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

Inspection report children’s home: SC035657 1 SC035657 Registered provider: Cambian Childcare Ltd 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 seven young people who have emotional and/or behavioural difficulties. The home is owned by a private organisation.

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Information about this children’s home

Inspection dates: 31 October to 1 November 2017

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Overall experiences and progress of

children and young people, taking into account

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Requires improvement to be good

How well children and young people are helped and protected Good

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Requires improvement to be good

The effectiveness of leaders and managers Inadequate

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Requires improvement to be good

The children’s home is not yet delivering good help and care for children and young people. However, there are no serious or widespread failures that result in their welfare not being safeguarded or promoted.

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Requires improvement to be good

Overall judgement at last inspection: Inadequate

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Enforcement action since last inspection:

The home was judged inadequate at the last full inspection on 1 and 2 August 2017. Following this inspection, a compliance notice was issued under Regulation 12 (1)(2)(a)(i)(ii)(iii)(v)(vi)(vii)(b)(d)), Regulation 13(1)(a)(b)(2)(a)(f)(h)) and Regulation 14(1)(2)(a)). A monitoring visit undertaken on 25 September 2017 identified that the compliance notices had been met. Inspection report children’s home: SC035657 2

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Key findings from this inspection

This children’s home requires improvement to be good because:

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Key findings from this inspection

 The home does not have a registered manager in post. At the time of the inspection, an application had not been received from the manager, who was appointed on 25 September 2017.  All information as required in Schedule 4 of the Children’s Homes (England) Regulations 2015 in relation to young people’s files is currently not in place for all young people.  The young people’s games room is showing signs of wear and tear. There is also a lack of heating in this room to enable the young people to relax and enjoy leisure facilities in comfortable and homely surroundings.  Not all young people are involved in education or apprenticeships in accordance with the guidance issued by the government in 2015.  Young people do not receive consistent levels of support in preparation for them moving on to adulthood.  Contact arrangements do not include information about friends visiting the young people at the home. This is not included within the initial care planning

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Key findings from this inspection

or subsequent home reviews.  Some young people continue to smoke. The healthcare plans do not clearly reflect the support provided by staff to help young people to reduce and/or cease this.  Staff have not received training in relation to radicalisation as part of the training and development programme.

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Key findings from this inspection

 An experienced and suitably qualified manager has been appointed. He has previously worked for the organisation and has a good understanding of how to promote and secure good outcomes for young people.  Staff have undertaken a range of training since the last inspection. This has increased their understanding and informed their practice in relation to safeguarding young people.  The organisation has invested in the property. This has included the refurbishment and redecoration of most of the home to make it a more welcoming environment for young people to live in.  The manager has implemented a system for ensuring that full consideration is given to the needs of any prospective admissions of young people to the home alongside those of the young people who are already living there.  Individual risk assessments have been reviewed and updated to reflect all known and potential risks, alongside the measures to minimise risk.

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Key findings from this inspection

Inspection report children’s home: SC035657 3

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

01/08/2017 Full Inadequate 30/03/2017 Interim Sustained effectiveness 16/11/2016 Full Good 30/03/2016 Interim Sustained effectiveness Inspection report children’s home: SC035657 4

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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

If the registered provider appoints a person to manage the home, the registered provider must, without delay, give HMCI notice of the name of the person so appointed; and the date on which the appointment takes effect. (Regulation 27(2)(a)(b)) 30/11/2017

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Requirement Due date

Schedule 4 sets out the other information that the registered person must keep in relation to the children’s home. The registered person must maintain in the home the records in Schedule 4. (Regulation 37(2) (schedule 4(1)(d)) 30/11/2017

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Recommendations

 For children’s homes to be nurturing and supportive environments that meet the needs of their children, they will, in most cases, be homely, domestic environments.. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 15, paragraph 3.9) This is specifically in relation to the games room decor and temperature.

