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

Inspection report for children’s home: SC456474 1 SC456474 Registered provider: Cambian Childcare Limited Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

p.1

Information about this children’s home

This is a privately run children’s home that provides care for up to six children who may have emotional and social difficulties.

p.1

Information about this children’s home

The manager registered with Ofsted in May 2020.

p.1

Overall experiences and progress of

children and young people, taking into account

p.1

good

How well children and young people are helped and protected good

p.1

good

The effectiveness of leaders and managers good

p.1

good

The children’s home provides effective services that meet the requirements for good.

p.1

good

Overall judgement at last inspection: good

p.1

good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children’s home: SC456474 2

p.1

Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

01/03/2023 Full Good 08/03/2022 Full Good 25/02/2020 Interim Sustained effectiveness 11/09/2019 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: SC456474 3

p.2

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

In this home, children make progress from their individual starting points. The staff provide ongoing support to the children, particularly when they encounter emotional challenges that can impact on their well-being. Recently, there has been a difficult dynamic with the children in the home, which staff have adapted to and managed well. Children benefit from the consistent approaches of the staff.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff have positive relationships with children, which were observed throughout the inspection. Three of the children have said that they like all of the staff, and one child said it is the best place they have ever lived. Another child is still adapting to being in the home and is in the early stages of building relationships with their peers and staff.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children have regular conversations with staff about important topics, such as healthy relationships, keeping safe and building skills for independence. This helps to increase the children’s knowledge base and gives them the tools needed to make informed choices, which improves their future outcomes.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

When children come to live at the home, their move in is well planned. They are supported to visit, spend time with the staff and meet the other children that live in the home. They are given an informative and helpful children’s guide, which has recently been adapted for younger children to read and learn about the home.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Substance misuse is a problem for some children. The staff work closely with a specialist service to support these children to address this. Staff are also supported by the home’s clinical practitioner to discuss substance misuse and how to best support the children. Staff have attended specialist training in this area to ensure they are able to keep children safe and recognise the signs of substance misuse.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The home is welcoming and well decorated and is presented as a homely space for children to relax. Improvements continue to be made, and children are involved in decisions about what work is undertaken and how their rooms are decorated. The registered manager has a plan for how she wants the home to look, and the staff team shares this vision.

p.3

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

The staff team has a good understanding of children’s needs and any possible risks to their safety. The staff have quickly adapted to the needs of a child who is new to the home and are implementing clear boundaries. Risk assessments are continuously updated to ensure that all known risks are shared and potential risks are anticipated. Staff work with the children so they can manage their own risks and make informed choices. Inspection report for children’s home: SC456474 4 There has been a significant increase in incidents where children go missing from the home. When children are missing, the staff are proactive in looking for them. They follow the correct procedures and liaise with children’s families and relevant professionals. The staff have also acted to safeguard children who are no longer in their care and children from other local authorities.

p.3

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

Searches of children’s bedrooms are sometimes required to ensure the safety of children. When this has been necessary, they have been carried out sensitively with the agreement of the child and, on the majority of occasions, with the child present. When room searches have taken place and the child is not present, this has been explained and documented appropriately so the child understands why this has happened.

p.4

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

Children sometimes receive consequences to manage inappropriate behaviour. Although there is evidence of reparation taking place, some of the applied measures are punitive. Despite these measures being ineffective, they have continued to be used. The registered manager is changing the home’s consequences policy, so they are more restorative in nature. However, at the time of the inspection, there was no evidence of this being embedded into practice.

p.4

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

Additional safety measures have been put in place for children at this home. This has included the use of door alarms and an additional locked door separating one bedroom from the others. The reasons for these measures being used have been assessed appropriately, and this has been done with the agreement of the local authority and parents. The continuing use of these measures should be regularly reviewed so they are not used when they are not needed.

p.4

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

Physical intervention is only used as a last resort to keep staff and children safe. When it has been used, it has been appropriate and proportionate, with both staff and children being spoken with after the event. The recording of one incident did not give a clear explanation of what had happened and the quality of the information within it was poor.

p.4

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager is well regarded by staff, other professionals and the families of the children living in the home. Staff have said that the registered manager is approachable, listens to them and they can speak openly. They lead by example and have high expectations that the staff say they value.

