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

Inspection report children‘s home: SC457272 1 SC457272 Registered provider: Cambian Childcare Ltd

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Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This home is run by a private company and provides care for up to three children of either gender between the ages of 11 and 18.

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Information about this children’s home

The current manager has been employed by the company since 2012.

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Overall experiences and progress of

children and young people, taking into account

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requires improvement to be good

How well children and young people are helped and protected requires improvement to be good

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requires improvement to be good

The effectiveness of leaders and managers requires improvement to be good

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requires improvement to be good

The children‘s home is not yet delivering good help and care for children and young people. However, there are no serious or widespread failures that result in their welfare not being safeguarded or promoted.

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requires improvement to be good

Date of last inspection: 13 December 2017

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requires improvement to be good

Overall judgement at last inspection: requires improvement to be good

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Enforcement action since last inspection:

There was a full inspection on 13 December 2018. At this inspection it was found that the two compliance notices served following the last inspection were not fully met. However, there was progress made and the unmet aspects did not have a significant impact on the children‘s safety. Further requirements were raised in order to improve the Inspection report children‘s home: SC457272 2 quality of care provided for the children. These have been reviewed during this inspection.

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

13/12/2017 Full Requires improvement to be good 09/11/2017 Full Inadequate 23/02/2017 Interim Declined in effectiveness 07/07/2016 Full Good Inspection report children‘s home: SC457272 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 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— that staff—

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Requirement Due date

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;

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Requirement Due date

help each child to understand how to keep safe;

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Requirement Due date

have the skills to identify and act upon signs that a child is at risk of harm;

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Requirement Due date

manage relationships between children to prevent them from harming each other;

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Requirement Due date

understand the roles and responsibilities in relation to protecting children that are assigned to them by the registered person;

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Requirement Due date

take effective action whenever there is a serious concern about a child‘s welfare; and

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Requirement Due date

are familiar with, and act in accordance with, the home‘s child protection policies. (Regulation 12 (1)(2)(a)(i)(ii)(iii)(iv)(v)(vi)(vii))

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Requirement Due date

This is with particular regard to ensuring that impact assessments are comprehensive and analytical and fully consider all significant risks and behaviours. 29/5/2018

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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— 29/5/2018 Inspection report children‘s home: SC457272 4 helps children aspire to fulfil their potential; and promotes their welfare.

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to—

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Requirement Due date

lead and manage the home in a way that is consistent with the approach and ethos, and delivers the outcomes, set out in the home‘s statement of purpose;

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Requirement Due date

ensure that staff have the experience, qualifications and skills to meet the needs of each child;

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Requirement Due date

ensure that the home‘s workforce provides continuity of care to each child. (Regulation 13 (1)(a)(b)(2)(a)(b)(c)(d)(e))

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Requirement Due date

This is with particular regard to ensuring that all staff are appropriately trained and experienced and that all staff complete medication competency assessments. The registered person must ensure that all employees—

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Requirement Due date

undertake appropriate continuing professional development;

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Requirement Due date

receive practice-related supervision by a person with appropriate experience; and have their performance and fitness to perform their roles appraised at least once every year. (Regulation 33 (4)(a)(b)) 29/5/2018

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must prepare and implement a policy (―the behaviour management policy‖) which sets out—

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Requirement Due date

how appropriate behaviour is to be promoted in the children‘s home; and the measures of control, discipline and restraint which may be used in relation to children in the home.

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must keep the behaviour management policy under review and, where appropriate, revise it.

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Requirement Due date

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—

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Requirement Due date

the effectiveness and any consequences of the use of the measure; and

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Requirement Due date

within 48 hours of the use of the measure, the registered 29/5/2018 Inspection report children‘s home: SC457272 5 person, or a person who is authorised by the registered person to do so (―the authorised person‖)—

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Requirement Due date

has spoken to the user about the measure; and

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Requirement Due date

has signed the record to confirm it is accurate; and

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Requirement Due date

within 5 days of the use of the measure, the registered person or the authorised person adds to the record confirmation that they have spoken to the child about the measure. (Regulation 35 (1)(a)(b)(2))(3)(a)(vii)(b)(i)(ii)(c))

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Requirement Due date

This is with particular regard to the registered manager ensuring that the staff understand and implement the consistent use of positive and negative consequences, and for there to be timely management oversight of each measure.

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must complete a review of the quality of care provided for children (―a quality of care review‖) at least once every 6 months.

