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

Inspection report children’s home: SC476259 1 SC476259 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 is a privately owned children’s home, registered to provide care and accommodation for up to four young people. The home specialises in caring for young people who have experienced child sexual exploitation.

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Information about this children’s home

Inspection dates: 9, 10 and 15 November 2017

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Overall experiences and progress of

children and young people, taking into account

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inadequate

How well children and young people are helped and protected inadequate

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inadequate

The effectiveness of leaders and managers inadequate

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inadequate

There are serious and widespread failures that mean children and young people are not protected, their welfare is not promoted or safeguarded and the care and experiences of children and young people are poor and they are not making progress.

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inadequate

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 completed on 2 August 2017. Two compliance notices and a restriction notice were issued. A monitoring visit was completed on 26 September and the two compliance notices were re-issued. Inspection report children’s home: SC476259 2

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Key findings from this inspection

This children’s home is inadequate because:

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Key findings from this inspection

 Management oversight and monitoring are ineffective.  Staff fail to assess whether young people are at risk of harm or make arrangements to reduce risks.  Managers and staff fail to meet young people’s health and well-being needs.  Staff fail to support young people to attend education.  Staff fail to provide young people with individualised care.  Managers and staff do not provide the support outlined in the home’s statement of purpose.  Managers fail to provide young people with a consistent staff team.  Staff fail to build positive relationships with young people.  Staff fail to take young people’s wishes and feelings into account.  Managers fail to ensure that adequate fire safety measures are in place.  Managers and staff fail to ensure that young people have access to the specialist services that they need.

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

02/08/2017 Full Inadequate 15/02/2017 Interim Improved effectiveness 09/06/2016 Full Requires improvement 16/11/2015 Full Requires improvement Inspection report children’s home: SC476259 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

In meeting the quality standards, the registered person must, and must ensure that staff, seek to secure the input and services required to meet each child’s needs. (Regulation 5(b)) 31/12/2017

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Requirement Due date

The quality and purpose of care standard is that the registered person ensures that staff understand and apply the home’s statement of purpose. (Regulation 6(1) and (2)(b)(i)) 31/12/2017

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Requirement Due date

The quality and purpose of care standard is that staff provide personalised care that meets each child’s needs, as recorded in the child’s relevant plans, taking account of the child’s background. (Regulation 6(1) and (2)(b)(iv)) 31/12/2017

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Requirement Due date

The quality and purpose of care standard is that the registered person ensures that staff help each child to understand and manage the impact of any experience of abuse or neglect. (Regulation 6(2)(b)(v)) 31/12/2017

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Requirement Due date

The quality and purpose of care standard is that the registered person ensures that staff help each child to develop resilience and skills that prepare the child to return home, to live in a new placement or to live independently as an adult. (Regulation 6(2)(b)(vi)) 31/12/2017

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Requirement Due date

The children’s views, wishes and feelings standard is that children receive care from staff who take their views, wishes and feelings into account in relation to matters affecting the children’s care and welfare and their lives. (Regulation 7(1)(c)) 31/12/2017

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Requirement Due date

The children’s views, wishes and feelings standard requires the registered person to ensure that each child has access to the home’s children’s guide, and the home’s complaints procedure, when the child’s placement in the home is agreed and throughout the child’s stay in the home. (Regulation 7(2)(b)(ii)) 31/12/2017

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Requirement Due date

The education standard is that children make measurable progress towards achieving their educational potential and are helped to do so.

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to ensure—

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Requirement Due date

that staff help a child who is excluded from school, or who is of 31/12/2017 Inspection report children’s home: SC476259 4 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(1)(2)(a)(viii)) The health and well-being standard is that the health and well- being needs of children are met. (Regulation 10(1)(a)) 31/12/2017

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Requirement Due date

The positive relationships standard is that children are helped to develop, and to benefit from, relationships based on mutual respect and trust; an understanding about acceptable behaviour; and positive responses to other children and adults. (Regulation 11(1)(a)(b)(c)) 31/12/2017

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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.

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Requirement Due date

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)(2)(a)(i)) 31/12/2017

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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.

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to ensure—

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Requirement Due date

That staff help each child to understand how to keep safe. (Regulation 12(1)(2)(a)(ii)) 31/12/2017

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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.

