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

Inspection report for children’s home: SC437305 1 SC437305 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

This home is owned and managed by a private provider. It is registered to provide short-, medium- and long-term care for up to eight children who have social and emotional difficulties. At the time of the inspection, five children were living at the home.

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Information about this children’s home

The home has been open since 2011. The new manager has applied to register with Ofsted.

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Information about this children’s home

Due to COVID-19, at the request of the Secretary of State, we suspended all routine inspections of social care providers carried out under the social care common inspection framework (SCCIF) on 17 March 2020. We returned to routine SCCIF inspections on 12 April 2021.

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Information about this children’s home

We last visited this setting on 5 November 2020 to carry out an assurance 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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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: 18 February 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 for children’s home: SC437305 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

18/02/2020 Full Good 07/01/2019 Full Outstanding 08/02/2018 Full Outstanding 28/02/2017 Interim Improved effectiveness Inspection report for children’s home: SC437305 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children develop trusting and positive relationships and enjoy living in the home. This is because staff invest in spending time with children and getting to know them well. As a result, children have a trusted adult with whom they can share concerns and confide in.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The home is warm and welcoming. It is generally well decorated and furnished to a good standard. Work to modernise the bathrooms has started. However, the games room is not always maintained to a good standard. This does not allow children to live comfortably.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children who move into the home settle quickly. This is because of the staff’s warm welcome. Children are supported to personalise their bedrooms. They are provided with a copy of the children’s guide and complaints procedure on their arrival. This approach helps children to understand the rules of the home and reduce their anxieties that might have arisen as a result of the move.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff understand the importance of children’s education. Staff take children to and from school and encourage them to attend daily. Where issues arise at school, staff work closely with teachers to address these and help children to overcome the challenges they may face and any barriers to their learning. Some children engage better with education than they did prior to moving into the home and receive certificates of achievement. Good support for children’s education has helped them to make consistent progress. This greater educational engagement potentially improves children’s future prospects.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are generally healthy. Staff ensure that children access universal health services and attend routine appointments. Staff use the positive relationships that they have with children to provide support and promote good health. They have regular discussions with children which cover topics such as personal hygiene, sexual health, exercise and diet. This helps children to understand the importance of leading a healthy lifestyle.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children enjoy a range of activities and hobbies. Staff have a good knowledge of the children’s interests and plan activities accordingly. These activities include going for walks, cinema, playing football and trying new things, such as horse riding. Children have created a ‘journey through the pandemic’ record in the form of photos displayed on the home’s walls showing the timeline of the children’s experiences from the start of the COVID-19 pandemic to the easing of restrictions. This is an important record of the children’s life story and helps them understand their experiences.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff support children to maintain family links. Staff work closely with children’s families and placing authorities to facilitate regular family visits. These help children Inspection report for children’s home: SC437305 4 to maintain these important relationships and ensure that they are not isolated from their families.

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

Children are well cared for by staff who understand their individual needs and associated risks. Risk assessments and behaviour support plans are comprehensive and thorough. They provide staff with effective guidance to follow and manage risks. This means that staff are confident in their abilities to protect children from harm.

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

Staff are competent in identifying risks to children’s safety and other factors that may have an impact on their well-being. Staff work closely with local police officers to help children learn to keep themselves safe. These police officers regularly visit the home to talk to children about the consequences of risk-taking behaviours. In addition, staff consistently use key-worker sessions as a strategy to help children understand how their actions may be harmful to themselves or others. This risk management strategy helps to promote children’s welfare.

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

Staff are consistent in their approach to responding to children who struggle to manage their emotions. Staff work closely with the company’s therapist, who provides a wide range of strategies to support children. This helps staff to provide children with a predictable environment which makes them feel safe. As a result, children are increasingly learning to regulate their feelings in a safe manner and physical restraint is rarely used.

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

Staff ensure that they follow appropriate protocols when children go missing from home. They work closely with local police teams, social workers and families to quickly locate children. Staff ensure that children receive independent return home interviews. In addition, staff have discussions with children to help them reflect on their actions. This helps staff to understand potential risks to children when they are away from home, and act to manage and reduce these.

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

The home adheres to safer recruitment practices when employing staff. All checks are undertaken to ensure that only those suitable are able to work in the home. This helps to keep children safe.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

There is a new manager in post, who previously worked as a deputy manager at the home. He has applied to register with Ofsted. The manager is supported by a deputy manager and has a stable staff team. The new management team is well supported by the responsible individual, who has been more involved in the home during this time of change. This provides children with a consistent level of care.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Managers use internal monitoring systems to identify children’s progress and staff performance. However, there were instances where managers were unaware of Inspection report for children’s home: SC437305 5 inaccuracies in some records. These inconsistencies make it difficult to fully understand the care and support that children receive.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

In the main, managers provide notifications to the regulator when there are serious incidents relating to a child. However, on one occasion a notification was not made in a timely manner. This delay affects the regulator’s ability to promptly review whether the actions taken to safeguard children were effective.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Professional relationships between managers and external agencies are positive and effective. Social workers and teachers said that managers understand children’s needs and communication with the home is regular. Staff attend review meetings and send weekly updates to social workers. This means that children benefit from an integrated approach to care planning that reflects their individual needs.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff benefit from regular supervision sessions and these support reflective practice. There are regular team meetings and a comprehensive training programme available. All staff have completed the mandatory training and additional training linked to the individual needs of the children. This means that the staff are supported to develop the necessary skills and knowledge to care for the children effectively. Inspection report for children’s home: SC437305 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

provide to children living in the home the physical necessities they need in order to live there comfortably. (Regulation 6 (1)(a)(b (2)(b)(vii))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, ensure that the games room is maintained to a good standard. 29 April 2022

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must notify HMCI and each other relevant person without delay if—

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Requirement Due date

there is any other incident relating to a child which the registered person considers to be serious. (Regulation 40 (4)(e)) 29 April 2022

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Recommendation

 The registered person should ensure that records contain clear and accurate information that relates to children’s circumstances. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 62, paragraph 14.4) Inspection report for children’s home: SC437305 7

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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 for children’s home: SC437305 8

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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, Hertfordshire EN6 1AG

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Children’s home details

Responsible individual: Susan Fitzsimmons

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Inspector

Evelyn Chafota, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: SC437305 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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