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

Inspection report children's home: SC457621 1 SC457621 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 is run by a large private provider. It is registered to provide care and accommodation for up to four young people who have emotional and/or behavioural difficulties.

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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 good

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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: 28 February 2017

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good

Overall judgement at last inspection: Sustained effectiveness

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Key findings from this inspection

 Young people make good progress from their starting points. They grow in confidence and self-esteem. Inspection report children's home: SC457621 2  Young people are supported to form positive, trusting relationships with staff. Skilled staff provide stability and dependable care.  Staff work in partnership with families, working together to provide consistent care and to improve family relationships where possible.  Young people like living in the home. There is an ethos of unconditional regard and respect for young people, and genuine warmth from staff.  Risk to young people is managed well. Staff are proactive in taking steps to reduce the risks in the community and work in partnership with others to address issues as they arise.  Staff manage challenging behaviour effectively.  Staff have access to appropriate training and feel well supported.  The registered manager is a strong advocate for young people and plays a full

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Key findings from this inspection

role in working with the community and partner agencies to keep young people safe.

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Key findings from this inspection

The children’s home’s areas for development:

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Key findings from this inspection

 There has been a decline in the quality of documents produced by the home, including plans and risk assessments.  The register of admissions and discharges has not been appropriately maintained.  Fire evacuation drills have not been carried out in accordance with the home’s own policy.  Not all young people have appropriate education provision in place.  The effectiveness of sanctions should be reviewed to improve practice.

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

28/02/2017 Interim Sustained effectiveness 20/09/2016 Full Outstanding 10/11/2015 Interim Improved effectiveness 07/07/2015 Full Good Inspection report children's home: SC457621 3

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Statutory requirements

This section sets out the actions that the registered person(s) 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(s) must comply within the given timescales.

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must maintain in the home a record in the form of a register showing in respect of each child— (a) the date of the child’s admission to the children’s home; (b) the date on which the child ceased to be accommodated in the home; (c) the child’s address immediately before being accommodated in the home; (d) the child’s address on leaving the home; (e) the child’s placing authority; and (f) the statutory provision (if any) under which the child is accommodated. (Regulation 37 Schedule 4(1)) 30/06/2017

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Requirement Due date

The education standard The education standard is that children make measurable progress towards achieving their educational potential and are helped to do so. In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to ensure— that staff— help each child to achieve the child’s education and training targets, as recorded in the child’s relevant plans; And— help a child who is excluded from school, or who is of compulsory school age but not attending school, to access educational and training support throughout the period of exclusion or non-attendance and to return to school as soon as possible. (Regulation 8(2)(a)(i)(viii)) 30/06/2017 Inspection report children's home: SC457621 4 The protection of children standard The protection of children standard is that children are protected from harm and enabled to keep themselves safe. In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to ensure—

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Requirement Due date

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. (Regulation 12(1) and (2)(a)(i)) In particular, ensure that plans are up to date and sufficiently detailed. 30/06/2017

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Requirement Due date

The leadership and management standard The leadership and management standard is that the registered person enables, inspires and leads a culture in relation to the children’s home that— helps children aspire to fulfil their potential. In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to— use monitoring and review systems to make continuous improvements in the quality of care provided in the home. (Regulation 13(1)(a) and (2)(h)) 30/06/2017

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Requirement Due date

After consultation with the fire and rescue authority, the registered person must— ensure, by means of fire drills and practices at regular intervals, that persons working at the home and, so far as reasonably practicable, children are aware of the procedure to be followed in case of fire. (Regulation 25(1)(d)) 30/06/2017

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Recommendation

 Any sanctions used to address poor behaviour should be restorative in nature, to help children recognise the impact of their behaviour on themselves, other children, the staff caring for them and the wider community. In some cases, it will be important for children to make reparation in some form to anyone hurt by their behaviour, and the staff in the home should be skilled to support the child to understand this and carry it out. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 45, and paragraph 9.38) Inspection report children's home: SC457621 5

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Young people continue to receive a high standard of care, despite the home going through a difficult period recently. Young people make good progress from their starting points, supported by skilled and committed staff. Staff support young people to form positive relationships. These relationships underpin good direct work with young people, and support positive behaviour in the home. Staff are attentive and spend time with young people. Staff support young people to build resilience and good self-esteem. Young people feel valued. There is an ethos of unconditional regard and respect for young people, and genuine warmth from staff. There is a ‘can do’ attitude in the home, with staff challenging negative comments and attitudes. Young people receive high levels of praise and encouragement, and achievements are celebrated. Staffing has remained consistent, providing young people with dependable and familiar care. Young

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

people like living in the home and many maintain contact when they leave. Progress in education for young people is variable. Some young people have educational provision identified quickly and attendance is good. For other young people, there have been delays in any formal education being provided. In the interim, staff have not provided sufficient educational activity and some plans to meet educational needs lack sufficient detail. A requirement has been made to improve educational outcomes. Similar shortfalls are noted in written plans and in records of direct work. Some plans and records do not fully reflect the work undertaken. Actions required do not routinely have timescales attached for reviewing progress. Overall, there is a lack of quality assurance of key documents used by staff. A requirement has been made to improve management monitoring and oversight. A strength of the home is the commitment to supporting young people who present with

