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

Inspection report children's home: 1155775 1 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 part of a large private organisation. It provides care for one child who may have emotional and/or behavioural difficulties and/or learning disabilities.

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Information about this children’s home

The registered manager post has been vacant since May 2020. A manager has been appointed. She has not yet applied to be registered 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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Information about this children’s home

We last visited this setting on 2 and 3 December 2020 to carry out an assurance visit. The report is published on our website.

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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

Overall judgement at last inspection: good

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report children's home: 1155775 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

09/07/2019 Full Good 30/05/2018 Full Good 21/06/2017 Full Good 24/01/2017 Interim Sustained effectiveness Inspection report children's home: 1155775 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The child living at the home has made good progress and had a positive experience. This is due the stability of the placement and the tenacity of the staff in ensuring that she is provided with support which meets her individual needs. As a result, she has been able to develop a sense of permanency and belonging.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The child has been supported to access advocacy services to ensure that her views and wishes are shared with the placing authority and staff at the home. This has meant that the child has had independent support particularly in relation to challenging levels of supervision in the community and as a result some progress has been made to supporting her towards more independent living.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The child’s records do not evidence that she has been encouraged to read and has understood the written information held in the home about her. As a result, her involvement in her care planning is not always clear.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The child has made significant progress in her education having been out of formal education for some time prior to living at the home. She now attends college and has achieved formal qualifications. College staff say that communication between the home and college is good and this ensures that the child’s emotional well-being as well as her educational achievements are promoted.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Services are in place to address the child’s complex emotional health needs. Mental health services that identify the support needed for a child moving from child and adolescent services to adult services have been put in place in a timely manner. Consequently, the child’s transition to adult mental health provision is being planned effectively.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The child’s wishes and feelings in relation to her religious and cultural identity are well supported and she is given the opportunity to express her views and practice her religion in way which is meaningful for her. This means that her sense of identity and her self-confidence is developed.

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

The child’s risks and vulnerabilities are well understood by staff and written assessments and plans are in place to manager and reduce risks. However, the child’s risk assessments contain detailed historical information. As result plans are lengthy and lack focus. This does not support the child or staff to easily understand written information.

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

The child has been supported to identify situations which may lead to self-harming behaviours. She has been able to put in place clear strategies to distract from these Inspection report children's home: 1155775 4 thoughts and feelings. As a result, there has been a significant reduction in incidents of self-harm and the child’s feelings of self-worth have increased.

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

Incidents of the child going missing from care are on the whole responded to appropriately by staff. The interim manager has not notified Ofsted of two incidents where the child has gone missing for short periods in the night. Given the identified risks to the child in the community, notifications of these incidents would have given Ofsted as the regulator an opportunity for more timely scrutiny of practice in this area. In addition, the interim manager is not ensuring that the placing authority provides the child with an independent return home interview. This is potentially a missed opportunity to support the child and gain information to reduce risks in the future.

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

Where concerns have been raised about the behaviour of staff swift action has been taken to address these. Staff have been removed from duty whilst investigations are undertaken. As a result, the child has been safeguarded effectively and there has been appropriate scrutiny of practice.

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

Timely information sharing with the police and the placing authority has ensured that procedures are followed to safeguard the child in the community. The child has been supported to share information that could help to identify people that may pose a risk to herself and others. This means that plans can be put in place to safeguard her.

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good

The register manager post has been vacant since May 2020. A permanent manager was appointed but this appointment did not progress to registration with Ofsted. A new manager has now been appointed. She also manages one of the organisation’s other homes. She has not yet applied for registration with Ofsted.

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good

Staff are not always aware when the interim manager will be present at the home given her dual responsibilities. Her allocated time at the home is not recorded on the staffing rota. As result there is a lack of accountability and the manager’s ability to have effective oversight of two homes is unclear.

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good

The interim manager has quickly identified some of the areas for development within the home. For example, she has changed the staffing rota to ensure that staff have the opportunity to work with all of their colleagues rather than working with the same people on each shift. This gives staff greater opportunities to learn from each other and promotes an open culture in the home.