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to ensure—

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Requirement Due date

That the premises used for the purposes of the home are designed, furnished and maintained so as to protect each child from avoidable hazards to the child’s health. (Regulation 12(2)(d)) 31/12/2017

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Requirement Due date

The leadership and management standard is that the registered person leads and manages 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)(2)(a)) 31/12/2017

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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 that ensures that monitoring and review systems are used to make continuous improvements in the 31/12/2017 Inspection report children’s home: SC476259 5 quality of care provided in the home. (Regulation 13(1)(2)(h)) The leadership and management standard is that the registered person enables, inspires and leads a culture in relation to the children’s home that ensures that staff work as a team where appropriate. (Regulation 13(1)(2)(b)) 31/12/2017

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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 that ensures that the home’s workforce provides continuity of care to each child. (Regulation 13(1)(2)(e)) 31/12/2017

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Requirement Due date

The registered person may only use devices for the monitoring or surveillance of children if the monitoring or surveillance is for the purpose of safeguarding and promoting the welfare of the child concerned, or other children. (Regulation 24(1)(a)) 31/12/2017

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Requirement Due date

If the Regulatory Reform (Fire Safety) Order 2005(a) applies to the home the registered person must ensure that the requirements of that Order and any regulations made under it, except for article 23 (duties of employees), are complied with in respect of the home. (Regulation 25(2)(b)) 31/12/2017

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that all employees receive practice related supervision by a person with appropriate experience. (Regulation 33(4)(b)) 31/12/2017

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: inadequate

Relationships between young people and staff are poor. Staff fail to provide young people with adequate support and care. For example, one young person told inspectors that she came out of her room one night when she was upset. Rather than support her, staff told her to get back in her bedroom because it was late. The young person explained that because of this experience, she now does not like coming out of her room at night. The interim manager was not aware of this incident until inspectors informed her during the inspection.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: inadequate

Another young person was urinating in cups in her bedroom. This was because she did not want to leave her bedroom at night. She was worried that she would wake staff when she opened her bedroom door, as doing so would activate the door alarm. One young person wrote a letter to the inspectors, stating, ‘[I] don’t trust anyone. I feel like I can’t share my feelings with them.’ Young people are unable to build positive relationships with staff. They lack trust in their care givers and do not feel confident to share their wishes and feelings as their voices are not heard. A young person told an inspector, ‘If I am not listened to I will disengage, I will stop going to school, I will stop eating.’ She explained that she thought only then would she be moved from the home.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: inadequate

Young people’s identity and cultural needs are not met. For example, when staff identified that a young person was struggling with her identity, they did not help her to Inspection report children’s home: SC476259 6 explore this, or offer her any meaningful support.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: inadequate

Staff do not provide young people with individualised care that meets their needs. For example, despite this being a specialist home for young people who are at risk from, or have suffered, sexual exploitation, staff fail to complete work with young people about this. Consequently, young people’s emotional needs are not met, nor do young people learn how to keep themselves safe. In addition, young people do not have access to the specialist support and services that they need. For example, staff did not support one young person to have a cognitive assessment, despite this being agreed in the young person’s review.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: inadequate

Staff do not help young people to make adequate academic progress, and fail to engage them in education and learning. Staff are unable to manage the behaviour of young people who refuse to go to school. For example, they allow young people to remain in bed rather than attend school, with little challenge. As a result, young people miss out on opportunities to learn and develop their social skills and networks. They also do not develop an understanding of acceptable and unacceptable behaviour.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: inadequate

Staff fail to meet young people’s health needs. For example, a young person did not attend an appointment for an important blood test. Staff took no action to rectify this or support the young person. They did not challenge the young person’s placing authority to make sure that her social worker completed this task. The fact that the young person did not receive this test could have significant implications for her emotional and physical health. The same young person also required tests for another potential health condition. There is no record that this took place. This has left the child at risk of further harm.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: inadequate

Young people are not provided with a young people’s guide. Although young people know how to make a complaint, they are not confident in the process. One young person put a complaint in writing but explained that she will not make another one because after waiting for 14 days nothing was done.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: inadequate

Staff do not help young people to develop their independence skills. While independence plans are written, staff do not implement these consistently. For example, one young person’s care plan stated that she should be given money to go into a shop by herself to buy ingredients to cook a meal. However, not all staff followed this guidance. Another young person received no encouragement from staff. For example, her care plan stated that the home would set tasks to develop her independent living skills, but these were not completed. Consequently, young people are not helped to learn the skills that they need as they approach adulthood.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: inadequate

Staff work with young people and their families, to ensure that young people spend time with the people who are important to them. As a result, young people are not isolated from family members. Inspection report children’s home: SC476259 7

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

Young people are not safe because of the poor practice of staff. Staff ignore instructions given to them by the interim manager. For example, staff did not clean a young person’s bedroom. When the interim manager entered the bedroom she found various items of crockery and other debris. Among these items was a curtain pole and some glass. The young person has previously harmed herself and could have used these items to do so again. The items found were left from an incident several weeks before. Staff have been negligent in not ensuring that the child’s room was safely maintained. This very poor standard of care resulted in an increased, unnecessary and unmanaged risk to the child. Furthermore, this demonstrates that staff do not follow direction or keep young people safe.

