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

Inspection report children’s home: SC456726 1 SC456726 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

This privately owned children’s home is registered to provide care and accommodation for three children and young people who have a learning disability.

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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 requires improvement to be good

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good

The effectiveness of leaders and managers requires improvement to be 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: 15 February 2017

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good

Overall judgement at last inspection: Improved effectiveness

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Key findings from this inspection

 Children and young people receive highly personalised care that meets their diverse needs. The manager and staff have a good understanding of individual needs and the objectives of the placement. Inspection report children’s home: SC456726 2  The staff team works effectively with a range of professionals. The staff recognise the importance of collaboration in order to help children and young people make good progress.  There is a good focus on helping children and young people to have positive experiences and enjoy their childhood and teenage years. For example, staff enthusiastically support known hobbies and interests while also providing opportunities for new experiences, such as attending music festivals and having holidays abroad.  Children and young people are doing well in their education. Staff provide good support.

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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 is a need for the manager and staff to improve consistency in some areas of their practice. For example, all safeguarding concerns need to be responded to with rigour and in a timely way.  Better oversight is needed to ensure that all bedrooms are maintained to a high standard. Where deficiencies exist, robust action must be taken.  More focus is needed to ensure that all staff receive appropriate ongoing training and achieve professional qualifications in a timely way.  The quality of incident records and notifications requires improvement, as they do not always include enough detail to describe what happened and how staff have responded.

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

15/02/2017 Interim Improved effectiveness 12/12/2016 Full Requires improvement 14/03/2016 Interim Improved effectiveness 14/10/2015 Full Outstanding Inspection report children’s home: SC456726 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 quality and purpose of care standard is that children receive care from staff who understand the children’s home’s overall aims and the outcomes it seeks to achieve for children. In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to ensure— that staff treat each child with dignity and respect. (Regulation 6(1)(a) and (2)(b)(iii)) In particular, children’s bedrooms should be clean and hygienic and free from offensive odours. 30/06/2017

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Requirement Due date

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— that staff understand the roles and responsibilities in relation to protecting children that are assigned to them by the registered person and are familiar with, and act in accordance with, the home’s child protection policies. (Regulation 12(1) and (2)(a)(v)(vii)) In particular, a timely referral must be made to the designated officer when a child raises concerns about the way they are treated by a member of staff. 20/06/2017

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Requirement Due date

The leadership and management standard is that the registered person enables, inspires and leads a culture in relation to the children’s home. In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to lead and manage the home in a way that is consistent with the approach and ethos, and delivers the outcomes set out in the home’s statement of purpose. (Regulation 13(1) and (2)(a) In particular, the use of management of allegations plans should be carefully considered and worded so that they do not 30/06/2017 Inspection report children’s home: SC456726 4 compromise good safeguarding practice. The registered person must recruit staff using recruitment procedures that are designed to ensure children’s safety. In particular, all staff must achieve the Level 3 Diploma for Residential Childcare within 2 years of the date on which the individual started working in a care role in a home. (Regulation

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that all employees undertake appropriate continuing professional development. (Regulation 33(4)) In particular, staff should undertake refresher training in safeguarding. Where shortfalls in practices have been identified, staff should also have refresher training in attachment and autistic spectrum disorder. 31/08/2017

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must notify HMCI and each other relevant person without delay of a serious event. (Regulation 40(4) and (5)) In particular, the notification must be detailed enough to provide the context of the incident and what action has been taken. All records relating to the incident must also be of a good standard. 30/06/2017

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children and young people have a wide range of positive experiences and make good progress as a result of living in this children’s home. While there are some shortfalls in the consistency of good-quality standards and practices, currently these are not impacting negatively on children and young people. These shortfalls do, however, need to be addressed thoroughly to ensure that all children and young people receive consistently good care, help and protection. A positive feature of the home is that children and young people enjoy trusted and secure relationships with staff. The home provides good stability and security, helping children and young people to develop a sense of belonging and permanence. Equally, the importance of family is recognised. Children and young people receive good support to keep in touch and see their families. This includes children and young people whose family live far away.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Very good attention is given to helping children and young people enjoy a wide range of age-appropriate experiences. For example, children are encouraged to play with and enjoy their toys and are encouraged to develop their talents in sport, music and craft Inspection report children’s home: SC456726 5 work. There are weekly opportunities for trips out and plans for all children to have a summer holiday that reflects their choice and interests. Staff are skilled at supporting young people to prepare for their futures as they become young adults. Staff effectively work with other professionals to manage risks and provide young people with opportunities to grow in confidence and independence. One young person told the inspector he was ‘proud’ of how well he is doing. All children and young people are making good progress in their education. Two young people attend college. They enjoy bespoke educational packages that meet their

