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 young person said that they feel safe and protected by the staff team. Regular training ensures that staff have a good understanding of safeguarding.  Excellent relationships are established between the young person and the staff team. This ensures that the young person has adults around them who they trust and enjoy spending positive time with in the home and the wider community.  The young person continues to makes make good progress while living at the home, from their individual starting point. This is because of the high quality of care and support provided by the staff team.  The staff team benefits from a supportive manager. Individual members of the team say that they are well supported in their roles by the manager, and have regular supervisions and team meetings. They participate in regular training. This ensures that they are equipped to meet the needs of the young person placed in the home.

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The children's home provision is good because:

 The young person’s appropriate friendships and family support networks are valued and encouraged by the manager and staff team, which builds self- esteem and self-worth.  The home is managed by a dedicated manager who is passionate about providing a high quality of care to the young person. She is committed to driving forward the quality of care provided by the staff team.  One area for improvement was raised at this inspection, which related to ensuring that the manager received an annual appraisal.

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Recommendations

To improve the quality and standards of care further the service should take account of the following recommendation(s):  All staff, including the registered manager, must have their performance and fitness to carry out their role formally appraised at least annually. (‘Guide to the children's homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 61, paragraph 13.5)

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Information about this children's home

The home is privately run and is registered for up to one young person with emotional and/or behavioural difficulties.

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Recent inspection history

Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement 29/03/2016 Interim Improved effectiveness 18/11/2015 Full Good 03/03/2015 Interim Improved effectiveness 13/08/2014 Full Adequate

p.5

Good

The young person has continued to make good progress while living in the home. This is because they benefit from personalised and consistent support from staff whom they know well. They benefit from living in a caring environment where staff place their needs at the centre of their practice. Staff are able to focus solely on the individual needs of the young person, because of this being a solo placement. The young person commented: ‘I am the happiest that I have ever been. This is the best place that I have ever lived.’ The consistency of the staff team means that the young person feels confident and safe with individual staff, and enjoys spending time with them. The young person spoke fondly about individual staff members whom they share a positive relationship with. The strength of the relationships between young people and staff members has supported the young person to remain at the home for a long period of time, resulting in him enjoying a

p.6

Good

The young person is encouraged to spend time engaging in positive activities, both in the home and local community. However, he prefers to spend time watching DVDs with staff in the home or visiting his family. During the inspection, the young person and staff members were observed interacting positively with each other, enjoying spending time relaxing in the home.

p.6

Good

The young person’s views are integral to the running of the home. Day-to-day conversations, detailed key-worker discussions and formal meetings provide opportunities for the young person to share their views and help to bring about change in the home. The young person is well supported to be prepared for their individual care planning meetings. This ensures that their views are heard by professionals, particularly with regards the current planning for the transition to semi-independent living.

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Good

Young people’s health is generally good. They are registered with healthcare services and now regularly attend routine health appointments, such as the dentist, which is a significant achievement for the young person. The staff support the young person to understand the importance of maintaining good health. They are provided with good information and advice about a range of important health matters such as sexual health, smoking and the consequences of substance misuse.

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Good

The manager and staff recognise and value the importance of education and do their best to promote this. There has been mixed success in the young person’s achievements, despite the good level of support in place. For example, after successfully completing their formal education and achieving very good attendance in the summer term, they attended a summer college course which led them to secure an apprenticeship. However, the young person struggled to adapt to the working environment. The staff team has continued to support the young person to return to employment or education, which has resulted in them starting to engage with an alternative provision which aims to support young people to achieve employment through apprenticeships. Despite some setbacks, the young person has remained with a very clear aspiration to be a motor mechanic, which continues to be fully supported by the staff team.

p.6

Good

The staff team has supported the young person to sustain their family relationships through positive and shared experiences, such as the young person cooking a meal at the home for his father on Father’s Day. This improvement in family relationships has resulted in an increase in the time that the young person spends within the family home. These improved relationships will offer the young person support when they move into independent living.

p.7

Good

The staff team continues to support the young person to develop life skills in preparation for living independently. This skills are both practical and emotional. The young person is now travelling independently and shopping, and cooking some of his own meals. The young person continues to benefit from a small and nurturing home which has a number of photographs of the young person proudly displayed around the home.

