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

Requires improvement

The children’s home is not yet delivering good help and care for children and young people. However, there are no serious or widespread failures that result in their welfare not being safeguarded or promoted.

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The children’s home provision requires improvement because:

 Case records and risk assessments are confusing and do not provide an accurate record of the young people.  Bullying is not robustly addressed within the home.  Not all staff are trained in specialised areas to meet the needs of the young people whom they care for, for example sexual exploitation.  Young people’s views are not fully embedded in their plans or in the running of the home.  Staff do not benefit from consistent supervision or annual appraisals.  Managers do not ensure that they are meeting the aims or objectives of the statement of purpose.

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The children’s home strengths

 Young people’s risk-taking behaviour, such as going missing, substance misuse and self-harm, has decreased significantly.  Young people attend school regularly.  Young people engage in a range of activities, including learning to drive.  Feedback from professionals is very good.  Young people say that they are happy.

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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

7: The children’s views, wishes and feelings standard

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Requirement Due date

(2) In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to— (a) ensure that staff— (iii) help each child to understand how the child’s views, wishes and feelings have been taken into account and give the child reasons for decisions in relation to the child; (iv) regularly consult children, and seek their feedback, about the quality of the home’s care. 01/12/2016

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Requirement Due date

(1) The health and well-being standard is that— (a) the health and well-being needs of children are met. 01/12/2016

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Requirement Due date

(2) In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to ensure— (a) that staff— (xii) understand and communicate to children that bullying is unacceptable; and (xiii) have the skills to recognise incidents or indications of bullying and how to deal with them. 01/12/2016

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Requirement Due date

(2) In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to ensure— (a) that staff— (i) assess whether each child is at risk of harm, taking into account information in the child’s relevant plans, and, if necessary, make arrangements to reduce the risk of any harm to the child. 01/12/2016 13: The leadership and management standard

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Requirement Due date

(2) In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to— (a) lead and manage the home in a way that is consistent with the approach and ethos, and delivers the outcomes, set out in the home’s statement of purpose; (f) understand the impact that the quality of care provided in the home is having on the progress and experiences of each child and use this understanding to inform the development of the quality of care provided in the home. 01/12/2016

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Requirement Due date

(4) The registered person must ensure that all employees— (a) undertake appropriate continuing professional development; (b) receive practice-related supervision by a person with appropriate experience; and (c) have their performance and fitness to perform their roles appraised at least once every year. 01/12/2016

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Information about this children’s home

The children’s home provides care and accommodation for up to six young people. The young people are aged 11 to 17 years at the time of admission. The home provides care and support for young people who have experienced, or are at risk of, sexual exploitation. Young people who experience emotional, behavioural and social difficulties may also be admitted. The home is privately owned and predominantly accepts referrals from local authorities.

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Recent inspection history

Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement 29/03/2016 Interim Sustained effectiveness 09/06/2015 Full Good 20/01/2015 Interim Improved effectiveness 09/09/2014 Full Good

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Requires improvement

The quality of individualised care for young people meets their essential needs. The majority of staff recognise the individual characteristics of young people. Staff adapt their parenting style to try to provide a nurturing environment for them all. Young people sit down for their evening meal together. This creates a sense of belonging and a social aspect to mealtimes. Young people have generally positive relationships with staff and each other, and say that they are happy in the home. Young people do make positive progress through living at the home. For example, an independent reviewing officer reported that staff, ‘Have supported my placed young people to make considerable progress in these areas [sexual exploitation, absconding and poor school attendance] through everyday and therapeutic care’. Another social worker said, ‘The turnaround has been amazing.’ The young person’s reviewing officer stated that, out of 700 young people, she has made the

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Requires improvement

most progress.’ However, young people feel that there are inconsistencies in the staff group in terms of managing their behaviour and staff responsibilities in areas such as food hygiene. For example, young people report that food that has passed its ‘use by date’ is left in the fridge and that staff are not always consistent in addressing inappropriate language.

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Requires improvement

Young people have daily opportunities to participate in activities that support their personal development, talent and ability. These include having pamper days and going shopping, horse riding, trampolining and swimming. Some young people secure part-time work. All of these opportunities help to equip them with the skills, confidence and self-esteem to progress successfully into adulthood.

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Requires improvement

Staff’s ability to meet young people’s health needs is variable. Some health plans are not up to date and contain conflicting information. For example, a health plan states that a young person does not have asthma, yet also states that she has been prescribed medication for asthma. This does not ensure that young people’s health needs are met well or that staff have sufficient information to support the young person on a daily basis.

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Requires improvement

Young people make good progress in education. The home works in partnership with educational professionals to reintegrate young people with the education environment. As a result, young people are gaining the knowledge and skills that will prepare them for their chosen future careers.

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Requires improvement

Young people’s views are not fully embedded in the day-to-day running of the home. Young people’s meetings are held twice weekly and identify concerns or requests made by young people. This gives young people a voice within the home and allows them to have a say in areas that concern them. However, there is no feedback given to the young people in respect of their requests or concerns. For example, they have requested a trampoline and swings for the garden area for several months. This has not been actioned, nor do staff or managers feed back to the young people about the delay. Consequently, young people do not have confidence that their views are taken seriously.

