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

Inspection report children’s home: SC456795 1 SC456795 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 is a privately owned children’s home. It is registered to provide care and accommodation for one child.

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Information about this children’s home

Children were not seen as part of this inspection. This was because the child was missing from the home on the day of the inspection.

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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

Date of last inspection: 27 November 2018

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requires improvement to be good

Overall judgement at last inspection: outstanding

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requires improvement to be good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report children’s home: SC456795 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

27/11/2018 Full Outstanding 15/12/2017 Full Good 21/02/2017 Interim Improved effectiveness 27/09/2016 Full Outstanding Inspection report children’s home: SC456795 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 education standard is that children make measurable progress towards achieving their educational potential and are helped to do so.

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Requirement Due date

In particular the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to ensure—

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Requirement Due date

help each child to achieve the child’s education and training targets, as recorded in the child’s relevant plans;

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Requirement Due date

support each child’s learning and development, including helping the child to develop independent study skills and, where appropriate, helping the child to complete independent study;

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Requirement Due date

understand the barriers to learning that each child may face and take appropriate action to help the child overcome any such barriers;

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Requirement Due date

help each child to understand the importance and value of education, learning, training and employment;

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Requirement Due date

promote opportunities for each child to learn informally;

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Requirement Due date

maintain regular contact with each child’s education and training provider, including engaging with the provider and the placing authority to support the child’s education and training to maximise the child’s achievement;

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Requirement Due date

help each child to attend education or training in accordance with the expectations in the child’s relevant plans; (Regulation 8 (1)(2)(a)(i)(ii)(iii)(iv)(v)(vi)(x)(b)) 09/12/2019

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Requirement Due date

The health and well-being standard is that—

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Requirement Due date

the health and well-being needs of children are met; 09/12/2019 Inspection report children’s home: SC456795 4 children receive advice, services and support in relation to their health and well-being; and

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Requirement Due date

children are helped to lead healthy lifestyles.

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to ensure—

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Requirement Due date

achieve the health and well-being outcomes that are recorded in the child’s relevant plans. (Regulation 10 (1)(a)(b)(c)(2)(a)(i)) 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—

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Requirement Due date

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 understand how to keep safe;

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Requirement Due date

that the homes 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)(a)(i)(ii)(b)) 09/12/2019

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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 a children’s home that—

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Requirement Due date

helps children aspire to fulfil their potential; and

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to—

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Requirement Due date

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; 09/12/2019 Inspection report children’s home: SC456795 5 ensure that the home’s workforce provides continuity of care to each child;

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Requirement Due date

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. (Regulation 13 (1)(a)(b)(2)(a)(e)(f)) The care planning standard is that children—

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Requirement Due date

receive effectively planned care in or through the children’s home; and

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Requirement Due date

have a positive experience of arriving at or moving on from the home.

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to ensure—

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Requirement Due date

that children are admitted to the home only if their needs are within the range of needs of children for whom it is intended that the home is to provide care and accommodation, as set out in the home’s statement of purpose;

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Requirement Due date

ensure the effective induction of each child into the home;

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Requirement Due date

manage and review the placement of each child in the home. (Regulation 14 (1)(a)(b)(2)(a)(b)(i)(ii)) 09/12/2019

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that, in line with their individual health plans and the ethos of the home, children are offered advice, support and guidance on health and well-being to enhance, and supplement that provided by their school through Personal, Social and Health Education (PSHE). Staff should have the relevant skills and knowledge to be able to help children understand, and where necessary work to change negative behaviours in key areas of health and well- being such as, but not limited to, nutrition and healthy diet, exercise, mental health, sexual relationships, sexual health, contraception and use of legal highs, drugs, alcohol and tobacco. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 35, paragraph 7.18) Inspection report children’s home: SC456795 6

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improvement

Since the last inspection, there have been a change in the child who is living in the home. The previous child recently moved out of the home. Staff supported him to enjoy a positive ending to his placement. They organised a leaving party for him and a ride in a limousine.

