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

Inspection report for children's home: SC464958 1 SC464958 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 home is owned by a private company. The home provides care for six children aged from 11 to 17 who have emotional or behavioural difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager registered with Ofsted in November 2014 and holds a level 4 qualification in leadership and management.

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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

Overall judgement at last inspection: good

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children's home: SC464958 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

06/05/2021 Full Good 19/06/2019 Full Good 09/10/2018 Full Good 03/07/2018 Full Inadequate Inspection report for children's home: SC464958 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children have positive experiences while living in this home. A motivated and dedicated staff team provides children with a nurturing and supportive environment. Children told the inspector that they like living in the home.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff successfully support children to make academic progress. All children attend education provisions that are suited to their needs. In addition, children are encouraged to complete work experience and voluntary work. As a result, the children view learning as a positive experience, gain valuable experience for their future and are proud of themselves.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children’s health needs are met. Children are registered with local services and staff ensure that children attend routine appointments. In addition, staff support children to attend individual therapy sessions, which help children to explore their experiences. Consequently, children are in good health and are learning to understand their feelings.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children engage in a wide variety of hobbies and interests. They enjoy attending boxing clubs, singing lessons and horse riding. Children also enjoy activities with staff. One child created a ‘wish list’ with staff and completed lots of different activities, such as visiting an attraction, pottery painting and going to the circus. This means that children are having fun, exploring new interests and making memorable experiences.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Moves in and out of the home are considered and individualised. Staff have created detailed transition plans and work well with new carers when children move out of the home. Children are encouraged to share their feelings about moving to their new home. One child created an ‘all about me’ profile for her new carers which detailed her likes, dislikes and what she would like in her new bedroom. This practice helps to reduce any anxieties and helps children to feel involved in their care planning.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The home is welcoming and comfortable. One child was happy to show the inspector the home and was looking forward to new bedroom furniture arriving. Children also enjoy helping themselves to drinks from a hot chocolate station in the kitchen.

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

Children in the home told inspectors they feel safe. Staff understand children’s known risks and what actions they are expected to take to keep children safe. However, risk assessments do not always include clear guidance for staff on how they should respond when, for example, children go missing from home. Although this has not had a direct impact on children’s safety, it has the potential to do so. Inspection report for children's home: SC464958 4 Incidents of children going missing are rare and staff respond appropriately. Staff record the steps that they have taken to locate children. When children return, staff are considerate of children’s needs and give them the opportunity to share their thoughts and feelings. This ensures that children feel supported and helps the manager to gather information to reduce future risks.

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

Staff respond to challenging behaviour appropriately. Since the last inspection, there have been no physical interventions. Staff use incentives effectively, including praise and individualised points books. These focus on mutually agreed targets and provide the children with the opportunity to gain extra pocket money. This helps children understand the impact of their choices.

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

Staff are creative in their approach to supporting children. Staff implement individual strategies suited to children’s interests. For example, when one child is feeling anxious, instead of spending time in her room, she will now ask staff to take her for a drive to the local nature reserve. Children have created presentations about internet safety to teach their peers about risk. As a result, children are learning how to keep themselves safe.

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

When required, staff seek support and guidance from external professionals. One social worker told the inspector, ‘The communication is clear, and for [name of child] progress has been brilliant and risks have reduced.’ This supports the well- being of children living in the home.

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

Medication is appropriately stored and administered. The manager has implemented audits to ensure that if there are any discrepancies these are identified and appropriate action is taken. As a result, medication practices in the home are safe.

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

Recruitment processes are thorough and staff who are recruited to work in the home are subject to all necessary checks. This helps to ensure that children receive care from adults who have been appropriately vetted.

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good

The manager has been registered with Ofsted since 2014. The registered manager and deputy manager are passionate and committed to developing good practice and recognise the areas for improvement.

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good

Leaders and managers have not ensured that there is a clear procedure to follow when the local authority designated officer has asked that an internal investigation is carried out following allegations made by children. This has meant that two allegations made by a child against a member of staff have either not been investigated or have not concluded for over four months. The registered manager had raised this with senior leaders, however, at the time of inspection the shortfall remained. This impacts the effectiveness of any investigation. Inspection report for children's home: SC464958 5 Furthermore, managers have failed to ensure that children are reassured that their allegations are being responded to, and in what way. This does not ensure that children’s experiences are helping to inform the quality of care.

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good

The current staff team is stable. Staff receive regular supervisions and have had annual appraisals. They say that they enjoy working at the home and that they feel supported. One staff member told the inspector, ‘I just want to give the children the best care.’

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good

Staff have completed mandatory training. However, staff have not had training specific to the children’s presenting needs. For example, not all staff know about deprivation of liberty orders and have not received training on this, despite caring for a child subject to an order. This does not ensure that staff have all the required knowledge to meet the children’s needs.

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good

The manager has not ensured that the children’s guide helps children to understand the home’s complaints procedure, what action would be taken to respond to a complaint and the timescales for investigation. This is a missed opportunity to ensure that children have all the information they need. Inspection report for children's home: SC464958 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 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

ensure that staff have the experience, qualifications and skills to meet the needs of each child. (Regulation 13 (1)(a)(b) (2)(a)(c))

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Requirement Due date

This specifically relates to ensuring that staff have received specific training to meet the needs of the children. 31 January 2023

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must prepare and implement a policy which—

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Requirement Due date

is intended to safeguard children accommodated in the children’s home from abuse or neglect; and

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Requirement Due date

sets out the procedure to be followed in the event of an allegation of abuse or neglect.

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Requirement Due date

The procedure to be followed in the event of an allegation of abuse or neglect must, in particular—

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Requirement Due date

provide for records to be kept of an allegation of abuse or neglect, and the action taken in response;

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Requirement Due date

describe the measures which may be necessary to protect children following an allegation of abuse or neglect; and

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Requirement Due date

describe how and to whom staff are to report, without delay, any concern about abuse or neglect of a child. (Regulation 34 (1)(a)(b) (2)(d)(e)(f)) 31 January 2023 Inspection report for children's home: SC464958 7 This specifically relates to the manager ensuring that there is a clear policy to follow when there is an allegation of abuse.

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Requirement Due date

In addition, the provider must ensure that children understand the steps taken to investigate and respond to concerns raised against care staff.

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that the children’s guide helps children to understand how to make a complaint, in line with the home’s complaints procedure. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 24, paragraph 4.22)  The registered person should ensure that the staff continually and actively assess the risks to each child and the arrangements in place to protect them. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 42, paragraph 9.5)

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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: SC464958 8

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Cambian Childcare Ltd

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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

Sophie Hills, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children's home: SC464958 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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