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

Inspection report children’s home: SC457074 1 SC457074 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 operated children’s home. It provides care and accommodation for four young people up to the age of 18 years old who have emotional and/or behavioural difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

Inspection dates: 15 to 16 November 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 requires improvement to be 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: 14 February 2017

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good

Overall judgement at last inspection: Sustained effectiveness

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Enforcement action since last inspection:

None Inspection report children’s home: SC457074 2

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Key findings from this inspection

 Staff and young people enjoy positive and caring relationships.  Young people’s engagement in activities within the wider community is exceptional.  Staff provide good support to enable young people to stay in touch with those people who are important to them.  Young people continue to make good progress across all aspects of their development.  The manager and staff work closely with partner agencies to manage young people’s risk-taking behaviour.  Staff identify and understand young people’s behaviour well. They are clear and consistent in their approach.

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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

 Shortfalls exist around staff recruitment.  Not all staff have achieved the level 3 qualification in caring for young people within the required timescale.  The location risk assessment does not include sufficient information about all known risks.  The manager does not keep the children’s guide under review.  Staff do not keep all records up to date.

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

14/02/2017 Interim Sustained effectiveness 28/09/2016 Full Outstanding 11/02/2016 Interim Improved effectiveness 02/09/2015 Full Good Inspection report children’s home: SC457074 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 registered person must keep the children’s guide and the home’s complaints procedure under review and seek children’s comments before revising either document. This refers to the children’s guide. (Regulation 7(2)(c)) 31/01/2018

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that full and satisfactory information is available in relation to any individual employed to work in the children’s home in respect of each of the matters in Schedule 2. (Regulation 32(3)(d)) 31/01/2018

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that an individual who works in the home in a care role has the appropriate qualification if, by the relevant date, the individual has attained the Level 3 Diploma for Residential Childcare (England) ("the Level 3 Diploma"); or a qualification which the registered person considers to be equivalent to the Level 3 Diploma. (Regulation 32(4)(5)) 28/02/2018

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Recommendations

 All records must be kept up to date. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 62, paragraph 14.3) This refers in particular to the recording of return home interviews.  The registered person should review the appropriateness and suitability of the location and premises of the home at least once a year. The review should include the identification of any risks and opportunities presented by the home’s location and strategies for managing these. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 64, paragraph 15.1) This is in relation to the nearby river.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Young people continue to receive good-quality individual care. Staff and young people have warm and caring relationships and enjoy positive interaction. Feedback from placing social workers is positive. One social worker commented, ‘It’s a compliment to Inspection report children’s home: SC457074 4 the staff for their good work... they have built up good relationships with young people.’ Young people engage in an excellent range of activities. Two young people have completed their Duke of Edinburgh bronze awards and all young people regularly engage in sporting activities, such as rugby, ice hockey, and trampolining. As a result, young people’s self-confidence and self-esteem continue to increase. In addition, young people learn new skills while having fun. One young person attended a week-long residential rugby camp over the summer holidays, and another young person went to a local dance camp. Staff support young people well to maintain contact with those people who are

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

important to them. Young people have regular contact with friends and continue to engage in activities they attended before coming to the home. For instance, one young person attends ice hockey training, a considerable distance from the home, on a weekly basis. Staff also take him to matches to play across the country. Staff travel long distances to enable young people, who live far away from their home, to maintain regular contact with their families. As a result, young people’s relationships with their families have improved. Young people continue to make good progress across all aspects of their development. One placing social workers stated, ‘He has come on leaps and bounds.’ Another commented, ‘Her confidence has improved… she is a different child.’ Young people, even those with previous poor educational attendance, attend school on a regular basis. This helps them to make academic progress. All the young people currently living in the home

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

attend the organisation’s own school. This enables the relationships between home and school to be close and effective. Staff work alongside teachers to support young people. They go into school with young people to provide extra support if required. Staff will source vocational college courses and other forms of education to encourage and engage young people in education. Young people are healthy. Staff encourage young people to participate in regular physical activity, such as playing sport, going to the gym and dance classes to keep fit and well. Young people attend routine and specialist health appointments when needed. Trained staff safely administer any medication required by young people. Young people are encouraged to develop their independence skills. They help in day-to- day activities, such as cooking and doing their laundry. These tasks enable young people to develop useful life skills that they will need as adults. There are no young people

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

living in the home who need a formal independence plan. Young people are helped to settle in well when they first come to live in the home. Staff spend time preparing existing residents for new young people entering the home. This enables staff to meet all young people’s individual needs and to make new young people to feel welcome. Similarly, considered and well-planned transitions help support young people when they leave. The home is well maintained. It is homely and inviting and the decor and furnishings are of a high standard. Young people are able to express their individual views and choices. They take part in discussions about the world around them in weekly meetings and through regular one-to-one discussions with staff. They are able to personalise their Inspection report children’s home: SC457074 5 bedrooms and help choose colours and soft furnishings for the communal areas of the home.

