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

Inspection report children’s home: SC371553 1 SC371553 Registered provider: Castle Homes Care Ltd

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Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This is a privately run children’s home which may only provide care and accommodation for up to three children with emotional and/or 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 requires improvement to be good

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good

The effectiveness of leaders and managers requires improvement to be 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: improved effectiveness

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none

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Key findings from this inspection

 The children and young people are provided with stability in the home, which gives them the opportunity to reflect on their life experiences and safely explore the emotions that have come from these. Inspection report children’s home: SC371553 2  The manager actively seeks educational opportunities for young people, which leads to improved educational outcomes.  The children and young people know how to complain and that action will be taken. They also have access to independent advocacy services provided by the relevant local authority.  The children and young people are able to identify at least one staff member whom they relate to well and enjoy spending time with.  Incidents of going missing are responded to appropriately and in line with the young person’s and home’s missing persons protocol.  The children and young people are in good health, with staff ensuring that any physical or emotional health needs are assessed by the appropriate

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Key findings from this inspection

professionals.  There is evidence of positive community work. Children and young people learn about other people’s lives and needs by taking part in charity work.  The staff team works well with other professionals to ensure that the aims of care plans are met.  Life-story work is completed with the children and young people to enhance their understanding of their early lives.

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

23/03/2017 Interim Improved effectiveness 08/11/2016 Full Outstanding 29/03/2016 Interim Improved effectiveness 18/11/2015 Full Outstanding Inspection report children’s home: SC371553 3

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What does the children’s home need to do to improve?

This section sets out the actions that the registered person 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 must comply within the given timescales.

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Requirement Due date

The quality and purpose of care standard is that children receive care from staff who– understand the children’s home’s overall aims and the outcomes it seeks to achieve for children; use this understanding to deliver care that meets children’s needs and supports them to fulfil their potential. In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to– ensure 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; provide to children living in the home the physical necessities they need in order to live there comfortably. (Regulation 6 (1)(2)(b)(vi)(vii)) 01/04/2018

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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. In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to ensure– that staff help each child to develop socially aware behaviour; encourage each child to take responsibility for the child’s behaviour, in accordance with the child’s age and understanding. (Regulation 11 (1)(2)(a)(ii)(iii)) 15/03/2018

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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. In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to ensure that staff– 15/03/2018 Inspection report children’s home: SC371553 4 help each child to understand how to keep safe. (Regulation 12(1)(2)(a)(ii)) 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, qualification and skills to meet the needs of each child; ensure that the home has sufficient staff to provide care for each child; ensure that the home’s workforce provides continuity of care to each child. (Regulation 13(1)(2)(c)(d)(e))

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Requirement Due date

No measure of control or discipline which is excessive, unreasonable or contrary to paragraph (2) may be used in relation to any child. The following measures may not be used to discipline any child– any restriction, other than one imposed by a court or in accordance with regulation 22 (contact and access to communications), on a child’s contact with parents, relatives or friends. (Regulation 19 (1)(2)(c)(i)) 15/03/2018

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that– the privacy of children is appropriately protected; any limitation placed on a child’s privacy or access to any area of the home’s premises– is intended to safeguard each child accommodated in the home; is necessary and proportionate; is kept under review and, if necessary, revised; and allows children as much freedom as is possible when balanced against the need to protect them and keep them safe. (Regulation 21 (a)(c)(i)(ii)(iii)(iv)) 15/03/2018

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must prepare and implement a policy (‘the behaviour management policy’) which sets out– how appropriate behaviour is to be promoted in the children’s 15/03/2018 Inspection report children’s home: SC371553 5 home; and the measures of control, discipline and restraint which may be used in relation to children in the home. The registered person must ensure that– within 24 hours of the use of a measure of control, discipline or restraint in relation to a child in the home, a record is made which includes– the name of the child; details of the child’s behaviour leading to the use of the measure; the date, time and location of the use of the measure; a description of the measure and its duration; details of any methods used or steps taken to avoid the need to use the measure; the name of the person who used the measure (‘the user’), and of any other person present when the measure was used; the effectiveness and any consequences of the use of the

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Requirement Due date

measure. (Regulation 35 (1)(3)(a)(i)(ii)(iii)(iv)(v)(vi)(vii)) Subject to paragraph (6), the registered person must establish a procedure for considering complaints made by or on behalf of children. In particular, the procedure must provide that no person who is the subject of a complaint takes any part in its consideration or investigation, except at the informal resolution stage if the registered person considers it appropriate. (Regulation 39 (1)(2)) 15/03/2018

