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.

p.2

because:

 The home’s impact risk assessment has not assessed all the information that was available to them at the point of referral. For example, the initial information provided by the local authority says that the young person has a history of setting fires. The manager did not consider this in his decision to accept the young person into the home. This does not safeguard the young person, members of staff or others.  The manager has briefly mentioned the home’s location risk assessment within the impact risk assessment, but has not robustly assessed all known risks. For example, the home is on a busy main road. The young person’s referral information says that he has a history of running out into roads. It was unclear whether this had been considered when deciding whether the placement was viable.  The company’s placement plan for the young person contains conflicting information and is not in a good order. As a result, it is unclear why the young

p.3

because:

person has been placed here.  The young person’s health plan is not robust because it contains conflicting information. Additionally, significant health issues have not been discussed in depth.  Risk assessments are not clear because they have been completed on three different formats. Further to this, they do not contain actions for staff to take if an incident was to occur. This does not ensure that a consistent approach is given.  Staff have not got the skills to support young people through the impact of bereavement.  The manager has not formally addressed all external verbal complaints. Therefore, he cannot show the action that he has taken to resolve these.  The manager has not chased an incomplete reference for a new member of staff. This means that there is not a robust recruitment process in place to safeguard young people fully.  The manager’s internal monitoring of the home is not robust. The monitoring

p.3

because:

report contains a lot of bar charts that have not been evaluated. This means that the manager is not using this information to look at trends, patterns or to take learning from them to develop the home.

p.3

The children’s home’s strengths

 The young person has settled well into this home and he said that members of staff are really good, approachable and go out of their way to help him.  Prior to coming to this home, the young person had been out of education for a significant period of time. The home has been proactive in identifying a school for him and he has made an excellent start there. He is well supported by members of staff and the headteacher said that the young person has made excellent progress.  Very good incentive and reward charts have enabled the young person to address some aspects of his negative behaviour. As a result of this, the young person has significantly reduced his episodes of being reported missing and his behaviour is continuing to improve.  The young person’s health has improved because members of staff have supported him to attend the smoking cessation clinic. As a result, he is using a nicotine inhaler to manage his cravings.

p.4

The children’s home’s strengths

 The home has ensured that the young person has meaningful contact with people that are important to him. A family member said that the home has gone out of its way to support her to see the young person.  Professionals say that this home is very good at keeping young people safe and reporting and communicating with them when concerns arise.

p.4

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.

p.5

Requirement Due date

The registered person must recruit staff using recruitment procedures that are designed to ensure children’s safety. The requirements are that full and satisfactory information is available in relation to the individual in respect of each of the matters in Schedule 2. (Regulation 32 (1)(3)(d)) This is specifically in relation to verifying references. 31/12/2016

p.5

Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that a record is made of any complaint, the action taken in response, and the outcome of any investigation. (Regulation 39 (3)) This is specifically in relation to formally addressing verbal complaints. 31/12/2016

p.5

Requirement Due date

The registered person must review the appropriateness and suitability of the location of the premises used for the purposes of the children’s home. (Regulation 46 (1)) This is specifically in relation to using the information supplied to assess the suitability of a referral. 31/12/2016

p.5

Requirement Due date

In order to meet the care planning standard, the registered person must ensure: (2)(a) that children are admitted to the home only if their needs are within the range of needs of children for whom it is intended. This is specifically in relation to having a robust impact risk assessment in place. 31/12/2016 10: The health and well-being standard

p.5

Requirement Due date

In order to meet the health and well-being standard, the registered person must ensure: (1)(a) that the health and well-being needs of children are met. This is specifically in relation to including robust and in-depth information on information known. Additionally, the record needs to be in a clear order and to distinguish between past and present information. 31/12/2016

p.6

Requirement Due date

In order to meet the protection of children standard, the registered person must ensure: (2)(a)(i) that staff 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. This is specifically in relation to including information that has been provided by the local authority. 31/12/2016

