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

Inspection report children’s home: SC405713 1 SC405713 Registered provider: Cambian Childcare Ltd 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 company and is registered to provide care and accommodation for up to three children who have social and/or emotional difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

The home has been without a registered manager since April 2019. There is a new manager in post who is in the process of registering with Ofsted.

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Information about this children’s home

Due to COVID-19 (coronavirus), at the request of the Secretary of State, we suspended all routine inspections of social care providers on 17 March 2020

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Overall experiences and progress of

children and young people, taking into account

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good

How well children and young people are helped and protected good

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good

The effectiveness of leaders and managers requires improvement to be good

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good

The children’s home provides effective services that meet the requirements for good.

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good

Date of last inspection: 21 February 2020

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good

Overall judgement at last inspection: improved effectiveness

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report children’s home: SC405713 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

21/02/2020 Interim Improved effectiveness 09/04/2019 Full Requires improvement to be good 02/05/2018 Full Requires improvement to be good 27/02/2018 Interim Declined in effectiveness Inspection report children’s home: SC405713 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Two children currently live at the home. Since the last inspection, one child has moved out of the home as staff were unable to meet his needs. One child has recently moved into the home.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children make progress in most aspects of their lives. One child is making excellent progress at school and is predicted good GCSE results. The manager and staff are working well to support the second child with his educational needs.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children’s health and emotional well-being are well supported. Staff promote healthy eating and activities to keep children occupied. The staff team ensures that children have positive things to look forward to; this prevents children from becoming bored and frustrated. The staff team has provided one child with significant support regarding an upcoming court case.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children enjoy living in a well-maintained, comfortable and homely environment. Staff work hard to create an atmosphere that is full of warmth and respect. Staff are helping children to redecorate their bedrooms and seek their ideas for other improvements in the home.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Despite the challenges of COVID-19 (coronavirus) and changes in the staff team, children have received good care from a consistent group of motivated staff. This has helped one child settle into the home and another child make significant progress in recent months.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children have positive relationships with staff. Children enjoy spending time with the staff, and they feel valued and cared for.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff understand the importance of relationships, and support children to see their families and friends. Children have formed positive friendships with children from other homes in the company. Children benefit from this, as it helps them to maintain positive relationships even though they are living away from home.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The independent visitor has not regularly consulted with children or professionals as part of their monthly visit. This impacts on the quality of the report and ability to evidence the experiences of children living at the home.

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

Staff put in place clear routines and boundaries. This means that children understand what is expected of them. When children display challenging behaviours, the staff respond with understanding and compassion. As a result, there are very few incidents. Inspection report children’s home: SC405713 4 Children are safe and feel safe in the home. Children are tolerant of each other’s difficulties and there is no bullying in the home. Staff manage safeguarding concerns effectively and promptly.

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

The thorough selection and vetting procedures that take place during staff recruitment ensure that children are cared for by adults assessed as ‘suitable’ to care for children.

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

Staff understand the risks and potential hazards for each child and, when necessary, take action to safeguard children. Risk assessments are in place, but are not up to date or accurate. Due to staff’s good knowledge of the risks to each child, this does not compromise the safety of children. However, this is an area that can improve.

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

There are times when staff need to physically intervene to keep everyone safe. These interventions are appropriate and proportionate. However, the managers’ review of these incidents is not always completed within the required period. In addition, managers are not fully reviewing the effectiveness of sanctions. The managers was aware of these shortfalls and is proactively addressing them.

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

Ofsted is notified of serious incidents. However, managers do not always share the outcomes of investigations.

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good

The home has been without a permanent, qualified manager since April 2019. A new manager has recently started and is in the process of registering with Ofsted.

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good

The responsible individual and an experienced manager, from another home in the company, have provided invaluable support to the staff team in recent months. This support has continued as the new manager settles into her role.

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good

The manager and staff team have developed strong relationships with all the relevant professionals, including social workers and school staff. As a result, there is good communication between them, which promotes children’s welfare.

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good

There is a comprehensive range of training opportunities, including essential courses such as safeguarding and first aid. Two members of the staff team have not completed all the relevant training. As a result, not all staff have the relevant skills and knowledge for their roles. One member of staff has not achieved their level 3 diploma in residential childcare within the required timeframes.

