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 home works hard to ensure consistent staffing, which enables the current young person to develop positive and trusting relationships. The staff team know the young person extremely well and have a detailed understanding of his needs.  Despite staffing shortages, the staff team have covered additional shifts themselves to provide continuity, which is in line with the young person’s needs.  The young person has continued to make progress in some key areas, most notably in his ability to self-regulate and to articulate his emotions, rather than becoming destructive and causing damage. Monitoring of progress is effective in identifying areas where progress is good and where it could improve.  Although the young person’s education attendance is problematic, staff continue to encourage and support him, and think of new ways to improve his engagement.  The young person’s needs are clearly prioritised by staff and managers.

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The children's home provision is good because:

 Safeguarding incidents are rare, with no incidents of missing from home or physical intervention. The young person is confident that staff will act to keep him safe and has a strong sense of personal safety.  An effective management structure is in place with a good level of support and supervision provided to staff.  Staff at the home advocate well on the young person’s behalf, helping him to put forward his point of view to his placing authority and challenge placement plans that are not in line with his wishes.  The home works in close partnership with placing authorities, parents and other agencies to plan the young person’s care, ensure their safety and promote progression.

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Recommendations

To improve the quality and standards of care further, the service should take account of the following recommendation(s):  Children should be provided with appropriate furniture, such as a lockable cabinet or drawers to securely store personal items, including any personal information. (’Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 16, paragraph 3.19)

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Information about this children's home

The home is registered to provide care and accommodation for one young person who may have emotional and/or behavioural difficulties. The home is privately owned and managed.

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Recent inspection history

Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement 26/07/2016 Interim Improved effectiveness 03/03/2016 Interim Sustained effectiveness 14/10/2015 Full Good 24/02/2015 Full Good

p.5

Good

The home offers highly individualised care to the one young person in placement. His needs are very well understood by staff, which ensures that care is delivered in line with his presenting issues and takes into consideration his wishes and feelings. The young person feels that staff understand him and act on his wishes and feelings wherever possible. He reports highly positively about the placement, although he clearly expresses that he would prefer to be closer to his family and friends.

p.6

Good

There have been some changes to the staff team since the last interim inspection. Most notably the young person’s former key worker left, which means that he lost a trusting relationship. Positively, he has developed a strong relationship with his new key worker and is beginning to develop trusting relationships with other newer members of staff. The home has worked particularly hard to ensure that, despite low staffing levels, the young person has benefited from continuity in staffing, which is fully in line with his emotional needs.

p.6

Good

Attendance at education is problematic for the young person in placement. From his starting point, his engagement has improved, although he is yet to attend the educational provision he is enrolled at. Work is sent to the home and a tutor visits weekly to support his learning. Participation in education fluctuates according to other factors in the young person’s life, and progress has not been continuous. Despite this, the staff team meet regularly with education professionals to try to identify ways to improve engagement and ensure that progress is made. A great deal of effort has gone into incentivising education with some limited success.

p.6

Good

Similarly, the young person is reluctant and resistant to engaging in health appointments. There are no specific unmet health needs and the young person is in good health. Referrals have been made to appropriate specialist health agencies as required and staff spend time with the young person discussing the importance of engaging with these professionals.

p.6

Good

Contact with family and friends is of particular significance to the current young person, and changes to arrangements have impacted on his engagement with all aspects of the placement. Staff at the home have offered high levels of emotional support to the young person to help him cope with varying levels of contact, and have helped him to voice his objections to his care plan through appropriate channels. Parents of the young person speak highly of the efforts the staff make to support the young person and feel the placement is having a positive impact on his life. Engagement in activities outside the home is limited, although the young person has achieved some progress in this area since the last inspection. Staff work hard to build confidence and encourage the young person to venture out and participate in activities with staff and other young people. A successful holiday was a notable achievement, and the home has now applied for a passport with a view to enabling

p.6

Good

the young person to venture further afield and go abroad for the first time. The young person is starting to learn independence skills, which are planned and introduced in an incremental way. The young person has periods of withdrawal, when his engagement with staff is very limited; staff are mindful of this and have systems for recording his interactions, and strategies in place for increasing the time he spends out of his room and with staff. There has been notable progress in this area.

p.7

Good

The home is highly proactive in working with all agencies involved with the young person, and positive reports from other professionals evidence their commitment to helping the young person to have a positive placement experience and to make progress.

p.7

Good

The young person’s bedroom is decorated to his taste, although it does not have a lockable cabinet for him to store valuables and personal belongings.

p.7

Good

Since he was placed, the young person has made good progress in keeping safe. His risks, particularly in relation to allegations and property damage, have significantly reduced.

p.7

Good

The young person reports feeling safe in placement and is confident that staff do everything they can to ensure his safety. His trusting relationships with staff have allowed him to contact them and seek their support when he has felt unsafe or when an incident has occurred while he is away from the home. Similarly, his strong relationships with some members of staff enable him to talk about things that concern him relating to his safety. One example of this is his discussion with staff about his personal safety when considering a placement move to a larger home with other resident young people.