p.6

Requirement Due date

In order to meet the care planning standard, the registered person must ensure: (1)(a) that children receive effectively planned care in or through the children’s home. This is specifically in relation to the home’s placement plan showing the initial plan for the child and the reasons for the placement. 31/12/2016

p.6

Requirement Due date

In order to meet the health and well-being standard, the registered person must ensure: (1)(c ) that children are helped to lead healthy lifestyles. This is specifically in relation to having a robust e-cigarette policy in place. 31/12/2016

p.6

Recommendations

To improve the quality and standards of care further, the service should take account of the following recommendations:  The registered person should undertake a review that focuses on the quality of the care provided by the home, the experiences of children living there and the impact the care is having on outcomes and improvements for the children. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, pages 64–65, paragraph 15.2)  The location review should include the identification of any risks and opportunities presented by the home’s location and strategies for managing these. This is specifically in relation to ensuring that these risks are considered when accepting referrals to the home. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 64, paragraph 15.1)  Ensure that staff have the relevant skills and knowledge to be able to respond to

p.6

Recommendations

the health needs of children. This is specifically in relation to staff having bereavement training. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 34, paragraph 7.12)

p.7

Information about this children’s home

This privately run children’s home can accommodate one young person with emotional and/or behavioural difficulties.

p.8

Recent inspection history

Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement 07/03/2016 Interim Declined in effectiveness 02/12/2015 CH - Full (aligned) Good 03/02/2015 Interim Sustained effectiveness 14/10/2014 Full Good

p.8

Requires improvement

The young person has recently been placed at this home. An impact risk assessment was completed before accepting his referral to the home. However, several shortfalls were found in this process. The referral information supplied by the local authority only covered the young person’s history up to February 2016 and the young person was placed in June 2016. The manager did not challenge this omission. This means that there are some inconsistencies within the young person’s records that are maintained in the home. The local authority provided a risk and safe caring document. However, the manager did not consider all of the risks identified in this document when making a decision to accept the referral. In addition, the manager did not robustly consider the home’s location risk assessment when accepting the referral. This means that the manager did not use all the information available to him effectively. This does not ensure that a fully

p.9

Requires improvement

informed decision was made on whether the home could care for the young person safely or could meet his needs.

p.9

Requires improvement

The young person said that he visited the home before moving in and was happy to come and live here. He said, ‘It is great. I love it here and I want to stay.’ He continued to say that members of staff had taken the time to explain all the routines and boundaries of the home to him. As a result, he has settled in well.

p.9

Requires improvement

The home’s placement plan is not in a good order, and has some inconsistent information within it. For example, under current information on the first page it states: ‘the foster placement is stable with little concerns for his behaviour’, and then on page 10 it says why the foster placement broke down. This means that the information is not clear and does not show why the young person required a residential placement.

p.9

Requires improvement

The young person is in good health. He has attended all routine health checks. He has been well supported by members of staff, for example to attend the smoking cessation clinic, and this is having some success. However, a family member has purchased an e-cigarette for him and he now uses this instead of the inhaler. There is some information within the home’s smoking policy on e-cigarettes but it is not robust enough. For example, it says that staff should not buy cigarettes, matches or lighters for young people but does not mention liquids. In addition to this, it does not discuss whether consent is required from a health professional, parent or social worker to use this device. This does not provide sufficiently clear information to young people and members of staff in this area. The young person’s health plan is not well ordered and it does not contain sufficient detail about important elements of the young person’s emotional and sexual health and how staff are to

p.9

Requires improvement

support the young person in these areas. For example, some information in the plan is contradictory and is incorrect. It does not give an up-to-date picture of the young person’s needs or shows strategies that the staff are using to addressing concerns, such as recent incidents of sexualised behaviour.

