Children's home run by Castle Homes Care Limited in Hammersmith and Fulham

Inspection report for children’s home: SC065378 1 SC065378 Registered provider: Castle Homes Care 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 company. It is registered to provide care for up to three children who have faced traumatic childhood experiences and, as a result, may exhibit complex behaviours.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager was registered with Ofsted in October 23.

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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: 14 February 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: SC065378 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

14/02/2023 Full Good 28/07/2021 Full Good 21/01/2020 Full Good 06/11/2018 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: SC065378 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Three children were living at the home at the time of this inspection. One child has moved into semi-independent living since the previous inspection. Children who move on experience well-planned moves. Staff support children to settle into their new homes, and as a result, they are doing well. Two children have moved into the home since the previous inspection. Staff worked well with partner agencies to support the children to move in, taking account of their individual needs. As a result, children feel welcomed and settle into their home well.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff know the children well, and their consistent, child-centred approach takes account of the trauma children have experienced. This enables them to provide the children with individualised care. As a result, children feel safe and secure. One child’s social worker said that their child has said they wish to continue to live at the home until they are 19 years old and do not want to move anywhere else.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Managers and staff help children to engage with their education. They recognise that children have different needs, and they understand children’s barriers to education. They work effectively with education professionals to help children to overcome these barriers. This supportive approach helps to improve children’s attendance and attainment. For example, one child, who had previously refused to attend school and was at risk of exclusion, has been supported to return to school and is close to accessing a full-time education. Children are making good progress from their starting points.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The managers and staff provide children with support to pursue their individual interests. They encourage children to try new and exciting activities, such as trampolining, ice skating and theme parks. One child told the inspector that they enjoy going swimming with staff, and another child spoke about being part of their school football team.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Managers and staff understand the importance of children maintaining relationships with people who are important to them. Staff work closely with children’s support networks to enable children to see those people who matter to them, irrespective of the distance. As a result, children are supported to build and maintain relationships with family and friends.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Overall, children enjoy living in a spacious, comfortable and homely environment. Children’s rooms are cosy, personalised, clean and tidy. Managers and staff create an atmosphere that is warm, child-friendly and relaxed, yet interactive. Managers have plans in place to develop an unused games room and another room in the home that are not currently in use. This will create additional areas for children to use and will allow a consistent, homely feel throughout. Inspection report for children’s home: SC065378 4

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

Managers and staff work hard to keep children safe. They support children to understand risks. Regular key-work sessions focus on areas relevant to individual children. As a result, children are being supported to learn how to keep themselves safe.

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

Overall, managers and staff respond to safeguarding concerns well. For example, when children go missing from home, staff search local areas and also areas that children may have links to. In addition, they contact all relevant professionals, such as social workers and the police, as well as parents. Staff record incidents clearly and detail all the steps taken when responding to incidents.

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

Staff and the manager are proactive in identifying any concerns around peer relationships. When children appear to be unkind to each other, staff monitor this, and work is undertaken to support children to improve relationships. This approach has meant there have been no incidents related to bullying, and children have been supported to maintain positive relationships.

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

Children benefit from consistent boundaries and know what is expected of them. Staff’s child-centred approach helps children to explore and express their feelings. Staff praise and reward positive behaviours, and consequences given for poor behaviours are proportionate. Staff are consistent in their approach and are skilled at encouraging children to develop positive behaviours.

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

Incidents requiring physical restraint with children are extremely rare. The manager’s review of incidents is good, and both the child and staff are spoken to and provided with opportunities to learn from these experiences. As a result, children understand why physical intervention may be used to keep them safe, and they respond well.

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

Staff and managers have responded to and managed a number of safeguarding matters well. However, on one occasion, managers and staff failed to follow one child’s risk assessment, which resulted in a delay in staff responding to a child going missing from care. Managers acknowledged this shortfall and put measures in place to improve practice.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager is very motivated and committed to achieving positive outcomes for the children in his care. He advocates well for children and places children at the heart of what he does. The registered manager has high expectations and ensures that children are supported to make progress in all areas of their lives. He ensures there is a continuous focus on children receiving a good quality of care. Inspection report for children’s home: SC065378 5 Managers and staff regularly consult with children on the care that they receive, and children know how to make a complaint. The staff and managers are proactive in gaining children’s views to inform developments in the home.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff speak positively about the managers. They receive regular supervision sessions, which focus on their well-being, professional development and the experiences and progress of children. This provides staff with the opportunity to discuss issues and receive feedback on their practice and any areas of development. Staff report that they feel supported by the managers.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The staff team has access to a range of training. Records give an accurate overview of the training that staff have received, and they highlight training that has been scheduled for further staff development. This demonstrates that staff have the training they need to meet children’s individual needs and to provide good-quality care. External professionals commented positively on the home. One professional stated, ‘I have nothing but praise and appreciation for managers and staff at the home. Communication is excellent and the home is very welcoming. My child is happy and content, and he is making progress in all areas, which I am thrilled about.’

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Managers are clear about the strengths of the home and some areas for development. They have systems in place to monitor and oversee the quality of care received by children. Debriefs with staff and children are undertaken following incidents, and incidents are regularly reviewed by managers. However, following two incidents, it was not clear how the lessons learned had positively influenced practice. For example, a managers review of one incident indicated that one member of staff’s actions may have contributed to a child’s behaviour becoming heightened. However, no follow up discussions were had with the staff team to review and update practice to improve the quality of care received by children. Inspection report for children’s home: SC065378 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 protection of children standard is that children are protected from harm and enabled to keep themselves safe.

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Requirement Due date

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

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Requirement Due date

that the home’s day-to-day care is arranged and delivered so as to keep each child safe and to protect each child effectively from harm. (Regulation 12 (1) (2)(b))

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Requirement Due date

This specifically relates to the timely update of risk assessments used to inform staff’s safeguarding practice. 17 April 2023

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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

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

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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)(b) (2)(h))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, this relates to the registered person ensuring that they use information gained from the review of incidents to influence the development of practice and improve the quality of care received by children. 17 April 2023 Inspection report for children’s home: SC065378 7

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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: SC065378 8

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Castle Homes Care Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: The Forge, Church Street West, Woking, Surrey GU21 6HT

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Inspector

Sharon Bourne, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: SC065378 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 looked after children, safeguarding and child protection.

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Inspector

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Inspector

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Inspector

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