Children's home run by Castle Homes Care Limited in Hammersmith and Fulham

Inspection report children’s home: SC065378 1 SC065378 Registered provider: Castle Homes Care 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

The home is part of a large private organisation. It offers care for up to three young people primarily who have emotional and behavioural difficulties.

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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 outstanding

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good

The effectiveness of leaders and managers outstanding

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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 Inspection report children’s home: SC065378 2

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Key findings from this inspection

 Young people are well cared for by motivated, caring and supportive staff.  Staff provide positive role models for young people.  Some young people have made significant improvements in different aspects of their development.  Young people have put themselves into some unsafe situations. Staff support them extremely well. This helps young people to reduce their risk-taking behaviour.  Staff promote young people’s health and well-being. They accompany them to health appointments, liaise effectively with health professionals and encourage young people to eat healthily and be physically active.  Effective behaviour management systems help young people to reflect on their own behaviour and understand the impact that this has on themselves and others.  Staff feel well supported by the management team.  Feedback from professionals involved with the home is consistently positive.  The home is exceptionally well led by a dedicated manager who has high

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Key findings from this inspection

expectations of staff and is aspirational for young people.

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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 home is not cleaned to a high standard throughout.  All staff have not completed first aid training.

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

04/01/2017 Interim Sustained effectiveness 27/09/2016 Full Good 10/03/2016 Interim Improved effectiveness 27/08/2015 Full Good Inspection report children’s home: SC065378 3

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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) Specifically, all areas of the home should be well maintained.  Ensure that staff have the relevant skills and knowledge to be able to respond to the health needs of children, including administering basic first aid. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards,’ page 34, paragraph 7.12)

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Young people enjoy living at the home and they make good progress from their starting points. Young people make positive relationships with staff and look to them as positive role models. Some young people, who have recently left the home, remain in touch with the staff and are positive about their experiences of living at the home. A social worker for one such young person said, [Name of young person] came to [the home] a very emotionally shut down young man who had little recognition of his emotional feelings. This resulted in him expressing his frustration in aggressive and physically challenging behaviour. The consistent approach by the team alongside positive role modelling has enabled the young person to experience positive consequences and sanctions. This has enabled the young person to develop appropriate emotional responses. At the latest review meeting, he was able to remain [in] eye contact with the adults and

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Young people enjoy a good range of activities. These leisure pursuits encourage young people to participate in the community, enable them to have fun and help them to develop some new skills. For example, young people have developed their swimming skills. Previous residents have attended the gym on a regular basis, and one young person is looking forward to going horse riding.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Contact is well organised. Staff are very supportive of young people’s family relationships. They work hard to make sure that contact is a positive and safe experience for all.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff promote healthy living for the young people. They ensure that young people attend Inspection report children’s home: SC065378 4 routine health appointments and receive any follow-up treatment required. Young people are encouraged to look after themselves, eat healthy snacks and participate in physical activities. Young people access specialist support when there are concerns relating to drug or alcohol misuse. Staff support young people’s engagement with these services, which helps young people to learn the dangers of such behaviour and reduces risk.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Young people experience ups and downs in education. Young people have experienced some challenging times, during which they have refused to attend school or engage in learning activity. At other times, young people have attended school and achieved some success. Staff support young people’s learning appropriately. Some young people have improved their communication skills due to staff implementing effective strategies to help them engage with adults. A headteacher involved with a young person said, ‘Staff really go above and beyond to make sure young people get the right placement and then go to it.’ Other young people have attended college, and, when there have been challenges, the staff have worked with college staff effectively and encouraged the young person concerned to learn from the experience.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Young people are encouraged to personalise their rooms and most communal areas are well looked after by the young people and the staff team. Some areas of the home require cleaning, including unused bedrooms and bathrooms, to ensure that the home is maintained to a good standard throughout.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Complaints received by the staff team are responded to swiftly, and records show the outcomes of concerns raised. This shows that staff take concerns seriously and, when necessary, they take action to resolve issues raised with them.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Transitions into and on from the home are supported by the staff team well. Staff undertake impact assessments on young people referred to the provider. These assessments evaluate whether the home is suitable to meet a young person’s needs and considers a new young person’s compatibility with those already living at the home. Two young people have moved from the home earlier than anticipated due to increasing safeguarding concerns. These moves were well supported by staff. Social workers provided positive feedback about how well the staff managed these difficult circumstances.

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

Young people are looked after by a staff team that consistently works hard to keep them safe. A social worker said, ‘Staff were always incredibly conscientious with making sure that [name of young person] was as safe as possible. They couldn’t have done any more to help her.’

