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

Inspection report children’s home: SC457137 1 SC457137 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 operated children’s home provides care and accommodation for one young person who has emotional and/or behavioural difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

Inspection dates: 31 July to 1 August 2017

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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 Inspection report children’s home: SC457137 2

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Key findings from this inspection

 The manager and staff succeed in providing young people with a nurturing, supportive home where they feel safe. They have high aspirations for the young people in their care and as a result young people make good progress in all areas of their lives.  The young people enjoy living in a home that is well decorated, appropriately furnished and properly maintained.  The young people are kept safe. Young people reduce their risk-taking behaviours, incidents of being missing from home and self-harming behaviours.  The staff report that they are well supervised, well trained and fully supported by managers. Staff turnover is low. The young people benefit from being cared for by a core team of skilled and experienced staff.  The young people make notable progress with their education. One young person had previously refused to attend school. The staff supported them to attend education. Prior to their planned move from the home, they were

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Key findings from this inspection

attending school on a regular basis and making good progress.  Young people and professionals comment very positively on the quality of care offered to the young people at the home. One young person said: ‘They make kids do good. If I could move the home to be nearer to my family I would.’

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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

 Most of the staff have not undertaken training in how best to support young people who self-harm.  Young people are not involved in the recruitment and selection of staff.

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

28/02/2017 Interim Sustained effectiveness 29/11/2016 Full Good 07/03/2016 Interim Sustained effectiveness 01/12/2015 Full Good Inspection report children’s home: SC457137 3

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that the staff can access appropriate facilities and resources to promote their training needs. In particular, ensure that staff receive training in working with young people who self-harm, as soon as possible. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 53, paragraph 10.11)  Ensure that young people participate as fully as possible in all aspects of their care planning and daily care. In particular, ensure that the young people are offered the opportunity to be involved in the recruitment and selection of staff (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 22, paragraph 4.6).

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The staff succeed in supporting young people to successfully move in and out of the home. On the day of the inspection, one young person was moving in and being welcomed to the home by the staff. The young person benefited from a familiarisation visit to the home the week before, when they met the staff and looked at their room. The week before, a young person had moved out of the home in a planned move to another home closer to their family. The staff accompanied the young person on visits to their new home. They discussed and allayed any anxieties and worries that the young person had about the move.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Detailed records include young people’s daily routines, education needs, healthcare needs, activities and what is expected of the young person so that they can make progress. These documents are used by the staff and the young people for clarity about how identified needs will be met and what progress is being made. The manager analyses progress every week and the outcomes are sent to parents and the placing authority. These are also shared with the young people so they know what they are doing well and in which areas they need to improve.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The staff promote education and encourage the young people to attend and achieve. One young person, prior to moving to the home, refused to engage in education. After eight months of living in this home they were regularly attending school and making good progress. The educational needs of the newly admitted young person have already been considered by the manager. This young person has not been in education for some time. A school has been identified and the young person said that they were looking forward to starting education in September when the new term begins. The staff support young people to remain in contact with their families. Regular visits to families who live far away are supported by the staff. They transport the young people Inspection report children’s home: SC457137 4 and remain in the location while the young person has time with their family.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The staff succeed in building trusting and nurturing relationships with young people. As a result, the young people develop a sense of belonging and permanence at the home. The staff are committed to supporting the young people to succeed. They make every effort to help the young people to participate in the community by arranging activities such as horse riding and ice skating.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Young people are becoming healthier. The staff support young people to attend medical appointments and engage in therapeutic sessions. One young person made excellent progress in relation to their mental health needs. This was achieved through them developing a sense of safety and belonging at the home.

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

A young person who recently left the home was supported by the staff to learn how to keep themselves safe. In the eight months they lived in the home, frequent incidents of self-harm, going missing from home and offending behaviour were reduced to none. The staff worked very hard with the young person to build strong, trusting relationships. These relationships formed the basis of the young person learning to feel safe, keep themselves safe and have increased self-esteem.

