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

Inspection report for children’s home: SC456413 1 SC456413 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 provider states in its statement of purpose that this home provides care for one child with social and emotional difficulties that result in complex needs.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager registered with Ofsted in May 2022.

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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 requires improvement to be 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: 1 February 2022

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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: SC456413 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

01/02/2022 Full Good 17/09/2019 Full Good 06/08/2018 Full Good 15/06/2017 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: SC456413 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are supported by a small, consistent staff team. This means that positive relationships are formed quickly. One child who has recently moved out of the home said, ‘They are like my extended family.’

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are well supported and prepared to move on from the home. The staff support them to develop their independence skills ready for their next chapter. Children’s moves are well planned and are supported sensitively. Children who have moved out remain in contact with the staff. This means that children value the relationships they made while at the home.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Similarly, when children move in, this is well considered and planned. However, children do not always get the full support that they need quickly enough to feel settled in their new home.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Education is encouraged and supported, even when children struggle to engage. The manager and staff continually look at other opportunities available to children in order to promote attendance and engagement. One child said, ‘They really pushed me with education and got me to take one of my exams.’ Another child is doing well with their education, which includes time out of the classroom working with horses. These bespoke approaches mean that children are provided with the best opportunities for them to succeed.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Time with family is supported when this is part of the children’s plans. The staff work hard to form relationships with families and ensure that they are involved in their children’s lives. Children are supported to communicate with family members when they are not able to see them. This means that children do not lose their sense of family identity.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Individual work with children is varied and supportive. However, children are not receiving additional specialist support to explore their identity.

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

Staff understand when children may need additional support to keep them safe. Children are encouraged to access support for their mental and physical health needs, to support risk reduction and emotional well-being. Children say they feel able to speak to staff should they have any worries. This means that children feel supported and listened to.

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

Children’s individual risks are understood by the staff. Risk management plans are regularly reviewed and updated. However, not all risks associated with children are assessed. This means that the staff do not always have the full information needed to safeguard the children. Inspection report for children’s home: SC456413 4 When children have been missing from the home, the staff have actively looked for them and responded proactively to minimise future risks. Following episodes of one child going missing from home, the manager and staff team were able to work with them to re-engage them. This avoided the child moving in an unplanned way.

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

The staff use positive consequences which help to promote positive behaviour. Incidents are rare and there has been only one instance of restraint since the last inspection. Staff use successful de-escalation techniques to avoid children reaching crisis point.

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

Staff are recruited using safer recruitment processes. This means that staff employed at the home are suitable to care for children.

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good

The manager is suitably experienced and is currently completing the relevant qualification. The manager also manages another of the company’s homes.

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good

Staff say they feel supported by the manager. There is evidence of good-quality supervision where children are discussed and there is opportunity to reflect on practice. Team meetings also take place regularly and are child-focused, with a clear agenda. However, weekly plans for the children lack detail and opportunities that will support them to meet the aims of their care plan.

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good

The manager does not use agency staff in the home and has a pool of bank workers who she is confident can support the children well. This means that children are cared for by people that they know.

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good

The home is welcoming and clean. However, the manager does not always have thorough oversight of staff practices regarding health and safety in the home. This means that the environment is not always safe and secure for children. For example, the door to the electrical cupboard had not been fixed promptly.

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good

The manager forms good relationships with professionals and has requested documents and meetings when appropriate. However, when there has not been a satisfactory response to her requests, the manager has not escalated these. This means that there is a delay in care planning for children.

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good

The manager identifies additional training that the staff will need to support children effectively and requests this in a timely manner. However, despite direction from the manager to ensure this is completed, not all staff have completed mandatory training.

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good

The manager has monitoring systems in place and uses the service’s development plan well. However, the manager’s evaluation of incidents does not always include a Inspection report for children’s home: SC456413 5 review of staff members’ practice, meaning that staff gaps in knowledge and skills are not identified. Inspection report for children’s home: SC456413 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 care planning standard is that children—

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Requirement Due date

receive effectively planned care in or through the children’s home.

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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

the registered person considers that the child is at risk of harm or has concerns that the care provided for the child is inadequate to meet the child’s needs. (Regulation 14 (1)(a) (2)(e)(i))

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Requirement Due date

This relates specifically to the manager escalating her concerns with regard to children who are at risk of harm, or when relevant plans for the child from the placing authority have not been made available. 13 January 2023

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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

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)) 13 January 2023 Inspection report for children’s home: SC456413 7 In particular, this applies to the manager ensuring that they have full oversight of children’s experiences while living in the home. This includes children having access to opportunities needed to meet the aims of the placement.

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Requirement Due date

This also relates to the manager ensuring that the health and safety of the home promotes children’s welfare.

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Requirement Due date

Also, to the manager evaluating staff practice following incidents to ensure that any gaps in skills and knowledge are identified and addressed.

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Requirement Due date

This further applies to ensuring that staff have completed all mandatory training needed to support the children effectively.

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that children have support from staff to settle into the home and that they are supported to keep their rooms tidy. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 15, paragraph 3.7)  The registered person should ensure that children have access to support that promotes their welfare, taking into account their identity. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 14, paragraph 3.2)  The registered person should ensure that risks are actively and continually assessed for each child and there are arrangements in place to protect them. When there are safeguarding concerns for a child, their placement plan, agreed between the home and their placing authority, must include details of the steps the home will take to manage any assessed risks on a day-to-day basis. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 42,

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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: SC456413 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: 5th Floor, Metropolitan House, 3 Darkes Lane, Potters Bar EN6 1AG

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Inspector

Kerri Lynch-Mahoney, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: SC456413 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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