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

challenging behaviour. Staff support young people to fully participate in their care planning, and help young people to be reflective. Staff are aspirational for young people and encourage young people to think about what they want to achieve for themselves and visualise successful transition to adulthood. Young people have opportunities to access a range of social and recreational activities, offering an alternative to negative influences in the community. Staff support contact with family members, in line with the young person’s care plan. Staff form positive relationships with families and professionals and communicate effectively. Information sharing supports consistent expectations and boundaries for young people, as well as maintaining family relationships. Admissions to the home are generally managed well. Young people are welcomed into the home and settle in very quickly. Information provided to young people on admission

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

is well presented and accessible. However, the inspection found that the admissions register had not been maintained appropriately. A requirement has been made regarding this. Inspection report children's home: SC457621 6

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

Staff work tirelessly to safeguard young people. Risk to young people is responded to well and, in the majority of cases, risk is reduced. Staff are proactive in taking steps to reduce risks in the community and work in partnership with others to address issues as they arise. Leaders and managers challenge partner agencies effectively on behalf of young people, particularly in relation to safeguarding concerns. Despite the registered manager forming very good links with professionals and the wider community, risk away from the home remains a concern. Concerns have persisted regarding negative influences in the community with the potential for young people to be drawn into risk-taking or criminal behaviour. Staff speak openly to young people about risk, supporting young people to make safer choices. Staff have a very good understanding of risk in the community, and open dialogue encourages young people to talk to staff about their concerns.

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

All young people have individualised risk assessments and behaviour management plans. As already noted, the inspection found that some of these plans are insufficiently detailed and lack robust analysis. Less experienced staff may struggle to effectively safeguard young people if plans are not sufficiently detailed. A requirement has been made to improve plans, ensuring risks, vulnerabilities and control measures are clear, with timescales for actions where appropriate. Plans relating to young people missing from the home are generally good. Staff manage incidents of missing from care effectively, following multi-agency procedures. Staff escalate safeguarding concerns appropriately, with multi-agency strategy meetings taking place when needed to share information and review plans. Feedback from partner agencies is very positive. One professional made the following comments in relation to staff ensuring the safety of young people while out in the

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

community. Staff ‘do their best to do so at all times; and by managing incidents well and responding proportionately at all times, they contribute to the multi-agency safeguarding approach.’ Responses to behaviour are proportionate and fair. There is good management oversight of behaviour management strategies. Staff implement a range of consequences in response to negative behaviour. For some young people, these consequences are effective; for others, however, the consequences used do not effect change. A recommendation has been made for managers and staff to review the consequences typically used and consider whether they are effective, particularly in addressing negative behaviour in the community. Staff use physical intervention to manage challenging behaviour infrequently. Physical restraint is used proportionally, with the lowest level of restraint typically used to manage the situation. Recording of physical restraint is clear, with good management

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

oversight and debriefs. Staff use a range of de-escalation techniques to manage behaviour positively. Young people are supported to become aware of the triggers for Inspection report children's home: SC457621 7 their challenging behaviour and self-regulate. Some young people access specialist support, particularly where there is also substance misuse. Managers ensure that safe recruitment practices are utilised, reducing the risk of unsuitable adults working with young people. Staff have appropriate training and feel confident about their safeguarding responsibilities. The home itself is well maintained and does not pose any obvious health and safety concerns. A requirement has been made in relation to fire evacuation drills. The inspection found that these were not being carried out in accordance with the home’s own policy. This risks newly admitted young people or new staff being unfamiliar with fire evacuation

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager is suitably skilled and experienced. She already holds a management qualification and is currently studying for the level 5 diploma in Leadership and Management for Residential Childcare. The manager is confident, inspirational and ambitious for young people. Her work with partner agencies to achieve positive outcomes for young people is tireless. Staff share this ambition, and the team works very effectively together. Staff demonstrate excellent insight into the individual needs of young people, with a good understanding of attachment-based theory. Staff feel valued and well supported. They benefit from regular staff development opportunities, enabling staff to share good practice and underline the ethos for the home. Staff retention is good. This has been a challenging period for staff. The registered manager has ensured that staff are supported and that young people continue to receive high-quality care, in what

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

have been difficult circumstances. During this period, management monitoring processes have been less effective, impacting on the quality of plans and routine tasks. A requirement has been made to reflect this situation and ensure that swift action is taken before shortfalls negatively impact on young people. The registered manager is actively involved in the community and is a strong advocate for young people. She is very aware of issues in the community and immerses herself in making the community safer for young people living in the home and young people in the wider community. She regularly reviews information and acts on any known risks to young people, seeking advice and guidance from relevant agencies. The registered manager is very responsive and seeks to build positive relationships with neighbours and with the local community. She initiates positive contact with partner agencies and seeks to build effective working relationships with professionals and with

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

families. Partnership working is a strength of the home. During the inspection, staff spoke very knowledgeably about young people living in the home and former residents. Managers make child-centred decisions, and clearly have detailed, reflective discussions to help formulate plans. When young people have not Inspection report children's home: SC457621 8 settled in the home, or behaviour has become unsafe, leaders and managers have carefully reviewed the situation, along with the placing authorities, to agree the next steps. This has included ending young people’s placements where necessary. Staff manage these situations sensitively, seeking to minimise the impact on young people. The statement of purpose has been updated very recently, providing detailed information which reflects the service provided.

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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 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: SC457621 9

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Cambian Childcare Ltd

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Cambian, Waterfront, Hammersmith Embankment, Chancellors Road, London W6 9RU

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Inspector

Corrinne Barker, social care inspector Inspection report children's home: SC457621 10 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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