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Recommendations

 Where children placed in a home are not participating in education because they have been excluded or are not on a school roll for some other reason, the registered person and staff must work closely with the placing authority so that the child is supported and enabled to resume full-time education as soon as possible. In the interim, the child should be supported to sustain or regain their confidence in education and be engaged in suitable structured activities. If no education place is identified by the placing authority, the registered person must challenge them to meet the child’s needs under regulation 5 (engaging with the wider system to ensure children’s needs are met. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 28, paragraph 5.15) In particular, one young person who has not received full-time education for all of Inspection report children’s home: SC371553 6

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Recommendations

this academic year must have a school identified.  The registered person should monitor and review the patterns and trends of turnover of staff, whether agency or directly employed, and be able to understand and where possible address any negative trends. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 54, paragraph 10.19)  Children in residential care may be worried about being stigmatised or bullied by their peers for being ‘different’ because of where they live. The home’s environment and care should be designed to take account of this and staff should support children to talk about and help them address any concerns they have. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 16, paragraph 3.13)

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The children and young people enjoy living in a spacious, detached property, which is within easy access of local amenities. The children and young people have their own bedrooms, and they take responsibility for keeping these tidy. There are a number of shared rooms for the children and young people to spend time in together, which gives them the opportunity to develop their social and relationship skills.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

It is clear that the most recent transitions into the home were considered carefully in terms of matching. Despite the different ages of the children and young people, they are all encouraged to socialise with each other. However, some young people report that the younger children often take up a lot of staff time. Relationships between staff and the children and young people fluctuate, and it is clear that some staff are preferred or ‘are better’ than others. One young person said, ‘Sometimes I feel like I am cared for and other times I feel pushed away because I am older and should know what I am doing.’ This situation leads to feelings of loneliness and isolation.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Each young person has a robust individual placement plan that incorporates all relevant information and strategies to meet their daily care needs. This is updated at least monthly, but usually more frequently. Staff sign the updates to acknowledge that they have read them. This practice ensures that staff have access to the relevant history, the up-to-date situation and to daily issues. Children and young people, therefore, have the opportunity to receive consistent care from each staff member.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children and young people are encouraged to be active and healthy. Mealtimes are reported by staff to include healthy options; takeaways are incentive-led treats rather than the norm. Any concerns about a young person’s health and physical and emotional needs are dealt with quickly and with assurance. Such an approach allows the children and young people to have confidence that they are fit and well, and know that the staff Inspection report children’s home: SC371553 7 will seek professional help when needed.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

For one young person, stability has been sustained for a considerable period of time. She has been able to engage fully in education and has access to specialist support, something that has been fully encouraged by the staff team. Her incidents of self-harm have reduced significantly, and professionals comment that she has made a lot of progress in this home. Challenging behaviours have reduced in the children and young people as they have become more settled in the home.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children and young people spend supported time engaged with charity work. Such involvement with the community helps to bring a sense of wider belonging and social responsibility. It also promotes understanding and appreciation of the different lives and needs of others, and will help the children and young people to reflect on their own circumstances.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

At the time of the inspection, two of the three children and young people living at the home were not in education. One young person is new to the home so this is something that is expected to be resolved quickly. The other young person receives daily education- based activities at home in the morning, and two hours of tutoring off-site. This has been the young person’s education plan since September 2017. The manager reports that she has been trying to identify an appropriate school but has been unable to do so locally. While it is important that schools can meet the needs of the pupils, the lack of services in the area means that this young person has not attended full-time education for six months. Her developmental needs are such that she has limited opportunity for socialisation with friends and peers outside of a school environment. Her whole life now revolves around adults and the staff, children and young people in the home, and a

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

dependency on the home’s manager is developing.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The young people haven’t been able to personalise much in the shared areas of the house. There was no evidence in the home of anything that indicated who might live there, for example no photographs or achievements were seen on display. All toiletries are kept in the young people’s own rooms, but they say that they would like to be able to leave these items in the bathroom, where they would be expected to be found in a family home.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Young people report that they are not being prepared for semi-independent living despite this being in their care plan. There is no evidence that children and young people are able to develop skills and strategies to manage behaviours.

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improvement to be good

Children and young people know how to make complaints and have access to independent advocacy services. Complaints made by children and young people, however, are not consistently handled in accordance with the home’s policy and the children’s homes regulations. This has meant that the manager made the initial decisions and allocation for investigation about a particular complaint that a young person made Inspection report children’s home: SC371553 8 against her. The breach of trust shown here increases the vulnerability of the children and young people, and undermines the seriousness of their concerns and confidence that their worries are responded to appropriately.