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Requirement Due date

In order to complete a quality of care review the registered person must establish and maintain a system for monitoring, reviewing and evaluating—

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Requirement Due date

the quality of care provided for children;

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Requirement Due date

the feedback and opinions of children about the children‘s home, its facilities and the quality of care they receive in it; and any actions that the registered person considers necessary in order to improve or maintain the quality of care provided for children.

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Requirement Due date

After completing a quality of care review, the registered person must produce a written report about the quality of care review and the actions which the registered person intends to take as a result of the quality of care review (―the quality of care review report‖).

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Requirement Due date

The system referred to in paragraph (2) must provide for ascertaining and considering the opinions of children, their parents, placing authorities and staff. (Regulation 45 (1)(2)(a)(b)(c)(5)) 29/5/2018 Inspection report children‘s home: SC457272 6 The registered person must notify HMCI and each other relevant person without delay if—

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Requirement Due date

there is an allegation of abuse against the home or a person working there;

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Requirement Due date

there is any other incident relating to a child which the registered person considers to be serious. (Regulation 40 (3)(c)(e)) 29/5/2018

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Recommendations

 The registered manager should only accept placements for children where they are satisfied that the home can respond effectively to the child‘s assessed needs as recorded in the child‘s relevant plans and where they have fully considered the impact that the placement will have on the existing group. (‗Guide to the children‘s homes regulations including the quality standards‘, page 56, paragraph 11.4)

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Recommendations

 Ensure that staff are familiar with the home‘s policies on record keeping. (‗Guide to the children‘s homes regulations including the quality standards‘, page 62, paragraph 14.4.) In particular, ensure that the recording of room searches includes the reasons for the search, the efforts made to seek the child‘s consent, any associated risk assessment and details of the management oversight of the search.

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Recommendations

 The registered person is responsible for leading a team which provides high quality care for all of the children living in the home. They must lead and manage the home in a way that delivers the ethos, outcomes and approach set out in the statement of purpose. (‗Guide to the children‘s homes regulations including the quality standards‘, page 565, paragraph 10.4) This is with regard to the provision of regular weekly children‘s meetings as stated in the statement of purpose.

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Recommendations

 Any individual appointed to carry out visits to the home as an independent person must make a rigorous and impartial assessment of the home‘s arrangements for safeguarding and promoting the welfare of the children in the home‘s care. (‗Guide to the children‘s homes regulations including the quality standards‘, page 65, paragraph 15.5)

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Recommendations

 The registered person should plan staffing levels to ensure that they meet the needs of the children and can respond flexibly to unexpected events or opportunities. (‗Guide to the children‘s homes regulations including the quality standards‘, page 54, paragraph 10.15) This is with regard to ensuring that all staff rotas clearly show the full names of the staff and times of their shifts. Inspection report children‘s home: SC457272 7

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improvement to be good

There has been a period of instability since the last inspection, and the home has only stabilised fairly recently. Two of the children who have now moved on from the home were displaying risky and challenging behaviours. These were negatively affecting the children‘s progress and relationships with the staff and each other. At this time, children were not positively engaging with education and were involved in incidents of antisocial behaviour. There were incidents when the children were missing from the home and were not engaging positively with the staff team.

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improvement to be good

There are now two children living in the home and the environment has stabilised. The children are now making progress, and this has continued to improve in recent months. The senior management team has recognised this period of volatility and has made a decision that there will be no further admissions at this time. This is to enable the children to recover from their experiences during this turbulent period and for the staff team to reflect and regroup. One child has talked about this period as very distressing, because of instances of being bullied and targeted.

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improvement to be good

As a result of the stability of the home, the children are now accessing education and employment. One child has been able to access part-time employment and is being supported to develop his independence skills, helping him to learn valuable skills for the future. Another child is enjoying education and is engaging with a tutor part-time. Neither of these children have historically accessed education consistently for some time, and although this is slow progress, it is significant given their starting points, and is improving their outcomes and future choices.

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improvement to be good

The staff ensure that the health needs of the children are met and they encourage the children to attend their appointments. Medication is administered by the staff; however, forms are not consistently signed by the staff administering and witnessing the medication. In addition, the manager has not completed medication competency assessments in relation to every staff member. This does not provide a robust system and audit trail to ensure that this system is working effectively.

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improvement to be good

There is a mental health professional employed by the organisation to work directly with the staff and the children. This is a consistent and valuable resource for the home, which helps the children improve their emotional health and self-esteem, and to make sense of their experiences of trauma.