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improvement to be good

The manager and staff team help young people to feel safe in the home. They have a clear understanding of safeguarding issues and are swift to take the appropriate action to safeguard young people when needed. Although there has been a recent increase in the frequency of young people going missing, these incidents are due mainly to the dynamics between young people currently living in the home. Staff have promptly responded in all instances. The manager has worked closely with partner agencies to manage this behaviour and help reduce any concerns. A police officer commented that the manager ‘is working with us well and he is doing a very good job’. Return home interviews are taking place and social workers verbally share any concerns with staff. However, these are not recorded and this raises the risk of information being missed. Staff identify and understand young people’s behaviour well. Staff are clear and

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improvement to be good

consistent, using rewards and praise to encourage young people’s positive behaviour. Young people’s behaviour management plans are generally updated to reflect their current behaviour needs. Where this has not happened, staff are aware of the actions that they need to take to manage young people’s behaviour and ensure their safety. Staff work with young people to discuss issues such as personal safety and internet use. As a result, young people are helped to develop the skills that they need to keep themselves safe, both when they are outside of the home and when online. The home environment is safe and secure. Fire drills and safety checks are being completed on a regular basis. These ensure that staff are aware of fire safety issues in the home and young people know how to keep themselves safe in the event of a fire. The home’s location risk assessment covers known risks. However, the risk assessment

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improvement to be good

does not contain enough detail about the risk associated with the nearby river and the strategies staff are to adopt to manage this risk. Young people have, on occasion, crossed the river against the advice of staff. This puts young people at potential risk of harm. Permanent staff are safely recruited. However, the same level of scrutiny is not applied to agency staff. For example, although all staff are appropriately police checked, it is unclear whether references are sought and verified by the agency. This means that there is the potential risk that unsuitable adults may be in contact with young people.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

There have been significant management and staff changes since the last inspection. A new manager has been employed and he is in the process of applying for his registration with Ofsted. Changes in the staff team have led to the home having high numbers of unqualified staff. Three staff have achieved level 3 in residential childcare. One member of staff is not compliant with the need to have achieved his level 3 qualification in Inspection report children’s home: SC457074 6 residential childcare within the required timescales. The remaining staff are in their probation, or working towards this qualification. The statement of purpose has been updated to reflect the changes in management. The home is currently running with four staff vacancies. The home has managed this through using regular bank and agency staff. For the vast majority of time, the home has been adequately staffed. On the two occasions when this wasn’t the case, this had

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

no direct impact on young people. Although the home has been through a challenging time over recent months, there has been clear management oversight. Analysis and reflective practice is taking place. As a result, the manager is clear about the strengths and areas for development of the home. Staff have worked hard to promote young people’s safety and welfare. They are motivated and feel supported by the manager. They benefit from regular team meetings, supervision and training. Consequently, the manager and staff have a clear understanding of the progress that young people have made and the plans for their future. The children’s guide is child friendly, but it has not been updated to reflect recent changes. This means that young people may not be clear about the services that the home provides. Managers and staff provide good advocacy for children and young people, and challenge others when their responses are not seen to be in the best interests of young people.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager works effectively with a range of professionals. Placing social workers are complimentary about the home and say that the manager and staff work well in partnership with them. For example, one placing social worker stated, ‘I only have good things to say about the home. It is the best residential unit I have worked with. It is really good.’ Inspection report children’s home: SC457074 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 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: SC457074 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 Group, 4th Floor Waterfront Building, Chancellors Road, Hammersmith Embankment, London W6 9RU

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Children’s home details

Registered manager: Post Vacant Samuel Smout

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Inspector

Sue Young, social care regulatory inspector Inspection report children’s home: SC457074 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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