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

Inspection report children’s home: SC457181 1 SC457181 Registered provider: Cambian Childcare Limited Interim inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This privately owned home provides care and accommodation for one child who may have emotional and/or behavioural difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

Judgement at last inspection: requires improvement to be good

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Information about this children’s home

Enforcement action since last inspection: none

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and young people since the most recent full inspection

This home was judged requires improvement to be good at the last full inspection. At the interim inspection, Ofsted judges that it has sustained effectiveness.

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and young people since the most recent full inspection

Since the last inspection, a manager has been appointed and has successfully been registered with Ofsted. The manager has worked for the company for several years as a residential care worker and a deputy manager. She is also the registered manager of one of the company’s other single placement homes. She has a deputy manager in place and together they have taken effective action to meet all but one of the requirements and recommendations made at the last inspection. The manager and her deputy have also considered further areas for improvement at the home. Between them, they have challenged the company’s therapist regarding a delay in an assessment report which meant that it was not provided in the agreed timeframe; they have updated the local area risk assessment that is now more robust; staff rotas have been improved to clearly reflect the days that each member of staff has worked; and improvements have been

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and young people since the most recent full inspection

made to the conditions in the home. However, gaps in staff knowledge, such as drug awareness, remain to be addressed. Inspection report children’s home: SC457181 2 Since the last inspection, four young people have moved into the home. Two of these young people left the home in an unplanned way due to safeguarding concerns. Records relating to the planning and assessment for young people moving into the home do not demonstrate that the manager has gathered and considered full and detailed information relating to a young person’s history, such as incidents of self-harm. Consequently, this has contributed to placement breakdown due to the manager and staff being unable to meet safeguarding needs.

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and young people since the most recent full inspection

Safeguarding practice in the home is variable. The shortfalls identified in relation to the planning for new admissions to the home have contributed to the home being unable to safeguard all young people effectively. One young person who has a history of self-harm was given a razor for personal care. The staff did not take it from the young person after it had been used. Therefore, the razor remained in the young person’s possession overnight. A room search was undertaken the following day when the staff realised that they did not have the razor. Although it was subsequently retrieved and the young person’s risk assessment updated to ensure that such an oversight does not happen again, the oversight did create an unnecessary risk at the time. Recruitment records do not sufficiently demonstrate that all references for new staff provide sufficient information to show that the staff are suitable to work with vulnerable young people. On

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and young people since the most recent full inspection

a positive note, the risks to a young person who was considered to be at a high risk of child sexual exploitation have now significantly reduced because of the support and intervention she has received from staff at the home. Although there have been some shortfalls in safeguarding practice in the home, the manager and staff are aware of these and have taken sufficient action to address these.

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and young people since the most recent full inspection

The young person who is currently living at the home has made significant progress in all areas of her life since moving into the home. This includes a reduction in risks associated with being missing from home, child sexual exploitation and substance misuse. Furthermore, the young person is now engaging in education and has a work- based placement at a local hair salon. The young person has developed positive relationships with the manager and staff, and engages fully in placement sessions to address her individual needs. The young person recently completed a consultation form about living at the home and wrote ‘The staff are very supportive and always encourage me to do the best that I can. They are perfect.’ This demonstrates that the young person feels fully supported and has made positive progress since moving into the home.

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and young people since the most recent full inspection

There has been one complaint made by a young person since the last inspection. The manager fully addressed this complaint, which was upheld. However, the records relating to the complaint do not include details of the discussion that took place with the young person. Furthermore, the young person was not provided with details of the outcome of the complaint at the time it had been concluded. This does not demonstrate that the complaint was addressed in line with the company’s complaint procedure.

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and young people since the most recent full inspection

Behaviour management systems promote positive behaviour from the young people. Staff use rewards and incentives to promote positive behaviour rather than relying on sanctions to manage negative behaviours. Consequently, the behaviour of the young people at the home is generally good. There have been two incidents of physical Inspection report children’s home: SC457181 3 intervention since the last inspection. Both were appropriate and conducted in line with regulations for children’s homes. However, the records relating to these incidents do not include the details of the debrief that took place with the staff involved. Consequently, this does not help the manager to fully review the intervention or identify effective practice and respond promptly where any issues or trends of concern emerge.

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and young people since the most recent full inspection

The monitoring and review systems in the home need to be strengthened to enable the manager to identify and respond to shortfalls in professional practice and in the quality of care provided at the home. The manager has disputed some of the information recorded in the external monitoring reports for the home. However, she accepts that this may be due to the independent person undertaking the monthly visits not being provided with the most up-to-date information and documents. In addition to this, the manager’s own quality of care review does not provide an informative appraisal of the quality of care provided to all of the young people in the home’s care or a reflection the young people’s progress.

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and young people since the most recent full inspection

Although the records and written plans at the home are detailed and clearly demonstrate the young person’s experiences and good progress, there are some errors in recording, such as the wrong dates, the old company name and no young people’s names on the home’s impact risk assessments. Therefore, the inaccuracy of some records could be misleading.

