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

Inspection report children‟s home: SC456959 1 SC456959 Registered provider: Cambian Childcare 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

This home is registered to provide care and accommodation for one child or young person who has emotional and/or behavioural difficulties. The current admission criteria are for children who have experienced serious behavioural, emotional and/or social difficulties and who require high levels of support in a smaller, more structured environment to ensure that their needs are properly met. The home is part of a large private organisation.

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Overall experiences and progress of

children and young people, taking into account

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Inadequate

How well children and young people are helped and protected Inadequate

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Inadequate

The effectiveness of leaders and managers Inadequate

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Inadequate

There are serious and widespread failures that mean children and young people are not protected or their welfare is not promoted or safeguarded and the care and experiences of children and young people are poor and they are not making progress.

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Inadequate

Date of last inspection: 6 November 2017

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Inadequate

Overall judgement at last inspection: good

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Inadequate

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report children‟s home: SC456959 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

06/11/2017 Full Good 01/02/2017 Full Outstanding 13/09/2016 Interim Sustained effectiveness 12/02/2016 Interim Sustained effectiveness Inspection report children‟s home: SC456959 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 quality and purpose of care standard is that children receive care from staff who— 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. (Regulation 6(2)(b)(vi)) 27/07/2018

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Requirement Due date

The education standard is that children make measurable progress towards achieving their educational potential and are helped to do so. In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to ensure— that staff— help each child to achieve the child‟s education and training targets, as recorded in the child‟s relevant plans; understand the barriers to learning that each child may face and take appropriate action to help the child to overcome any such barriers. (Regulation 8(2)(a)(i)(iii)) 27/07/2018

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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— meet each child‟s behavioural and emotional needs, as set out in the child‟s relevant plans; encourage each child to take responsibility for the child‟s behaviour, in accordance with the child‟s age and understanding; help each child to develop and practise skills to resolve 27/07/2018 Inspection report children‟s home: SC456959 4 conflicts positively and without harm to anyone; de-escalate confrontations with or between children, or potentially violent behaviour by children. (Regulation11(1)(a)(b)(c)(2)(a)(i)(iii)(iv)(xi)) The protection of children standard is that children are

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Requirement Due date

protected from harm and enabled to keep themselves safe. In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to ensure— 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; *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(2)(a)(i)(b)) 27/07/2018

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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— 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; *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; understand the impact that the quality of care provided in the home is having on the progress and experiences of each child and use this understanding to inform the development of the quality of care provided in the home; use monitoring and review systems to make continuous improvements in the quality of care provided in the home.

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Requirement Due date

(Regulation 13(1)(a)(b)(2)(a)(d)(e)(f)(h)) 27/07/2018

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Requirement Due date

The care planning standard is that children— receive effectively planned care in or through the children‟s home; and 27/07/2018 Inspection report children‟s home: SC456959 5 that each child‟s relevant plans are followed. (Regulation 14(1)(a)(2)(c)) The registered person must prepare and implement a policy which— provide for records to be kept of an allegation of abuse or neglect, and the action taken in response. (Regulation 34(2)(d)) 27/07/2018

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must maintain records (“case records”) for each child which— include the information and documents listed in Schedule 3 in relation to each child; are kept up to date; and are signed and dated by the author of each entry. (Regulation 36 (1)(a)(b)(c)) 27/07/2018

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Requirement Due date

Schedule 4 sets out the other information that the registered person must keep in relation to a children‟s home. The registered person must maintain in the home the records in Schedule 4. (Regulation 37(2)(a)) 27/07/2018

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Requirement Due date

* These requirements are subject to a compliance notice.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: inadequate

The manager has failed to provide enough staff to ensure that the workforce provides continuity of care for the child currently living at the home. As a result, the child does not receive consistency of care and is unable to build up trusting and secure relationships with staff who are looking after them. This has had a negative effect on their overall experiences and progress. The child does not receive care in line with their plans. The home‟s own placement plan states that the placement should provide consistent rules and boundaries. This is not provided because there is not a consistent staff team or clear direction for staff about how they should manage the child‟s behaviour. The child‟s progress has declined since being in this placement. They are not in full- time education and there has been a decline in their engagement with the home tutor. Staff lack effective strategies to motivate the child to engage with education and are

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: inadequate

not consistent in their management of this. For example, by taking the child out and purchasing items for a pamper night after she was verbally abusive to her tutor and refused to engage with education, staff showed that there were no consequences for the child‟s actions. Furthermore, this approach does not motivate the child to re- engage in education. Inspection report children‟s home: SC456959 6 Staff offer the child alternatives to education such as educational trips out, but the child rarely engages with these. Recently, there has been a decline in the child‟s engagement with staff and the activities offered to her. The child spends long periods of time in her bedroom using her mobile phone, which affects her ability to engage with education the following day. Staff do not have effective strategies in place to address this, as the child refuses to hand their phone in at night, in line with their plan.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: inadequate

The child is not supported to develop self-care and independence skills. For example, the child was observed to wear unclean and stained clothing during the inspection, and this was not challenged by staff. The child‟s bedroom had also not been tidied for a significant period and was in a poor state. This had not been identified or addressed by staff. This demonstrates a lack of input by staff to support the child to develop the skills they will need as an adult.

