Children's home run by Cambian Childcare Limited in Hammersmith and Fulham

Inspection report children’s home: SC476286 1 SC476286 Registered provider: Cambian Childcare Ltd

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Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

The home provides care and accommodation for up to five children who have emotional and/or behavioural difficulties. The home is owned and managed by a private company and provides services to local authorities.

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Overall experiences and progress of

children and young people , taking into account

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good

How well children and young people are helped and protected good

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good

The effectiveness of leaders and managers outstanding

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good

The children’s home provides effective services that meet the requirements for good.

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good

Date of last inspection: 19 January 2017

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good

Overall judgement at last inspection: Improved effectiveness

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Key findings from this inspection

This children’s home is good because  Children make good progress from their starting points. Inspection report children’s home: SC476286 2  Staff, professionals and parents work together to promote good outcomes for children.

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Key findings from this inspection

 Children attend school and receive the support they need to achieve their potential.

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Key findings from this inspection

 Children benefit from stable and secure placements. They are encouraged to develop positive and trusting relationships with staff. They grow in confidence and self-esteem.

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Key findings from this inspection

 Staff have a sound understanding of behaviour management strategies and utilise these consistently.

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Key findings from this inspection

 There has been a reduction in the use of physical intervention to manage challenging behaviour.

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Key findings from this inspection

 Staff receive good quality training and support.

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Key findings from this inspection

 The manager provides strong leadership, and has developed a culture of nurturing, child centred practice.

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Key findings from this inspection

The children’s home’s areas for development  Managers are required to notify the HMCI about any incidents deemed to be serious.

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

19/01/2017 Interim Improved effectiveness 08/06/2016 Full Requires improvement 13/01/2016 Interim Sustained effectiveness 18/06/2015 Full Outstanding Inspection report children’s home: SC476286 3

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Statutory requirements

This section sets out the actions that the registered person must take to meet 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 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 if an incident requiring police involvement occurs in relation to a child which the registered person considers to be serious. (Regulation 40(4)(b)) 30/06/2017

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children make good progress from their starting points. The routines in the home provide children with a sense of security through safe and predictable care. Children respond well to these routines, and children new to the home settle in quickly. Staff work therapeutically and prioritise supporting children to build trusting, positive relationships.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children present as happy and relaxed in the home. The home environment is welcoming and very child centred. It reflects the age range of the children in the home. Children benefit from stable and secure placements. From this secure base, children develop increased self-esteem and self-confidence, and consequently they make good progress. They are encouraged to take part in activities in the local community, after school activities and school trips. For some children, this participation demonstrates great progress in their social and emotional development. Achievements, however small, are celebrated, and children proudly display certificates from school and from staff.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

All children are engaged in education, tailored to their individual needs. Staff are ambitious for children and support their educational progress and attainment. They actively consider whether services are meeting children’s needs, and work with partner agencies to address concerns as they arise. One social worker commented on how positive it is that staff take children to school and collect them. This enables staff to fully support children in transitions between home and school and provides the opportunity for staff to form constructive relationships with teaching staff.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children’s universal health needs are met. Regular ‘team around the child’ meetings provide staff the opportunity to discuss children’s care with in-house clinicians. Clinical care plans provide staff with advice and guidance in responding to children’s emotional Inspection report children’s home: SC476286 4 needs. Staff advocate on behalf of children to ensure that any specialist needs, such as speech and language therapy, are met in a timely manner.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

An important aspect of the care provided is the support that children get to develop the skills and strategies to manage difficult and powerful emotions, as well as manage complex and difficult social relationships. The manager promotes the use of attachment theory based practice, consisting of interacting with children through playfulness, acceptance, curiosity and empathy. Staff have become increasingly confident and competent in this approach, resulting in a marked reduction in the use of physical intervention to manage behaviour. Staff provide children with very clear structure and boundaries, where children feel safe and contained. Children are responding well to this, and improvements are seen in self-regulation and making safer choices.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Direct work with children is well planned, with staff thinking creatively about the individual needs of the child. Regular analysis of presenting behaviour provides a focus for this work. One social worker spoke about a child coming to terms with his care plan and added that staff had completed ‘some lovely work with him.’

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff value the significance of family relationships, and where appropriate work very positively with parents to meet children’s needs. Examples of this are in care planning and life story work, promoting consistent behaviour management and supporting good quality contact. Staff communicate with placing authorities and parents very well.

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How well children and young people are helped and protected: good

Children are provided with safe care. Recruitment processes are appropriate, with managers ensuring that robust pre-employment checks are completed before adults can commence their employment. This reduces the risk of unsuitable adults working in the home. Staff are subject to a probationary period, during which very regular supervision is provided. Staff have spoken about appreciating their induction and feeling valued.

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How well children and young people are helped and protected: good

Trusting, positive relationships with staff underpin effective behaviour management. Staff get to know children very well and begin to recognise the triggers for their challenging behaviour. Staff consider children’s experience of abuse and trauma, attachment difficulties or sensory needs. Staff use meetings with in-house clinicians to discuss presenting behaviour and the emotions that lie beneath this. Strategies to support children are shared. Children are supported to manage their strong feelings and their behaviour safely. Staff provide children with the skills to recognise their own triggers and make safer decisions.