p.10

Requires improvement

In addition to this, the young person has experienced a number of family bereavements. There is no information about the circumstances of the bereavements or what support the young person is receiving to help him process and understand his emotions regarding these events. For example, on the second day of the inspection the young person was sent home from school for smoking in the school grounds. He said, ‘I needed a cigarette because I was thinking about my Mum.’ The members of staff present did not know if it was an anniversary or whether something else had triggered this emotion. Members of staff have not had bereavement training to be able to support him through these difficult times.

p.10

Requires improvement

Prior to coming here, the young person had been out of education for a significant period of time. A good education plan was put in place to transition into full-time attendance at the organisation’s school. Initially the young person was home- tutored for a short period and he engaged well in this process. The young person then visited the organisation’s school, supported by members of staff from the home. This meant that he settled at school quickly. The headteacher said, ‘He has settled extremely well and he is making excellent progress. I believe the support from staff and the excellent transition plan has made this possible.’ The young person said, ‘I really like school. I am doing really well and I have three certificates already.’ The young person has received a certificate for 100% attendance and has two certificates for student of the week. He has displayed these proudly in the home’s office. A family member said, ‘I cannot believe how well he is doing in

p.10

Requires improvement

school. This is a major achievement for him and it is all down to the staff and structure within the home.’ This proactive, well-planned approach means that young people are not out of education for long periods, they are well supported to settle into school and they are now progressing in line with their peers.

p.10

Requires improvement

The young person said that he was fully confident in being able to raise a concern or complaint, but had none with regard to the home. He said that a member of staff had supported him to raise an issue of bullying from another young person in the community. The young person was happy with the outcome and he said, ‘It is really good to see that the staff listen and do something about it.’

p.10

Requires improvement

The young person said that contact was important to him. He said, ‘I see my nan, aunty and sister regularly. They come here or we go out around here. It is important for me to see them because I want to eventually go to live with them again.’ A family member said, ‘I cannot thank the home enough. I have a disability and they collect and return me to the train station, include us in meals and make us feel extremely welcome.’ The home has a good track record of increasing, supporting and repairing relationships between young people and others who are important to them. This has enabled young people to have closer relationships and to return home or to be placed back in their local community.

p.10

Requires improvement

The young person said that he is fit and well. He said, ‘I eat lots of fruit and vegetables. I love to cook and I make a good spaghetti bolognaise.’ He has enrolled with the army cadets and enjoys going there. The young person is offered a range of activities that ensure that his free time is well structured. He has been to the gym, cinema and crab fishing, to theme parks and to a skate park. He has structured time on his games console and within the community. He has made friends in the neighbourhood and they are invited into the home to play. This means that he is engaging in the local community and experiencing new leisure activities.

p.11

Requires improvement

The young person lives in a home that is well maintained, nicely decorated and furnished. This gives a welcoming feeling. A family member said, ‘It does not look like what I imagined. It is lovely and just like a family home.’

p.11

Requires improvement

The young person described the staff team as ‘great’ and ‘approachable’. He said that the best thing was that they listened. He said, ‘I really trust them. I have never had adults who I can talk to before.’ As a result, he is starting to share his concerns and he is listening to the good advice that members of staff give him.

p.11

Requires improvement

The young person said that he felt safe at this home. He also talked about how staff have started to discuss with him the concerns that adults have for him when he is not behaving well. He said that his behaviour had improved because he wants to stay here and that there is a good incentive and reward scheme in place. He is currently working towards attending a football match. He has made a football poster with a path to the entrance of the stadium. He has small goals set along the way to achieve the final tickets. He said, ‘I have earned two new football shirts and the poster shows me what I have to do and how far I am away. I hope to earn enough points to take my uncle with me.’ As a result of this, the young person’s behaviour is steadily improving and sanctions are minimal, but when applied the young person said they were fair. The young person has not been held for his own or others’ safety. Staff receive regular restraint training to ensure that if an incident

p.11

Requires improvement

Professionals say that members of staff and the manager are good at discussing potential concerns and safeguarding issues or updating them on the progress of an issue. Therefore, they were confident that the home follows all procedures and protocols in reporting and sharing information. Staff are fully able to support young people in areas around safeguarding, child sexual exploitation and online protection because they have ongoing training that is refreshed frequently. This means that staff are aware of any changes to approaches or legislation and use the knowledge gained to good effect.

