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

Inspection report children’s home: SC476262 1 SC476262 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 five young people who have emotional and/or behavioural difficulties. This home specialises in providing 12-month therapeutic placements for young people who have been sexually exploited.

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Information about this children’s home

Inspection dates: 12 to 13 December 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

Overall judgement at last inspection: Sustained effectiveness

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: None

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Key findings from this inspection

 The registered manager and staff communicate effectively with partner agencies. Inspection report children’s home: SC476262 2  Staff are proactive in supporting young people to attend education.  The registered manager and staff encourage positive behaviour, supporting young people to reflect on their own actions.  Staff support children to develop independent skills to equip them for adulthood.  The staff and young people form positive relationships.  Staff support young people to achieve their best outcomes. They use a caring and nurturing approach to do this.  Staff have an excellent approach to supporting young people’s relationships with family members.

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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

 The registered manager has not adequately escalated his concerns to ensure that young people have return-home interviews following episodes of missing from care.  Decoration and maintenance are required in some parts of the home.  Not all staff have completed training within the set timescales.

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

07/03/2017 Interim Sustained effectiveness 04/05/2016 Full Good 03/08/2015 Full Requires improvement 08/06/2015 Full Inadequate Inspection report children’s home: SC476262 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 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 have the experience, qualifications and skills to meet the needs of each child. (Regulation 13(1) and (2)(c)) 31/01/2018

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Requirement Due date

In meeting the quality standards, if the registered person considers, or staff consider, a placing authority’s or a relevant person’s performance or response to be inadequate in relation to their role, challenge the placing authority or the relevant person to seek to ensure that each child’s needs are met in accordance with the child’s relevant plans. (Regulation 5(c)) 31/01/2018

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Recommendations

 Ensure young people live in an environment which meets their basic day to day needs. ’Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 15, paragraph 3.7) In particular, continue to make the home a comfortable and homely environment, with reference to flooring throughout the home, a shower, and the decor in one young person’s bedroom.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff build positive relationships with young people. Their approach is caring and nurturing. One young person told the inspector, ‘Staff are alright. They are supportive of you.’ Another young person shared, ‘They [staff] always ask if you are ok. They are always there if you want to talk to them.’ As a result, young people feel confident in the support that they receive from staff.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The registered manager and staff are excellent at building positive relationships with professionals and family members. They share appropriate information, keeping young people central to the care that they provide. A social worker informed the inspector, ‘The home are really good at communicating. They provide weekly reports. I am always Inspection report children’s home: SC476262 4 updated with what’s happening in the home, and they are committed to the young people.’

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff encourage young people to attend education. This is effective, with young people’s education attendance increasing. One young person’s attendance has increased from 6% to 90% since living at the home. Consequently, further education and employment opportunities for young people increase.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff provide young people with a variety of activities to engage in. This gives young people new experiences and allows them to learn new skills. One parent told the inspector, ‘She does loads now, like snowboarding, cadets and shopping. She would not do anything like that before.’

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Young people’s independence is promoted. For example, young people cook a meal for everyone once a week, with support from staff if needed. Young people are also given money each week to budget for healthy snacks and drinks. As a result, young people are developing their independence skills while making a positive contribution.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff ensure that young people spend time with their families and recognise the importance of this for young people’s progress. For example, staff have supported a young person to have contact with her mother, starting with ‘letter box contact’ and gradually increasing this to face-to-face visits. Staff have also provided a support worker to help the mother go to the agreed venue to see her daughter. When the inspector spoke to a parent, they reported that they were pleased that they would see their child on Christmas Day as staff would be taking the child to the family home. This results in young people building relationships with those who are important to them.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The home is decorated to an adequate standard. However, there is room for further improvement. In particular, flooring throughout the house is old and worn, a shower in the upstairs bathroom does not work effectively and the painting in one young person’s bedroom is patchy where they have attempted to decorate themselves.

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

Risk assessments are up to date and consider the risks and vulnerabilities of each young person. When incidents have occurred, staff have acted quickly and with foresight. For example, on one occasion a member of staff contacted the police before a young person went missing, as she became concerned about her behaviour. This resulted in a quicker response when the young person did go missing.

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

There has been a reduction in the number of times young people go missing. However, the registered manger has not escalated his concerns when local authorities have failed to provide missing-from-care interviews to young people on their return. Consequently, the opportunity to gather young people’s views has been missed. The registered manager has since implemented a new system to ensure that this does not remain an ongoing issue. For example, the registered manager will provide an independent person to speak to young people on their return, should they go missing in the future. Inspection report children’s home: SC476262 5 Staff engage young people in individual work to support them in keeping safe. Young people recognise the benefit of such work and report feeling safe. One young person told the inspector, ‘I feel safe. It’s nice here. I have made a lot of progress since being here.’

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

Young people in this home have been vulnerable to child sexual exploitation. The registered manager and the staff work collaboratively with partner agencies to ensure that young people remain safe. A police officer told the inspector, ‘They send information about any current risks. We are made aware of who the point of contact is in other forces and who the young people are at risk from. It is one of the best homes to deal with.’

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

Staff use a reward-based incentive system to promote positive behaviour. This is effective, and young people are generally well behaved. When young people do make mistakes, they work with staff to identify appropriate consequences. For example, when a young person sold some property belonging to the home, she agreed to repay some of the costs out of her own money to replace the item.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager has been in post since March 2015 and holds a suitable qualification. He has a supportive deputy manager who is experienced and qualified. The management team has a good knowledge of the strengths and weaknesses within the home.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager is child focused. He has developed a staff team that shares his caring and passionate approach. One parent told the inspector, ‘Staff are brilliant. They will bend over backwords for [young person].’ As a result, young people receive consistent and nurturing care.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

When staff join the home, they have a positive induction. Staff have regular supervision and undertake a range of training. One member of staff told the inspector, ‘The induction was really good and I have regular supervision every month, sometimes more.’ Consequently, staff feel supported and equipped to care for the young people. However, the registered manager has not ensured that all staff have completed their level 3 qualification within the stipulated time frame and not all staff are trained in radicalisation. This has had little direct impact on young people, but is an area for development.

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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 Inspection report children’s home: SC476262 6 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: SC476262 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

Lisa O’Donovan, social care inspector Inspection report children’s home: SC476262 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

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