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good

The interim manager has not always ensured that the child’s case records contain up to date and accurate information. For example, in relation to the child’s legal status or allocated social worker. She has not ensured that the local authority provide Inspection report children's home: 1155775 5 records of meetings in a timely manner. As a result, staff do not always have the information they need to do undertake their roles effectively.

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good

The interim manager and the wider staff team receive good support from the responsible individual. The responsible individual also has a good relationship with the child which has given her some consistency at a team of change within the leadership and management of the home.

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good

The staff team has been relatively stable and no new staff have been appointed to the home in the reporting period. Where bank staff have been used to support the staff team these are generally known the child and the staff team. As a result, the child is being cared for by adults she has an established relationship with.

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good

Staff receive regular supervision which supports them to undertake their roles effectively. Regular team meetings also take place which encourages sharing of information and supports consistency of practice in the home.

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good

As a result of changes in interim management arrangements a quality of care report has not been completed in line with expected timescales. This means that the manager and staff have not had an opportunity to formally reflect on the quality of care experienced by the child. This information has also not been available to Ofsted or the placing authority. Inspection report children's home: 1155775 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 registered provider must appoint a person to manage the children's home if there is no registered manager in respect of the home. (Regulation 27 (1) This specifically relates to the manager applying for registration with Ofsted. 16 July 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

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; and

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Requirement Due date

make a copy of the quality of care review report available on request to a placing authority, if the placing authority is not the parent of a child accommodated in the home. (Regulation 45 (1)(3)(4)(a)(b)) 31 July 2021

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Requirement Due date

In meeting the quality standards, the registered person must, and must ensure that staff—

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Requirement Due date

seek to involve each child's placing authority effectively in the child's care, in accordance with the child's relevant plans;

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Requirement Due date

seek to secure the input and services required to meet each child's needs

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Requirement Due date

if the registered person considers, or staff consider, a placing authority's or a relevant person's performance or response to be inadequate in relation to their role, challenge the placing authority or the relevant person to seek to ensure that each 16 July 2021 Inspection report children's home: 1155775 7 child's needs are met in accordance with the child's relevant plans.

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Requirement Due date

Specifically, the registered person should ensure that the placing local authority provides children with a return home interview from an independent person after being missing from care and that any failure to provide this is escalated in a timely manner with the placing authority. The registered person must maintain records ("case records") for each child which—

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Requirement Due date

include the information and documents listed in Schedule 3 in relation to each child;

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Requirement Due date

are signed and dated by the author of each entry.

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Requirement Due date

Specifically, the registered person should ensure that a child's case records contain accurate information in relation to the child's allocated social worker, legal status , care plan and record of local authority care review meetings. 16 July 2021

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Recommendations

 The registered person should notify Ofsted if there is an incident relating to the protection, safeguarding or welfare of a child living in the home which the registered person considers to be serious. In particular, the registered person should review the decision making in relation to threshold for notification of missing from care incidents. ('Guide to the children's homes regulations including the quality standards', page 63, paragraph 14.10)

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that children are actively encouraged to read their records and to add further information to them. In particular, the registered person should ensure there are systems in place which record when children have declined to read information offered to them or have declined to sign documents that they have read. ('Guide to the children's homes regulations including the quality standards', page 62, paragraph 14.6) Inspection report children's home: 1155775 8  The registered person must ensure that records detailed in regulations 35-39 are kept in children's homes. In particular, the registered manager should ensure that her presence at the home and her working hours are clearly recorded on the staffing rota. ('Guide to the children's homes regulations including the quality standards', page 62, paragraph 14.3)

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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: 1155775 9

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Children's home details

Registered provider: Cambian Childcare Limited

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Children's home details

Registered provider address: Cambian Childcare Limited, 5th Floor, Metropolitan House, 3 Darkes Lane, Potters Bar EN6 1AG

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Inspector

Dawn Parton, Social Care Inspector Inspection report children's home: 1155775 10 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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