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Recommendations

 The Government has raised the participation in education age so that all young people from summer 2015 will be required to continue in education or training until their 18th birthday. Young people can choose how to participate. This can be through full time education, an apprenticeship or traineeship, or by combining full-time employment with part-time education or training. Whilst the duty is on the young person themselves, it is important the children’s homes’ staff encourage the young person to continue their education or training and support them to develop the skills necessary to succeed in the option they choose. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 28, paragraph 5.16)

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that children are offered a wide range of activities both inside and outside of the home (where appropriate) and are encouraged to participate in these activities. Staff should support children to take Inspection report children’s home: SC035657 5 part in school trips, out of school and other clubs, volunteering and leisure activities. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’ page 31, paragraph 6.5)

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Recommendations

 Staff must help each child to prepare for any moves from the home, whether they are returning home, moving to another placement or adult care, or to live independently. This includes supporting the child to develop emotional and mental resilience to cope without the home’s support and, where the child is moving to live independently, practical skills such as cooking, housework, budgeting and personal self-care. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 17, paragraph 3.27)

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Recommendations

 Appropriate forms of contact should be promoted and facilitated for each child, including where appropriate visits to the child in the home; visits by the child to relatives and/or friends; letters, emails and texts; use of social media and other forms of contact via the internet.. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 58, paragraph 11.18) This is specifically in relation to young people having friends to visit

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that in line with their individual health plans and the ethos of the home, children are offered advice, support and guidance on health and well-being to enhance, and supplement that provided by their school through Personal, Social and Health Education (PSHE). Staff should have the relevant skills and knowledge to be able to help children understand, and where necessary work to change negative behaviours in key areas of health and well- being such as, but not limited to, nutrition and healthy diet, exercise, mental health, sexual relationships, sexual health, contraception and use of legal highs, drugs, alcohol and tobacco. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’ page 35, paragraph 7.18)

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that staff can access appropriate facilities and resources to support their training needs, and should understand the key role they play in the training and development of staff in the home. (‘Guide to the children’s home regulations including the quality standards’, page 53, paragraph 10.11) This is specifically in relation to training about radicalisation.

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improvement to be good

Since the last full inspection, when the home was judged as inadequate, the organisation that operates the home has taken action to address the shortfalls which impact on young people’s overall progress. An experienced and qualified manager has been recruited. He has taken action to develop the service to ensure that young people feel safe and are safe, as well as enabling them to make and sustain progress and achieve positive outcomes. However, he has not submitted an application to be registered within Inspection report children’s home: SC035657 6 the required timescale. As such, the leadership and management are judged to be inadequate and this impacts on overall outcomes for young people.

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improvement to be good

The home has had a significant amount of refurbishment and redecoration. This has improved the overall environment for young people. There is still further work to be done but there are clear timescales in place for this. Throughout the refurbishment of the home, staff have kept young people involved.

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improvement to be good

Staff’s knowledge and understanding of their roles and responsibilities have been enhanced with a number of additional training and developmental courses. This includes safeguarding, recording and report writing and behaviour management. This means that the care and support provided to young people are in accordance with current practice.

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improvement to be good

Young people have individual healthcare plans. These plans set out healthcare needs and the support that young people require to manage and meet their well-being. Although these have improved, when young people are known to smoke, there is not a clear response to how they will be supported to reduce this and to understand how this impacts on their overall health. Young people are registered with community healthcare practitioners. Specialist healthcare, including child and adolescent mental health services (CAMHS) are sourced if there is an identified need. Since the last inspection, staff demonstrate a greater understanding of the reason why specific medication is prescribed for individual young people living at the home. The staff also ensure that the records of medication administered are clear and all medication is stored securely, with the necessary checks and balances undertaken.

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improvement to be good

Education attendance has improved. However, not all young people attend education or apprenticeships between the ages of 16 and 18. Although some staff are aware of the changes within education participation from 2015, some were not. This impacts on the advice and support that staff provide to young people in relation to ongoing education and training.

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improvement to be good

Activities are available. However, some young people are not participating in these on a regular basis. This is, in part, due to wishing to spend time with their friends. They were not aware that they could invite friends to the home, subject to appropriate agreements. Staff were not aware of whether this could or could not be facilitated and as such had not explored this as part of the initial care planning for young people.

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improvement to be good

Previously, a number of young people were admitted to the home without full consideration being given to their needs alongside the needs of young people already living at the home. As a result, some young people experienced disruption to their placement and moved without appropriate planning. This does not help young people feel secure or understand the reasons why they are leaving the home. The manager is addressing this through robust impact assessment to minimise the risk of placement breakdown. Planning for moving on from the home has improved to ensure that young people have acquired the appropriate skills and knowledge to help equip them for their future. Inspection report children’s home: SC035657 7

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

Since the last inspection, the home has not had any further young people admitted. There are currently two young people living at the home, both of whom are safe and protected. The staff demonstrate a good awareness and understanding of safeguarding procedures and protocols. Further training and development have underpinned this knowledge since the last inspection. There are no concerns in relation to previous behaviours displayed by young people at the home. There have been no further incidents of young people going missing from home or engaging in behaviours that could place themselves, or others, at risk of harm.

