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

Inspection report children’s home: SC389649 1 SC389649 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 three young people who may have emotional and/or behavioural difficulties and learning disabilities. The home is privately owned and managed.

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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: 1 November 2016

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good

Overall judgement at last inspection: Good

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Key findings from this inspection

 Young people benefit from the care provided by staff that are well trained, skilled and suitably qualified. Staff act as positive role models for young people. As a result, young people benefit from appropriate adults whom they can look Inspection report children’s home: SC389649 2 up to, and learn from. Young people develop good relationships with staff and they sustain their positive attachments. They benefit from continuity of care and have stability and consistency in their lives.  Young people’s needs arising from age, gender, culture, race, faith and ethnicity are positively addressed by staff. The home actively promotes contact for young people and this enables them to sustain their close relationships with the people who are most important to them. Young people benefit from well-planned, highly individualised care that promotes their needs effectively, and contributes to change and improvement in their lives.

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Key findings from this inspection

 There are effective arrangements made to promote young people’s good health, including their physical and emotional well-being. Staff work in close partnership with social workers, schools, health services and other professional agencies to ensure that young people benefit from the best possible help and all-round support.  The safety of young people is consistently at the centre of staff practice, irrespective of the challenges this presents. Staff have a good understanding of young people’s specific needs and vulnerabilities and take appropriate action to address them. Risks associated with young people are well known and understood by staff.  There are effective arrangements for monitoring the performance of the home. The manager makes good use of the home’s internal and external monitoring activities to secure improvement.

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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

 While some young people make considerable progress in relation to their education, others refuse to attend school despite good support and encouragement from staff. Some young people engage in home tuition and/or other learning activities; however, their engagement is sporadic. Consequently, more work needs to be done to promote their educational achievement.  Staff are due to receive ligature training. This will enhance their practice so that they can deal confidently and effectively with any emergency situations to protect young people from harm.  The home’s main cooking appliance is faulty and is not fully functional. Consequently, cooking facilities and meal choices are somewhat limited. However, a new cooking appliance has been purchased and staff are waiting for it to be professionally fitted. Inspection report children’s home: SC389649 3

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

01/11/2016 Full Good 02/08/2016 Interim Sustained effectiveness 08/03/2016 Interim Improved effectiveness 06/10/2015 Full Outstanding Inspection report children’s home: SC389649 4

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Recommendations

 Ensure that children are provided with nutritious meals suitable for each child’s needs. Where appropriate, children should be involved in choosing and preparing meals and opportunities to sit together and eat should be promoted. (‘Guide to children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, paragraph 3.8, page 15). This relates specifically to ensuring that there are sufficient facilities for cooking hot meals.

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Recommendations

 Ensure that children are in full-time education whilst they are of compulsory school age, unless their personal education plan contained within the care plan or other relevant plan states otherwise. The home must aim to support full time attendance at school unless the child’s relevant plan indicates this is not in their best interests. (‘Guide to children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, paragraph 5.14, page 28)

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Recommendations

 Ensure that staff have the relevant skills, training and knowledge to be able to respond to the health needs of children; administer basic first aid and minor illness treatment; help children to manage long-term conditions or other complex needs. (‘Guide to children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, paragraph 7.12, page 34). This relates specifically to staff completing self-harm and ligature training.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The resident group has changed since the last inspection and there are new young people living at the home. Young people have been carefully matched to ensure group compatibility, reducing the risk of placement disruptions and breakdowns.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Young people make good progress taking into account their individual starting points across most aspects of their physical, social, emotional and behavioural development. They benefit from well-planned, highly individualised care that promotes their needs effectively, and contributes to change and improvement in their lives.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff have seen a significant reduction in the intensity and frequency of specific risk- taking behaviours, such as self-harm, going missing from care for long episodes and aggressive behaviour. Young people are kept safe and enjoy a strong sense of personal safety. They benefit from effective, high-quality support from staff. A social worker reports, ‘I’m very happy with the placement. I think they’ve done exceptionally well. I am happy with his transition. I think they are doing a good job. He has adults that believe in him.’ Inspection report children’s home: SC389649 5 Young people enjoy good relationships with staff and sustain their positive attachments. They benefit from continuity of care and have consistency and stability in their lives. They receive good support to maintain contact with their friends and families. Consequently, they sustain their close relationships with the people who are most

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

important to them. The arrangements for contact are agreed with placing authorities and these arrangements are understood by staff. This ensures that contact is a safe experience for young people.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff consistently have high aspirations for young people. They work closely with the providers of young people’s education to promote their educational achievement. Some young people make considerable progress in their learning and benefit from excellent attendance at school. Others, however, refuse to attend school, and their engagement in home tuition and other learning activities is sporadic. Staff continue to support and encourage them to complete school work, and on occasions, young people participate well. Young people that struggle to attend school are relatively new to the home, have suffered previous trauma in their lives and have historically found education difficult. Staff are working on building their resilience and self-confidence to help them resume their education at the earliest opportunity.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The home provides young people with a range of enjoyable activities. As a result, young people develop their interests, social skills and hobbies. A young person reported, ‘I enjoyed going to visit [local] football club with staff because I’ve never done that before. I do school work at the home.’