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and young people since the most recent full inspection

The manager and staff work effectively with other professionals, such as social workers, independent reviewing officers, the police and health and education professionals. This has a positive impact on the young person’s life. As a result, the young person is receiving the right support at the right time to meet her individual needs and her outcomes are improving.

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and young people since the most recent full inspection

The manager and deputy manager are supportive of their staff team. There is a stable staff team in place, the members of which work well together and have the best interests of the young person at the heart of their practice. Daily handovers ensure that information about the young person is shared. This allows staff to provide a consistent level of care. The continuing professional development of staff is supported through regular training and development opportunities. However, the staff do not benefit from regular supervision that reflects on their practice and the needs of the young people effectively.

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

10/07/2017 Full Requires improvement to be good 30/03/2017 Interim Sustained effectiveness 05/10/2016 Full Requires improvement 07/03/2016 Interim Declined in effectiveness Inspection report children’s home: SC457181 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

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; help each child to understand how to keep safe; have the skills to identify and act upon signs that a child is at risk of harm; understand the roles and responsibilities in relation to protecting children that are assigned to them by the registered person; take effective action whenever there is a serious concern about a child’s welfare;

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Requirement Due date

that the home’s day-to-day care is arranged and delivered so as to keep each child safe and to protect each child effectively from harm. (Regulation 12(1) and (2)(a)(i)(ii)(iii)(v)(vi)(b)) 05/04/2018

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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 helps children aspire to fulfil their potential; and promotes their welfare. In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to ensure that staff have the experience, qualifications and skills to meet the needs of each child. (Regulation 13 (1) and (2)(c))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, identify gaps in staff knowledge, such as training regarding drug awareness, and make arrangements to bridge any gaps. 05/04/2018

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Requirement Due date

The care planning standard is that the registered person must ensure that children receive effectively planned care in or through the children’s home; and have a positive experience of arriving at or moving on from the home.

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the 05/04/2018 Inspection report children’s home: SC457181 5 registered person to ensure—

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Requirement Due date

that children are admitted to the home only if their needs are within the range of needs of children for whom it is intended that the home is to provide care and accommodation, as set out in the home’s statement of purpose. (Regulation 14 (a)(b)(2)(a)(b))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, ensure that full and detailed information is obtained and considered when assessing the suitability of new admissions to the home.

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Recommendations

 The registered person should actively seek independent scrutiny of the home and make best use of information from independent and internal monitoring (including under regulations 44 and 45) to ensure continuous improvement. Those undertaking the role should be skilled in anticipating difficulties and reviewing incidents, such as learning from disruptions and placement breakdowns. They are responsible for proactively implementing lessons learned and sustaining good practice. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 55, paragraph 10.24) In particular, if the information provided is inaccurate this will need to be challenged and amended.

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Recommendations

 Records of restraint must be kept and should enable the registered person and staff to review the use of control, discipline and restraint to identify effective practice and respond promptly where any issues or trends of concern emerge. The review should provide the opportunity for amending practice to ensure that it meets the needs of each child. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 49, paragraph 9.59) In particular, ensure that information relating to debrief meetings with the staff is clearly recorded.

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Recommendations

 Staff should be familiar with the home’s policies on record keeping and understand the importance of careful, objective and clear recording. Staff should record information on individual children in a non-stigmatising way that distinguishes fact, opinion and third party information. Information about the child must always be recorded in a way that will be helpful to the child. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 62, paragraph 14.4)

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Recommendations

 The registered person must have systems in place so that all staff, including the manager, receive supervision of their practice from an appropriately qualified and experienced professional, which allows them to reflect on their practice and the needs of the children assigned to their care. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 61, paragraph 13.2)

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Recommendations

 As set out in regulations 31–33, the registered person is responsible for Inspection report children’s home: SC457181 6 maintaining good employment practice. They must ensure that recruitment, supervision and performance management of staff safeguards children and minimises potential risks to them. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 61, paragraph 13.1)

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Recommendations

 Staff should encourage children to share concerns about their care or other matters as soon as they arise. Children must be able to take up issues or make a complaint with support and without fear that this will result in any adverse consequences. Regulation 39 sets out the requirements on the registered person to have a complaints procedure. Children must be aware of this procedure and be reminded of it as necessary. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 22, paragraph 4.13.) In particular, ensure that records of any complaint include the details of all discussions that have taken place in relation to the complaint. Also, ensure that the young person is provided with details of the outcome of their complaint in a timely manner.

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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

This inspection focused on the effectiveness of the home and the progress and experiences of children and young people since the most recent full inspection.

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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’.

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Cambian Childcare Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Cambian Group, 4th Floor Waterfront Building, Inspection report children’s home: SC457181 7 Chancellors Road, Hammersmith Embankment, London W6 9RU

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Inspector

Lisa Mulcahy, social care inspector Inspection report children’s home: SC457181 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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