Children's home run by Castle Homes Care Limited in Hammersmith and Fulham

Inspection report children’s home: SC065378 1 SC065378 Registered provider: Castle Homes Care Ltd 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 offers care for up to three children who have social and/or emotional difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

The registered manager has been in post since 2009.

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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 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 January 2020

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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: SC065378 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

21/01/2020 Full Good 06/11/2018 Full Good 10/01/2018 Full Good 04/01/2017 Interim Sustained effectiveness Inspection report children’s home: SC065378 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Three children live in this home. Children living at this home experience long term placements; this provides them with stability and a sense of belonging.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are all making measurable progress in their social, emotional, educational and independence skills. Staff talk of children’s individual successes with pride and recognition of children’s personal growth.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

COVID-19 limited the provision of education one school was willing to offer. However, in support of the child’s wishes, the manager successfully advocated for the child to attend.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Relationships between staff and children are positive. Children feel listened to and as a result they feel safe, secure and know their rights will be upheld. Consequently, incidents are low and children do not go missing, self-harm or use substances.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children enjoy spending time with staff and participate in a range of activities outside of the home, including a variety of sports clubs. This supports children to develop their social skills and promotes their independence skills.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff provide children with nurturing care that focuses on children’s individual successes. These are captured in individualised positive books for children, staff record a positive comment for each child at the end of each day. As a result, this increases children’s sense of self-worth and self-esteem.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Childrens individualities are celebrated within the home. Recently, there has been a cultural celebration in support of one child’s religion, to develop his understanding. Staff and children joined in the celebrations and ensured this was a memorable day. Staff supported another child to complete a 50-kilometre bicycle ride in memory of a family member and to raise money for a charity. Consequently, children feel valued and know staff will support them to fulfil their wishes.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff support children to spend time with their families. One child told the inspector he is planning an overnight stay at his parents’ home in the near future.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Overall, the home is a welcoming environment and has plenty of space for children, including a games room that children have helped design. Children have chosen how to decorate and personalise their bedrooms and, as a result, bedrooms are a reflection of the children’s personalities. There are photos of children displayed around the home, this supports children’s sense of identity and belonging. Inspection report children’s home: SC065378 4

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

Staff ensure children are kept safe. When safeguarding concerns arise, staff ensure they follow the correct protocols and are proactive in keeping children safe. Children told the inspector they feel safe living in the home.

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

Children trust the staff. Children told the inspector they can talk to staff; they know how to make a complaint if they need to, although none of them have needed to.

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

Staff understand children’s individual needs. Because of this, staff de-escalate children’s behaviours quickly and consequently, physical intervention has not been required in this home for a number of years.

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

Staff support children with clear and consistent routines and boundaries. Children have incentives in support of their positive behaviours and are rewarded with individualised gifts related to their likes and interests.

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

Staff teach children about their changing bodies and safe relationships. Consequently, children understand about puberty, safe sex and consent. This supports them to be able to make informed choices as they reach these milestones.

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

There are no incidents of children going missing from the home. Nevertheless, staff remain alert to the possibility and there are risk assessments to support staff should this occur.

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

All children have individualised risk assessments in place. However, these assessments do not always capture an appropriate level of detail to guide staff on what measures to take should a known risk arise. This has the potential to lead to inconsistency in practice and in how children are protected from harm.

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

During the inspection a window blind cord was observed to pose a risk of strangulation. The registered manager was quick to have this removed upon being informed of the potential danger.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager has been in post for many years. She is committed and passionate about the care children receive. She knows the children well; she advocates for them, is proud of them and encourages them to be their best selves.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The deputy manager shares the same passionate views for the home as the manager and they work together cohesively to ensure children receive high standards of care. Consequently, this is cascaded to the rest of the staff team and there is a joined-up approach to caring for children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The staff team is diverse, and many of the staff members have been employed for several years. This continuity helps staff understand the needs of the children well Inspection report children’s home: SC065378 5 and work as a team. Consequently, children receive consistent care and build positive relationships with staff.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff feel well supported. The manager ensures that staff receive thorough and effective inductions, supervisions and appraisals. This allows staff to reflect on their practice, individual needs and the progress children make.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff have undertaken an array of training; however, managers have not sourced training that is specific for the diagnoses of children in the home. Despite this, staff are communicating with children well.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager and staff have positive relationships with external agencies, including social workers, police community support officers and a therapist. Social workers report they are kept well informed about children. Professionals speak highly of the manager and the progress the children have made since living at the home.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The inspector spoke with one parent who praised the staff team in how they care for her child, stating they are ‘amazing’.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Alarms on bedroom doors are used to help keep children safe at night. However, managers have not carried out a rigorous assessment of children’s needs to support the requirement for this measure. As a result, the alarms have been used unnecessarily for one child. This detracts from the otherwise homely environment.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The home’s location risk assessment has been reviewed by the manager. However, it does not identify risks associated to the flat-roofed garages located at the bottom of the garden. Inspection report children’s home: SC065378 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

that the premises used for the purposes of the home are located so that children are effectively safeguarded;

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Requirement Due date

that the premises used for the purposes of the home are designed, furnished and maintained so as to protect each child from avoidable hazards to the child’s health. (Regulation 12 (1) (2)(c)(d))

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Requirement Due date

This specifically relates to ensuring potential risks posed by the garage are considered within the location risk assessment.

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Requirement Due date

This specifically relates to ensuring blinds are safe for children and do not pose risk of strangulation. 10 September

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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. (Regulation 13 (1)(a)(b) (2)(c)) 29 October 2021 Inspection report children’s home: SC065378 7 This specially relates to staff being trained in caring for children with a diagnoses of attention deficit hyperactivity disorder.

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Requirement Due date

the privacy of children is appropriately protected;

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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 kept under review and, if necessary, revised;

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Requirement Due date

and allows children as much freedom as is possible when balanced against the need to protect them and keep them safe. (Regulation 21 (a)(b)(c)(i)(ii)(iv))

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Requirement Due date

This specifically relates to the use of door alarms being used on children’s bedrooms. 10 September

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Recommendations

 Managers should continually and actively assess the risk to each child and the arrangements in place to protect them. This specifically relates to information regarding risks, and all mitigating actions for those risks, to be documented together to ensure staff have succinct and clear guidance to follow to keep children safe. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 41, paragraph 9.5)

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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: SC065378 8

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Castle Homes Care Ltd

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Fifth Floor, 80 Hammersmith Road, London W14 8UD

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Inspector

Jodie Lewis, Social Care Inspector Inspection report children’s home: SC065378 9 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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