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

Inspection report for children's home: SC026910 1 SC026910 Registered provider: Cambian Autism Services Ltd Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

The children’s home provides care for up to 68 children with autistic spectrum disorders and/or learning disabilities. The service operates as a residential special school that also provides accommodation for 52 weeks of the year, therefore it is registered as a children’s home. The home provides care across 11 houses. The home is owned by a private national organisation.

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Information about this children’s home

The inspectors only inspected the social care provision at this school. At the time of the inspection, there were 13 children living in the home, with five of the houses operational.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager registered with Ofsted on 1 March 2016.

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Overall experiences and progress of

children and young people, taking into account

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inadequate

How well children and young people are helped and protected inadequate

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inadequate

The effectiveness of leaders and managers inadequate

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inadequate

There are serious and/or widespread failures that mean children and young people are not protected, their welfare is not promoted or safeguarded and/or the care and experiences of children and young people are poor and they are not making progress.

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inadequate

Overall judgement at last inspection: requires improvement to be good

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inadequate

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children's home: SC026910 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

01/03/2022 Full Requires improvement to be good 04/12/2019 Interim Improved effectiveness 28/05/2019 Full Requires improvement to be good 22/10/2018 Full Requires improvement to be good Inspection report for children's home: SC026910 3

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inadequate

The organisation has failed to address substantial staffing shortages in the children’s home. These shortages have led to systemic failures, which has had a negative impact on the experiences and progress of children. Staffing shortages mean that children do not always receive the care and support they need as outlined in their care plans. For example, one child has regularly been supported by only one member of staff, despite needing a higher level of support. Children do not receive continuity of care; they experience frequent changes in the staff looking after them and are often cared for by members of staff who do not know them well. This lack of continuity is difficult for children, and particularly so for children with autism, limiting their ability to build relationships of trust with the adults who care for them.

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inadequate

Children do not receive support to develop the skills they will need for when they leave the home. Staffing shortages mean that children are unable to leave the site regularly. Outings that do take place are limited and lack purpose to develop children’s interests and experiences. Too often, children undertake activities only within their houses. These are often unplanned and do not link to relevant targets or desired outcomes for children. This is because staff have not ensured that these necessary targets are in place for all children. One child has not travelled in a vehicle since April. Although leaders and managers have identified actions needed to resolve this, little progress has been made to date. The quality of outings and activities improves in the school holidays when there are fewer children to support.

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inadequate

Staff enjoy working with the children and talk with genuine care about them. Staff support children in well-maintained, personalised homes. Children’s progress is celebrated, but they are not stretched with ambitious targets.

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inadequate

All children attend the on-site education provision. They are frequently accompanied by care staff who cover vacancies of education staff at the school. Care staff do not receive relevant educational training for this role which necessarily limits their ability to help children to progress with their learning.

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inadequate

Communication with parents and social workers is inconsistent. They do not always know if they are receiving the information they should about their child’s welfare. Some parents value the support their children receive to make progress, while others have worries about the level of individualised care their children receive. Social workers and parents continue to express concerns about children’s access to the wider community.

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

Leaders and managers do not understand the current risks to children in the home. This is because risk assessments for altered/reduced staffing levels fail to consider Inspection report for children's home: SC026910 4 the needs of individual children. The reduction of staffing is not monitored or tracked well enough in order to affect swift change to make improvements to children’s safety, progress and achievements. As there are no individual risk assessments for the reduction in staffing, managers cannot demonstrate an accurate understanding of the risk to children. Social workers do not always know when children receive reduced support and they are therefore unaware of the risks to their children. Despite requests from inspectors, leaders were unable to confirm what communication had taken place with local authorities. Children’s behaviour plans do not make it clear how staff are to support children when they receive less support

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

Shortfalls in the quality of discussions with children after any worrying incidents continue since the previous inspection. Such debrief discussions with children remain poor and staff do not always make use of observations of children as a way to understand and assess their wellbeing. One child’s welfare was not checked on after they sustained an injury during a restraint. Staff debriefs do not always take place. Records of restraint have minimal evaluation and oversight by managers. As a result, learning is not taking place following incidents in which children have had to be physically held to keep them safe. The lack of management oversight means that some records of restraint are incomplete.

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

Staff have an appropriate understanding of the need to report safeguarding concerns. Such concerns are fully investigated but investigations are not routinely completed in a sufficiently timely manner. Staff sickness has been a contributory factor to this delay. Staff are recruited safely in accordance with statutory guidance. In addition, comprehensive safeguarding checks are carried out on agency staff who work in the home.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

A lack of sufficient staff is having a negative impact on all aspects of leadership and management in the home. As a result of this, and because they are committed to the children who live in the home, leaders and managers frequently work directly with children. This means they are unable to fulfil their responsibilities for managing and monitoring the home effectively enough. This includes a lack of action to address shortfalls identified at the previous inspection. While every effort has been taken by the home’s leaders and managers to address the situation, the challenges extend beyond their reach. Concerns have been escalated to senior managers within the organisation. However, action to provide necessary support has been too slow. As a result, children’s needs have frequently been unmet. External monitoring of the home by the independent person has also identified the shortfalls, however, insufficient action has been taken by the organisation to address the identified