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good

Due to changes in the management arrangements, not all staff have had access to regular supervision or team meetings. However, staff report feeling well supported by the management team.

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good

The manager’s monitoring and oversight of some paperwork have been insufficient to ensure that all documents are accurate, relevant and up to date. Managers have Inspection report children’s home: SC405713 5 already identified some of these shortfalls and they have made plans to address them.

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good

The provider’s review of the quality of care did not meet the requirements of the regulation. Managers have failed to consult with children and key professionals to obtain feedback that would inform the review process and how the quality of care offered to children could be improved. Inspection report children’s home: SC405713 6

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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 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. (Regulation 12 (1) (2)(a)(i))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, this relates to ensuring that risk assessments are up to date and are read and understood by all staff. 1 July 2021

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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—

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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

ensure that staff have the experience, qualifications and skills to meet the needs of each child;

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Requirement Due date

use monitoring and review systems to make continuous improvements in the quality of care provided in the home. (Regulation 13 (1)(a)(b) (2)(c)(h))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, this refers to ensuring that all staff complete key training relevant to their roles. In addition, the registered person must ensure that there is sufficient management oversight of all paperwork. 1 July 2021 Inspection report children’s home: SC405713 7 For the purposes of paragraph (3)(b), an individual who works in the home in a care role has the appropriate qualification if, by the relevant date, the individual has attained—

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Requirement Due date

the Level 3 Diploma for Residential Childcare (England) ("the Level 3 Diploma"); or

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Requirement Due date

a qualification which the registered person considers to be equivalent to the Level 3 Diploma.

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Requirement Due date

in the case of an individual who starts working in a care role in a home after 1st April 2014, the date which falls 2 years after the date on which the individual started working in a care role in a home; or

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Requirement Due date

in the case of an individual who was working in a care role in a home on 1st April 2014, 1st April 2016.

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Requirement Due date

In particular, this refers to staff completing the relevant qualification in residential childcare within time frames. 1 July 2021

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that all employees—

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Requirement Due date

undertake appropriate continuing professional development;

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Requirement Due date

receive practice-related supervision by a person with appropriate experience. (Regulation 33 (4)(a)(b)(c))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, this refers to ensuring that staff can access regular supervision and team meetings. 1 July 2021

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Requirement Due date

within 24 hours of the use of a measure of control, discipline or restraint in relation to a child in the home, a record is made which includes—

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Requirement Due date

the effectiveness and any consequences of the use of the measure.

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Requirement Due date

within 48 hours of the use of the measure, the registered person, or a person who is authorised by the registered person to do so (“the authorised person”)— 1 July 2021 Inspection report children’s home: SC405713 8 has signed the record to confirm it is accurate.

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Requirement Due date

This refers to ensuring that the registered person reviews the effectiveness of any sanction given. In addition, the registered person must review the record of a physical intervention within the specified timeframes. 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—

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Requirement Due date

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

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Requirement Due date

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

After completing a quality of care review, the registered person must produce a written report about the quality of care review and the actions which the registered person intends to take as a result of the quality of care review ("the quality of care review report").

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Requirement Due date

supply to HMCI a copy of the quality of care review report within 28 days of the date on which the quality of care review is completed. (Regulation 45 (1) (2)(a)(b)(c) (3) (4)(a))

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Requirement Due date

This relates to ensuring that the quality of care review is in line with the regulatory requirements. 1 July 2021

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Recommendations

Inspection report children’s home: SC405713 9  The registered person must ensure that Ofsted are provided updates following notifications made under regulation 40. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 63, paragraph 14.9)  The registered person must ensure that the independent person completes rigorous and impartial assessment of the home when they complete the regulation 44 visits to the home (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 65, paragraph 15.5)

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Information about this inspection

Inspectors have looked closely at the experiences and progress of children and young people, 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: SC405713 10

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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 Lane, Potters Bar EN6 1AG

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Inspector

Debbie Holder, Social Care Inspector Inspection report children’s home: SC405713 11 to 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

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Inspector

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Inspector

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