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

Inspection report children’s home: SC457137 1 SC457137 Registered provider: The Cambian Group

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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 privately operated children’s home provides care and accommodation for one young person who has 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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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

Overall judgement at last inspection: Good

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requires improvement to be good

Enforcement action since last inspection: None Inspection report children’s home: SC457137 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

31/07/2017 Full Good 28/02/2017 Interim Sustained effectiveness 29/11/2016 Full Good 07/03/2016 Interim Sustained effectiveness

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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

5: Engaging with the wider system to ensure children’s needs are met In meeting the quality standards, the registered person must, and must ensure that staff— seek to involve each child’s placing authority effectively in the child’s care, in accordance with the child’s relevant plans; seek to secure out and services required to meet each child’s needs; if the registered person considers, or staff consider, a placing authority’s or a relevant person’s performance or response to be inadequate in relation to their role, challenge the placing authority or the relevant person to seek to ensure that each child’s needs are met in accordance with the child’s relevant plans; and seek to develop and maintain effective professional relationships with such persons, bodies or organisations as the registered person considers appropriate having regard to the range of needs of children for whom it is intended that the children’s

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Requirement Due date

home is to provide care and accommodation. In particular, this is in relation to initiating weekly meetings with the placing authority and other professionals, in order to safely manage current risks. Review and update the missing from 25/10/2018 Inspection report children’s home: SC457137 3 home management plan. It is also in relation to arrangements being made for children who go missing to have an independent return home interview on their return. It is also in relation to securing specialist services and resources to support the home to help support children to become increasingly safe. (Regulation 5(a)(b)(c)(d)) 8: The education standard 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 a child who is excluded from school, or who is of

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Requirement Due date

compulsory school age but not attending school, to access educational and training support throughout the period of exclusion or non-attendance and to return to school as soon as possible. In particular, this is in relation to ensuring that plans are in place for a child’s education when they are admitted to the home. (Regulation 8(1)(2)(a)(viii)) 25/10/2018

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Requirement Due date

13: The leadership and management standard 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 the home’s workforce provides continuity of care to each child. (Regulation 13(1)(a)(b)(2)(e)) 25/10/2018

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Recommendations

 Ensure that the local authority provides opportunity for children and young people to have independent return home interviews when they have been missing. Homes should take account of information provided by such interviews when assessing risks and putting arrangements in place to protect each child. Records must be kept detailing all individual incidents when children go missing from the home. This information should be shared with the placing authority and, Inspection report children’s home: SC457137 4 where appropriate, with the child’s parents. Evaluation of missing incidents should be undertaken to identify any gaps in training, skills or knowledge for staff to record and retain evidence of what worked well. This evaluation should inform the review of the quality of care. Where a child runs away persistently or engages in other risky behaviours, such as frequently being absent from the home to meet with inappropriate adults, the

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Recommendations

registered person, in consultation with the child’s placing authority, should convene a risk management meeting to develop a strategy for managing risks to the child. Children missing from home agreed protocols with local authorities should be reviewed regularly and be scrutinised by the local safeguarding children’s board (LSCB) when the above is not happening. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 45, paragraphs 9.23–9.32)

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improvement to be good

The overall experience and progress of young people living in this home requires improvement. This is because too often not enough planning has been undertaken to ensure that young people’s needs are appropriately met or that young people move on in a positive way. Since the last full inspection in July 2017, there have been three changes in the young people living in the home. One young person was not able to continue to live at the home due to staff being unable to manage his behaviour, resulting in several members of staff being seriously assaulted and police involvement. The current young person did not have their educational needs addressed for five months and, as a result, did not achieve any qualifications at the end of year 11. While this is being addressed during this new academic year, this shortfall requires improvement so that other young people are given good educational opportunities as

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improvement to be good

soon as they arrive at the home. More effective partnership working is needed to address the therapeutic needs of young people in a timely way. If a placing authority is slow to commission specialist assessments, leaders and managers must escalate their concerns quickly and effectively. In other respects, there has been some very positive work in this area, with the home making good use of the company’s clinician and in liaising with a range of professionals to establish a more in-depth understanding of a young person’s complex health needs. During this inspection, a particularly positive feature identified is the way in which young people’s interests are nurtured and supported. Discussions took place about how these experiences can be fully explored to help young people to develop a greater sense of self-worth and aspirations about their future lives. Inspection report children’s home: SC457137 5

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improvement to be good

Young people do not always receive independent return home interviews when they have been missing. This requires improvement to ensure that every opportunity is taken to help young people to become increasingly safe. Current concerns around missing incidents were fully discussed and the inspector highlighted the importance of leaders and managers initiating weekly meetings with the placing authority and other professionals to review incidents, identify strategies and share decision-making to effectively and safely manage current risks. The missing from home management plan needs reviewing as it is too lengthy and includes historical data that is confusing. Young people feel helped and protected and can identify a trusted adult that they can talk to about any concerns. Young people are given lots of guidance about the risks that the use of the internet may pose and are helped to develop a better understanding of

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improvement to be good

how to keep themselves safe. Staff are clear about and follow procedures for responding to concerns about the safety of a young person. The home has effective links with a range of safeguarding professionals and the staff team is playing a key role in safeguarding the young person in their care. They are mindful of the young person’s age and rights and their own responsibilities to help the young person to prepare for life beyond the children’s home as a young adult. For example, it was identified that young people should receive more help to engage in a range of social opportunities with other young people. Positive behaviour is promoted through incentives and rewards and young people are treated with respect and dignity. Staff understand how a young person’s life experiences continue to have an impact on their current behaviour and emotional well-being. Careful and thorough recruitment procedures are in place.

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

Since the full inspection in July 2017, there has been a change in the leadership and management of the home and several changes in the staff team. This has meant that the current young person has experienced a disruption in the attachments she has formed since living in the home. The management and staffing of the home have become more stable in recent months. A new manager was appointed in the summer and is in the process of applying to be registered with Ofsted. The manager is already a registered manager of another children’s home, within the company, that also cares for one child. The manager feels supported by the responsible individual who regularly visits the home and participates in key meetings. A recent positive development has been the appointment of a deputy manager, who, like the manager, will work equally across two children’s homes. There is a good balance of male and female staff in the team. This, too, is a strength, as the young person is

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

benefiting from having positive male role models in their life. Inspection report children’s home: SC457137 6 Good attention is given to training. Specialist training has been provided and further training scheduled to help staff to develop a better understanding of how to meet the young person’s complex needs. The manager has started a level 5 qualification in leadership and management for residential childcare and the deputy is to do a level 4 qualification. The staff team members have either achieved or are being supported to achieve a level 3 qualification.

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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: SC457137 7

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Cambian, Waterfront, Hammersmith Embankment, Chancellors Road, London W6 9RU

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Children’s home details

Responsible individual: Nicola McClements

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Inspector

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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T: 0300 123 1231 Textphone: 0161 618 8524 E: enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk W: http://www.gov.uk/ofsted Inspection report children’s home: SC457137 8

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