are appropriate and fair. For example, one young person refused to go to bed and a member of staff had taken away his console for one day. The manager reflected that the young person had had a difficult contact that day and that his response was to be expected. Therefore, the sanction was overturned. This shows that sanctions are proportionate and that there is very good oversight by the manager. The home celebrates all achievements and progress made by young people with outings of their choice, monetary gains and with personal items. They have recently started an ‘achievement tree’ for each young person. This is where they can write down their progress, wishes and goals on a leaf and attach them to branches. The manager said, ‘This is a good visual way to show them how well they are doing and they can add anything that they want to.’ Recently, the young

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The effectiveness of the home and the progress and experiences of

people decided in their young people’s meeting to have a joint reward for their excellent school reports. They all agreed and chose a trampoline for their garden. One young person said, ‘We had a great summer playing on it and we got an additional surprise of a swimming pool.’ This means that the young people are now able to consider each other, share and make joint decisions that benefit them all. The manager is very confident in challenging social workers, parents and a range of professionals to ensure that young people receive the services and support required for them to progress. A stable, well-qualified and trained staff team cares for young people well. Members of staff say that supervision is regular and important to them because this gives them the opportunity to discuss their practice. Similarly, they say that staff meetings are an open forum to discuss the young people, any changes in their placement plans and how the home is

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The effectiveness of the home and the progress and experiences of

developing. There are good internal and external systems for monitoring the quality of care in the home. An independent service has recently taken over the external monitoring and they are successfully consulting with young people, staff, stakeholders and the local authority on what the home does well and how they can improve. This means that there is a good all round view of the services provide by the home. The manager is then able to reflect on any suggestions and takes these comments through to her development plan. This ensures that the home continues to improve and grow.

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Information about this children's home

This privately run children’s home can accommodate up to three young people with behavioural or emotional difficulties.

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Recent inspection history

Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement 17/03/2016 Interim Improved effectiveness 21/07/2015 Full Good 25/02/2015 Interim Sustained effectiveness 07/11/2014 Full Good

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Recommendations

To improve the quality and standards of care further. the service should take account of the following recommendation:  Staff should be familiar with the home's policies on record keeping and understand the importance of careful, objective and clear recordings. ('Guide to the children's homes regulations including the quality standards', page 62, paragraph 14.4)

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What the inspection judgements mean

At the interim inspection we make a judgement on whether the home has improved in effectiveness, sustained effectiveness, or declined in effectiveness since the previous full inspection. This is in line with the ‘Inspection of children's homes: framework for inspection’.

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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 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 focused on the effectiveness of the home and the progress and experiences of children and young people since the most recent full inspection.

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Information about this inspection

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 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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