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

Inspection report children‟s home: SC035657 1 SC035657 Registered provider: Cambian Childcare Limited Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

The home is owned by a private company. It is registered to provide care and accommodation for up to seven children who may have emotional and/or behavioural difficulties. There is currently no registered manager. The previous manager left the position in October 2018.

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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 inadequate

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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 February 2019

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requires improvement to be good

Overall judgement at last inspection: declined in effectiveness

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requires improvement to be good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report children‟s home: SC035657 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

13/02/2019 Interim Declined in effectiveness 01/05/2018 Full Good 31/10/2017 Full Requires improvement to be good 01/08/2017 Full Inadequate Inspection report children‟s home: SC035657 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 children‟s views, wishes and feelings standard is that children receive care from staff who— develop positive relationships with them; engage with them; and take their views, wishes and feelings into account in relation to matters affecting the children‟s care and welfare and their lives. In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to— ensure that staff— ascertain and consider each child‟s views, wishes and feelings, and balance these against what they judge to be in the child‟s best interests when making decisions about the child‟s care and welfare; help each child to express views, wishes and feelings; help each child to understand how the child‟s views, wishes and feelings have been taken into account and give the child reasons for decisions in relation to the child; regularly consult children, and seek their feedback, about the quality of the home‟s care; help each child to understand how the child‟s privacy will be

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Requirement Due date

respected and the circumstances when it may have to be limited; help each child to prepare for any review of the child‟s relevant plans and to make the child‟s views, wishes and feelings known for the purposes of that review; and make each child aware of and, if necessary, remind them of each of the matters in sub-paragraph (d)(i) to (iii); ensure that each child— is enabled to provide feedback to, and raise issues with, a relevant person about the support and services that the child receives;

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Requirement Due date

has access to the home‟s children‟s guide, and the home‟s complaints procedure, when the child‟s placement in the home is agreed and throughout the child‟s stay in the home; and 31/07/2019 Inspection report children‟s home: SC035657 4 is given appropriate advocacy support. (Regulation 7 (1)(a)(b)(c)(2)(a)(i)(ii)(iii)(iv)(v)(vi) and (b)(i)(ii)) 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— 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; have the skills to identify and act upon signs that a child is at risk of harm; understand the roles and responsibilities in relation to protecting children that are assigned to them by the registered person; and are familiar with, and act in accordance with, the home‟s child protection policies. (Regulation 12 (1)(2)(a)(i)(ii)(iii)(v) and (vii)) With specific reference to increasing staff knowledge of safeguarding procedures and improving the quality of risk assessments. 31/07/2019

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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— 31/07/2019 Inspection report children‟s home: SC035657 5 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) and (h)) The registered provider must appoint a person to manage the children‟s home if—

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Requirement Due date

there is no registered manager in respect of the home; and

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Requirement Due date

the registered provider— is an organisation or a partnership; does not satisfy Regulation 28; or is not, or does not intend to be, in day-to-day charge of the home. If the registered provider appoints a person to manage the home, the registered provider must, without delay, give HMCI notice of— the name of the person so appointed; and the date on which the appointment takes effect. (Regulation 27 (1)(a)(b)(i)(ii)(iii) and (2)(a)(b)) 30/06/2019

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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— 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

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) and (5)) 31/07/2019

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Requirement Due date

The standard in paragraph one requires the registered person to ensure— that the premises used for the purposes of the home are designed, furnished and maintained so as to protect each child from avoidable hazards to the child‟s health. (Regulation 12 (2)(d)) 31/07/2019 Inspection report children‟s home: SC035657 6

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Recommendations

 The registered person should only accept placements for children where they are satisfied the home can respond effectively to the child‟s relevant plans and where they have fully considered the impact that the placement will have on the existing group of children. The Statement of Purpose is an important document in the process of care planning as it sets out the needs of children the home is set up and equipped to care for. („Guide to the children‟s homes regulations including the quality standards‟, page 56, paragraph 11.4)  Staff should continually and actively assess the risks to each child and the arrangements in place to protect them. Where there are safeguarding concerns for a child, their placement plan, agreed between the home and their placing authority, must include details of the steps the home will take to manage any assessed risks on a day-to-day basis. („Guide to the children‟s homes regulations

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Recommendations

including the quality standards‟, page 42, paragraph 9.5)  Where children placed in a home are not participating in education because they have been excluded or are not on a school roll for some other reason, the registered person and staff must work closely with the placing authority so that the child is supported and enabled to resume full-time education as soon as possible. („Guide to the children‟s homes regulations including the quality standards‟, page 28, paragraph 5.15)

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improvement to be good

There is evidence that some young people are building positive relationships with staff and enjoy living at the home, however, this is not consistent for all young people. Two young people said that their views were not listened to and neither are their wishes and feelings.

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improvement to be good

While staff report that key-work sessions do happen and that there is evidence of this, the evaluation of impact and learning for young people acquired from the sessions is not clear. The home provides weekly summary reports to their statutory partners. However, the lack of information within the reports does not provide a thorough evaluation or an understanding of the progress that young people make. Shortfalls within in-house communication and information sharing mean that not all information filters through to all staff and some staff remain unaware of crucial details and events for young people in their care.

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improvement to be good

The home feels uninviting and does not have a homely and nurturing appeal. This does not support young people to take pride in their home. On the day of the inspection, the Inspection report children‟s home: SC035657 7 front and back doors were being replaced. Two of the empty bedrooms have been empty for some weeks and have been left unkempt, with graffiti evident on the walls. The front lounge area was decorated by previous young people who have now left. The home has an institutional feel due to several A4 printouts stuck on the wall about bullying and drugs and these are situated on the wall of the main stairs and hallway. Photographic printouts of young people are stuck on the wall in the lounge with adhesive tape, which adds to the unkempt appearance of the home.