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

The inspector observed a young person discussing issues relating to gender and homophobic bullying with staff. These discussions were exceptionally well managed, showing that the staff possess the skills and sensitivity to help young people to understand inequality and value difference. Inspection report children’s home: SC065378 5 Since the last inspection, the staff team has dealt with some complex safeguarding situations. Staff understand and manage risk extremely well. When safeguarding events occur, they are responded to swiftly. Records contain a clear chronology to show the actions taken by staff. Staff have liaised exceptionally well with a range of professionals. In particular, they have worked effectively with local police officers, developing and implementing strategies to respond to and reduce risk. When the staff were concerned about a young person being at risk of radicalisation, they worked well with partner

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

agencies so that risks could be assessed and responded to.

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

When young people go missing from the home, the staff work diligently to locate them. Staff are knowledgeable about where young people may go and who they may be with. Gathering this information and getting to know the young person well enable them to take action to protect young people. For example, the staff know where to look and who to contact when searching for young people. A social worker said, ‘Staff have stopped buses, searched neighbourhoods and challenged strangers to keep her safe. They have worked with the police really well.’ When young people return to the home, they receive appropriate support from staff and a range of professionals. Records of missing events are detailed, and staff use this information to update risk assessments. They also share information with partner agencies to promote young people’s safety.

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

Staff encourage positive behaviour by using praise and reward. Positive consequences are used to good effect to improve a young person’s engagement in education. When sanctions are necessary, staff make sure that these are restorative, so that young people learn about the effect that their behaviour has on themselves and other people. Physical intervention is only used as a last resort, when all other attempts at de-escalating a situation have failed. Restraint practice is safe and proportionate. Sanctions and restraint records include discussions with the young people about what has happened and how the situation could have been resolved differently.

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

Recruitment procedures are robust, and checks are completed to make sure that new staff are safe to work with young people. Staff undertake health and safety checks regularly to maintain a safe environment for young people.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

The manager is well qualified and very experienced. She has high expectations of herself and others and consistently drives forward improvement. She develops her team effectively, ensuring that team members have the skills and knowledge to meet young people’s individual needs well. The workforce development plan is well written and includes all necessary areas for staff development.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

The staff know the young people extremely well. They discuss young people’s needs and how to respond to these needs in detail. Internal placement plans mirror information contained in statutory documentation provided by the young person’s placing authority. It is clear that staff work in accordance with young people’s care plans. Staff regularly review and update young people’s plans to ensure that they are current and responsive to the young people’s needs. Inspection report children’s home: SC065378 6 Excellent monitoring systems help the manager to maintain effective oversight of the home. The independent visitor’s reports include discussions with the young people and the professionals involved with their care. It is clear that the independent visitor seeks the views of others to inform their evaluation of the home. The manager responds to any recommendations made by the visitor swiftly. This shows a commitment to

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

The home is suitably staffed to meet the needs of the young people. The manager knows each staff member’s strengths and she uses this knowledge to arrange the best possible care of young people. Staff work together well and complement each other’s skills. As a result, young people benefit from being cared for by people who have different qualities and skills.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

The manager works well with partner agencies. When necessary, she holds people to account. For example, she recently challenged health professionals when their actions fell short of the expected standard. This resulted in the manager making a formal complaint, which was upheld. Additional training is to be given to health professionals to improve the way they deliver support to young people in the future. Holding others to account ensures that young people receive the help that they need. One social worker described the manager as ‘a real force for improvement. She champions the rights of the young people like no other.’

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

Feedback from professionals involved with the home is consistently positive. They way in which staff work with other professionals promotes young people’s welfare and progress. One social worker stated, ‘Communication is excellent. They let me know all of the relevant information.’ The headteacher said, ‘The high level of communication between school and the home has really helped the young people and given them a consistent approach to the way that we all work as a team.’

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

Staff meet regularly to discuss the young people’s progress. Staff receive high levels of support from the manager. A member of staff described this support as ‘excellent’ and said that the manager ‘helps us to develop individually and as a team’. Appraisals are up to date, allowing staff to reflect on their performance and to set objectives, which will help them with their ongoing development.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

The staff have completed some excellent research regarding female genital mutilation, and some staff have been asked to deliver this to other homes within the organisation. Training systems are robust; they allow staff to undertake a good range of courses. One staff member has not yet undertaken their mandatory first aid training.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

The management team has a good awareness of the need to notify professionals of significant events at the home. Notification records contain sufficient detail and are sent to Ofsted in a timely manner. This allows the regulator to monitor events in the home and ensure that appropriate action has been taken. Inspection report children’s home: SC065378 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: SC065378 8

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Castle Homes Care Ltd

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: 80 Hammersmith Road, London W14 8UD

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Inspector

Andrew Hewston, social care inspector Inspection report children’s home: SC065378 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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