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Good

Individual staff demonstrate unconditional positive regard for the young person, who can, on occasion, display extremely challenging behaviour. They understand past trauma and are able to respond effectively to the challenges presented by the young person. The core staff team is experienced and has considerable skill in managing the young person’s individual behaviour. Staff have worked tirelessly to build effective relationships with the young person and, as a result, the young person is able to reflect on their behaviour following an incident and will speak about the incident with key staff.

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Good

The young person does not regularly go missing from the home. However, on the rare occasions that they have not returned, the staff team works effectively to support the young person to return as quickly as possible to the home. The manager and staff team have a good awareness of the reasons for the young person wanting to be away from the home. They have worked with the young person, their social worker and family members to ensure that plans are being progressed to reduce the level of ‘missing’ episodes. All areas of behaviour management are well managed and monitored. The skill of the staff has meant that, since the last inspection, there have been no physical interventions. This is because the staff team uses a number of individualised de- escalation techniques to manage and support the young person. Individual incentives and rewards are implemented to promote and encourage positive behaviour.

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Good

Staff have a good awareness of the individual risks that the young person presents. The young person commented: ‘Yeah, this is a safe place to live.’ Risk management plans are clear, detailed, updated and shared with relevant professionals. This means that staff are aware of the presenting risks of the young person and have a good understanding of the agreed strategies in place to safeguard both the young person and the staff team. Since being in placement, the young person has made considerable progress in reducing their previously identified risk-taking behaviour.

p.8

Good

Staff are consistently clear about what action they would take in response to any arising concerns. This means that they understand their safeguarding responsibilities and prioritise the safety and well-being of the young person at all times. The home has robust safeguarding procedures for staff to follow in the event of allegations, suspicions of abuse or unsafe practice. The manager has experience in the management of allegations and/ or concerns about staff practice. She has ensured that action is taken quickly and in consultation with appropriate external agencies in order to support the young person living at the home.

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Good

The manager ensures that a range of health and safety checks are regularly completed to assess whether there are any hazards that could pose a risk to the young person and staff. Everyone takes part in regular fire drills, and this ensures that they all know how to evacuate the home safely in case of an emergency. These measures contribute to the young person living in a safe environment.

p.8

Good

The registered manager has been in post since 2015. She achieved registration in April 2016. She is also the registered manager for two other solo-occupancy homes. The manager is undertaking the appropriate leadership qualification, which will broaden her skills and competence and comply with regulations. The manager has a number of years’ experience in supporting young people, and is committed to enabling young people to fulfil their potential. The manager leads by example and maintains a strong presence in the home. Both staff and the young person commented about her always being available.

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Good

External monitoring of the home is well established and identifies areas for improvement. The manager makes good use of regular internal monitoring and has a development plan in place which supports her to identify areas of weaknesses and of improvements that have been secured across the home. The manager has established internal monitoring systems for all areas of the home. Consequently, she has a strong overview of the progress that the young person is making in the home and is able to make adjustments to practice and provide support and guidance, as appropriate, to individual staff members to ensure continuous improvement.

p.8

Good

The home is adequately resourced and delivers the services and support outlined in the statement of purpose. The manager ensures that there are sufficient numbers of staff on duty to meet the young people’s individual needs. The small but dedicated staff team has remained committed and consistent in the care that it provides to the young person. Shortfalls in the rota are covered from within the team or a small number of internal casual staff whom the young person knows well. This means that consistency is maintained for the young person. The staff are a well-established team with a number of years of experience who either hold the relevant qualification or are working towards the qualification.

p.9

Good

Staff are positive about working at the home. They work together well and understand the need for consistency in order for young people to make progress. Consequently, the young person is making significant progress, a view that both parents and professionals share. One professional commented: ‘This has been a good placement for X. They have provided him with much-needed consistency.’

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Good

Staff are supported in their role through team meetings, effective and regular supervision sessions, and handovers which act as a debriefing on the day’s events and share the learning experiences between shifts. This enables staff to have a good understanding of the current issues and behaviour of the young person. The manager has completed individual appraisals for each team member. However, she is yet to have her annual appraisal. This delay has not impacted on the young person or the staff team. The whole staff team benefits from a well-established rolling training programme.

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Good

Good-quality relationships are established with parents, the placing social worker and external agencies. This means that the young person benefits from a holistic support package which strives to ensure that they are safe, make progress and have access to the right levels of support. A parent commented: ‘I feel that everyone has worked together to support my son. The staff could do no more than what they do for him. I have been very pleased with the home.’

p.9

Good

No shortfalls were identified at the last inspection.

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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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