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

Inspection report children’s home: SC446325 1 SC446325 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 provides care for up to two children who may have emotional and/or behavioural difficulties. The home is privately run and managed. The manager registered with Ofsted in March 2021.

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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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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: good

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requires improvement to be good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report children’s home: SC446325 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

24/07/2019 Full Good 12/03/2019 Interim Improved effectiveness 01/05/2018 Full Good 16/05/2017 Full Requires improvement to be good Inspection report children’s home: SC446325 3

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improvement to be good

Staff invest in their relationships with the children and promote their needs. They provide children with a friendly, supportive and caring environment. Children benefit from continuity of care from the stable staff team.

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improvement to be good

A child said, ‘It’s the best home I have been in and I have been in a lot of houses.’ Another child said he is ‘safe’ and has ‘no complaints’. However, he also stated, ‘I am not happy here.’

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improvement to be good

Staff are positive role models for the children. Children have good relationships with staff, who they can talk to and learn from. However, staff have not been able to support some children to make improvements and progress in all areas of their lives. Some children continue to spend long periods outside of the home.

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improvement to be good

Not all children attend school regularly despite support and encouragement from staff. Those who do attend education on a regular basis are learning, achieving and making progress. A social worker said, ‘The placement doesn’t properly meet his care needs in terms of education. I don’t think anyone could. But we are making slow progress. His school are really keen and flexible. He will engage when he wants to.’

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improvement to be good

Children are registered with the health services they need to promote their positive health. They have access to specialist services and any additional support they need to promote their emotional and psychological well-being.

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improvement to be good

Staff maintain effective partnerships with social workers, health professionals and schools to ensure that children benefit from all-round support.

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improvement to be good

Risks associated with children are generally well known and understood by staff. Staff have a good understanding of the specific needs and emerging vulnerabilities of the children. However, they have not always taken appropriate action to address some risks posed by the children, such as children spending lengthy periods outside of the home. While there is no evidence to suggest that children are at risk of actual harm, they are still considered vulnerable.

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improvement to be good

Since one child’s deprivation of liberty order was lifted, the child has refused to inform staff of their whereabouts or answer their mobile phone for staff to perform welfare checks. Risk management plans do not provide staff with clear strategies to minimise this risk effectively. Inspection report children’s home: SC446325 4 A social worker said: ‘The manager has put a lot of time and effort into this child. The stickability factor of the placement I cannot fault it. What this placement has done is put firm boundaries in place and they have invested in the child.’

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improvement to be good

Risk-taking behaviours, such as going missing from care, drug misuse and self-harm, have reduced for the children, given their individual starting points. Managers and staff report all safeguarding concerns to relevant professionals in a timely way to keep the children safe from harm.

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improvement to be good

Staff are trained in child protection, so they know how to deal with allegations and report suspected abuse. Staff are selected and vetted carefully to ensure that children are protected from unsuitable people. There have been no complaints since the last inspection. No complaints were raised by either of the children spoken to.

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improvement to be good

Staff manage the children’s behaviours well in the home. The use of restraint is rare. It is only ever used to protect children from harm. Staff praise, reward and reinforce positive behaviour and ensure that the use of sanctions is kept to a minimum. However, the arrangements for reviewing the effectiveness of sanctions requires improvement to ensure that measures used by staff are balanced, fair and proportionate. Additionally, the registered manager needs to establish a process for an independent person to review incidents of physical intervention when the manager himself is involved in the restraint. This will ensure that there is impartiality and independent scrutiny of practice.

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improvement to be good

Health and safety matters are monitored by staff. However, repairs and improvements are not always addressed in a timely way. For example, children’s bedrooms need some minor repair work and redecoration. The large window on the upstairs landing is exposed and no screening is in place to protect the children’s privacy. Doors to communal areas have locks which are used nightly, to restrict freedom of the children’s movements unnecessarily. Requirements are made in respect of these issues.

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good

The manager registered with Ofsted in March 2021. He is new to this role and is still adjusting to the responsibilities associated with his current position. The registered manager is currently working towards completing his level 5 diploma in leadership and management.

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good

While the manager is an experienced practitioner, he has failed to identify some of the shortfalls found during this inspection. Therefore, he has not exercised effective leadership of the day-to-day operations of the home.

