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

Inspection report for children’s home: SC457074 1 SC457074

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Registered provider: Cambian Childcare Limited

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Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This privately operated children’s home provides care for up to four children with complex needs.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager registered with Ofsted in May 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 requires improvement to be good

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good

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

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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: SC457074 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

08/08/2023 Full Good 14/02/2023 Full Good 22/03/2022 Full Good 03/06/2019 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: SC457074 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Since the last inspection, one child has moved out of the home. Two children remain living in the home.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children who have previously struggled with education have been supported effectively, and their attendance has improved. Both children enjoy volunteering and receive tuition. Teachers say that communication with staff is good. This helps to reduce barriers to learning and encourages children to have aspirations for their future.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are helped to become more independent and develop new skills, dependent on their age and understanding. Children learn to cook, budget and take public transport. This builds children’s self-confidence and provides them with a sense of achievement.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children enjoy a range of activities which are suited to their individual tastes. This includes spending time with friends in the community and attending youth clubs and regular horse-riding lessons.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are in good health. They attend medical appointments and, where needed, receive clinical support. To complement this, staff are provided with clinical consultation to reflect on children’s needs and behaviours. This ensures that children’s physical and mental health are well supported.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

One child has left the home sooner than planned. The manager did not feel that this was best for the child and raised her concerns with the placing authority. It is unclear how the child had been supported to move to their new home and what consultation had been done with them about what they needed. This included if they would like to say goodbye to staff or the children they had lived with.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The children live in a welcoming and well-maintained home. Children's bedrooms and communal spaces are personalised to reflect their interests. This is a home that children feel comfortable in.

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

Children’s positive behaviour is recognised and rewarded by staff. Inappropriate behaviours are discussed, and children receive educational workshops and one-to- one reflective sessions with staff. This motivates children to make positive choices in the future and develop an understanding about risk. Inspection report for children’s home: SC457074 4 Incidents of physical intervention are rare, and it is only used to keep children or others safe. Records of interventions are clear, and following an incident, children and staff are given the opportunity to discuss their feelings.

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

Medication is safely administered. Medication errors are rare, and when these have occurred, the manager investigates and identifies learning. This has prevented reoccurrence and ensures that the health needs of children are met.

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

Staff understand children’s vulnerabilities. However, written risk assessments lack sufficient detail. The documents do not include all the relevant and necessary information, such as how staff should respond to risk and the support measures that should be used. For example, it is not clear what strategies should be used to keep a child safe when using a mobile phone, despite this being a known risk. This has meant that staff have not been completing checks in line with the manager’s expectations. A lack of detailed assessment hinders the oversight of risk-taking behaviours and has led to some inconsistencies in staff practice.

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

One child’s bedroom door is alarmed at night. Managers and staff have not completed an assessment of the necessity of this measure. In addition, there has been no consultation with the child, despite them saying to staff that they do not want the alarm.

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

Children live in a safe home. Staff carry out regular health and safety checks to ensure that the home is physically safe. Furthermore, recruitment processes are thorough, with staff who work in the home being subject to all necessary checks.

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good

The manager is child-focused and speaks about the children with warmth and pride. The manager has acknowledged the weaknesses in the service and identified actions to rectify them.

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good

Staff say that they like working in the home, and they value the support they receive from the manager. Staff receive formal supervision; however, the frequency of this is not in line with the home’s workforce development plan. This is a missed opportunity to ensure that there is consistent support in place for staff and oversight of their practice.

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good

Overall, professional feedback about the care provided is positive. However, on one occasion, a professional raised a concern about a staff member’s practice and the manager could not provide evidence that an investigation has taken place. This does not provide assurances that the manager responds to feedback provided and appropriately investigates practice concerns.

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good

The manager does not have effective monitoring systems in place. For example, the manager does not consistently review and scrutinise self-harm incidents and Inspection report for children’s home: SC457074 5 consequence records. As a result, she has failed to identify and respond to shortfalls in recording. In addition, the monitoring tools which are in place are not used to their full advantage. For example, it is not clear how the manager is responding to the development areas that the responsible individual has identified. This has hindered the manager’s ability to improve the care provided.

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good

The manager has not completed or submitted to Ofsted the last two quality of care reviews. This is a missed opportunity to consider the experiences of children living in the home and carry out quality assurance. Inspection report for children’s home: SC457074 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

assess whether each child is at risk of harm, taking into account information in the child’s relevant plans, and, if necessary, make arrangements to reduce the risk of any harm to the child. (Regulation 12 (1) (2)(a)(i))

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Requirement Due date

This specifically relates to the registered manager ensuring that the children’s risk assessments consider and assess all known risks and provide staff with clear strategies. 26 June 2024

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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

demonstrate that practice in the home is informed and improved by taking into account and acting on—

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Requirement Due date

feedback on the experiences of children, including complaints received; and

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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) (2)(g)(ii)(h)) 26 June 2024 Inspection report for children’s home: SC457074 7 This specifically relates to managers ensuring that concerns about staff practice are responded to promptly and investigation processes are followed. Additionally, the manager must implement monitoring systems that are effective and bring improvement.

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Requirement Due date

The registered person may only use devices for the monitoring or surveillance of children if—

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Requirement Due date

the monitoring or surveillance is for the purpose of safeguarding and promoting the welfare of the child concerned, or other children. (Regulation 24 (1)(a))

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Requirement Due date

This specifically relates to ensuring that door alarms are only used as set out in a child’s agreed risk assessment and that children’s wishes are considered. 26 June 2024

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must complete a review of the quality of care provided for children (“a quality of care review”) at least once every 6 months.

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Requirement Due date

In order to completed a quality of care review the registered person must establish and maintain a system for monitoring, reviewing and evaluating—

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Requirement Due date

the quality of care provided for children;

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Requirement Due date

the feedback and opinions about the children’s home, its facilities and the quality of care they receive in it; and

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Requirement Due date

any actions that the registered person considers necessary in order to improve or maintain the quality of care provided for children.

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Requirement Due date

After completing a quality of care review, the registered person must produce a written report about the quality of care review and the actions which the registered person intends to take as a result of the quality of care review (“the quality of care review report”).

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Requirement Due date

supply to HMCI a copy of the quality of care review report within 28 days of the date on which the quality of care review is completed. (Regulation 45 (1) (2)(a)(b)(c) (3) (4)(a)) 26 June 2024 Inspection report for children’s home: SC457074 8

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that staff help each child to prepare for any moves from the home, whether they are returning home, moving to another placement or adult care or to live independently. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 17, paragraph 3.27)  The registered person should ensure that a record of supervision is kept for staff. The record should provide evidence that supervision is being delivered in line with regulation 33(4)(b). (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 61, paragraph 13.3)  The registered person should ensure that staff are familiar with the home’s policies on record-keeping and understand the importance of careful, objective and clear recording. Information should be recorded in a way that will be helpful to the child and take into account any relevant plans. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes

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Recommendations

Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 62, paragraph 14.4)

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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: SC457074 9

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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

Sophie Hills, Social Care Inspector Kate Savage, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: SC457074 10 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.

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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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