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improvement to be good

Children say that they now feel safe at the home and that they can talk to the staff. One child said, ‗It‘s good here, the staff are supportive. Staff have helped me with my confidence and I feel relaxed.‘ The staff spend time with the children, building positive relationships and trust. This support helps the children feel safe and valued. The staff listen to the children. During periods of instability, children‘s weekly meetings have not taken place on a regular basis, which has not ensured that the children have had the Inspection report children‘s home: SC457272 8 opportunity to contribute as much as they should.

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improvement to be good

The staff support the children to maintain good relationships with family members. This keeps the children very much involved with them while living away from home. One parent said, ‗My child is getting on well; really good over the past few weeks. Really changed for the better and seems happier .‘

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improvement to be good

There have been a number of incidents since the last inspection. Incident recording does not show a tenacious approach to following up areas of concern and potential risk issues. This lack of professional curiosity does not provide stringent safeguards for the children. There is a lack of oversight and critical analysis of each incident by the registered manager. For example, when there was a significant change in behaviour – an escalation in bullying incidents – this was not acted on or addressed quickly enough. This meant that one child was subjected to bullying over a period of time. The staff are clear that this child was targeted and they tried hard to safeguard her but were not able to. Although this issue has now been resolved, this is an area which requires significant improvement.

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improvement to be good

Since the last inspection, placements for two of the children ended quickly because of escalating risks. Impact assessments are completed by the manager but lack depth and are not analytical enough in relation to the complex needs of each child and the potential conflict caused by the children‘s behaviours. There is a lack of review of any change in behaviours and the impact of this on the group. This does not provide a consistently stable and safe environment for all of the children. The registered manager advised that local authorities have not provided accurate referral information for a child and this led to another disrupted placement within a short period of time. This is currently being escalated by the organisation.

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improvement to be good

The children have incentives. The staff use negative and positive consequences to help the children manage their behaviours and make good choices. There is a good balance of positive and negative consequences. However, there is inconsistency within the staff team as to how these are used. There is no evidence of challenge to some children when there are considerable concerns, and the consequences for others children are too harsh. There is little evidence of reparation, and management oversight is not timely enough. This does not deliver the right messages to the children or help them to build trust and relationships with the staff.

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improvement to be good

The registered manager liaises with other agencies effectively and communication is reported to be good. A police representative said, ‗We have good communication and the manager is very good and assists us with our enquiries.‘ Another professional said, ‗The manager has been willing and open to discussing the concerns for our child and has attended strategy discussions and meetings in relation to the child.‘

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improvement to be good

The staff undertake room searches; however, the recording does not consistently reflect Inspection report children‘s home: SC457272 9 the views of the children or clarity about the reasons for the search.

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

The manager has been in post for a significant period. She knows the home well and is suitably experienced and is currently undertaking her level 5 qualification.

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

There have been some staffing changes and there are currently two vacancies. The registered manager has plans in place to fill these as soon as possible. Agency staff are used as well as staff from other local homes within the organisation. Generally, there are sufficient staff on duty to care for the children on each shift. However, not all rotas state the full names of the staff and their times on shift. This does not ensure accountability of every staff member.

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

The staff are committed to providing good care to the children. However, not all staff are suitably experienced or skilled. This means that the level of care provided to the children does not sufficiently meet their complex needs. There are gaps in safeguarding knowledge for some staff and this is not addressed by the manager. This does not ensure that staff are confident with all of the safeguarding aspects of their role.

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

Supervision for staff is not regular enough and does not provide them with the support and guidance they need. When performance issues are identified, recommendations for additional support are not put in place. This does not ensure that the registered manager is overseeing and reviewing progress and development effectively.

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

The manager has met most of the requirements since the last inspection. However, the external monitoring continues to be a shortfall. There is no information detailing whether the visits are unannounced, and all visits take place at the same time. This does not provide varied and robust monitoring. The manager states that the staff appraisals for this year are not yet due. However, there is no evidence to demonstrate that gaps identified at the last inspection have been rectified.

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

The internal monitoring is not yet due to be submitted so was not reviewed as part of this inspection. This requirement will be reinstated.

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

Allegations and concerns are escalated to the designated officer appropriately. Internal investigations are completed when appropriate. The registered manager does not notify Ofsted of all allegations in relation to staff members. This does not enable Ofsted to have a clear oversight of all investigations and does not provide transparency.

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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 Inspection report children‘s home: SC457272 10 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: SC457272 11

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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

Debbie Young, social care inspector Inspection report children‘s home: SC457272 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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Inspector

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Inspector

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Inspector

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