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

Inspection report for children's home: SC067899 1 SC067899 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 children’s home is one of a number of homes owned and operated by a private company. It is registered to provide care for up to seven children. However, the home’s statement of purpose reflects that a decision has been made by the provider that the home will only provide care for up to four children. At the time of the inspection, two children were living in the home. They both spoke with the inspector about their experiences of living in the home.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager registered with Ofsted in August 2017.

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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

Overall judgement at last inspection: good

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children's home: SC067899 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

10/08/2021 Full Good 27/04/2021 Full Inadequate 20/01/2020 Full Good 11/07/2018 Full Good Inspection report for children's home: SC067899 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are supported to develop positive, trusting relationships with staff who care about them. Children say they are listened to and know how to make a complaint. They are supported to have important conversations with staff about issues that are affecting them. Through these conversations, children are helped to develop strategies to regulate their emotions and to strengthen their understanding of healthy and safe relationships.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff take action to get to know the people who are important to children. They support children to strengthen and maintain relationships with their families. The staff understand the importance of enabling siblings to live together. The children currently living in the home are siblings. One child told the inspector, ‘It is good here. I get on with the staff and, best of all, I can still live with my brother.’

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are supported to move into and out of the home in a planned way. Staff understand the group-living dynamics. The needs of children living in the home are considered alongside the needs of children moving in. Staff advocate for children. On one occasion, when a child’s transition out of the home did not go ahead as planned, staff were proactive in liaising with the child’s placing authority to ensure that the child’s needs were being met.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Most of the children who live in the home have previously experienced disruptions in their education. Staff proactively promote their attendance and learning. They nurture children’s aspirations and support children to access further education and employment opportunities.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children’s achievements are celebrated. They have access to a range of leisure activities and holidays. This helps children to develop their social networks and increases their confidence and self-esteem.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

In preparation for adulthood, children are supported to develop age-appropriate independence skills. Older children are helped with budgeting and shopping tasks. The staff encourage children who have moved on from the home to keep in touch, and they continue to provide them with ongoing support into adulthood.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The home is welcoming. Children’s bedrooms are personalised. The lounge is a comfortable and relaxing space. However, flooring in the office and communal areas needs to be replaced, and the kitchen area is awaiting refurbishment. Inspection report for children's home: SC067899 4

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

Children feel safe. Staff understand and are vigilant about children’s vulnerabilities and risks. One family member said, ‘Without a doubt, the boys are safe. All of the staff have the boy’s best interests at heart.’

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

Children’s plans are detailed and robust. They reflect individual and group risks and provide strategies for staff to follow to keep children safe. Plans are regularly reviewed and updated. Children are included in decisions about their care, and their voices are reflected throughout their plans.

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

Staff understand the indicators of exploitation. They share information and work effectively with other services to keep children safe. There has been a significant reduction in risk-taking behaviours for children. When incidents do occur, they are managed appropriately, with strong oversight from the manager.

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

Staff know how to respond when children go missing from care. One child who previously lived in the home experienced a high number of missing-from-care incidents. Staff worked closely with other agencies to reduce the number of incidents. They appropriately challenged the placing authority when persistent incidents meant they felt they were unable to keep the child safe.

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

Staff are able to effectively use de-escalation strategies. There have not been any incidents of staff holding children to keep them safe. The use of consequences as a response to negative behaviours is rare. When they are used, they are restorative and provide opportunities for children to reflect and learn.

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

Allegations have been managed in line with safeguarding procedures. There is clear oversight from the manager, and any learning is used to further develop practice in the home.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The home is managed by a skilled and experienced manager. She is supported by a deputy manager and new responsible individual. Together, they provide clear leadership and guidance to the team.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Managers make effective use of internal and external monitoring systems to continually review and develop practice in the home. Records are detailed with clear oversight from the manager. Recording systems have been strengthened to ensure that information is accessible in the manager’s absence.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The staff team has undergone a number of changes, which has led to a reduction in the number of staff. Any shortfalls are covered by the rest of the team or by other staff employed by the organisation. This means that children are only cared for by staff who know them well. Managers keep staffing levels under review to ensure that there is sufficient cover to meet children’s needs, and recruitment is ongoing. Inspection report for children's home: SC067899 5 Staff have excellent skills in communicating with each other and with other professionals. Professionals speak highly of the team. One professional told the inspector, ‘I can only speak highly of the way staff members and management, led proactively by [name of manager], have been with me in a way that has always been approachable, informative and professional at all times.’

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff say they are well supported and feel valued by managers. Staff have the opportunity to complete a wide range of training courses. They also benefit from direct access to the in-house clinician, enabling them to further develop their knowledge and skills. However, some staff have not completed relevant substance misuse training despite this being a current risk for children living in the home.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The quality of staff supervisions varies. For some staff, identification of key themes and opportunities to reflect on practice have been missed. Supervision records are not clear and do not routinely capture the discussions that have taken place.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

One requirement and four recommendations made at the last inspection have been met. One requirement relating to the ongoing refurbishment in the home has not been met and has been restated. Inspection report for children's home: SC067899 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 outcomes it seeks to achieve for children; and

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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

understand and apply the home’s statement of purpose;

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Requirement Due date

treat each child with dignity and respect;

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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;

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Requirement Due date

ensure that the premises used for the purposes of the home are designed and furnished so as to—

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Requirement Due date

enable each child to participate in the daily life of the home. (Regulation 6 (1)(a)(b) (2)(a)(b)(iii)(vii)(c)(i)(ii))

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Requirement Due date

This is specifically in relation to the kitchen being refurbished and replacing the flooring in the office and communal areas.

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Requirement Due date

This requirement was made at the last inspection and is restated. 30 November

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that all employees— 28 October 2022 Inspection report for children's home: SC067899 7 receive practice-related supervision by a person with appropriate experience. (Regulation 33 (4)(b))

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Requirement Due date

This specifically relates to ensuring that supervision takes place in line with the organisation’s supervision policy and focuses on the needs and progress of children. Discussions that have taken place must be evidenced in supervision records.

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Recommendation

 The registered person should ensure that staff can access appropriate facilities and resources to support their training needs and should understand the key role they play in the training and development of staff in the home. Specifically, the registered manager should ensure that all staff are provided with training to understand how to support children that misuse substances. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 53, paragraph 10.11)

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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: SC067899 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 EN6 1AG

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Inspector

Caroline Bertram, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children's home: SC067899 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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