p.7

Good

Risk assessments are comprehensive and relevant. They highlight current areas of risk and provide a summary for each month in each area, which allows progress to be monitored. Most areas of risk are reducing, but where risks are increasing (for example, refusal to attend medical appointments) this is clearly evidenced. Specific risk assessments are in place for radicalisation and missing from home, although these areas are low risk.

p.7

Good

Although this is a solo placement, bullying is regularly considered in key worker sessions and young people’s meetings. There is an anti-bullying policy in place and staff are aware that this has been an issue of concern in the past and are therefore vigilant to any signs of recurrence.

p.8

Good

Despite his very strong links to family and friends in his home area, missing from care has not been an issue for the young person. He trusts staff to advocate on his behalf and is prepared to cooperate with care plans in order to achieve a return home in the longer term, which is due to staff continuously working with him and supporting him to understand and appropriately challenge his plan. Staff are very flexible and accommodating in offering transport to his home area to promote contact, and this reduces the likelihood of missing-from-care incidents.

p.8

Good

Levels and frequency of property damage have significantly decreased from the starting point. The young person has been supported to develop improved self- regulation and an ability to talk about how he is feeling, which has resulted in less destructive behaviour. When incidents have occurred, the young person has been helped to take responsibility for his behaviour and replace or repair damaged items. Where damage has been caused to expensive items the young person has paid reparation money, which helps him understand the value of property and the consequence of causing damage.

p.8

Good

Sanctions and consequences are not frequently used. Behaviour management is focused on positive rewards and successfully promotes positive behaviour.

p.8

Good

There have been no incidents of physical intervention. Staff are skilled at de- escalating situations and understand the young person’s triggers well; they have strategies in place to intervene when behaviour escalates and these strategies have been successfully implemented.

p.8

Good

The home environment is physically safe, and safe recruitment procedures ensure that staff are suitably vetted to work with young people.

p.8

Good

There is a suitably qualified and experienced registered manager in post who has managed the home since it opened in 2014. The manager has, since the last full inspection, completed the level 5 diploma in leadership and management for residential childcare. The manager is registered at two other homes for the same company; there is no evident impact on the management of the home resulting from this arrangement. A first line manager is at the home on a day-to-day basis and is competent in undertaking the delegated management tasks.

p.8

Good

The home is not currently fully staffed. The small staff team has worked hard to ensure that the young person experiences continuity of staffing, and staff members have covered additional shifts themselves rather them employ agency staff, which may cause the young person anxiety. The staff rota is written onto a white board for the young person to see as it helps him to know who will be caring for him throughout the week. Recruitment has taken place and the home should be fully staffed early in the new year.

p.9

Good

There is a clear focus on the needs of the young person and his needs are a priority for all staff. Staff spoken to had a very good understanding of the young person and the progress he was making in all areas. Progression for the young person has not been continuous, although from his starting point progress has clearly been made. There are some very good systems in place for monitoring progress, so that areas where progress is limited are easily identified (as are areas where he is making good progress). Where a lack of progress is evident staff work hard to support the young person, for example there is close monitoring of his sleeping pattern and interaction levels as these have been identified as areas where he requires additional support.

p.9

Good

Staff report good levels of support from managers within the home. Managers are available for advice and guidance and are open and approachable. The quality of induction and supervision is good, with detailed progression reports for those staff still in their probationary period. Supervision is regular and if it has not taken place on a monthly basis, there are recorded reasons for this. A variety of training is on offer and there is a record of each staff member’s training log. All staff either have, or are working towards, their level 3 diploma for residential childcare, except for those still in their probationary period.

p.9

Good

There are effective systems in place for monitoring the home both internally and externally. Reports by the independent person are fed into staff meetings so that all staff are aware of any issues raised. The manager completes a series of weekly checks which feed into a working monitoring document. A comprehensive development plan is in place which identifies areas for progression and is specific to the young person placed. The home is delivering care in line with its statement of purpose.

p.9

Good

The home has developed highly effective partnerships with the family and placing authority of the young person as well as with other agencies involved in the young person’s life. Staff advocate on behalf of the young person and also support him to express his views at key meetings such as children looked after reviews and personal education plan meetings. The young person feels confident about participating in meetings due to knowing that staff will support him to contribute.

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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 the children's homes regulations including the quality standards’. the guidance raising concerns and making complaints about Ofsted, which is available from Ofsted's website: www.gov.uk/government/organisations/ofsted . If you would like Ofsted to send you a copy of the guidance, please telephone 0300123 4234, or email enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk .

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Information about this inspection

achieve excellence in the care of children and young people, and in education and skills for learners of all ages. It regulates and inspects childcare and children's social care, and inspects the Children and Family Court Advisory and Support Service (Cafcass), schools, colleges, initial teacher training, workbased learning and skills training, adult and community learning, and education and training in prisons and other secure establishments. It inspects services for looked after children and child protection. If you would like a copy of this document in a different format, such as large print or Braille, please telephone 0300 123 4234, or email enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk . You may reuse this information (not including logos) free of charge in any format or medium, under the terms of the Open Government Licence. To view this licence, visit www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence , write to the Information Policy Team,

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Information about this inspection

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

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Information about this inspection

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

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Information about this inspection

Store Street Manchester M1 2WD T: 0300 123 1231 Textphone: 0161 618 8524 E: enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk W: www.gov.uk/government/organisations/ofsted

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