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. There is no registered manager.

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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: Inadequate

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Enforcement action since last inspection:

As a result of the last inspection, Ofsted issued a restriction notice so that no more young people could be admitted to the home. During this full inspection, the restriction notice was monitored. Inspection report children’s home: SC457621 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

09/04/2019 Full Inadequate 15/05/2018 Full Outstanding 17/05/2017 Full Good 28/02/2017 Interim Sustained effectiveness 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; 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)(h)) 14/08/2019

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Requirement Due date

The protection of children standard is that children are protected from harm and enabled to keep themselves safe. In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to ensure— 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 (1)(2)(b)(2)(b)) 14/08/2019 Inspection report children’s home: SC457621 4

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improvement to be good

Young people’s experiences of living at this home are not consistently good. They are still not receiving consistent care and the staff team continues to change. Young people feel unsettled. They do not yet know the newer staff well enough to be able to develop the trusting relationships which they need to make progress. Young people, who are aged 16 and 17, use the house as a base, often spending large amounts of time away from the home. Family type activities such sharing meals at the table, watching television together and cooking are rare. Young people do not feel a sense of permanence or belonging. As a result, they are not investing in their placement. Staff have supported one young person to apply for jobs so that they can secure some employment before moving on to a more independent setting. The other young person’s plans are less clear, and they have little to do around the home. Some activities are

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improvement to be good

planned, but young people are often away from placement, so these do not happen. Because staff have not been able to overcome one young person’s general sense of disengagement from the home, work to address alcohol and drug misuse has not been effective. There are some pockets of good practice, which have positively impacted on young people. Staff have listened to and responded to young people about how they wish to make progress with their family relationships. This is especially the case where young people live a long way away from home. Young people have helped to decorate the home and one young person feels that things have improved since the last inspection. The organisation is working very well with local authorities to find the best solutions for young people and to ensure that smooth transitions can be made to more suitable placements.

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improvement to be good

Young people are safer than they had previously been. When there are incidents, staff have often handled these better. There is an improved safeguarding culture. However, there has been an occasion when the front door alarm was heard by staff during the sleep-in shift. The staff member did not check young people to make sure that they were safe. It was later discovered that a young person’s friend had come into the home. This went unnoticed by staff until the next morning. There have also been occasions when staff have not followed young people’s agreed risk management strategies. For example, they have not made sure to visit young people who are absent without authority, but have checked on their welfare by text message or phone call. One young person said that they were angry about an occasion when they were absent from the home because ‘not one person called me’. Young people do not Inspection report children’s home: SC457621 5

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improvement to be good

feel that all staff members are committed to supporting and helping them. The acting manager continues to put great efforts into improving safeguarding practice. However, the regularly changing staff team poses a challenge in achieving consistency. The manager is working meticulously and methodically through these difficulties to secure improvement. The staff recruitment process is improved. All staff now have a Disclosure and Barring Service check before working in the home. The acting manager is taking a firm and proactive approach to pre-recruitment vetting. This helps to protect young people from unsuitable adults.

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

Many staff are redeployed from other homes within the organisation. Some have been redeployed from other poorly performing homes. Others are commuting substantial distances to support the home. These staff include the acting manager, the deputy manager, and a team leader. However, the current staffing arrangement is providing greater stability. The organisation has made firm commitments to maintain this arrangement until new managers and staff are in post. The organisation recognises the level of current instability. As a result, it has also made firm commitments to admit no further children until current residents have moved to new placements and the staffing arrangements have stabilised. There has been no registered manager for 27 weeks, but the new acting manager is committed to applying to Ofsted to be the registered manager. She is assertive and confident. Staff value her effective decision-making and her commitment to improving

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

the home. Staff practice is improving. The acting manager has responded appropriately to concerns raised about staff since the last inspection. However, the acting manager is realistic and does not underestimate the scale of improvement that is required before the home is able to deliver consistently good-quality care to children. Some staff performance issues have continued. Although the acting manager has set higher expectations of staff conduct, and has taken proactive steps to address weakness, there have still been failures to adhere to agreed procedures and weaknesses in supervision of young people. In a previous action plan, following the monitoring inspection on 15 May 2019, the organisation told Ofsted that a regional manager would visit the home twice a week to support ongoing improvement. This has not happened. However, the acting manager states that she has been offered regular support in other ways. She is confident that

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

current management support is effective. Progress has been made in addressing each of the requirements set at the last inspection.

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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 Inspection report children’s home: SC457621 6 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: 4th Floor, Waterfront, Manbre Wharf, Manbre Road, Hammersmith, Middlesex W6 9RU

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Inspector(s)

Caroline Brailsford, Social Care Regulatory Inspector Philip Cass, Regional Inspection Manager 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 children looked after, safeguarding and child protection.

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Inspector(s)

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Inspector(s)

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Inspector(s)

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

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