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

Behaviour management in the home is poor. Staff are unable to manage the child‟s behaviour and ensure her safety and well-being. Staff have been unable to put routines or boundaries in place to ensure that the home‟s day-to-day care is arranged and delivered to keep children safe and to protect them from harm. On occasions, police assistance has been required by the staff to help manage the child‟s behaviour as staff have been unable to de-escalate situations effectively. There have been times when staff have locked themselves in the office for their own safety while they wait for the police to arrive, leaving the child unsupervised in the home. On one occasion, the child was left unsupervised in the home with a box of knives and cleaning products that she had taken from the staff office. On another occasion, the child was left unsupervised in the home, when staff remained in the office for over one

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

hour. This practice does not safeguard the child. Risk assessments for verbal and physically aggressive behaviour do not sufficiently set out what action staff should take to reduce this risk. This is particularly significant given the high numbers of staff working in the home who read these assessments as a point of reference. Consequently, not all staff have the up-to-date and relevant information to support them in managing the child‟s challenging behaviour and ensuring the child‟s safety and well-being. Staff do not always follow risk management strategies identified in the child‟s risk assessments to keep the child safe. For example, staff do not ensure that the child hands her mobile phone in to staff at night. As a result, the child is spending time on her mobile phone contacting unknown males at night. This does not ensure that the child is kept safe from harm. Strategies to promote the child‟s positive behaviour are not consistent. For more than

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

three weeks prior to the inspection, the rewards and sanctions book was not completed by staff. Staff use reward charts, but these are ineffective and alternative strategies are not put in place. This practice does not demonstrate what strategies staff are using to promote positive behaviour. Consequently, the child does not learn how to manage their behaviour safely. Inspection report children‟s home: SC456959 7 When the child goes missing from the home, staff report her to the police and local authorities. Staff search for the child and pass on any relevant information to the police so that the she is located as quickly as possible. Written records, however, do not always make clear that return home interviews have been undertaken. This limits the opportunity to obtain important information from the child about why they went missing from home. All staff have had safeguarding training. Allegations are managed appropriately and

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

staff follow the correct procedures. The manager does not, however, keep a record of the outcome of allegations or the outcome from the designated officer, which leads to a lack of clarity about what actions have been taken to safeguard the child.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

Leadership and management arrangements are inadequate. The manager has failed to demonstrate that she inspires and leads a culture in relation to the children‟s home that helps children aspire to fulfil their potential and promotes their welfare. Furthermore, the manager had failed to take appropriate action when she understood the significant impact that an inconsistent staff team is having on the care and safety of the child living in the home. The manager was registered in February 2018. She is registered to manage two homes within the organisation. It is not clear from rosters how much time she is spending managing this home. She reports that she divides her time between the two homes as necessary. However, this is not appropriately documented. Leaders and managers have failed to provide a stable staff team in the home. This does not ensure that the child receives a consistent level of care and support, and has

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

had a negative effect on the child‟s overall care and experiences. Staff are being used from other homes within the organisation as there are not enough permanent staff to support the child because of sickness and staff members leaving. Agency and bank staff are also used. During April and May 2018, 29 different staff members worked with the child in the home. The manager has failed to lead and manage the home in a way which is consistent with the aims and objectives in the statement of purpose. This states that, „As a team, we ensure that from the beginning of the placement we lay out a strong set of rules and boundaries in terms of behaviour and attitude towards education.‟ This was not evident during the inspection. The manager‟s monitoring of the quality of care provided by staff is poor. Consequently, until the inspection, the weaknesses of the home had not been identified and decisive action had not been taken to resolve these. As a result, the quality of care

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

provided to the child has declined since the last full inspection. The manager does not show an understanding of how the quality of care provided in the home affects the progress and experiences of the child. The manager was not accepting of all the shortfalls identified during the inspection and minimised the effect of these shortfalls on the child. Inspection report children‟s home: SC456959 8 The manager does not ensure that visitors, including agency staff, are signed into the home and that their identification is verified. This does not ensure that the child is protected from unsafe visitors to the home.

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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: SC456959 9

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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, Waterfront, Hammersmith Embankment, Chancellors Road, London W6 9RU

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Inspector

Sarah Billett, social care inspector Inspection report children‟s home: SC456959 10 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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