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 Limited Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This home is owned by a private national organisation and provides care for up to 47 children with autism spectrum disorder and/or learning disabilities. The home operates as a residential special school. The inspectors only inspected the social care provision on this site. The home currently provides care across five houses to 15 children and young people on the same site as the school. There are five empty houses.

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Overall experiences and progress of

children and young people, taking into account

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requires improvement to be good

How well children and young people are helped and protected requires improvement to be good

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requires improvement to be good

The effectiveness of leaders and managers inadequate

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requires improvement to be good

The children’s home is not yet delivering good help and care for children and young people. However, there are no serious or widespread failures that result in their welfare not being safeguarded or promoted.

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requires improvement to be good

Date of last inspection: 26 September 2022

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requires improvement to be good

Overall judgement at last inspection: requires improvement to be good

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requires improvement to be good

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

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

26/09/2022 Full Requires improvement to be good 21/06/2022 Full Inadequate 01/03/2022 Full Requires improvement to be good 04/12/2019 Interim Improved effectiveness Inspection report for children’s home: SC026910 3

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improvement to be good

Children receive support from staff who know them well. Staff are warm and affectionate in their interactions with children. Children are settled and confident in their homes. Managers consider children’s individual needs so that they make the right decision about where children live. There are sufficient staff to meet children’s needs. Many staff support children to develop their confidence and skills. However, some staff struggle to interact with children.

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improvement to be good

Children have mixed experiences living in this home. Some children benefit from well-organised, structured support. However, some children live in homes where there is a lack of direction and planning on a day-to-day basis. This is because staff spend time supporting children at school. Therefore, they cannot plan meaningful activities or maintain key documents which inform care planning. Children’s care plans generally contain information about the support they need and their preferences. The exception to this is information about health. Health information in plans is limited and does not, for example, tell staff why a child may take certain medication. A significant medical emergency has been managed well. Night staff’s vigilance and swift actions helped to keep a child safe.

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improvement to be good

Children are making progress in this home. However, this is not maximised because outcomes and goals are either not set or not reviewed regularly. Targets and goals which are in place lack clarity and do not help staff to understand how to support children to achieve them.

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improvement to be good

Staff are sensitive to children’s culture and identity. Staff support one child with visits to a specialist shop that sells familiar food items. Another young person is supported to develop their confidence to manage their prayer routine independently. In some houses, staff support children to cook their own meals. This gives children the opportunity to enjoy freshly cooked food and to learn new skills.

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improvement to be good

Children’s houses are homely with personal touches throughout. Photos showing the different things children have enjoyed doing are displayed on the walls. However, two of the children’s houses are showing signs of general wear and tear on flooring and sofas.

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improvement to be good

Staff take photos to celebrate key achievements and enjoyable activities for children. However, memory books are not considered until children leave. This means that key memories can be lost along the way, such as messages from staff who have left.

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improvement to be good

Inspection report for children’s home: SC026910 4 Safeguarding concerns have been raised about staff practice. Managers take immediate action in response to identified risks to ensure that children are safe. This includes referrals to the relevant safeguarding authorities. However, investigations do not take place with the urgency and swiftness required in response to potential safeguarding situations. Because the completion of investigations is delayed, managers cannot know accurately, or address, concerns identified through the process.

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improvement to be good

Behaviour is generally well managed. Staff recognise when children are anxious, upset or distressed, and they take action to help them feel safe. Overall, staff use restraint appropriately. However, there have been recent concerns about the inappropriate use of door holding. Leaders and managers have taken action in response to this poor practice. Children and staff receive debriefs following incidents. Child-friendly behaviour support plans help children to understand how staff will support them.

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improvement to be good

Practice around checking children for unexplained marks and injuries is inconsistent. Checking all children for unexplained marks has become standard practice for every child regardless of need. While well meaning, this has led to risk-adverse practice and intrusion on children’s dignity.

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improvement to be good

Staff maintain physically safe environments for children. Managers check which children have carried out fire drills and record useful information from the drills. This is then used to update personal evacuation plans.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

Poor and significantly delayed monitoring of incidents by senior management means that practice and risks in the home are not fully understood. Current systems, processes and staff availability contribute to the delays. Urgent action is needed to address the unacceptable delay.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

There are specific concerns relating to the welfare and progress of two children and the responsiveness of managers to their needs. For one child, plans are reactive to incidents. This means that there is not a thorough understanding or review of their care to improve their experiences. For the other child, insufficient action has been taken to address concerns about their weight loss. There is a lack of specificity in the records kept and they remain insufficient to understand if there is a problem. Managers received a complaint about this child’s care but have not yet provided a formal response to the complainant.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

Staff receive regular supervision. Managers record detailed discussions. This includes standardised supervision meetings in response to themes identified across the home. Staff have the opportunity to talk about and reflect on the care provided to children. Inspection report for children’s home: SC026910 5 Parents are mostly positive about the support offered to their children. Some parents and social workers have raised concerns about communication. They are particularly concerned that they are not always notified swiftly when incidents occur.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: inadequate

Changes to senior management arrangements have led to focused support on the areas for improvement. There are plans in place to address the concerns and shortfalls. However, this has not yet led to meaningful, sustained change and improvement. Actions have been taken towards addressing previous requirements. Some have been met but not all. 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 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 the outcomes it seeks to achieve for children;

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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

understand and apply the home’s statement of purpose;

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Requirement Due date

protect and promote each child’s welfare;

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Requirement Due date

treat each child with dignity and respect;

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Requirement Due date

provide personalised care that meets each child’s needs, as recorded in the child’s relevant plans, taking account of the child’s background. (Regulation 6 (1)(a)(b) (2)(a)(b)(i)(ii)(iii)(iv))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, ensure that staff understand and meet the needs of all children and young people living in the home. This includes a thorough review to understand the care needed for one child, and a clear plan to support another child with their weight. In addition, ensure that processes for checking children for unexplained injuries consider their needs for dignity and respect.

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Requirement Due date

This requirement was made at the last inspection and is restated, although the action detailed has changed. 28 July 2023 Inspection report for children’s home: SC026910 7 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

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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))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, ensure that there is timely oversight and monitoring of key incidents to identify themes and practice issues and address them at the earliest opportunity. In addition, ensure that all children have clear, meaningful targets, with processes for review of progress in place. In addition, ensure that there are clear systems for shift planning and shift leading to ensure that staff provide children with high-quality care. In addition, the registered person should ensure timely completion of investigations which relate to safeguarding concerns.

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Requirement Due date

This requirement was made at the last inspection and is restated, although the action detailed has changed. 28 July 2023

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that a record is made of any complaint, the action taken in response, and the outcome of any investigation.

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must supply to HMCI, at HMCI’s request, a statement containing a summary of any complaints made during the preceding twelve months and the action that was taken in response to each complaint. (Regulation 39 (3) (5))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, ensure that the complainant receives a response and that a record is made of the action taken in response to the complaint. 28 July 2023 Inspection report for children’s home: SC026910 8

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that all houses are in good decorative repair. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 15, paragraph 3.9)  The registered person should ensure that memory books capture and reflect the whole time children spend at the home. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 62, paragraph 14.5)

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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: SC026910 9

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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 Limited

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Children’s home details

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

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Inspectors

Clare Nixson, Social Care Inspector Paula Lahey, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: SC026910 10 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 looked after children, safeguarding and child protection.

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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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