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 benefits from living in a small solo home. They receive a highly individualised care package, with high levels of support on a daily basis.  The experienced staff team is skilled at quickly establishing good quality relationships with any young person placed at the home. This promotes effective working relationships, which help to meet the individual needs of the young person.  The staff team cares about the young person and creates a calm, homely atmosphere where they feel safe. The young person is very well supported by the staff to achieve positive outcomes.  The staff team provides consistency, clear routines and expectations. To support the young person to make good progress from their initial starting points incentives and rewards are tailored to the young person’s individual likes and interests.  The staff team has a comprehensive knowledge and understanding of the young person’s risks and vulnerabilities, and ensures that the appropriate

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The children's home provision is good because:

action is taken to keep the young person safe from harm.  The management team provides strong leadership for the staff team. Individual staff members are well supported to provide care for the young person and are provided with good opportunities to develop their knowledge and skills through team meetings, supervision and training.  The home takes a collaborative approach to meeting the young person’s needs. Strong links are established and sustained with other agencies, including community police and placing social workers. This ensures that the young person receives the right level of care and support to meet their wide-ranging needs.  One shortfall was raised at this inspection. This shortfall has not impacted significantly on the welfare of the young person. The area for improvement related to ensuring that the staff appraisals include the views of young people and any professional that has worked with the individual staff

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Recommendations

To improve the quality and standards of care further, the service should take account of the following recommendation:

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Recommendations

 All staff must have their performance and fitness to carry out their role formally appraised at least once annually. This appraisal should take into account, where reasonable and practical, the views of other professionals who have worked with the staff member over the year, and children in the home's care. (‘Guide to children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 61, 13.5)

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Information about this children's home

This home is operated by a private company. The home is registered to provide care and accommodation for one young person who has emotional and/or behavioural difficulties.

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Recent inspection history

Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement 07/03/2016 Interim Sustained effectiveness 15/12/2015 Full Good 12/02/2015 Interim Sustained effectiveness 11/09/2014 Full Outstanding

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Good

Young people who live in this home receive high quality, individualised care. This is because the placement is a solo placement with high staff levels in place to support individual young people. The young person who currently lives in the home commented, ‘I really like being on my own. The staff are here for just me. I like that.’

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Good

The staff team are particularly skilled at developing trusting and nurturing relationships with individual young people who live at the home. This is because of the experience and stability of key members of the team. They lead by example acting as positive role models both to new staff and to the young person living in the home. The staff team spend positive time with the young person and develop a good understanding of their individual experiences and encourage them to develop their individual interests. For example the young person currently living in the home has a passion for music. The staff team effectively support this interest and encourage the young person to express themselves singing in the car and home. During the inspection, a member of staff commented, ‘It’s a real joy working with (name).’

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Good

The young person is placed at the centre of the home by the whole staff team. The manager ensures that the young person’s voice is heard in the home, through daily discussions, activities and participating in formal meetings to share their views about the running of the home. They are encouraged and supported to personalise the home and their bedroom. The young person had chosen the décor for their bedroom and was excited to share their choices. They commented, ‘If I can’t go back to my mum’s, I want to stay here until I am 18. I really like it here.’

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Good

The young person, although relatively new to the home, has been making steady progress since being admitted. The manager has ensured that their school placement has been maintained, which has provided consistency and routine. One educational professional commented, ‘This has been a very positive move for (name). His behaviour has really improved. We have established good communication between ourselves and the staff at the home. (name)’s attendance is now back to excellent.’

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Good

The staff team works effectively to ensure that the individual health needs of the young person are known and any issues are identified and addressed. This is because the staff team place a high regard to ensuring that the young person has access to the services they need to lead a healthy lifestyle. The managers appropriately challenge health professionals to ensure that the needs of the young person are met. For example, they have liaised effectively with the placing authority’s children and adolescent mental health team to ensure that the young person’s emotional needs are being effectively supported and addressed, without any disruption due to their move out of area.

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Good

The manager and staff team are skilled at supporting young people new to the home experience positive transition into the placement. This is because planning for new placements is well organised and staff are supported with initial risk management plans. The manager has introduced a new document which young people receive once they have an agreed placement at the home. This document introduces each member of the team supported by a photograph, and helps the young person to get to know the team before coming to live at the home.

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Good

Maintaining family relationships is prioritised by the manager and staff team. The staff team works effectively with the placing authority to manage and support appropriate contact between the young person and those individuals important to them. This supports the young person to remain part of their family and enjoy positive time with family members. One family member commented, ‘We are really pleased (name) is doing everything he should be. We are really happy about the way the staff look after him. He is doing things he wouldn’t get the chance to do at home.’