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

Risk assessments have been reviewed and updated. These plans now identify the level of support and action required by staff to minimise all risks. Staff demonstrate a greater understanding of the management of risk. As a result, young people have reduced previous risk-taking behaviours, resulting in their safety and well-being significantly improving.

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

The manager is very clear about his responsibility in ensuring that prior to any new young people moving into the home, a detailed impact assessment is completed. This takes into consideration the needs of the current young people living at the home and those of the young person awaiting a new placement. This will ensure that placements are made after careful consideration, and minimise the risk of placement breakdown.

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

There have been no missing from home incidents since the last inspection. Young people say that they feel safe and do not have any reason for not returning to the home in accordance with their individual plans and agreements. That said, staff are still aware of the procedures to follow in the event of this occurring.

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

Young people are supported to manage their behaviours well. Staff acknowledge and encourage positive behaviour. When staff sanction young people for behaviours that are inappropriate, these are discussed in full and the views of young people gained. This enables the young people to understand why the sanction was implemented.

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

Staff recruitment is in accordance with the organisation’s recruitment policy, which follows safer recruitment principles. This means that every action is taken to prevent unsuitable people working with young people.

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

The home has a locality risk assessment in place, which has been completed in conjunction with information about the area obtained from other agencies involved in safeguarding. These include the police and the local authority. It is updated on a regular basis to ensure that all information is current and reflective of the area. Regular health and safety checks are completed, including fire safety checks. This ensures that staff and young people know what to do in the event of a fire. Inspection report children’s home: SC035657 8

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

The home has been without a registered manager since February 2017. The organisation initially appointed a manager, who commenced employment in February 2017. The manager had submitted an application to registered with Ofsted. However, he had no previous experience of working within residential children’s homes. This, along with a high turnover of experienced staff, led to an inadequate judgement at the last full inspection. Three compliance notices were issued, one of which was in relation to the inadequate arrangements in leadership and management. Since the last inspection, a new manager with the necessary qualifications and experience has been appointed, although he has yet to submit an application to Ofsted. In line with Ofsted guidance, the absence of a registered manager for more than 26 weeks results in a judgement of inadequate for the leadership and management outcome area.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

A deputy manager, who is an experienced team leader, supports the manager within his role; this is his first post as a deputy manager. They both have a good understanding of the children’s homes regulations and guidance. They have high aspirations for the young people. Additional training has been provided to the relatively new staff team. This has supported their own development and understanding of how to support young people to achieve positive outcomes. As such, the young people are receiving care from staff who are working together and who have a greater understanding of their roles and responsibilities.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

All staff receive regular supervision, which enables them to discuss and reflect on their practice. All staff spoken with as part of this inspection reported that the support they have received over the past two months has enabled them to develop their skills and has given them a greater understanding of their role in supporting young people. They have received additional training in reporting and recording and this is evidenced within the improved paperwork and recording systems in place at the home. The manager is continuing to implement some changes for further improvements and has a clear improvement and development plan in place. External independent monitoring is also contributing to this and the manager is responsive to any recommendations made.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

The manager has also overseen the redecoration and refurbishment of the home. There are still some outstanding areas for refurbishment. However, these have clear timescales for completion. As such, the home feels more homely and welcoming for young people to live in.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

The home’s statement of purpose has been updated to reflect the recent changes to the staffing and management of the home. This has been shared with Ofsted and other interested parties. Not all staff hold the level 3 qualification in working with children and young people. However, staff without this qualification were in the process of signing on to the apprenticeship scheme to enable them to achieve this within the next 12-month period.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

The manager and organisation have taken appropriate action to meet the compliance notices and the requirements made at the last inspection. Two requirements and seven Inspection report children’s home: SC035657 9 recommendations have been made as a result of this inspection.

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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 differences 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: SC035657 10

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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

Sarah Oldham, social care inspector Inspection report children’s home: SC035657 11 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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