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improvement

Prior to the new child moving in, an impact assessment was completed. This assessment did not include all the relevant information relating to this child. Consequently, the staff did not fully understand his needs, and this has affected their ability to provide him with safe, individualised care.

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improvement

Staff have developed individualised plans for children, but they are not always effective. The child is not being appropriately supported to make good progress in all areas of his life, in particular his health and education. The child does not attend school. There are daily plans for the child to complete educational worksheets. However, staff cannot encourage him to consistently complete these worksheets. This is not supporting him to reach his full potential.

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improvement

Staff know the child’s health needs, but there is a delay in addressing these needs. This applies both to his physical and emotional needs. There is good practice from some staff who have attended health appointments on behalf of the child. However, staff cannot persuade the child to attend his own health appointments. This does not ensure that his health needs are consistently met.

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improvement

The child smokes cigarettes and uses cannabis. These incidents have increased since he has lived at this home. Staff have discussed this with the child. However, this is informal and not part of focused direct work. This demonstrates that staff are unable to use a framework to help the child to make positive changes.

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improvement

Staff working in the home understand their roles and responsibilities in protecting children. They work with a range of professionals when they have concerns about a child’s safety.

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improvement

There are risk assessments and risk management plans in place. These include information from the child’s social worker and the police. However, risk assessments do not accurately reflect or address the current needs of the child, and high-risk situations are not consistently reviewed or updated. Consequently, the manager cannot be assured that staff have the necessary accurate information to manage risk and keep the child safe. Inspection report children’s home: SC456795 7 Staff have not addressed all the actions from the home’s fire risk assessment. The child is at risk from fire-setting behaviours. The risk has recently increased, but the child’s risk assessment has not been updated to reflect this. Staff told inspectors that they have introduced daily checks in the child’s bedroom. This is to reduce the potential for fire starting. However, inspectors saw a large quantity of cigarette papers, cigarette ends and

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improvement

empty cigarette packets in the child’s bedroom.

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improvement

Missing episodes from the home have continued. The child has consistently refused to return to the home. This means that the risks are not reducing, and the child is becoming increasingly unsafe because he continues to go missing. Staff consistently follow the missing from care plan in place and actively look for the child when he is missing from care. However, staff cannot persuade him to return to the home. This means that he is left in potentially unsafe situations when he is away from the home. Furthermore, when he has been missing overnight, return home interviews do not always take place. This is a missed opportunity for staff to use this information to reduce the potential risks to the child.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement

There is no registered manager currently in post. The deputy manager has been acting as the manager. However, rotas show that the acting manager is also expected to cover the shifts in the home. This does not allow her the opportunity to manage efficiently or lead the home in line with the aims outlined in the statement of purpose.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement

The home has relied on bank staff to cover the gaps in the rotas. This means that the child is not receiving care from a consistent and stable staff team. This has an impact on the care provided to the child. Despite these shortfalls, all new staff who work at the home are given a summary of relevant information relating to the child. This supports the staff to gain a basic understanding of the child’s needs.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement

A new manager was recently appointed. He has not submitted an application to Ofsted. He was at the home during this inspection. Inspectors were told that he was visiting the home as part of his induction.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement

Inspectors cannot confirm whether staff receive supervision on a frequent basis or whether safer recruitment procedures are followed. This is because supervision files and staff personnel files were not readily available during the inspection. Access to the required information was requested on more than one occasion. However, it was reported that the files were not accessible.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement

Some staff said that they feel supported and have training opportunities. Staff have attended a mix of face-to-face and online training in areas that support them in their roles. Staff would benefit from specific training to help the child who currently lives at the home. A recommendation has been made to reflect this.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement

There are frequent team meetings. These meetings are helpful for staff because they include discussion about the child and clinical support from the in-house clinical team. Inspection report children’s home: SC456795 8

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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: SC456795 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: Metropolitan House, 3 Darkes Road, Potters Bar EN6 1AG

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Inspectors

Catherine Fargin, social care inspector Jessica Forshaw, social care inspector Inspection report children’s home: SC456795 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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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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