Children's home run by The Cambian Group in Hammersmith and Fulham

children and young people since the most recent full inspection

This home was judged requires improvement at the last full inspection. At this interim inspection, Ofsted judges that it has improved in effectiveness .

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

At the last inspection, three requirements and six recommendations were set. These requirements have been met, and the manager has made significant improvement in all areas. Since the last inspection, the manager has updated key documents and improved recording systems, ensuring that staff rotas and the statement of purpose are clear and accurate. The manager has improved staff recruitment arrangements and the support provided to the children.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

Good placement planning and appropriate supervision levels mean that no placement breakdown has occurred. There are effective partnerships with parents, school staff, the police and social workers. These key figures refer to the children as all making progress from their particular starting points in all aspects of their lives. The care and support that the children receive is child-focused and individualised. Parents, children and partner professionals say that the home is ‘good’ to ‘brilliant’. Their comments included:

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

 ‘It’s [the home has] been a good placement where he has made significant progress.’  ‘He likes living here [the home] and is very settled.’  ‘Overall he’s really turned a corner and is now engaging with staff.’  ‘He trusts staff now, when he has previously refused to engage with anybody.’  ‘It’s brilliant. I can’t fault it.’

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

The manager has overseen significant improvements in the way that the staff safeguard the children. Children’s individual risk assessments now contain all key information and suitable guidance for the staff. Communication has improved and individual risk factors are shared effectively with the staff and the senior on-call team. This means that staff are better equipped to prevent and respond to incidents and that they receive improved support from on-call managers.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

All of the children at the time of placement were considered at high risk of going missing, with associated risks of offending, sexual exploitation, taking drugs or gang association. There have been very few missing-from-home incidents since the last inspection and the staff have helped the children to make significant progress in this area. The other linked risks have reduced therefore. The manager now contacts children’s placing authorities actively to ensure that a return interview is carried out. This means that the children have someone outside of the home to express any concerns to and also provides further opportunity to share any information which may help staff to safeguard the children more effectively in the future. The manager has built successful partnerships with the local police and the missing-from-care police liaison officer, and, as a result, the children are better safeguarded.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

The manager has on one occasion failed to notify Ofsted of a significant event when the police were called to the home. However, this had no impact on the children, who continue to receive appropriate support. Conflict between the children is well managed and they feel safe. There are no issues of bullying.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

The biggest change in the home is the full and stable staff team, following a successful recruitment drive. This has enabled continuity of care to be established. The current staffing arrangements provide much improved opportunities for the children to begin to build stable relationships with the staff and for the children to invest in their future. The staff are successfully re-engaging previously resistant children with education. The children all have arrangements in place which meet their individual learning styles and needs. One child has increased his school attendance from 30% to over 80% in the past year. His social worker commented, ‘His attendance and attitude to learning has improved beyond anything I could imagine.’

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

The children enjoy activities and opportunities which promote their learning and understanding of the world. They have enjoyed trips to The Shard, Hampton Court Palace and a holiday in Wales. The children are able to join clubs of their choice, such as football, ju-jitsu and police cadets. One child was featured in the paper as the winner of a local skateboarding competition. These positive experiences help them to build resilience and confidence. Individualised memory books help the children to keep a nice personal pictorial record of their time at the home.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

The children are supported to live healthy lifestyles. They receive information and support about accessing smoking cessation programmes, and there is clear guidance on the use of e-cigarettes. However, some children continue to make poor choices, such as using cannabis, despite the support of staff and partner professionals.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

Medication arrangements in the home have improved since the last inspection. All staff have undertaken suitable first aid training and now have their competence to administer medication assessed. There are policies and protocols in place that enable the staff to administer appropriate over-the-counter pain relief when required. However, the ‘homely remedies’ list has not been approved for each child by a suitably qualified person. This means that contra-indications for giving such medication to a particular child may not be known. The suitably trained staff apply physical intervention only when thresholds of risk are met. The sanctions used are fair, and staff try to understand the children’s reasons for behaving in the way that they do. Staff develop effective, individualised de-escalation methods, and systems for promoting positive behaviour are successful. As a result, the children present as calmer and have improved self-

