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

Inspection report for children's home: SC434806 1 SC434806 Registered provider: Cambian Childcare Ltd

p.1

Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

p.1

Information about this children’s home

This home is owned by a large private provider. It is registered to provide care for up to three children who may experience social and emotional difficulties.

p.1

Information about this children’s home

The home is led by a qualified and experienced registered manager.

p.1

Information about this children’s home

Three children were living in the home at the time of this inspection.

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 requires improvement to be good

p.1

good

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

p.1

good

Date of last inspection: 25 October 2023

p.1

good

Overall judgement at last inspection: requires improvement to be good

p.1

good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children's home: SC434806 2

p.1

Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

25/10/2023 Full Requires improvement to be good 02/08/2023 Full Inadequate 11/05/2022 Full Good 21/09/2021 Full Good Inspection report for children's home: SC434806 3

p.2

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Since the last inspection, two children have moved into the home. The manager considered the needs of the children moving in and of the child already in the home. As a result, children have had positive moves and have good relationships with each other.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are making good progress, particularly with their education. All the children are engaged in education, with some children completing college courses and taking exams. Children aspire to attend college or to seek employment to further develop their knowledge and skills.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children and staff have good and trusting relationships. This means that children have people they can speak to about any worries and concerns. This has led to children feeling safer and they have settled into living in the home. Children said they were happy and liked the staff and their home. They feel well supported and enjoy spending time with each other and the staff.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The children are supported to stay in touch with people who are important to them, such as family members. This has helped to strengthen family relationships. Staff work closely with children’s families and support family members, where possible, to be part of the decision-making about the children’s lives. One parent said, ‘I never thought people would care about my child like I do, but they do.’

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children engage in activities in the home and community and enjoy making use of local clubs and amenities. Children can provide their views on matters relating to the home and if they have any complaints these can be in writing to the manager. However, it is not clear whether these letters have been read or responded to or shared with staff or acted on.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

All the children are registered with local health services, including doctors and dentists, and have regular check-ups. This means that children’s health is being regularly reviewed and considered to help children to stay healthy. Some children in the home vape. Staff have done some work with children to help them understand the health implications of vaping, although this support and guidance has recently decreased. One child’s health needs are not included in their plans, which means some action has not been taken to support the child.

p.3

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

There has been good progress in ensuring that children’s safeguarding needs are met. The risks associated with going missing from home and exploitation have reduced for the children. Care plans and risk assessments consider children’s individual risks and vulnerabilities. However, some plans are contradictory, with information not being Inspection report for children's home: SC434806 4 consistently recorded or updated. This could lead to confusion as to how children should be safeguarded.

p.3

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

When children go missing from home, the staff manage these incidents well. Staff have gone above and beyond to ensure children are safe when away from the home. Staff follow the missing-from-home procedures. Incidents of children going missing have reduced as children have become increasingly settled. This means children are more able to talk about their worries and concerns and have more appropriate ways of managing their emotions.

p.4

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

Incidents of concerning behaviour from children are rare. There has only been one incident when physical intervention has been required. This incident had management scrutiny and the staff and children involved received a thorough debrief. This provided those involved with the opportunity to reflect and discuss the incident and what they may do differently in the future.

p.4

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

The manager has implemented safeguarding procedures. These actions have protected a child from potential online harm. Staff acted swiftly and appropriately to safeguard a child from communicating with individuals of concern and encouraged and supported the child to make positive choices around friendships. Staff work well with family members as part of the risk assessment process, and ensure they are involved in care planning and risk management decisions that affect the children.

p.4

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

Agreed safeguarding procedures have not always been consistently followed. There have been delays in staff reporting concerns to managers about the care practice of colleagues. These concerns were in relation to allegations against staff. Managers redeployed staff before the allegations were investigated and an assessment of risk completed. This had the potential to place children at risk of harm. There was a delay in an allegation being reported to external agencies, including external safeguarding professionals.

p.4

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

The manager delayed reporting concerns about a historical disclosure made by a child. There was no clear explanation for the delay in reporting this matter. One member of staff was not clear about their role in dealing with an allegation made against a staff member .

p.4

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

Safer recruitment practices have improved, with new members of staff being safely vetted and deemed as safe adults to work with children.

p.4

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

The manager is dedicated and committed to the children, staff and development of the home. There has been some progress since the last inspection in implementing an ongoing plan of improvements in how the home operates. The manager has started to make improvements, however, systems and processes that could support the manager’s oversight and quality assurance are not yet being used effectively. Inspection report for children's home: SC434806 5 The manager does not always provide good scrutiny of the home and children’s files. This means that some children’s plans and risk assessments are confusing and contradictory and do not contain all the current and relevant information. This could lead to inconsistency in the care that children receive.

p.4

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

The manager does not have a consistent approach to recording and reviewing information, which prevents effective oversight from external agencies and quality assurance of the home. Some information, particularly regarding a child’s health needs, was not known by the manager despite being clearly documented in reports provided by external sources. This means appropriate support was not put in place, and further evidences a lack of management oversight. This could impact on children’s progress and development.

p.5

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

Some essential information relating to the children and their needs is not being recorded. This particularly relates to some concerns relating to a child’s education provider and some worries that have been shared by the child and the school. There is a risk that this information could be lost or not shared effectively. The manager is reliant on verbal handovers of information rather than incorporating details of meetings and conversations into children’s plans and logs. This prevents a full understanding of any action the manager and the school are taking in response to the concerns.

p.5

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

Staff are well supported by the manager, which is helping them to develop their knowledge and skills. Staff receive regular and reflective supervision and mentoring which have helped to develop their confidence and their care practice. Staff say they are happy in their roles and morale is good. The core staff team has remained stable and new staff are being well supported through their probation period.

p.5

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

Staff have access to a range of training and have completed mandatory training in areas such as safeguarding children and health and safety. Staff also complete additional training specific to their roles and the needs of the children. They also attend training workshops delivered by the manager and therapy team. The manager has focused on the development of the staff, and this has been positive in developing staff knowledge, skills and confidence. Inspection report for children's home: SC434806 6

p.5

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.

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

use monitoring and review systems to make continuous improvements in the quality of care provided in the home. (Regulation 13 (1)(a)(b) (2)(h)) 1 September 2024

p.6

Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that each child’s day-to-day health and well- being needs are met. This relates in particular to children’s health and learning needs being understood and supported. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 33, paragraph 7.3)  The registered person should ensure that all children’s case records are kept up to date. Case records must be signed and dated by the author of each entry. This relates to ensuring that all actions taken by the home are clearly documented on children’s case records. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 62, paragraph 14.3) Inspection report for children's home: SC434806 7

p.6

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: SC434806 8

p.7

Children’s home details

Registered provider: Cambian Childcare Ltd

p.8

Children’s home details

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

p.8

Inspectors

Sarah Orriss, Social Care Inspector Chloe Harvey, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children's home: SC434806 9 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

Inspectors

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

Inspectors

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

p.9

Inspectors

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

p.9