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

Inspection report for children’s home: SC458028 1 SC458028 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

A large national organisation runs this home. It provides care for up to three children aged between eight and 18 who experience social and emotional difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager registered with Ofsted 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 outstanding

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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: 24 January 2023

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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: SC458028 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

24/01/2023 Full Good 19/10/2021 Full Good 28/08/2019 Full Good 08/01/2019 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: SC458028 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

At the time of this inspection, one child was living at the home. Since the last inspection, one child moved out in a planned way in line with the child’s wishes.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The manager works with the child, their family and external professionals to ensure that important information is shared. The manager uses information to ensure that children living together have common interests and that staff have the correct skills and experience to meet their needs. Meticulous planning between professionals was carried out for the child who moved out. Staff thought creatively about a last key- work session, which helped the child to prepare for the future. The child’s parent said, ‘Staff did all they could to keep my child safe while she was living there.’

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The child who is living at the home has trusting relationships with the staff, who know the child very well. The child refers to the staff as family members. The home provides a warm and nurturing environment. Staff are planning for the child to live at the home long term. They have plans to make improvements to and further personalise the child’s bedroom.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

All staff are trained in a therapeutic approach which they implement throughout assessment and key-work sessions. Staff spoken with like using the approach and feel confident to implement it in their work with the child.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The child is in education. They attend regularly and are making good progress. The manager and staff are committed to and enthusiastic about the child’s learning. The manager consistently challenges other professionals regarding plans and funding for alternative provision. Feedback from other professionals is consistently positive. One professional said, ‘I highly trust the manager’s local knowledge of schools and provisions.’ One child, who moved on from the home, completed their GCSEs.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The child is encouraged to take part in a range of activities, such as days out to London, trips to the cinema and a safari park, meals out and holidays. A ‘footsteps’ book that contains photos, notes from staff and keepsakes such as tickets encourages the child’s sense of belonging and security.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff encourage appropriate friendships and the child continues to see their family. Staff support the child to travel some distance. As a result, the child’s relationships with their family members out of the local area are maintained. The manager has been proactive in challenging and escalating concerns to the placing authority regarding visits from the child’s social worker.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The child continues to make progress in their independence skills, such as cooking, washing clothes and cleaning their bedroom. Inspection report for children’s home: SC458028 4 Staff encourage healthy living in key-work sessions, with a focus on age-appropriate subjects, such as smoking cessation and sexual health. Staff meet the child’s health needs and regularly review health plans with good communication with health professionals.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The child knows how to make a complaint and access advocacy if required. Staff meet with the child to discuss their experiences of living at the home and to gain their wishes and views. The child helps staff to create meal plans, and ideas for future activities are discussed. This helps the child to feel a sense of control of their life.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The child lives in a modern, welcoming and spacious home. However, the swimming pool is dirty and there are weeds with thorns growing on the patio. This is a health and safety risk to the child and detracts from the pleasant surroundings of the home.

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

Staff understand their safeguarding roles and responsibilities. They are confident to raise concerns to keep the child safe. A child who moved out of the home raised a concern to staff. The manager responded immediately. The investigation was thorough, and the manager shared information with external professionals. This ensured external scrutiny of the safeguarding measures.

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

Since the last inspection, no children have left the home without permission. Staff have clear guidance to follow if the child chooses to leave the home without permission.

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

There have been no physical interventions since the last inspection. This is because staff know the child well and use de-escalation strategies effectively. The manager makes certain that staff have the correct knowledge and skills to meet children’s needs before they move into the home.

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

Staff encourage children when they have made positive choices. Staff use a variety of rewards which help children to build self-esteem and confidence. On rare occasions when consequences are used, they are well considered. This means that children learn from mistakes and make better choices. However, the duration of consequences is not clearly recorded. Therefore, it is unclear if consequences are proportionate.

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

Staff understand the child’s vulnerabilities. However, a specific risk for one child in relation to medication misuse was not clearly identified and an incident occurred outside of the home. Once staff were aware, the plan was immediately reviewed and additional strategies implemented. As a result, the opportunities for the child to harm themselves again were minimised. Inspection report for children’s home: SC458028 5

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

The registered manager is qualified and experienced to manage the home. She has high expectations of staff and high aspirations for children. The manager is confident and persistent in advocating for the rights of children in her care. This is embedded in the culture of the staff team. As a result, children achieve their goals and build confidence. One professional said, ‘I cannot fault the staff. This is one of the best providers that I work with.’

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

The responsible individual plays an active role at the home. They have good oversight and maintain relationships with staff and children. They actively monitor and review the care provided to children. This means that shortfalls are quickly identified and care for children remains at an exceptionally high standard.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

The established monitoring systems help the manager to have strong oversight of the quality of care provided. The manager uses this information to identify areas for development. Managers are reflective and understand the home’s strengths. A detailed development plan is in place and is reviewed monthly.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

The staff team is long-standing. Since the last inspection, no staff have left and no staff have joined. The manager does not use agency staff. This means that children receive consistent care from people they know well.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

Staff benefit from team meetings and supervision which are focused on reflection. Children are discussed in detail. This helps staff to review the progress that children make and discuss any concerns. The well-being of staff is prioritised. The manager recognises that staff well-being is an important factor in the quality of care that staff can provide to children. This contributes to the positive and nurturing ethos at the home.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

The registered manager has implemented her own research study into the barriers that children in care experience in accessing education. The aim is to challenge barriers and gain a deeper understanding of children’s experiences in education to ensure that looked after children access the same rights as children living with their families. The manager plans to share her findings with other colleagues and professionals.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

Managers understand the importance of ensuring that staff have the skills and knowledge that they need to provide consistent care to children. Additional training is provided to ensure that staff can meet children’s specific needs. Staff are either qualified or working towards the relevant level 3 childcare qualification within the necessary time frames.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: outstanding

The manager has met the one requirement raised at the last inspection. Inspection report for children’s home: SC458028 6

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that the garden of the home is maintained to a good standard and that the pool area is kept clean. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 15, paragraph 3.9)  The registered person should ensure that any consequences are proportionate and in place for no longer than is necessary. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 48, paragraph 9.52)

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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: SC458028 7

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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

Mandy Start, Social Care Inspector Emily Stevens, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: SC458028 8 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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