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How well children and young people are helped and protected: good

There has been a marked reduction in the use of physical restraint to manage behaviour. The manager routinely analyses all incidents of physical restraint, and attributes the reduction to staff becoming more confident in recognising triggers and successfully employing distraction and de-escalation techniques. In situations where physical intervention becomes necessary, staff use this safely and record this very well. Staff provide a clear account of the situation and the hold used. Physical intervention is only used when children risk hurting themselves or others, and the intervention used is Inspection report children’s home: SC476286 5 proportionate.

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How well children and young people are helped and protected: good

The manager and staff provide children with a range of methods to communicate their needs to staff, and express any concerns they have. They know how to make a complaint, and an age-appropriate method for children to raise any ‘grumbles’ has been set up. All children have a key carer and key team. Children are also able to go directly to the manager and deputy manager.

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How well children and young people are helped and protected: good

Staff receive appropriate training and feel confident about their safeguarding role. An example of this is whistleblowing, with staff saying that they feel confident in how to respond and escalate their concerns.

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How well children and young people are helped and protected: good

A professional raised a concern about children walking out of the home without the consent of staff and this not being prevented due to concerns about restricting a child’s liberty. The manager has responded to this appropriately and risk assessments are now clear for staff about preventing children leaving the home. A balance between intervening to reduce risk and direct work to change behaviour is now being achieved. Managers and staff consider the work undertaken with a child after an event, when they are calmer, as being the most beneficial and having more impact than trying to explain during an incident of challenging behaviour.

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How well children and young people are helped and protected: good

Comprehensive risk assessments for children direct staff in how they should respond to a number of potential safeguarding situations, including children going missing. The procedures for staff are clear and easy to follow.

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How well children and young people are helped and protected: good

A requirement has been made at this inspection to ensure that managers send the required notification to Ofsted when an incident takes place that the manager considers serious.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

The home is led by an experienced, skilled and confident registered manager. She is currently working towards the required management qualification. The manager provides strong leadership, and has developed a culture of nurturing, child-centred practice. She has a sound understanding of children’s individual needs. The manager is eager to promote a shared understanding and approach to providing care and supporting children to manage strong emotions. Staff are supported by an in-house clinical team. Regular ‘team around the child’ meetings take place to discuss children’s presenting behaviour, their needs and progress. Minutes of meetings and plans are placed on files promptly, ensuring that all staff are working to the most up-to-date plan. The standard of case recording is very good.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

Staff have appropriate training and have access to a broad spectrum of training opportunities provided in traditional group settings or online. Staff team meetings also provide opportunities for professional development. There is some evidence of research informing practice, with staff utilising specialised parenting techniques. An important feature of the home is the need for very consistent and dependable care. The manager Inspection report children’s home: SC476286 6 and senior team are skilled in sharing good practice with less experienced staff. Induction processes are very good, providing a firm foundation for staff development while ensuring safe practice. Staff feel well supported by the manager and by colleagues. The home benefits from reasonably good staff retention, and this provides children with stability.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

The manager is ambitious for children. She works in partnership with others through positive professional relationships to ensure the best possible outcomes for children. This includes fostering positive and constructive relationships with parents where appropriate.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

Efficient systems are in place to monitor the progress and experience of children. A particular strength is the manager’s analysis of information relating to behaviour management and how staff respond to challenging behaviour. The manager has maintained a very thorough oversight of all physical intervention to ensure that any restraint used is safe and proportionate. An independent person visits the home each month and produces a very detailed and comprehensive report, which includes any recommendations for improvement. These recommendations have been used to continually improve the standard of care.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

Staff have regular supervision, providing a space to reflect on practice and the opportunity to discuss their own professional development.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

The home itself provides a physically and emotionally safe environment for children. The home is welcoming and in a good state of repair throughout. Children’s bedrooms are decorated to their taste and they are encouraged to have certificates, pictures and photographs to personalise their rooms. One child rated her bedroom as being ‘500 out of 100!’

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

The recommendation made at the interim inspection has been met. The home’s location risk assessment now includes consultation, including good quality consultation with children about where they feel safe.

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Information about this inspection

Inspectors have looked closely at the experiences and progress of children and young people. Inspectors considered the quality of work and the difference made to the lives of children and young people. They watched how professional staff work with children and young people and each other and discussed the effectiveness of help and care provided. Wherever possible, they talked to children and 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.

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Information about this inspection

Using the ‘Social care common inspection framework’, this inspection was carried out under the Care Standards Act 2000 to assess the effectiveness of the service, how it meets the core functions of the service as set out in legislation, and to consider how well Inspection report children’s home: SC476286 7 it complies with the Children’s Homes (England) Regulations 2015 and the ‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’. Inspection report children’s home: SC476286 8

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Cambian Childcare Ltd

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: 4th Floor, Waterfront, Hammersmith Embankment, London W6 9RU

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Children’s home details

Responsible individual: Alison Blyth-Bishop

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Inspector

Corrinne Barker, social care inspector Inspection report children’s home: SC476286 9 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, further education and skills, adult and community learning, and education and training in prisons and other secure establishments. It assesses council children’s services, and inspects services for children looked after, safeguarding and child protection.

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Inspector

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Inspector

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Inspector

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