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Good

The home is located in a very small avenue and sits well within the community, and the staff team maintains a very good relationship with the neighbours. They work to maintain good standards in the house. It presents as a homely environment which the young person is working really hard to respect.

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Good

The young person commented, ‘I definitely feel safe here. I just like everything about being here.’ Individual staff members have a strong awareness of safeguarding. There is an effective system in place for reporting and responding to allegations and suspicions of harm. Staff fully understand their safeguarding responsibilities, and regular training enables them to respond effectively to child protection concerns.

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Good

The young person is helped to discuss and reflect on their behaviour. Staff support the young person to reduce their individual risk taking. Staff have a good awareness of individual risks. This is because risk management plans are good. They are clear, detailed and updated regularly. Consequently, staff are aware of historical behaviour and any potential risks. There are clear strategies in place to help reduce levels of risk. The manager and staff team are experienced and skilled at sharing any emerging concerns around risk taking behaviour, and take appropriate action to support the individual young person. For example, the management team worked in partnership with the local police team, resulting in proactive action being taken against males in the community, in order to protect a young person placed at the home.

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Good

Behaviour is effectively managed by a staff team which values the consistency of routines and boundaries. These routines enable the young person to adapt and develop their behaviour, which supports improved outcomes. The young person is engaged in regular discussions and key work sessions which target specific areas of difficulties and vulnerability. This has helped the young person to reflect upon their behaviour and consider ways of making safer and better choices. The staff team develops appropriate incentives with the young person which promotes engagement and supports the young person to make positive choices.

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Good

There have been a number of missing-from-home episodes for a young person previously placed at the home. Records show that staff try to support the young person to return home as quickly as possible and respond appropriately when they return to the home. The manager ensures that each young person is provided with an opportunity to meet with an independent person following any episode of missing or absence from the home. This ensures that further support is in place to provide the young person with the opportunity to share any concerns that they may have with a professional not associated with the home.

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Good

Scrutiny of the identities of visitors new to the home is routinely carried out. This ensures that young people are protected within the home. A range of health and safety checks are routinely carried out to ensure that young people and staff live in a physically safe environment.

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Good

Since the last inspection, the registered manager resigned her position and secured an internal move within the organisation. A new manager was recruited and has taken up the post. She has submitted her application for registration, which is currently being processed. The manager has applied to be registered as manager for two other solo occupancy homes within the local area. The manager has a number of years’ experience in a management role within this organisation. She is aware of her responsibility to be suitably qualified and is committed to achieving this qualification. She is currently waiting to be enrolled on the relevant leadership and management course.

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Good

The manager has established a routine in her working week to ensure that she is in regular contact with each of the three homes. Both staff and the young person commented that they see the manager on a regular basis. The manager ensures that by spending time at the home with the staff and young person, she is up to date with the young person’s day-to-day routine and progress.

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Good

Established monitoring systems in the home are effective at identifying areas for improvement and clearly demonstrate the progress individual young people make living at the home. The manager has introduced new monitoring systems and is systematically reviewing the recording systems in place in the home. This is because she has identified areas for improvement in the home. However, staff confirm these changes are being introduced at a pace which helps them to understand the new systems and ensures continuity of care for the young person living in the home.

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Good

Staff feel well supported in their role. They are enjoying building a relationship with the young person recently admitted. They commented that they receive regular supervisions and team meetings, which provides a forum to share their ideas for improvement and how they can improve outcomes for the young person. The manager has ensured that each member of staff has an appraisal in place. However, this process has not taken into account the views of young people or professionals who work with the staff members. This is a missed opportunity to gather views and improve practice. Staff members continue to benefit from a training programme which supports individual learning and ensures that staff remain equipped with the knowledge to support any young person admitted to the home. The management team has established links with the local authority the home is located in and has started to access some of the training provided by the

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Good

authority. This broadens the skills of individual staff members and develops positive professional relationships and networks in the community.

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Good

The home is adequately resourced and delivers the services and support outlined in the statement of purpose, which has been recently reviewed and received by HMCI. The manager ensures that there are sufficient numbers of staff on duty to meet the young person’s individual needs. Shortfalls in the rota are covered by the existing staff team and a very small number of internal bank workers to ensure consistency for the young person. The manager has recently reviewed the teams across the three homes and has, in discussion with the young person, planned some changes to the staff team. However, the young person knows the individual staff members and has been kept informed of the changes.

p.9

Good

The manager leads by example in developing professional relationships with supporting agencies. She encourages staff to develop effective working partnerships, and this has resulted in positive joined-up working and effective information sharing. This has contributed to helping to protect individual young people who live at the home.

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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 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 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,

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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

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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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