p.11

Requires improvement

Risk assessments for addressing young people’s negative behaviours need improvement. This is because: they are completed on three different formats; not all known risks are initially assessed; the information provided is unclear about potential risks and the action staff need to take should an incident occur; and the agreed strategies to prevent incidents are not clear. For example, the safe caring document, that was provided by the local authority at the time of referral, states that the young person has been involved in three episodes of fire starting. This information was not considered within the home’s impact risk assessment. The current risk assessment does not cover the young person having lighters or matches, and there is no plan of action for staff to take in the event of him starting a fire. Further to this, there is no distinction between verbal and physical aggression and how these behaviours manifest themselves or how they are to be

p.12

Requires improvement

responded to. Although the risk assessment says that he has been verbally aggressive in the past, there are no examples or information to illustrate what is actually said or how this presents, such as whether this is swearing, or racial or derogatory comments, for example. This does not show that risk assessments are robust enough to safeguard young people, members of staff, the general public, visitors and other people involved in the young person’s care.

p.12

Requires improvement

At the young person’s previous placement, he was frequently reported to the police as being missing from care. Since being placed here, he has only been reported missing on two occasions. These have been for short periods of time and within the very early weeks of the placement. The young person said, ‘I was a bit silly and just wanted to stay out later with my friends. I like it here and I am working towards going to a football match, so I am not going to go missing again.’ A community police officer said, ‘The home lets me know when they have a new person. I come and visit informally so they know who I am and I know what they look like. This has been successful in making relationships and being able to approach each other in the community.’ He continued to say that the home is also part of a project that allows the police to share information across boroughs. This means that the police have information on the previous history of the young

p.12

Requires improvement

person, such as any previous criminal activity, known addresses of where they have stayed when missing from home and any unsuitable adults associated with their name. As a result, they can have coordinated plans and have strategies in place. The missing from home police coordinator said, ‘I have a good working relationship with the home. Staff report young people missing from home promptly. We also have trigger plans in place for children that have been reported missing on five occasions.’ The manager ensures that the placing authority completes a missing from home return interview when necessary. This is completed by an independent service and ensures that young people have the opportunity to discuss their reasons for why they went missing. This multi-disciplinary approach has assisted both the police and the home in identifying strategies to reduce risks when young people are missing from the home.

p.12

Requires improvement

Effective and meaningful partnerships between the home, police and other safeguarding professionals promote young people’s safety and welfare. Staff spoken with during the inspection fully discussed their roles and responsibilities in ensuring that young people were safe as well as the procedures to follow. All professionals spoken with said that the home was excellent in sharing information, keeping them up to date and having the safety of young people at the heart of their practice.

p.13

Requires improvement

The home’s recruitment process has previously been judged as robust. All relevant checks are taken to assess the applicant’s ability to care for young people safely. When references are brief, the manager requests further information around protecting young people. However, on one occasion they have not received a further response and this has not been chased. This has not had an impact on the good recruitment process but has the potential to do so.

p.13

Requires improvement

A range of health and safety checks are completed to assess whether there are any hazards that could pose a risk to young people and staff. They take part in regular fire drills to ensure that they know how to evacuate the building safely in the case of an emergency. These measures help to ensure that young people continue to live in a safe environment.

p.13

Requires improvement

The registered manager has been in post since September 2015 . He was registered with Ofsted in January 2016. He is currently completing his level 5 diploma in leadership and management. He has worked in social care settings for over 10 years and has progressed through the company from a care worker to a team leader until securing his management role. He is also the registered manager for two other single placement homes. He recognises the challenges of managing three homes and he has put strategies in place to help him to divide his time between each home. This is now supporting him to remain in day-to-day charge of them all. Experienced managers within the company are supporting him to enhance his leadership skills and management style.