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improvement to be good

Age-appropriate risk-taking is not supported. Internet safety is not reinforced effectively. One young person had her smartphone permanently removed rather than being supported and educated to use it safely. All bedrooms doors are fitted with alarms and these are turned on every night. This is contrary to the statement of purpose that states that alarms will be used ‘if necessary’. The manager acknowledged that although semi- independent living was the plan for one young person, while the children and young people are her responsibility she needs to try to guarantee safety. This has meant that she felt unable to safely turn off door alarms.

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improvement to be good

Indiscriminate use of bedroom door alarms impinges on the children’s and young people’s privacy and dignity; it takes away the opportunity to use the home through the night like any young person in a family home, and demonstrates a lack of trust in the young people. Restrictions within the home result in very limited opportunities to make mistakes and learn from them in a supportive environment. It prevents the children’s and young people’s development of self-regulation and fosters an incorrect expectation in the children and young people of what is normal.

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improvement to be good

Behaviour management plans do not always place the young person in the centre of their care. One young person has a strong aversion to being placed outside, yet her behaviour management plan is that staff ‘direct her to the exit’. This particular strategy has been confirmed by all staff. Any event that results in the use of this behaviour management strategy is not recorded as a significant or serious incident, therefore the manager is unable to review the effectiveness of this. This behaviour management strategy may undermine the young person’s relationship with adults whom she should feel safe with and trust.

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improvement to be good

Tailored incentives are used for children and young people to earn privileges and treats. Incentives can be a positive way of helping some children and young people to learn how to manage their own behaviours. One young person, however, only has access to her mobile phone if she is able to complete all given incentives every day. If she doesn’t, then she cannot have access to her phone, and her family relationships are restricted. She is also only allowed to travel to and from school on the bus if she has her phone. When she cannot use the bus, she misses valuable time with her friends, and also has the stigma of being transported to and from school by a member of staff.

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improvement to be good

Incidents of going missing, although rare, are recognised for the risks that they present to each young person. They are responded to in a timely manner and in line with the home’s missing persons protocol and also each young person’s individual plan. Staff are proactive in trying to find children and young people and share full information to ensure that police are able to be effective. Inspection report children’s home: SC371553 9

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

The home currently has no deputy manager and only one senior support worker when there should be three. Ten members of staff have left and seven have started since the last full inspection. This is a significant number of carers for the children and young people to lose and get used to over such a short period and compounds identified attachment difficulties. The manager was able to share that her short absence during an investigation affected two children and young people in the home’s care. Of the staff group, only three out of six are qualified to level 3.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

Staff explain that while there is a key-worker system, the manager attends all meetings about all children and young people, rather than the key workers. The manager confirmed this but did not agree that staff did not go too. The children and young people are aware that the manager is the one person in the home who is able to make decisions. A professional said that ‘[name of young person] saw the manager as having a lot of power’. One young person with significant attachment difficulties identifies only with the manager as her ‘person to talk to’, and who can ‘tell her what to do’. There is a clear dependency exhibited by this young person, and she dislikes any other members of staff trying to guide her.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

The home has been unable to retain a deputy manager. Since the last inspection, there have been two deputies who have started but not stayed. The manager is unable to say why the recruitment process failed.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

Because of staffing shortages, the staff team is working shifts of up to 72 hours long. Staff say that these are draining shifts and that their capacity to cope with the complex needs of the children and young people in the home is affected. The manager has been unable to recognise the emotional impact of these rotas on the staff, and thus has been unable to manage this. The children and young people recognise that staff are tired and that they get irritable. The children and young people say that they don’t like to hear the staff say they want to go home, because they can’t go home.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

There have been four independent visitors since April 2017. This is a hugely important role in the oversight of the home and in ensuring that children’s and young people’s safety and well-being are assured. While the reports are for the most part positive, the high turnover has a further impact on the children’s and young people’s opportunity to develop stable and confiding relationships with an independent person.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

When asked to identify areas of improvement for the home, the registered manager was able to say what needs to happen to improve the situation for children and young people but not to easily say what needs to happen for the home. The failure to recognise the situation for the staff on long shifts and what effect the absence of a deputy may have on the running of the home indicates a lack of reflective management.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

The manager has been at this home since 2013 and has shown she can run an outstanding home. When fully staffed and work is appropriately delegated, the strengths of this staff team will mean that there will be the opportunity to ensure that the services Inspection report children’s home: SC371553 10 that the home provides for children and young people are good again in all areas.

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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: SC371553 11

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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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Inspectors

Angela Norrie, social care inspector Parveen Hussain, regulatory inspection manager Inspection report children’s home: SC371553 12 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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