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good

The manager is an advocate for children and is child-centred in his practice. The home employs sufficient staff to meet the needs of the children. Staff benefit from regular, practice-related supervision to support them in the work that they routinely perform. Inspection report children’s home: SC446325 5 Staff are well trained, qualified or working towards an appropriate childcare qualification. Staff meet the aims and objectives set out in the home’s statement of purpose. They strive to deliver a good-quality service for children that influences change and improvement in their lives.

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good

An independent person reviews the quality of children’s care and the arrangements made to safeguard them and promote their well-being. This helps the registered manager to understand the strengths and shortfalls of the home and areas for improvement. The performance of the home is monitored on a monthly basis to promote the efficient operations of the home. However, the registered manager has not tackled some of the home’s identified weaknesses to secure continuing improvement.

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good

The registered manager has completed a six-monthly quality of care review in keeping with regulation. However, he has not submitted the report to Ofsted in accordance with the home’s statutory responsibilities. Ofsted uses this information to maintain independent oversight of the performance of the home. Inspection report children’s home: SC446325 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 quality and purpose of care standard is that children receive care from staff who—

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Requirement Due date

understand the children’s home’s overall aims and the outcomes it seeks to achieve for children;

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Requirement Due date

use this understanding to deliver care that meets children’s needs and supports them to fulfil their potential.

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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 the premises used for the purposes of the home are designed and furnished so as to—

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Requirement Due date

enable each child to participate in the daily life of the home. (Regulation 6 (1)(a)(b) (2)(c)(i)(ii))

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Requirement Due date

This relates to the improved furnishing and redecoration of the children’s bedrooms and replacing the screening on the exposed upstairs landing window. 22 June 2021

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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 a child who is excluded from school, or who is of compulsory school age but not attending school, to access educational and training support throughout the period of exclusion or non-attendance and to return to school as soon as possible. (Regulation 8 (1) (2)(a)(viii)) 22 June 2021 Inspection report children’s home: SC446325 7 This refers specifically to ensuring that all children are attending education.

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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

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))

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Requirement Due date

This relates to reviewing risk management plans to address the risk of children spending long periods outside of the home with unknown people. 31 May 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

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

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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) (2)(h))

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Requirement Due date

This relates specifically to improved management oversight of risk management plans, sanctions and behaviour management practice. 8 June 2021

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Requirement Due date

children can access all appropriate areas of the children’s home’s premises; and

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Requirement Due date

any limitation placed on a child’s privacy or access to any area of the home’s premises—

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Requirement Due date

is intended to safeguard each child accommodated in the home;

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Requirement Due date

is necessary and proportionate. (Regulation 21 (b)(c)(ii))

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Requirement Due date

This relates specifically to the locking of internal doors in the home on a routinely basis. 8 June 2021 Inspection report children’s home: SC446325 8 The registered person must prepare and implement a policy ("the behaviour management policy") which sets out—

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Requirement Due date

how appropriate behaviour is to be promoted in the children’s home; and

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Requirement Due date

the effectiveness and any consequences of the use of the measure. (Regulation 35 (1)(a)(vii))

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Requirement Due date

This relates specifically to reviewing the effectiveness of sanctions used by the registered manager. 22 June 2021

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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")—

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Requirement Due date

has spoken to the user about the measure; and

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Requirement Due date

has signed the record to confirm it is accurate; and

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Requirement Due date

within 5 days of the use of the measure, the registered person or the authorised person adds to the record confirmation that they have spoken to the child about the measure. (Regulation 35 (3)(b)(i)(ii)(c))

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Requirement Due date

This relates to impartial oversight of any restraints involving the registered manager. 31 May 2021

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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

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) (4)(a))

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Requirement Due date

This specifically relates to the registered manager supplying Ofsted with a copy of the quality of care report. 22 June 2021 Inspection report children’s home: SC446325 9

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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: SC446325 10

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Cambian Childcare Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Metropolitan House, 3 Darkes Lane, Potters Bar EN6 1AG

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Inspectors

Anthony Kyem, Social Care Inspector Louise Redfern, Social Care Inspector Inspection report children’s home: SC446325 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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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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