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 Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

p.1

Information about this children’s home

This is a privately run children’s home. It provides care for children and young people whose plan is to live in a medium- to long-term residential setting. The registered manager is currently absent from the home. In her absence, the deputy manager, with the support of another manager from the company and senior managers, is overseeing the children’s and young people’s care.

p.1

Overall experiences and progress of

children and young people, taking into account

p.1

good

How well children and young people are helped and protected good

p.1

good

The effectiveness of leaders and managers requires improvement to be good

p.1

good

The children’s home provides effective services that meet the requirements for good.

p.1

good

Date of last inspection: 15 January 2018

p.1

good

Overall judgement at last inspection: good

p.1

good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report children’s home: SC371553 2

p.1

Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

15/01/2018 Full Good 23/03/2017 Interim Improved effectiveness 08/11/2016 Full Outstanding 29/03/2016 Interim Improved effectiveness Inspection report children’s home: SC371553 3

p.2

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.

p.3

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.

p.3

Requirement Due date

In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to ensure that staff provide to children living in the home the physical necessities they need in order to live there comfortably. (Regulation 6(1)(2)(b)(vii)) 30/06/2018

p.3

Requirement Due date

In particular the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to ensure that the home has sufficient staff to provide care for each child. (Regulation 13(2)(d)) 31/07/2018

p.3

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(5)) 30/06/2018

p.3

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 between 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) Inspection report children’s home: SC371553 4

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The children and young people enjoy living in a spacious and comfortable home. They are able to decorate their bedrooms to their choice, and have compiled ‘wish lists’. However, there have been delays in completing the necessary redecoration and refurbishments.

p.4

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Good care planning incorporates all areas of the children’s and young people’s diverse needs. Effective key-working sessions address issues well, enabling the children and young people to recognise their achievements and set new goals. However, a number of documents are undated, and the use of pejorative words is not helpful to the child or young person. The children and young people have close and nurturing relationships with trusted staff team members. Their positive attachments empower the children and young people to settle at the home.

p.4

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The children and young people are developing an understanding of social issues, and this is broadening their horizons. The children and young people are enabled to safely have their own mobile telephone, as their peers would, which is age appropriate and allows them to maintain contact with family members when they wish.

p.4

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The children and young people attend suitable education provisions where they are making significant progress. One young person is preparing to take her GCSE examinations at a mainstream school and has an aspiration to go on to further education. The children’s and young people’s future life and employment opportunities are enhanced.

p.4

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Good partnership working with health providers ensures that the children and young people receive consistent messages of support. Episodes of self-harm have significantly decreased as the children’s and young people’s emotional health and resilience have improved.

p.4

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The children and young people report that they feel listened to by the staff team members and that their views are important. The children and young people feel valued, which increases their sense of self-worth.

p.4

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The children and young people are active members of their local community and enjoy spending time with friends. This, coupled with participating in day trips together, increases their self-esteem, because they develop social and life skills. The young people preparing for transition to semi-independence now benefit from clear plans to empower them to develop the necessary skills. Clear contact arrangements allow the children and young people to maintain positive relationships with important family members. A social worker said, ‘The staff are fantastic. They are a good bunch who care about (name). I get my reports regularly and I am happy with what they are Inspection report children’s home: SC371553 5 doing.’

p.4

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

A new complaints procedure now ensures that no person who is the subject of a complaint takes any part in its consideration or investigation. A complaint that was made by a young person was investigated thoroughly and to their satisfaction. The young person said, ‘I don’t think I’ve been happier.’

p.5

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

A comprehensive range of generic and individual risk assessments ensure that the staff team members know what to do to protect the children and young people. The children and young people report that they feel happy and settled in the home, and there has been only one ‘missing’ incident since the last inspection. Effective missing person procedures ensure that the children and young people are actively searched for and that lessons are learned if there are any absences.

p.5

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

A much improved behaviour management plan underpins care practice and how to prevent unsafe behaviours or incidents. The introduction of a new incentive scheme has had a significant and positive impact on the children’s and young people’s ability to manage their behaviours.

p.5

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

Physical interventions have not been necessary to protect the children and young people currently resident in the home since the last inspection. Past incidents were recorded appropriately, allowing all involved to learn from the experience and prevent recurrences.

p.5

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

Since the last inspection, senior managers have robustly investigated an incident where staff team members used physical intervention with a young person unnecessarily. The investigation outcome led to disciplinary procedures and the dismissal of a member of staff. The implementation of robust safeguarding procedures, including the use of the whistleblowing process, provides protection for the children and young people.

p.5

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

Bedroom door alarms, which have been used to alert staff if children or young people are leaving their rooms, will now only be activated if there is a specific risk, not as a matter of course. This enhances the children’s and young people’s privacy and allows them to move freely around the building, as they would in a family home.

p.5

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

The current management arrangements are meeting the needs of the children and young people. The deputy manager is well supported by a skilled and experienced manager from another home to oversee care and practice. The requirements and recommendations raised at the last inspection have been met, which demonstrates a capacity to improve.

p.5

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

A consistent cohort of agency workers is now supporting the resilient and committed core staff team members. Staff morale is much improved, as they are able to work a Inspection report children’s home: SC371553 6 reasonable shift pattern which allows for a better home and work–life balance. Nevertheless, recruitment is necessary to ensure that sufficient staff levels are maintained to meet the children’s and young people’s needs.

p.5

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

Robust and challenging external monitoring reports contribute towards the children’s and young people’s well-being and safety. The manager’s internal regulation 45 report is well written, informative and evaluative. However, it does not incorporate the views of the staff team members, so an opportunity for them to influence care practice is being missed.

p.6

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

Senior managers from the organisation have recently been much more involved in the home. They are working with the deputy manager and staff team members to ensure that the children and young people make good progress and receive high standards of care.

p.6

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

The management and staff team members work closely with partner agencies so that the children and young people receive consistent care messages. This includes challenging placing authorities where necessary, for example when identifying suitable education provisions for children. Inspection report children’s home: SC371553 7

p.6

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 difference 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.

p.7

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 8

p.7

Children’s home details

Registered provider: Castle Homes Care Ltd

p.8

Children’s home details

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

p.8

Inspector

Ann-Marie Born, social care inspector Inspection report children’s home: SC371553 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 looked after children, safeguarding and child protection.

p.8

Inspector

If you would like a copy of this document in a different format, such as large print or Braille, please telephone 0300 123 1231, or email enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk . You may reuse this information (not including logos) free of charge in any format or medium, under the terms of the Open Government Licence. To view this licence, visit www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence , write to the Information Policy Team, The National Archives, Kew, London TW9 4DU, or email: psi@nationalarchives.gsi.gov.uk .

p.9

Inspector

Interested in our work? You can subscribe to our monthly newsletter for more information and updates: http://eepurl.com/iTrDn .

p.9

Inspector

T: 0300 123 1231 Textphone: 0161 618 8524 E: enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk W: www.gov.uk/ofsted

p.9