p.4

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager has ambitious plans for the home and for the use of the self-contained flat. They would like to be able to support children into independence in a fully furnished, comfortable home. Staff will be available to provide planned support as children become young adults, giving them skills for independent living. Inspection report for children’s home: SC456474 5 The registered manager and staff have supported a child who no longer lives at the home in times of crisis when they have come back to the home for support. This has included safeguarding them from further harm in order to support the child’s local authority to keep them safe. This has been done sensitively and in such a way that none of the children in the home have been involved or exposed to any risk.

p.4

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff receive regular, high-quality and reflective supervision by the registered manager and deputy manager. They state that this is useful to them; they feel they can use it as a space to reflect and they feel listened to. Staff are given the opportunity to develop their skills and knowledge through regular training and through case reflection that is delivered by the clinical practitioner attached to the home.

p.5

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager has thorough oversight of the home. Monitoring systems are in place to ensure they know what is happening and that children are receiving good-quality care. There has been one occasion when the systems in place have been ineffective, and as such, the home was left with insufficient staffing in place. This left the staff supporting the children vulnerable and could have put children at risk with unsafe levels of staff supervision. The registered manager has put steps in place to ensure that this would not be able to happen again in the future. Inspection report for children’s home: SC456474 6

p.5

Statutory requirements

This section sets out the actions that the registered persons 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 persons must comply within the given timescales.

p.6

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—

p.6

Requirement Due date

helps children aspire to fulfil their potential; and

p.6

Requirement Due date

In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to—

p.6

Requirement Due date

lead and manage the home in a way that is consistent with the approach and ethos, and delivers the outcomes, set out in the home’s statement of purpose;

p.6

Requirement Due date

ensure that staff work as a team where appropriate;

p.6

Requirement Due date

ensure that staff have the experience, qualifications and skills to meet the needs of each child;

p.6

Requirement Due date

ensure that the home has sufficient staff to provide care for each child;

p.6

Requirement Due date

ensure that the home’s workforce provides continuity of care to each child. (Regulation 13 (1)(a)(b) (2)(a)(b)(c)(d)(e))

p.6

Requirement Due date

This specifically relates to ensuring that there are effective systems in place to arrange additional staffing when circumstances change, such as unforeseen sickness or injury.

p.6

Requirement Due date

This also relates to the registered manager ensuring that sufficient staffing levels are in place at times of heightened risk for the children, such as when there are high levels of missing-from-home incidents. 31 August 2023 Inspection report for children’s home: SC456474 7

p.6

Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that following any restraint of a child, the recording of the incident is clear and contains all relevant information about what has happened, including the hold(s) used and what happened to try and defuse the situation before the hold was required. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 49, paragraph 9.59)  The registered person should ensure that any use of monitoring equipment in the form of bedroom door alarms and an additional lock on a landing door is routinely reviewed. The evaluation of the use of door alarms and the lock should detail how these measures support the safeguarding and well-being of those living and working in the home. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 16, paragraph 3.16)  The registered person should ensure that any consequences used as a result of

p.7

Recommendations

poor behaviour are restorative rather than punitive in nature. When consequences are identified as being ineffective, then the use of them should be reviewed and changed as appropriate. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 46, paragraph 9.38)

p.7

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: SC456474 8

p.7

Children’s home details

Registered provider: Cambian Childcare Limited

p.8

Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Metropolitan House, 3 Darkes Lane, Potters Bar EN6 1AG

p.8

Children’s home details

Responsible individual: Susan Fitzsimmons

p.8

Inspector

Gail McGann, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: SC456474 9 regulates and inspects 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.

p.8

Inspector

If you would like a copy of this document in a different format, such as large print or Braille, please telephone 0300 123 1231, or email enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk . You may reuse this information (not including logos) free of charge in any format or medium, under the terms of the Open Government Licence. To view this licence, visit www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence , write to the Information Policy Team, The National Archives, Kew, London TW9 4DU, or email: psi@nationalarchives.gsi.gov.uk .

p.9

Inspector

Interested in our work? You can subscribe to our monthly newsletter for more information and updates: http://eepurl.com/iTrDn .

p.9

Inspector

T: 0300 123 1231 Textphone: 0161 618 8524 E: enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk W: www.gov.uk/ofsted

p.9