p.13

Requires improvement

The statement of purpose has recently been updated to include information in relation to recent changes. For example, the company no longer has clinicians based in the children’s homes, but a referral process is in place should young people require extra support. The referral process for this is clear within the statement of purpose. As a result, stakeholders, including social workers and commissioners, are fully aware of the aims and objectives of the service and how support will be provided.

p.13

Requires improvement

The home has a locality risk assessment in place, but it has not been used effectively when identifying appropriate referrals. For example, the current young person’s referral information says that he has a history of running out into the road. The home is located on a busy main road. The manager has not ensured that he fully considered this with regard to being able to keep the young person safe.

p.14

Requires improvement

Most of the staff team have a suitable professional qualification and one staff member is undertaking a recognised childcare qualification. All staff members have experience of working with young people and they receive mandatory training as part of their induction. These are refreshed regularly and within timescales. They have further opportunities to attend additional training to enhance their knowledge and skills. Several staff members said that they were supported by their manager and work together well as a team.

p.14

Requires improvement

Staff handovers are thorough and well recorded, which ensures a good transition from one staff team to another and provides young people with consistency in working practices. Supervision is regular and staff are able to reflect on their practice and consider how it can be improved. Team meetings are well attended and promote staff development through reflection on practice and discussion of the quality standards and other guidance that will have a positive outcome for young people. In a recent team meeting, the missing from home coordinator from the police attended. She discussed the missing from home protocol and new projects being devised in the area. As a result, staff’s knowledge is kept up to date with changes in new guidance, legislation and law.

p.14

Requires improvement

The home is good at working in partnership with a range of professionals, parents, placing authorities and other agencies. This ensures that the appropriate support is in place to meet the young person’s identified needs. A family member said, ‘We speak regularly. The staff are excellent at letting me know what is going on. I couldn’t ask for more.’ Several professionals spoken to as part of this inspection said that communication between them and the home is very good and they did not report any concerns about this home. The manager has successfully challenged several professionals in the past, to ensure that young people get the services they require. He has recently challenged the placing authority because the young person’s legal documents required updating and he received these promptly.

p.14

Requires improvement

The home has a procedure in place to address all external complaints. However, the manager has not addressed all verbal complaints formally. For example, a neighbour called at the home to request three complaint forms. After discussion with the manager, the neighbour withdrew this request. The young person apologised to the neighbour and the manager said that the neighbour was happy with this response, but this cannot be verified because he has not recorded the incident. As a result, he cannot show that robust action was taken or that the neighbour was happy with the outcome.

p.14

Requires improvement

Internal quality assurance does take place regularly, but the manager has not made good use of the statistics and graphs provided within the report. He has not evaluated them to show whether there are any trends, patterns or learning to be deduced from them. This means that he has been unable to use this information productively in developing or improving the home. External monitoring of the home has recently been taken over by a private company. The early reports indicate that the visitor consults well with young people and professionals involved in their care. This ensures that a good all-round view is considered when looking at the quality of care within the home.

p.15

Requires improvement

The manager has addressed and made progress in meeting the requirements and the recommendations from the interim inspection in March 2016. For example, there has been significant progress in ensuring that young people’s views, wishes and feelings are heard. The young person has commented in all of his documentation within the home. He was very complimentary about the way staff listened to him and helped him. He is also being assisted to complete his own child- friendly placement plan. As a result, he clearly knew what the plan is for him and how he could achieve it.

p.15

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’.

p.16

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

p.16

What the inspection judgements mean

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

p.16

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

p.17

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 .

p.17

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 children looked after 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,

p.18

Information about this inspection

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

p.18

Information about this inspection

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

p.18

Information about this inspection

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

p.18