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

Staff ignore risk assessments that are designed to keep young people safe. For example, the interim manager told staff not to take young people on a particular activity. This was because the interim manager (and the responsible individual) had assessed that this activity was too high a risk due to the other young people who were attending the venue. Staff ignored this instruction and took the young people. On another occasion, staff took a young person to a Halloween event that was not appropriate for her age. The young person became scared and responded in an aggressive manner. This could have resulted in serious harm to the young person, or a member of the public, and could have resulted in the young person being unnecessarily criminalised. Furthermore, the risk assessment stated that the young person should be brought straight home if her behaviour was of concern. This directive was not followed by staff and the young person

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

remained at the event, despite her unsafe behaviour. The failure of staff to follow risk assessments and basic instructions leaves young people vulnerable and exposes them to unnecessary risks.

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

Young people do not go missing from this home due to the high levels of surveillance. However, managers and staff do not review risk assessments relating to monitoring and surveillance devices that are in place. These include the use of bedroom door alarms and the monitoring of phone calls. The use of these measures has become customary and is not based on young people’s individual assessed needs.

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

When young people display negative behaviour, staff do not explain to them why this behaviour is unacceptable. A young person told inspectors that some staff tell them ‘no’ without giving them an explanation. The young person also said that they felt some staff deliberately try to provoke a negative reaction from them. This creates inconsistent boundaries and care for young people. Consequently, young people do not learn socially acceptable behaviours.

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

Managers have failed to ensure that fire exits are accessible in the event of a fire. The home’s fire risk assessment states that there are three means of escape on the ground floor. However, the conservatory door is locked and cannot be used as an escape route in an emergency. This places young people, staff and visitors at risk of harm. Inspection report children’s home: SC476259 8 Managers have failed to ensure that young people are supported by a consistent group of staff. Young people have been cared for by agency staff and staff, whom they do not know, from other homes. One young person talked about the impact of this, explaining, ‘I don’t like it. I hate waking up in the morning not knowing who I will be put with… I don’t feel safe with agency staff, I don’t know them. All day I feel awkward.’

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

There are hazards in the home. For example, young people cannot identify which is the hot tap when taking a bath as there are no signs or marks to differentiate the hot tap from the cold tap. There is mould in the bathroom areas and the bathrooms are cold. Staff do not replace items damaged during incidents. For example, there are curtains missing and a broken mirror has not been replaced.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

The registered manager is still employed but currently absent from the home. An interim manager has been in post for 8 weeks. The staff team is not supportive of her and ignore some of her instructions. This lack of cohesion and disregard for the manager’s instruction and direction creates a confusing and unstable environment for young people.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

Staff have not received regular supervision. Records of supervision sessions are generic, and the details recorded change little from month to month. Managers do not challenge poor practice and, by not doing so, are allowing inadequate and unsafe practice to continue.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

Managers have failed to meet one of the compliance notices issued at the last inspection. This is because the interim manager’s monitoring and review systems are ineffective. Senior leaders, including the responsible individual, have failed to support the interim manager to manage staff practice and have failed to take effective action when necessary. For example, when staff fail to follow direct instructions, such as cleaning a young person’s bedroom, no action has been taken to challenge them. Similarly, when staff allowed a young person to remain at a Halloween event despite her negative behaviour, no staff member was held accountable for not following the risk assessment.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

When young people express dissatisfaction about how complaints are handled, no further action is taken.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

Managers do not understand the strengths and weaknesses of the home, or monitor the progress and experiences of young people effectively. Managers and staff do not provide an adequate quality of care and, consequently, have failed young people.

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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 Inspection report children’s home: SC476259 9 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: SC476259 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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Inspectors

Lisa O’Donovan, social care inspector Sandra King, social care inspector Inspection report children’s home: SC476259 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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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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