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

Inspection report children’s home: SC457621 1 SC457621 Registered provider: Cambian Childcare Limited

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Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

The home is run by a private provider. It is registered to provide care and accommodation for up to four young people who have 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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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/or 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

Overall judgement at last inspection: Outstanding

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inadequate

Enforcement action since last inspection: None Inspection report children’s home: SC457621 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

15/05/2018 Full Outstanding 17/05/2017 Full Good 28/02/2017 Interim Sustained effectiveness 20/09/2016 Full Outstanding Inspection report children’s home: SC457621 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 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 staff work as a team where appropriate; ensure that staff have the experience, qualifications 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; 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

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Requirement Due date

quality of care provided in the home; demonstrate that practice in the home is informed and improved by taking into account and acting on— research and developments in relation to the ways in which the needs of children are best met; and feedback on the experiences of children, including complaints received; and use monitoring and review systems to make continuous improvements in the quality of care provided in the home. (Regulation 13(1)(a)(b)(2)(a)(b)(c)(d)(e)(f)(g)(i)(ii)(h)) 13/05/2019 Inspection report children’s home: SC457621 4 The registered person may permit an individual to start work at the home if— the registered person has taken all reasonable steps to obtain full information about each of the matters in Schedule 2 in respect of the individual, but the enquiries in relation to any of the matters in paragraphs 3 to 6 of Schedule 2 are incomplete; full and satisfactory information in respect of the individual has

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Requirement Due date

been obtained in relation to the matters in paragraphs 1 and 2 of Schedule 2; the registered person considers that the circumstances are exceptional; and the registered person ensures that the individual is appropriately supervised while carrying out the individual’s duties, pending receipt of any outstanding information on the matters in paragraphs 3 to 6 of Schedule 2, which is then considered satisfactory by the registered person. The registered person must take reasonable steps to ensure that any individual who is working at the home is appropriately supervised while carrying out the individual’s duties. (Regulation 32(7)(a)(b)(c)(d)(8)) 13/05/2019

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: inadequate

The quality of care provided to young people has significantly deteriorated in recent months. Since December 2018, a high number of staff, including the manager, have left the home. This has had a very negative impact on young people. Young people’s experiences have been poor. Most new staff are inexperienced. Young people have not yet developed trusting or meaningful relationships with them. Staff report that they feel unable to challenge young people’s inappropriate behaviour or to set consistent boundaries. They say that this is because they are so new and do not know the young people well enough. Some staff do not provide good-quality care to young people. Recently, when a young person felt unsafe and unwell at a party, staff refused to collect them. Also, when a young person felt upset and emotional, they told the inspector that staff did not respond. The young person said: ‘I knew it was a moment when I had only got myself.’

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: inadequate

Young people feel a sense of loss because so many staff have left. The staff whom they had previously relied on for emotional support are no longer there for them. Despite this, a small number of staff have developed good relationships with young people. Young people look forward to those staff being on duty. Some areas of good practice are starting to emerge from the work of these staff. Examples include listening Inspection report children’s home: SC457621 5 and responding to a young person’s wishes about contact with their family. One staff member was confident enough to challenge a social worker on this. Their efforts were influential in helping a young person to develop and improve family relationships. Young people’s education has continued, despite the numerous staff changes. Their educational achievements have not been affected, although progress may have been further accelerated if young people had received better support and motivation from

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: inadequate

staff. Some young people’s medical needs have been well met. Young people’s complex medication regimes are particularly well managed.

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

Staff are not experienced enough to challenge young people who display inappropriate or harmful behaviour. Neither are they confident enough to implement appropriate boundaries. The house rules and risk assessments are not consistently being followed. Young people have been allowed to stay out too late at night and have friends in the house too late into the evening. This has gone unchallenged by staff. One staff member referred to the home as being ‘like a bed and breakfast’. This reflects the general inability of staff to act as a good parent would by setting and enforcing sensible expectations of behaviour. Poor behaviour management has recently led to a serious incident. The incident resulted in young people getting access to car keys and driving away in the home’s car. Young people could have been harmed and risked criminalisation. Numerous staff changes mean that young people have few meaningful relationships with

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

staff. There is not always a trusted adult available for young people to talk to about their safety worries. There is the potential for unsuitable adults to start working at the home because the staff recruitment process is not good enough. One staff member has been recruited without appropriate reference checks. They have no experience of working with children or of working in a children’s home. Despite declaring previous offences, they were invited to start working in the home before their criminal record check had been received or scrutinised. In addition, when agency staff are recruited, there is too much reliance on the recruitment agency’s assessment of suitability. One gap in the employment history for an agency staff member has gone unnoticed because of a lack of oversight by management.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

The home has rapidly declined since the previous registered manager resigned in December 2018. A very high number of staff have left the home. Only one staff member remains from those staff who were in post at the last inspection and who knew the young people well. This has been a tremendously difficult time for young people. They have lost people whom they had previously relied on. Young people are now cared for by staff who have been redeployed from other homes Inspection report children’s home: SC457621 6 and by very new staff, most of whom are unfamiliar to young people. This is having a negative impact on young people. Current staff have not yet gained young people’s respect. Several staff comment that the home has not been supported appropriately by the organisation. The acting manager has not been able to improve the home sufficiently. He is also now leaving. Staff say that the poor staffing situation was at its worst in February 2019. Despite this,

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

another young person was admitted to the home at this time. This young person has since left, but records indicate that this young person had a poor experience while living in the home and staff share this concern. Some of the new staff have not received relevant training to manage some of the young people’s needs. For example, some young people have previously been sexually exploited and staff have not yet received training on how to protect young people in this regard. There is a programme of training planned, but it is likely that it will be some time before the staff team will be skilled and confident in its work with young people.

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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: SC457621 7

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Cambian Childcare Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Cambian Childcare Limited, 4th Floor, Waterfront Manbre Wharf, Manbre Road, Hammersmith, London W6 9RH

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Inspector

Caroline Brailsford, social care inspector Inspection report children’s home: SC457621 8 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.

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Inspector

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Inspector

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Inspector

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