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

Inspection report for children’s home: SC035657 1 SC035657 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

The children’s home is operated by a private organisation. According to the home’s statement of purpose, the children’s home will support and meet the needs of a maximum of six children who may experience emotional and behavioral difficulties and complex needs.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager was registered in August 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

Overall judgement at last inspection: good

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children’s home: SC035657 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

13/07/2021 Full Good 27/05/2021 Full Inadequate 24/04/2019 Full Requires improvement to be good 13/02/2019 Interim Declined in effectiveness Inspection report for children’s home: SC035657 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children receive well-planned care. They are supported by a range of external agencies. This wrap-around support ensures that children are provided with care that takes account of their lived experiences. A child said, ‘The staff are sound. I trust them and they help me.’

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Most children have experienced previous disruption in their education, resulting in extended periods of time away from school. The registered manager and staff work closely with internal and external educational providers to ensure that the children are provided with an education placement that will target their needs, interests and skills. As a result, children’s attendance has increased from 0% to 96%.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are consulted about the care they receive in the home. They regularly complete the children’s home in-house surveys, attend children’s meetings and have regular one-to-one discussions with their key workers. This enables children to develop a sense of ownership regarding the decisions being made about their individual care.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The children receive suitable support to help them to maintain relationships with their family and friends. Plans are in place that provide clear information and guidance regarding how contact arrangements are permitted or restricted.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are helped and supported to try out new activities and develop hobbies in accordance with their individual interests. For example, one child has joined a local football team and another has joined a gym. Health and fitness are promoted in the home. These activities enable children to develop key life skills, such as developing friendships, teamwork and perseverance.

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

Some children have been regularly missing from care. The staff are proactive in their approach and the missing-from-care protocol is routinely followed. The incident reports are detailed and include contact with family members and friends, while also searching known areas to gather information about the children’s whereabouts. On their return, children are consistently provided with return home interviews. There has been a significant decrease in missing-from-care incidents since April 2022.

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

The manager responds appropriately to complaints and allegations. Safeguarding protocols are followed and referrals are made when appropriate, demonstrating the manager’s and staff’s ability to work in partnership with others. There are occasions when conversations take place with other professionals, particularly in relation to concerns around a child’s welfare. However, the content of some conversations is not always fully recorded. Allegations made by children are managed in line with Inspection report for children’s home: SC035657 4 protocols. However, on one occasion, Ofsted was not notified of an allegation in accordance with regulation 40.

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

The manager is reactive and reflective in his approach to safeguarding concerns. Following an incident when a child was able to leave the home in the middle of the night without the knowledge of waking night staff, the manager quickly investigated this. As a result, the manager identified concerns around practice and implemented measures to prevent any further reoccurrence.

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

There is a consequence and reward systems in place. The action is implemented in a way to discourage negative behaviour and to help children recognise the impact of the behaviour on themselves and others. Consequences are evaluated by the manager, but they lack scrutiny. As a result, it is not always possible to tell whether the action has been effective in addressing the behaviours.

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

Room searches are undertaken and are often linked to incidents when a concern has been identified, or when risks have increased. Room searches are suitably documented and detail what action has been taken, for example if items of concern have been found, where they are stored, and the direct-work session that is completed with the child.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Overall, internal monitoring systems provide the home with a clear approach to the monitoring of the care provided in the home. Records highlight areas for development and reflect some of the matters identified at this inspection.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Monthly trend analysis and safeguarding meetings provide the senior leadership teams with an opportunity to review emerging patterns and trends evident in the home, for example potential triggers for a child’s behaviour. This detail has proven to be valuable in further developing children’s plans and how staff work with them.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The external monitoring of the home is good. The independent visitor’s reports detail the progress children make, as well as identifying areas where development is required. The registered manager takes suitable action to address the identified shortfalls.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The home employs an enthusiastic staff team, with over half the staff suitably qualified at diploma level. The training of staff at this level ensures that they are suitably qualified in the care and management of children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff receive ongoing training, including mandatory training and relevant online focused training. A staff member said, ‘Training is great. Since the last inspection, we have had lots of training to develop our practice. We are a much stronger team and we are getting the right support.’

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff receive good support from the manager. Formal supervisions take place regularly and informal support is available daily. A staff member said, ‘The manager Inspection report for children’s home: SC035657 5 is always available should we need advice or support. He has great relationships with the children and staff.’

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

On the whole, the registered manager completes notifications under regulation 40 to ensure that the regulator is informed about matters of significant concern. However, there have been two occasions when a notification was not made. In addition, the quality of the information provided to the regulatory body is variable. Notifications frequently require additional information for them to be suitably assessed. Consequently, this results in a delay in matters of significant concerns being fully understood. Inspection report for children’s home: SC035657 6

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Statutory requirement

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

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Requirement Due date

a child is involved in or subject to, or is suspected of being involved in or subject to, sexual exploitation;

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Requirement Due date

an incident requiring police involvement occurs in relation to a child which the registered person considers to be serious;

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Requirement Due date

there is an allegation of abuse against the home or a person working there;

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Requirement Due date

a child protection enquiry involving a child —

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Requirement Due date

concludes (in which case, the notification must include the outcome of the child protection enquiry); or

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Requirement Due date

there is any other incident relating to a child which the registered person considers to be serious.

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Requirement Due date

A notification made under this regulation—

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Requirement Due date

the other persons, bodies or organisations (if any) who or which have been notified; and

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Requirement Due date

any actions taken by the registered person as a result of the matter;

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Requirement Due date

must be made or confirmed in writing. (Regulation 40 (4)(a)(b)(c)(d)(i)(ii)(e) (5)(a)(i)(ii)(iii)(b)) 7 October 2022 Inspection report for children’s home: SC035657 7

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that allegations made by children are reported at the earliest opportunity. This includes making accurate recordings of conversations with professionals, and agreed actions, as part of any investigation. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 44, paragraph 9.17)  The registered person should ensure that all incidents of control, discipline and restraint are subject to systems of regular scrutiny to ensure that their use is fair and effective in helping a child to address their behaviours. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 46, paragraph 9.36)  The registered person should ensure that notifications are written clearly and include the details of the event and the action taken by the home’s staff in response to the event. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the

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Recommendations

quality standards’, page 63, paragraph 14.13)

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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: SC035657 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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Inspectors

Maria McGranaghan, Social Care Inspector Kimmy Feeley, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: SC035657 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 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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