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The home provides a healthy environment for young people. Young people are taught about key health issues and are actively encouraged to lead and maintain a healthy lifestyle, and take responsibility for their own health. They are registered with doctors, dentists and opticians, and have access to the services they need to enjoy good health. This includes access to trained therapists and counsellors to promote their emotional and psychological well-being.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Young people have their medication stored and administered safely. Medical consent is obtained, so staff are clear about what health decisions and responsibilities are delegated to them. The manager has arranged for staff to receive self-harm and ligature training. This will enhance their practice so they can deal confidently and professionally with any emergency situations to protect vulnerable young people from harm. The home has seen a considerable decrease in incidents of self-harm, low presentation and mood. Young people become increasingly safer as a result of the actions that staff take to support and protect them.

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

Young people benefit from effective support, help and protection. Young people are kept safe and develop a strong sense of personal safety. The use of clear risk assessment ensures that risks associated with young people are well known and understood by staff. Inspection report children’s home: SC389649 6 Staff have a good understanding of the needs and vulnerabilities of young people and take appropriate action to address them.

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

Young people are protected from abuse and all other forms of significant harm. Staff are trained in child protection so they know how to deal with allegations and report suspected abuse. There have been no allegations of abuse, or referrals to children and young people’s services, since the last inspection. The home maintains highly effective partnerships with the police, social workers and other safeguarding agencies to ensure the safety and well-being of young people.

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

Staff actively look for young people if they are absent or go missing, and on occasions, have persuaded them to return. When young people have gone missing, they benefit from an effective response from staff to secure their safe and quick return. Significant incidents are reported to the appropriate authorities charged with a duty to protect young people. This ensures that young people benefit from effective support, help and protection. Young people know how to make a complaint and their complaints are addressed effectively. There has been one complaint since the last inspection. The young person who made the complaint was happy with the investigation and outcome.

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

Staff promote the development of young people’s positive behaviour. They anticipate issues and understand the triggers for their behaviour. They support young people in crisis by helping them to self-regulate their own feelings and behaviours safely. This ensures that the use of restraint is rarely needed, and if used at all, restraint is only ever used as a last resort to protect young people from harm. Where restraint has been used, it has been of a low level and of short duration.

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

Behaviour management practices are closely monitored and scrutinised by the manager. This ensures that staff are accountable for their practice and follow the home’s ethos, approach and philosophy in caring for young people. The use of sanctions as a consequence for negative behaviour is kept to an absolute minimum. Rewards and targeted incentives are used frequently, to acknowledge young people’s personal achievements and to praise their positive behaviour. The home has seen a considerable decrease in incidents of risk-taking behaviour as young people develop emotional resilience and self-confidence.

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

The home provides young people with a welcoming, warm, homely and comfortable living environment. There is an effective programme of redecoration and repair to ensure that the home is consistently maintained to a good-quality standard for young people. However, the home’s main cooking appliance is faulty and is not fully operational. Consequently, staff are restricted in the types of meals they are able to prepare. A young person reported, ‘The cooker is the main issue to be fair, and it needs to get fixed. The food choices are kind of limited.’ A new oven hob has already been purchased and staff are waiting for a date for it to be fitted. Inspection report children’s home: SC389649 7

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The home meets the aims and objectives as set out in its statement of purpose. The home consistently delivers a good-quality service for young people that contributes to change and improvement in their lives. The home works positively and proactively with the families of young people, schools, social workers and health services to ensure that young people receive the help they need, and benefit from the best possible all-round support.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Leaders and staff escalate concerns and challenge professional decisions when they believe those decisions are not in the best interests of young people. Staff work effectively as a team and collectively they are able to meet the needs of the young people through trusted relationships. They provide young people with a highly supportive, caring and nurturing environment in which young people develop a sense of permanence and belonging.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Since the last inspection, the home has appointed an acting manager to take charge of the operation of the home. The manager was previously employed as a deputy and knows the service well. The previous manager left the home to manage another service prior to their registration. The current manager is now in the process of completing an application for their registration with Ofsted. The manager demonstrates effective leadership of the home’s staff and operation. She ensures that staff benefit from regular, practice-related supervision and are well supported, managed and led.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff have access to good-quality training. This enables staff to develop their skills, knowledge and practice so they can meet the specific needs of the young people. Most are suitably qualified and those without a recognised qualification are being trained. The manager has consistently high expectations of staff and creates an environment that stimulates their enthusiasm and channels their efforts effectively.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The home has met and addressed all of the recommendations from the previous inspection. The manager has ensured that medical consent is in place and relevant plans have been requested from the placing authorities. The home is now adequately staffed to avoid staff burn-out and new admissions to the home have been carefully assessed to ensure that the home can meet their specific needs. Young people in need of therapeutic services are now receiving these services to meet their specific needs and promote their psychological and emotional well-being.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The performance of the home is regularly monitored to improve outcomes for young people. An independent person visits the home on a regular basis and consults with young people, staff and other interested parties to form an impartial judgement about the quality of young people’s care, the arrangements to safeguard them, and promote their well-being. The manager has a good understanding of the strengths and weaknesses of the home and makes good use of internal and external independent monitoring activities to secure improvement. Inspection report children’s home: SC389649 8

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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 whom 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: SC389649 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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Children’s home details

Responsible individual: Sureeta Nayyar-Abbassi

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Inspector

Anthony Kyem, social care regulatory inspector Inspection report children’s home: SC389649 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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