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

The manager, staff and young person agree what strategies are effective and should be implemented to help the young person to respect the consistent boundaries and rules that are in place at the home. Risk assessments are comprehensive and clear directions are documented for the staff to follow. One young person learned how to use a mobile phone and social media safely. This was achieved through gradually building trust and through the staff providing information about the risks involved in using a mobile phone.

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

The staff and manager follow safeguarding policies and procedures. Any safeguarding concerns are swiftly reported to the relevant authorities. The staff are vigilant and know the young people very well. They are able to understand what the young person may be trying to tell them through any change in their behaviour. For example, staff liaised with the police because of changes in a young person’s internet use and their concerns about possible radicalisation.

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

Positive behaviour is expected and encouraged at the home. The staff give the young people very clear guidance on what they expect and what the consequences will be if the home’s boundaries and rules are not respected. The staff are consistent in reinforcing the boundaries and rules. Young people spoken with said that they think the rules are fair.

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

Staff recruitment procedures are comprehensive and ensure that only suitable people are employed at the home. New staff to the home are supported through an effective induction procedure that includes training in topics such as safeguarding, child sexual exploitation and what action to take should a young person go missing from the home. Inspection report children’s home: SC457137 5 Most of the staff at the home have not yet undertaken training in how to support young people who self-harm.

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

The young people know what to do in the event of a fire at the home. On their first day in the home, the young person was due to take part in a practice evacuation to ensure that they knew how to leave the home safely and quickly.

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

One young person said: ‘The staff were lovely at the home, they have helped me a lot, and kept me safe. I now understand risks and who is risky and who is not risky.’

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The previous registered manager left the home on 28 February 2017. The current manager started work at the home six days ago and has submitted an application to become registered with Ofsted. It is proposed that the manager will divide her time between this home and another one-bed children’s home nearby. The manager clearly demonstrates how she will manage her time to ensure that management duties at both homes will be comprehensively undertaken. The absence of a permanent manager did not have any negative impact on the young person due to the stable and experienced staff team. During this time, the staff team was very competently led by a manager from another home in the organisation.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The home now has clear arrangements for who will be in charge of the home in the manager’s absence. A team leader role has been developed and this person will take on management responsibilities. The registered individual for the home is also available to offer guidance and support to the staff.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

A comprehensive development plan is in place. The manager understands the strengths and areas for development in the home. She has a clear vision of how she would like the home to develop in the future. Central to this vision is identifying clear aims and aspirations for young people and setting out how they will be achieved. There is a high level of commitment to young people from the manager and the staff, and a determination that young people will succeed and make progress in all areas of their lives.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager and staff effectively challenge other professionals if they feel decisions are not being made in the best interests of the young person. They are excellent advocates for the young people. On one occasion, the manager strongly challenged a local authority when it was believed that plans for the young person’s move were not progressing quickly enough and this was impacting on the behaviour of the young person.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The young people are encouraged to give their views and opinions about all aspects of their care at the home. The young people can express these through key-worker sessions, house meetings and staff team meetings that they are able to attend. Young people are also fully involved in planning their menus and activities. Independent Inspection report children’s home: SC457137 6 advocates are sought for the young people. The young people are not involved in the recruitment and selection of staff, other than meeting them on their first shift. An area for development would be to involve young people in the interview process whenever possible.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Equality and diversity are promoted in the home. In addition, the staff successfully locate community groups for the young people to attend that offer them support.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The staff team is experienced, stable and consistent. Staff report that they are well trained, supervised and supported. One member of staff said: ‘Training and supervision are excellent, I can ask for any training I would like and they will do their best to set it up. I am very happy working at the home.’

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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: SC457137 7

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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 Group, 4th Floor, Waterfront Building, Chancellors Road, Hammersmith Embankment, London W6 9RU

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Inspector:

Tina Maddison: social care inspector Inspection report children’s home: SC457137 8 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:

T: 0300 123 1231 Textphone: 0161 618 8524 E: enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk W: http://www.gov.uk/ofsted

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