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

Staff told inspectors that they are worried for children. They say that they enjoy working at the home and value the support of colleagues at such a challenging time. However, they recognise that current staffing arrangements are unsafe and unsustainable. Staff express concern that they do not have time for training, Inspection report for children's home: SC026910 5 paperwork or planning meaningful activities. As children’s care plans are not routinely monitored, leaders and managers do not have a line of sight to potential risk.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

Supervision and team meetings take place. However, due to ongoing staff shortages, their frequency and quality is inconsistent. When supervision does take place, managers do not use it effectively to improve experiences for children. Children are looked after by staff who have not received the specialist training they need to support children’s complex needs. Delays in training delivery caused by the COVID- 19 pandemic are now compounded by the staffing shortages.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

As a result of this inspection, Ofsted has issued a notice to restrict the home’s registration. This means that leaders and managers cannot admit any more children to the home while the notice is in place. Ofsted will monitor this restriction and the ongoing performance of the home. Inspection report for children's home: SC026910 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 enjoyment and achievement standard is that children take part in and benefit from a variety of activities that meet their needs and develop and reflect their creative, cultural, intellectual, physical and social interests and skills.

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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

develop the child’s interests and hobbies;

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Requirement Due date

participate in activities that the child enjoys and which meet and expand the child’s interests and preferences; and make a positive contribution to the home and the wider community; and

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Requirement Due date

that each child has access to a range of activities that enable the child to pursue the child’s interests and hobbies. (Regulation 9 (1) (2)(a)(i)(ii)(iii)(b))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, ensure that staffing shortages do not impact on children’s opportunities to enjoy meaningful and enjoyable activities in the community. In addition, ensure staff are provided with training so children can use the in-house activities on site.

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Requirement Due date

This requirement was made at the last inspection and is restated. 18 July 2022

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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 staff— 18 July 2022 Inspection report for children's home: SC026910 7 assess whether each child is at risk of harm, taking into account information in the child’s relevant plans, and, if necessary, make arrangements to reduce the risk of any harm to the child;

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Requirement Due date

help each child to understand how to keep safe;

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Requirement Due date

have the skills to identify and act upon signs that a child is at risk of harm;

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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)(a)(i)(ii)(iii)(b))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person must ensure that changes to staffing arrangements include a full consideration of the impact on children and an assessment of risk, and that behaviour plans identify how to keep children safe dependent on staffing levels.

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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 promotes their welfare.

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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

lead and manage the home in a way that is consistent with the approach and ethos, and delivers the outcomes, set out in the home’s statement of purpose;

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Requirement Due date

ensure that staff have the experience, qualifications and skills to meet the needs of each child;

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Requirement Due date

ensure that the home has sufficient staff to provide care for each child;

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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

demonstrate that practice in the home is informed and improved by taking into account and acting on— 18 July 2022 Inspection report for children's home: SC026910 8 research and developments in relation to the ways in which the needs of children are best met; and (Regulation 13 (1)(a)(b) (2)(a)(c)(d)(f)(g)(i))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person must ensure that investigations are concluded in a timely manner. All staff should be up to date with basic and mandatory training. The registered person must ensure that the home is adequately staffed with staff who have appropriate experience. The registered person must also ensure that there is sufficient oversight and monitoring within the home to be able to make meaningful improvements to children’s experiences and quality of care.

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that the employment of any person on a temporary basis at the children’s home does not prevent children from receiving such continuity of care as is reasonable to meet their needs. (Regulation 31 (1))

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Requirement Due date

This requirement was made at the last inspection and is restated. 18 July 2022

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Requirement Due date

within 24 hours of the use of a measure of control, discipline or restraint in relation to a child in the home, a record is made which includes—

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Requirement Due date

details of the child’s behaviour leading to the use of the measure;

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Requirement Due date

the date, time and location of the use of the measure;

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Requirement Due date

a description of the measure and its duration;

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Requirement Due date

details of any methods used or steps taken to avoid the need to use the measure;

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Requirement Due date

the name of the person who used the measure ("the user"), and of any other person present when the measure was used;

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Requirement Due date

the effectiveness and any consequences of the use of the measure; and 18 July 2022 Inspection report for children's home: SC026910 9 a description of any injury to the child or any other person, and any medical treatment administered, as a result of the measure;

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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)(a)(i)(ii)(iii)(iv)(v)(vi)(vii)(viii)(b)(i)(ii)(c)(iv))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person should ensure that all staff and children are spoken to following incidents, to obtain the views, thoughts and feelings of the child and so that staff are provided with an opportunity to reflect on their practice.

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Requirement Due date

This requirement was made at the last inspection and is restated.

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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: SC026910 10

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Children’s home details

Provision sub-type: Residential special school

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Cambian Autism Services Ltd

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Cambian Autism Services Ltd, Metropolitan House, 3 Darkes Lane, Potters Bar EN6 1AG

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Inspectors

Clare Nixson, Social Care Inspector Sharron Escott, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children's home: SC026910 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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