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

reflection and self-regulation. However, the effectiveness of the consequences of each sanction is not consistently reviewed, thereby potentially undermining the ability of the team to reflect fully on the success of the measure in effecting positive change. The staff talk warmly about the children and their personalities. They show a commitment to understanding the children and the impact that the children’s previous experiences may have upon them. The children all say that they can talk to staff about anything which is worrying them and they say that they like the staff. One child said, ‘The staff are nice. It’s better [in the home] than anywhere I’ve been before.’ The children are often placed some distance from their families. The staff help children to maintain these important relationships and, in some cases, vastly improve them. This promotes potential family reintegration and better long-term

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

support systems for the children into their adulthood.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

The building is generally well maintained and homely. However, as it is an older building, there are some challenges which the provider has yet to overcome. The heating system is not consistently effective and some window panes have large gaps between the frame and the glass, allowing significant draughts. As it is a very rural and unprotected site, the home can be quite cold and this detracts from the otherwise high-quality environment. Since the last inspection, fire evacuation procedures have improved, ensuring that everyone knows how to act in an emergency. However, the laundry fire door was observed to be propped open during the inspection, undermining the otherwise robust fire prevention arrangements in place.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

The staff recruitment procedures have improved and no staff are employed until all checks on their suitability have been established. The induction process has been enhanced and now covers all aspects of the information that all staff, including agency staff, initially need to know.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

There has been no review of the quality of care provided in the past twelve months, despite substantial changes in the home. The manager has provided suitable direction and leadership, resulting in significant improvement in the service, and has aspirations and plans for the future. However, his aspirations and plans are not documented and shared, and the opportunity is not taken to celebrate the home’s many achievements.

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children and young people since the most recent full inspection

Although some requirements and recommendations have been set at this inspection or remain from the previous inspection, this has not had an impact on the outcomes and experiences of the children. The improvements in the service demonstrate effective leadership, with a shared sense of commitment and teamwork. The service delivers improved care and support that makes a positive difference for the children. All of the children said the home was ‘okay’ or ‘good’ and one child summed up their thoughts as ‘it’s my home’.

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Information about this children’s home

This is one of a number of privately owned children’s homes operated by this provider. The home is registered for up to three children and young people who may have emotional and/or behavioural difficulties.

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Recent inspection history

Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement 13/07/2016 Full Requires improvement 15/03/2016 Interim Declined in effectiveness 16/12/2015 Full Good 18/03/2015 Interim Sustained effectiveness

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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

The registered person must notify HMCI and each other relevant person without delay of a significant event in the home. (Regulation 40 (4)) 01/03/2017

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must complete a review of the quality of care provided for children (‘a quality of care review’) at least once every 6 months. (Regulation 45 (1)) 27/03/2017

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Recommendations

To improve the quality and standards of care further, the service should take account of the following recommendations:  Ensure that the children’s home is a homely, domestic, nurturing and supportive environment that meet the needs of the children. Children’s homes must comply with relevant health and safety legislations (alarms, food hygiene etc.); however, in doing so, homes should seek as far as possible to maintain a domestic rather than ‘institutional’ impression. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 15, paragraph 3.9) In particular, ensure that the home is adequately heated and free from significant draughts. Ensure that all fire doors remain closed in the absence of a suitable automatic closing mechanism linked to the fire alarm system.

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Recommendations

 Ensure that prescribed medicines are only administered to the individual for whom they are prescribed. Medicines must be administered in line with a medically approved protocol. Records must be kept of the administration of all medication, which includes occasions when prescribed medication is refused. Regulation 23 requires the registered person to ensure that they make suitable arrangements to manage, administer and dispose of any medication. These are fundamentally the same sorts of arrangements as a good parent would make but are subject to additional safeguards. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 35, paragraph 7.15) In particular ensure that a suitably qualified person, such as a doctor or pharmacist, provides written approval for the administration of medication purchased ‘over the counter’.

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Recommendations

 Ensure that all incidents of control, discipline and restraint are subject to systems of regular scrutiny to ensure that their use is fair. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 46, paragraph 9.36) In particular, ensure that the effectiveness of sanctions is reviewed.

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What the inspection judgements mean

At the interim inspection, we make a judgement on whether the home has improved in effectiveness, sustained effectiveness, or declined in effectiveness since the previous full inspection. This is in line with the ‘Inspection of children’s homes: framework for inspection’.

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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 whom it is trying to help, protect and look after. This inspection focused on the effectiveness of the home and the progress and experiences of children and young people since the most recent full inspection.

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Information about this inspection

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 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, 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,

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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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