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

Inspection report children’s home: SC457430 1 SC457430 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

This home is owned and managed by a private provider. It provides care for up to three children who may have social, emotional or mental health difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

The experienced manager registered with Ofsted in October 2020. She is completing the required leadership qualification.

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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 30 March 2021 to carry out a monitoring visit. The report is published on the Ofsted website.

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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: SC457430 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

05/06/2019 Full Good 18/12/2018 Full Good 06/03/2018 Full Outstanding 15/02/2017 Interim Sustained effectiveness Inspection report children’s home: SC457430 3

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improvement to be good

Some children have had poor experiences in this home. Plans and risk assessments have not always been followed closely. Planning has not always taken into account children’s need for consistency. Two children have experienced police involvement due to ineffective management of their behaviour. Although action has been taken to prevent similar difficulties, the impact for some children has been significant.

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improvement to be good

Children develop strong relationships with staff and enjoy living in the home. One child said, ‘These staff are much better than those in my last home.’ Another child has lived in the home for several years and has grown up in the care of this staff team. Children come to trust the adults looking after them. This helps them to talk about their worries or concerns.

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improvement to be good

The approach to meeting children’s educational needs is mixed. Staff prepare detailed plans setting out the support that children require. Communication with teachers is good, and staff talk to children about why they should go to school. However, children do not always respond to incentives that are used to promote school attendance. Staff do not use creative options to understand the barriers to children’s learning. This means that children are not yet achieving their educational potential.

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improvement to be good

Staff ensure that children’s health needs are promoted. Health plans are individualised and effective. Children attend urgent and routine medical appointments. Staff also talk to children about the benefits of health screening when they are adults. This means that children learn that staff are invested in their long- term well-being. This is good for their sense of self-worth.

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improvement to be good

Staff prepare children well to move into the home and to move on hen it is time. The timetables for transitions are individualised according to children’s needs. One child was helped to develop good relationships with their new carers, despite being anxious about the proposed move. The efforts that staff make, help children to settle quickly when they move from one home to another.

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improvement to be good

The physical conditions in the home are acceptable. Communal areas are homely and welcoming, and damage is repaired quickly. However, when children move into the home, little is provided to personalise their bedrooms. As a consequence, those rooms look cheerless. This does not give children a strong message that they are worthy of a room that is individualised and appealing. Inspection report children’s home: SC457430 4

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improvement to be good

Children have been exposed to harm from unsafe staff practice. Children are unhappy about such behaviour. Poor levels of scrutiny, including a lack of professional curiosity, allowed these concerns to go unchecked for too long. This compounds children’s poor sense of their self-worth. It also risks eroding their trust in adults.

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improvement to be good

Recruitment processes are not consistently safe. On one occasion, adequate checks were not undertaken to ensure an applicant’s suitability. Additional assessments of risk were not undertaken, despite this being the provider’s own procedure. The rationale for recruiting staff is not consistently child-centred. This failure to employ staff who meet regulatory requirements has had a negative impact on children in this home.

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improvement to be good

Staff cannot consistently manage the behaviour of the group of children in the home. Children are not always provided with structure to their days, and they become bored. Staff struggle to help children to become calm and lengthy incidents have occurred. Children are at risk of hurting each other or staff, and there is an increased likelihood of police involvement, during such disturbances.

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improvement to be good

Staff prepare and review detailed risk assessments. Strategies to safeguard children are effective. For example, over time, children reduce their likelihood of going missing from home. Risk assessments are also prepared for children who have not yet moved into the home. This good practice means that staff know what to do to keep children safe during their transitions into the home.

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good

Monitoring undertaken by leaders is ineffective. Monthly audits undertaken by the registered manager do not evaluate the effectiveness of the care that staff provide. For example, the registered manager does not ensure that key-work sessions are meeting the aims of children’s plans. When staff members fail to safeguard children, the impact of this is not always recognised. Changes to the care provided to children are not made when they are required. On occasion, this has had a very negative impact on children.

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good

The registered manager assesses the impact of children moving into the home. She makes considerable efforts to learn about the issues that matter most to these children. This helps her to identify any additional support, that might be required. This approach increases the likelihood that staff will be able to meet the needs of all the children who live in the home.

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good

The registered manager is child-centred in her practice. She is very calm in her approach, which has a positive impact on children. She acts as a positive role model and staff follow her lead. This is particularly helpful for new staff to observe. Inspection report children’s home: SC457430 5 The registered manager ensures that professionals act in children’s best interests. For example, when the response of education or health care practitioners is lacking, the registered manager is tenacious. She makes clear what children require from professionals, for their needs to be met. This means that children receive the services they need, when they need them. It also gives a powerful message to children that leaders and staff will advocate on their behalf.

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good

Staff are provided with a range of training opportunities. The learning and support included during the induction period is good. Training is arranged to meet the individual needs of children who are new to the home, or when there are emerging issues. The registered manager recognises the need to equip staff with the skills to manage the behaviour of the children currently living together in the home.

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good

Staff receive regular supervision from those experienced in providing it. Staff have annual appraisals of their practice, when they think about issues for their development. This means that children are being looked after by staff who feel valued by leaders and who receive the support they need to perform well. Inspection report children’s home: SC457430 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, the 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 positive relationships standard is that children are helped to develop, and to benefit from, relationships based on—

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Requirement Due date

an understanding about acceptable behaviour; and

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Requirement Due date

positive responses to other children and adults.

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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

meet each child’s behavioural and emotional needs, as set out in the child’s relevant plans;

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Requirement Due date

encourage each child to take responsibility for the child’s behaviour, in accordance with the child’s age and understanding;

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Requirement Due date

help each child to develop and practise skills to resolve conflicts positively and without harm to anyone;

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Requirement Due date

de-escalate confrontations with or between children, or potentially violent behaviour by children. (Regulation 11 (1)(a)(b)(c) (2)(a)(i)(iii)(iv)(xi))

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Requirement Due date

Specifically, ensure staff are trained to manage the behaviour of children effectively in situations where their previous experiences mean they may have a troubling influence on each other. 17 December

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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. 17 December Inspection report children’s home: SC457430 7 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

In particular, that sufficient checks are in place so that the actions of staff do not place children at risk of harm.

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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

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;

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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)(f)(h)) 17 December 021

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must recruit staff using recruitment procedures that are designed to ensure children’s safety.

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Requirement Due date

employ an individual to work at the children’s home; or

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Requirement Due date

if an individual is employed by a person other than the registered person to work at the home in a position in which the individual may have regular contact with children, allow that individual to work at the home,

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Requirement Due date

if the individual satisfies the requirements in paragraph (3).

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Requirement Due date

the individual is of integrity and good character; 17 December Inspection report children’s home: SC457430 8 the individual has the appropriate experience, qualification and skills for the work that the individual is to perform. (Regulation 32 (1) (2)(a)(b) (3)(a)(b))

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that staff provide a nurturing environment that is welcoming and supportive. This includes ensuring that children’s bedrooms are pleasant spaces and personalised, even when children find this aspect of their care difficult to engage in. (‘Guide to the children’s home regulations including the quality standards’, page 15, paragraph 3.7)  The registered person should ensure that staff help children who have experienced trauma or mental health difficulties, to make progress with their education by finding creative solutions to their barriers to learning. (‘Guide to the children’s home regulations including the quality standards’, page 26, paragraph 5.3)

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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: SC457430 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, Metropolitan House, 3 Darkes Lane, Potters Bar EN6 1AG

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Inspector

Jane Titley, Social Care Inspector Inspection report children’s home: SC457430 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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