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Requires improvement

Staff are sensitive to the cultural and developmental needs of young people, supporting them to adjust to transitions caused by separation and loss. However, some staff do not complete a comprehensive induction that enables them to have a full understanding of young people’s presenting needs and history, or effective strategies to defuse any situation. For example, not all staff are trained in child sexual exploitation, which is a specialism of the service. Some case records have conflicting information recorded in respect of the religious needs of the young people. Consequently, young people may not be having their cultural and developmental needs fully met.

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Requires improvement

Young people benefit from some practical support to develop their independence skills. Each young person makes dinner for everybody on one day per week and washes their own laundry, and some young people have started to have driving lessons. However, an independent reviewing officer said, ‘The main area for development is that of preparing young people for independence and moving on from the placement’. While those skills will help young people in their transition into adulthood, they do not meet the bespoke individual needs of each young person. Consequently, young people may not be fully prepared for independent living.

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Requires improvement

Young people maintain links with their families in accordance with their care plans. Staff facilitate and supervise contact, making sure that young people have quality time with their families. Young people whose families live a considerable distance away from the home are always transported there and returned by staff to ensure their safety.

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Requires improvement

Young people live in a home that is well decorated and maintained. Young people personalise their own bedroom according to their wishes. However, young people do not have access to the downstairs toilet, as this is reserved for staff and visitors. This means that young people’s access to some areas of their own home is restricted.

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Requires improvement

Young people’s risk-taking behaviour has been significantly reduced. For example, young people do not go missing from the home, nor do they engage in substance misuse. Young people are proud of what they have achieved in terms of keeping themselves safe. Overall, young people feel safe in the home but, on occasion, they can feel unsettled when other young people threaten them. There have also been occasions when it has been perceived that young people ‘bully’ particular members of staff. Not all staff and managers recognise that this behaviour constitutes bullying, and have therefore not addressed it appropriately. As a result, staff do not work with young people to help them to understand that bullying and intimidation are not acceptable. As a result, staff do not effectively manage or record these incidents as bullying, or record the actions taken to support victims and challenge perpetrators. This is detrimental to young people’s welfare and

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Requires improvement

Poor risk management plans do not allow staff to understand the safeguarding concerns for individual young people. Young people at risk of sexual exploitation do not have vigorous risk assessments. They are generic, lack detail and do not identify how young people’s identified risk can be reduced. For example, staff do not always document young people’s risks associated with sexual exploitation or the strategies to minimise these risks. Some young people have detailed risk assessments for self-harm, yet have no history of the behaviour, whereas other young people who do self-harm have only minimal information recorded. As a result, young people may be at further risk and their safety is not fully promoted.

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Requires improvement

Managers do not make sure that there are contingency plans for staff’s personal emergencies when they are supervising young people in the community. For example, young people were out on an activity and staff members left for a while when they felt unwell, and the young people had to look for them. As a result, young people are not always adequately safeguarded and are potentially at risk of further harm or exploitation.

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Requires improvement

Young people know how to complain, and have made 17 complaints since the last inspection. Managers follow the complaints procedure and respond to the young person within a timely manner. Some of the complaints are upheld or partially upheld, and usually entail the professional conduct of a member of staff. Examples include smoking when young people are around, not adequately supervising young people or not ensuring that negative consequences are dealt with in a timely manner. This means that the registered manager does not make sure that staff adhere to a professional code of conduct at all times.

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Requires improvement

An appropriately qualified and experienced registered manager manages the home. She holds a diploma in management and a national vocational qualification 4 in care (children and young people). Some staff are appropriately qualified. Those who are unqualified are within regulatory timescales, at present, to obtain their qualification within two years of starting work. Managers and staff have good and effective working relationships with other professionals, and will advocate and challenge in the young person’s best interests.

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Requires improvement

There has been an improvement in the consistency of staff for young people since the last inspection. However, some staff are inexperienced and new to residential work. Consequently, there are insufficient staff who are suitably qualified and experienced to undertake the role of key worker. This has resulted in poor case records that do not always reflect the plans for each young person and the progress that they have made since moving to the home. Some case records have incorrect information about young people. Managers do not ensure that staff write young people’s reports in a manner that is for the benefit of young people. As a result, young people do not engage with their plans and have inaccurate information on the records about them. Staff are not aware of their responsibility to ensure that young people understand what support will be available to them in the future to access their records. Managers have failed to notice that vital information

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Requires improvement

is missing from case files. Some paperwork refers to regulations that are out of date. A lack of review means that the managers do not have sufficient oversight of either staff practice or case records.

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Requires improvement

Staff appraisals are not always completed annually. This means that the quality of care for young people is compromised, because staff do not receive the support and guidance that they require to meet young people’s needs. Arrangements for supervision and staff support are inconsistent. Professional supervision of staff is not regular and young people’s progress is not vigorously discussed. These arrangements impact on the home’s ability to make sure that young people are safe, to monitor their progress and to check staff performance.

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Requires improvement

Managers, although ambitious and aspirational for young people, did not fully recognise the weaknesses of the home until these were raised during this inspection. This detracts from the quality of care that young people receive. Consequently, managers are not providing care that meets the aims and objectives as outlined in the statement of purpose.

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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’. 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 looked after children is safeguarded and promoted. Minimum requirements

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What the inspection judgements mean

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 harmed or at risk of harm or 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 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 0300 123 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

T: 0300 123 1231 Textphone: 0161 618 8524 E: enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk W: www.gov.uk/government/organisations/ofsted

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