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

learning needs. A learning co-ordinator conveyed a very positive impression of her view of how well young people are supported by the children’s home, describing it as ‘one of the best’ she had known. Good attention is given to meeting individual health needs. Healthy eating and active lifestyles are promoted. Where concerns exist, specialist help is sought and staff work alongside external professionals to monitor patterns and seek to improve outcomes. Arrangements for managing medication are safe. Children and young people are regularly consulted and are included in day-to-day decision making. They know how to complain and have access to a range of adults who they can speak to. They feel valued and enjoy having their achievements celebrated. On the whole, children and young people are treated with respect and dignity. Their needs are well known and responded to in a sensitive and caring way. However, during

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

this inspection it was observed that a bedroom, and particularly a mattress, was not being maintained to a good hygienic standard. This matter was raised with the manager, who took immediate action during the inspection. However, it is disappointing that the manager was not aware of this matter prior to the inspection.

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improvement to be good

The consistency, rigour and timeliness with which all safeguarding concerns are addressed requires improvement. Inconsistency in the response to concerns raised leaves children and young people at risk of potential harm. Concerns reported to the manager or senior team about staff conduct are not always referred in a timely way to the designated officer for their independent oversight. Failure to do so means that important information is not shared or considered within the context of additional information than might be held by the local authority. The implementation of a management of allegation plan can result in poor practice, such as complacency and failure to follow due process. Immediately following this inspection, this type of plan that was in place for one young person was withdrawn and staff were instructed to follow the company’s safeguarding procedure. Following a recent internal management investigation (conducted by registered

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improvement to be good

managers separate to this home) several recommendations were made, including staff having refresher training in safeguarding. The inspector also identified the importance of staff having refresher training in other subjects when shortfalls in practice have been identified. The inspector also discussed with the registered manager and the responsible individual the importance of keeping a record of what consideration is given to whether the threshold for staff suspension is met and, if not, what safeguards are put in place to Inspection report children’s home: SC456726 6 protect young people and staff. In other respects, children and young people are effectively helped and protected. Their complex needs and vulnerabilities are well known to staff, and children and young people are supported to become increasingly safe. Behaviour is positively managed through clear expectations and boundaries. Incentives and positive consequences are

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improvement to be good

used to good effect and sanctions are used minimally. Risk-taking behaviour rarely occurs and there has been no missing from home or physical restraints since the previous full inspection in December 2016. Risks that do exist are appropriately identified, understood and managed, evidencing good partnership working with social workers and other professionals. Thorough and safe recruitment procedures are followed to prevent unsuitable people from being recruited to work in the home.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

The consistency of effective leadership and management of this home requires improvement. For example, when a serious incident occurred recently, the manager did not immediately recognise it as a safeguarding concern, and that it should have been referred to the designated officer. Also, an opportunity to share and discuss this with the regional manager, including discrepancies that were apparent, was not pursued. This has since been reflected on, lessons learned and appropriate action taken. The manager is to receive level 5 safeguarding training, refresher training in report writing and additional support from her line manager. While the home notifies Ofsted of serious incidents, the quality of the notification report is not always of a good standard. An examination of serious incident reports maintained in the home also demonstrates that reporting is not of a consistently good standard. This is to be addressed in further training and by the manager providing additional oversight

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

and guidance to staff. Not all staff have achieved a level 3 diploma in residential childcare, despite being in post for more than two years. During this inspection, discussions took place with the registered manager and responsible individual about how best to support staff to achieve this qualification within an agreed timescale. On the whole, with the exception of one child’s bedroom, the physical environment is maintained to a good standard and is homely and child friendly. The manager of the home has an ambitious vision for the children and young people in her care. The ethos is one that puts children and young people at the centre of decision making. Their records are of a good standard, evidencing the objectives of the placement and how needs are being met. The manager has high expectations of staff and, together, they work effectively with other professionals. Staff feel well supported by their manager and senior team, through

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

regular supervision, team meetings and appraisal. The home is suitably resourced, providing one-to one-support for each child, with a senior on duty and an on-call system in place to provide additional advice and support. Inspection report children’s home: SC456726 7

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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: SC456726 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: Cambian, Waterfront, Hammersmith Embankment, Chancellors Road, London W6 9RU

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Inspector

Norma Welsby, social care inspector Inspection report children’s home: SC456726 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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