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improvement to be good

The cultural and religious needs of the young people are promoted by their key staff in the home, for example Halal food is provided and access is provided to the local mosque.

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improvement to be good

Young people and staff state that there is ongoing work to help young people to gain experience with practical skills towards independence. While staff could refer to historical evidence of a young person‟s positive transition to independence, transition planning is not routinely evidenced within current care plans or young people‟s files. This means that not all young people are being fully prepared for independence.

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improvement to be good

Young people are placed some distance away from their original family home and with the support of staff they do maintain positive contact with family and friends. However, the staff‟s recognition and support regarding young people‟s placement wishes are varied. One young person has an increased contact plan and sees his family more often, with a view to returning to his family. A second young person, who is clear in his view that he does not want to live at the home and would like to be nearer to his family home, has not received any support from staff to promote his wishes and feelings with his placing authority.

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improvement to be good

Three of the four young people have part-time school places. The other young person has on-site education provided by a tutor twice a week. Education is encouraged and supported by staff and there is an overall increase in education attendance from some young people‟s starting points. This is positive as some of the young people have been out of education for several months. However, there are still some inconsistences in school attendance and not all of the young people are attending education and others are school refusing. Staff do not routinely explore alternative education, such as visits to museums and places of interest, that would provide routine and structure as well as promote knowledge and curiosity to young people on the days when they are not in education.

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improvement to be good

Staff state that they support young people with GCSE education sheets if they are not in school, but they are unable to track the successful completion of this work as it will depend on how keen a young person is to complete them. For one young person, communication between school and the home requires improvement as the home‟s staff were unclear why a young person was excluded from education. Inspection report children‟s home: SC035657 8

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improvement to be good

The quality of risk management plans varies, with some plans lacking contextual information which impacts on staff‟s ability to manage presenting risks. There is no clear evaluation as to why risk management strategies have changed and there is limited evidence to demonstrate that risk management plans are shared with placing social workers. One social worker confirmed that they had received the relevant details, while another social worker stated that these had not been provided by the home. This means that there is no clear oversight and agreement in relation to managing the presenting risks for young people.

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improvement to be good

Overall, staff lack knowledge of key safeguarding issues. While staff do provide for each individual‟s basic care needs and ensure that young people‟s day-to-day needs are met, there is a lack of nurturing care and limited communication between the home and the social workers to ensure that each individual‟s needs are addressed holistically. Not all staff understand the safeguarding procedures, including risk management plans, which means that agreed strategies to manage presenting risks are not consistently implemented by staff.

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improvement to be good

Missing from care episodes have decreased and procedures are followed. Staff follow procedures and work in close liaison with the local police. Restraint is used as a last resort and there have been no recorded incidents of restraint in the past 12 months.

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improvement to be good

Young people can show challenging behaviour and it is unclear what strategies and policies are in place to manage these behaviours. Recording of incidents is not always clear. Staff advised inspectors that consequences are effective, but consequences do not consistently link in with the young people‟s individual care plans and are not reflected in the records. Young people do not routinely sign or comment about the consequences provided in relation to their unacceptable behaviour. Therefore, it is difficult for staff to measure if consequences are meaningful or effective for individual young people.

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improvement to be good

Some young people have a history of drug misuse and smoking marijuana. The responsible individual expressed concerns to the inspectors that young people can access substances within the local area. However, staff are proactive in providing support for young people to decrease their substance misuse and to promote partnership working with the local drugs team. Individual information sessions are provided in the home for young people, and staff have attended managing substance misuse training.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

The effectiveness of leadership and management is judged as inadequate because there has not been a registered manager in post for over 20 weeks and the application for registration has not been submitted in a timely manner.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

The current manager was not available at the time of the inspection. The responsible Inspection report children‟s home: SC035657 9 individual provided information to the best of his knowledge regarding the young people and staff.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

The staff team has a variety of skills and experience. Some staff have worked for the home for a number of years and some are new to the home. New, inexperienced staff have little to no previous childcare experience. The recently employed deputy manager has experience of adult services and is qualified to National Vocational Qualification level 5, which according to the post holder covers children‟s and adult social care. He reported that his skills are transferrable and acknowledged that he needs to gain further skills in working with young people.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

Staff were observed to have a relaxed and friendly approach with the young people, and young people were engaging in conversation with adults in the home. Staff do support young people to attend important meetings, for example at school, and routine health appointments.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

The registered person‟s internal quality reporting programme provides a review of the quality of care provided to the young people. However, there is no feedback mechanism for the acting manager to capture issues raised by young people. Young people‟s quality questionnaires and care plans are unsigned, which indicates that young people‟s feedback on the quality of their care is not routinely captured by the acting manager.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

There are outstanding recommendations from the previous inspection regarding repairs to the property, which have remained incomplete. In addition, there has been further damage to the property following the placement breakdown of one young person. On the day of the inspection, the front and back doors were being replaced. Two of the empty bedrooms have been empty for some weeks and have been left unkempt, with graffiti evident on the walls.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

At the last inspection, the quality of compatibility impact statements was raised. There have been no new admissions to the home since the last inspection. Therefore, the implementation of this recommendation could not be measured, and the recommendation is repeated.

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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. Inspection report children‟s home: SC035657 10 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

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Information about this inspection

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: SC035657 11

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Cambian Childcare Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: 4th Floor, Waterfront, Manbre Wharf, Manbre Road, Hammersmith, Middlesex W6 9RU

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Inspectors

Kamal Bhamra: social care inspector Sarah Oldham: social care inspector Inspection report children‟s home: SC035657 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 looked after children, safeguarding and child protection.

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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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