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

Inspection report children's home: SC035657 1 SC035657 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 children’s home is operated by a private organisation. According to the statement of purpose, staff will care for up to six children who may experience emotional and behavioral difficulties and complex needs. At the time of the inspection four children were living in the home.

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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 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: 6 September 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: SC035657 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

06/09/2022 Full Good 13/07/2021 Full Good 27/05/2021 Full Inadequate 24/04/2019 Full Requires improvement to be good Inspection report for children’s home: SC035657 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children experience positive and well-planned moves in and out of the home. They visit the home before they move in and meet the staff team and staff consider their wishes and feelings before they move in to help children feel more comfortable.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children receive their care from a staff team that know them well and understand their needs. This promotes positive and nurturing relationships that support children’s progress and general well-being. A child said, ‘I know I can go to anyone if I need something, staff are always there to help.’

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The home is warm and welcoming. Children choose how they want to decorate and personalise their bedrooms and are engaged in other key developments for the home. However, the presence of bars on one of the windows contributes to an institutional atmosphere in the home, impacting on the overall environment.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff promote education. They ensure that children’s education needs are met and attend all education meetings. One child struggles with attendance at school. However, staff are proactive and creative in addressing this.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff keep children’s individual goals under regular review and celebrate their achievements with those important to them, this includes their social workers. A member of staff said, ‘This approach to learning enables children to apply their skills in various contexts, supporting increased self-esteem and independence.’

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children receive support for engaging in activities both in and out of the home. Enhancing their experiences and strengthening their relationships with staff. This support aids in their developmental progress and boosts positive self-esteem. For instance, a child’s commitment to English studies has paved the way for enrolling in a mechanics course, bringing the child and staff immense pride in their achievement.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are very well supported in spending time with people who matter to them. These meetings are carefully assessed and constantly reviewed. For some children, the quality of the time spent with their families has improved, and in other cases, successful returns to the family home have been achieved. One family member expressed high praise for the support from staff that contributed to bringing the family back together.

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

Children feel safe and supported. Staff have a strong response to safeguarding children and work closely with agencies. A social worker said, ‘The joint working and communication from the staff team is brilliant.’ Inspection report for children’s home: SC035657 4 Children are supported whenever possible to take safe and appropriate risks in line with their care plans and developmental needs. Staff complete risk management plans for each child. This enables staff to identify and understand children’s risks. Staff review plans regularly and discuss them in team meetings. This helps staff to maintain consistency when protecting children from harm.

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

Staff promote children’s positive behaviour and take action to prevent negative behaviours that challenge adults, from escalating. Staff use rewards to reinforce children’s positive behaviour. The use of consequences to address negative behaviour is fair and proportionate. As a result, there has been no physical interventions since the last inspection.

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

When children are missing from home, staff take swift action to ensure that children return safely. Records reflect a proactive approach by staff to achieve the child’s safe return to the home. However, the manager has not evaluated records to identify any gaps in training for staff or record and retain evidence of what worked well.

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

Managers use door sensors on children’s bedroom doors as a safeguarding measure. However, managers do not regularly review or evaluate the need for the sensors. As a result, this may unnecessarily limit children’s privacy and access in the home.

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

Staff support children to stay safe online. Children are supported in discussions to talk about safe and healthy relationships. This raises children’s awareness of online harm and helps them to stay safe.

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

Safe recruitment processes for all staff are thorough. There is a robust checklist system in place to ensure that all recruitment checks are completed. Consequently, only suitable adults can work in the home.

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

Staff undertake a broad range of good-quality training in safeguarding matters. Safeguarding themes are further explored with staff through supervision and team meetings. As a result, staff know how to recognise, report and act on any safeguarding concerns that they may have.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager demonstrates strong and effective leadership that is child focused. They consistently strive to achieve the best outcomes possible for children and their families. A family member said, ‘The staff didn’t just help [name of child] they helped all of us.’

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager encourages staff to engage in a reflective practice approach. Staff successfully engage with this approach and use opportunities during regular staff team meetings and handover meetings to share ideas, develop and refine strategies to optimise their success in working with children. Inspection report for children’s home: SC035657 5 There have been some changes in the staff team. However, the staff team is now consistent and stable. When there have been vacancies, these have been covered by the existing staff team or bank staff who know the children. Staff say the manager is approachable and they feel valued.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff are enthusiastic, caring and committed to the children. They feel well supported by the manager and strive to help children to achieve their potential. One staff member said, ‘It’s an amazing place that changes children’s lives. Staff work hard. [Name of registered manager] works incredibly hard and is a credit to the home.’

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Managers conduct appraisals with staff on an annual basis. Staff reflect on their work and set targets for the year ahead. The manager also engages children in seeking their views on the entire staff team. This will increase the effectiveness of the appraisals and help to support staff progression.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The statement of purpose says that six children can live at the home. However, there is presently only enough bedrooms for four children, as one of the bedrooms is now a gym and the other is being used by staff when they are sleeping overnight. This shortfall does not currently have a significant impact on the quality of care provided to children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

External stakeholders, including family members, social workers and independent reviewing officers, say that staff communicate with them well about children’s progress. They say that staff are meeting children’s needs well and respond promptly to any queries that external professionals may have.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager has effective monitoring systems in place to ensure clear oversight of children’s progress, and regularly consults with children gaining their views around the staff that support them. This helps the manager and staff with developmental progression. Inspection report for children’s home: SC035657 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 registered person must compile in relation to the children’s home a statement ("the statement of purpose") which covers the matters listed in Schedule 1.

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Requirement Due date

Subject to paragraph (6), the registered person must ensure that the home is at all times conducted in a manner which is consistent with its statement of purpose.

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Requirement Due date

Nothing in paragraph (5) or regulation 46 (review of premises) requires or authorises the registered person to contravene or not comply with—

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Requirement Due date

any other provision of these regulations; or

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Requirement Due date

any conditions in relation to the registration of the registered person under Part 2 of the Care Standards Act 2000. (Regulation 16 (1) (5)(a)(b))

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Requirement Due date

Specifically, the registered manager should ensure that there are enough bedrooms for children in line with the statement of purpose and conditions of registration. 20 January 2024

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that the use of door sensors are adequately considered and assessed for each individual child, to make sure that sensors are only used when necessary. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 15, paragraph 3.10)

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that all areas of the home provide a homely and domestic environment that meets the needs of its children. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 15, paragraph 3.9)

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that evaluations of missing incident are be undertaken to identify any gaps in training, skills or knowledge for staff or to Inspection report for children’s home: SC035657 7 record and retain evidence of what worked well. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 46, paragraph 9.31).

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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: SC035657 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: 5 th Floor, Metropolitan House, 3 Darkes Lane, Potters Bar EN6 1AG

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Inspectors

Jennifer Quest, Social Care Inspector Sarah Probert, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: SC035657 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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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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