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

Inspection report for children’s home: SC464958 1 SC464958 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

This home is privately owned and provides care for up to six children who experience social and/or emotional difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

The registered manager left in May 2024. A new manager has been appointed and has applied to register with Ofsted.

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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: 10 October 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: SC464958 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

10/10/2023 Full Good 13/12/2022 Full Good 06/05/2021 Full Good 19/06/2019 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: SC464958 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

At the time of this inspection, four children were living at the home. Managers and staff build positive relationships with the children, and children say that they are happy living in the home. One child said, ‘I love this home and I love the staff.’

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff understand the importance of education. All children have good attendance and are making progress. Education staff say that communication with the home is good.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff seek children’s feedback and use this to inform their practice and provide individualised care. Managers carry out monthly one-to-one reflective sessions with children to build an understanding of what it is like to live in the home. In addition, children influence the day-to-day running of the home by participating in weekly house meetings.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff encourage children to develop an understanding of their behaviours and related risks. They use bespoke workbooks with children to explore and educate them on a range of topics, such as internet safety, independence skills and substance misuse. As a result, children are safer and are provided with the skills to make informed choices in the future.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

When children move out of the home, staff are sensitive and supportive. Staff support children to meet with their new carers and remain in contact with children to help them settle into their new home. When children move into the home, staff are thoughtful, arranging welcome boxes and preparing favourite foods. This practice helps to reduce children’s anxieties, encourages meaningful relationships and supports children in making progress.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The home is clean and well maintained. The newly appointed manager has been working to improve the environment. Children like using new gym equipment and relaxing in newly painted and redecorated rooms. The redecoration has offered a homelier appeal and encourages a sense of belonging for children.

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

Children say they feel safe, and staff have a good understanding of children’s vulnerabilities and risks. This, along with consistent routines, boundaries and direct work, helps children to feel supported. Children’s written plans give staff an outline of their presenting risks and provide staff with guidance about how to manage these. However, for one child, their plan has not been updated to reflect that they now have a mobile phone and that staff are expected to carry out daily phone checks.

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

Incidents are low, and managers attribute this to the good relationships that staff have with children. There have been no incidents that have required physical intervention and Inspection report for children’s home: SC464958 4 there has been one incident of a child being missing from home. The missing-from-home incident was responded to appropriately by staff. Managers ensured that the child was supported to reflect on their experiences and used information gathered to implement support and risk management strategies.

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

When children have made disclosures, allegations or complaints, managers have taken appropriate and prompt action to ensure that concerns are investigated. Managers seek views from multi-agency professionals, and any identified learning is implemented. Children are kept at the centre of the process and are supported to reflect with staff and provided with an outcome to their concerns. This reassures children that staff will listen to and act on any concerns that they have.

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

Some children struggle with their emotional well-being, which has led to them harming themselves. Staff are creative in their approach to support children. They discuss feelings with children and are successful in supporting them to use alternative behaviours. For example, one child has identified that playing with art and craft resources helps to reduce their worries, and all children like using the ‘self-soothe’ boxes, which are thoughtfully filled by staff each month. As a result, children feel supported in understanding and responding to their emotions.

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

Staff recognise children’s achievements and use incentives effectively. Children respond well to incentive charts, which offer them additional pocket money. Children also like to receive an instant reward from the home’s lucky dip box for acts of kindness and positive behaviour. Consequences in the home are appropriate. However, they are not all monitored by the manager, and children’s views about them are not consistently sought. This creates a missed opportunity to review staff practice and reflect with children.

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

The children have alarms on their bedroom doors, which are used at night to notify staff if children leave their rooms. There has been no consultation with children about these since children moved in, and risk assessments do not reflect the individual reason for their use.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The new manager is supported by an experienced deputy manager, and they are child focused and motivated to deliver high-quality care.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff receive regular supervision sessions, and these are complemented by monthly team meetings and clinically led reflective sessions. These meetings support staff to reflect on their practice and encourage them to consider children’s progress and the care provided in the home. This has helped to maintain good staff morale and a learning atmosphere in the home.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager understands the importance of a skilled workforce and ensures that all staff are up to date with necessary training. When staff are not performing in line with the manager’s expectations, supportive plans are put in place to ensure that staff are helped to develop the required skills and knowledge. Inspection report for children’s home: SC464958 5 Children’s care needs are well understood by the manager and staff. However, the manager has not ensured that children’s records consistently outline children’s set targets and the work that staff are carrying out with children to support positive outcomes. The manager acknowledged this shortfall during the inspection and identified the steps she would take to improve record-keeping.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Multi-agency working is effective. Professionals are positive about the communication from staff and the care provided for children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The home’s statement of purpose does not contain all the required information, including the behaviour management practices used in the home and what training staff have had relating to this. In addition, the therapeutic support arrangements and how children are involved in these are not clear. This leads to unclear expectations. Inspection report for children’s home: SC464958 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 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 children’s wishes are considered. 30 July 2024

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Requirement Due date

within 24 hours of the use of a measure of control, discipline or restraint in relation to a child in the home, a record is made which includes—

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Requirement Due date

the effectiveness and any consequences of the use of the measure; and

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Requirement Due date

within 48 hours of the use of the measure, the registered person, or a person who is authorised by the registered person to do so (“the authorised person”)—

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Requirement Due date

has spoken to the user about the measure; and

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Requirement Due date

within 5 days of the use of the measure, the registered person or the authorised person adds to the record confirmation that they have spoken to the child about the measure. (Regulation 35 (3)(a)(vii)(b)(i)(c))

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Requirement Due date

This specifically relates to the manager ensuring that children are spoken to when they receive consequences and that the manager has oversight of the effectiveness of the measure used. 30 July 2024 Inspection report for children’s home: SC464958 7

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that the staff continually and actively assess the risks to each child and the arrangements in place to protect them. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 42, paragraph 9.5)  The registered person should ensure that the statement of purpose is developed and reviewed and indicates how the home provides individualised care to meet the quality standards for the children in their care. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 14, paragraph 3.5’)  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 consider any relevant plans. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes 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: SC464958 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: Metropolitan House, 3 Darkes Lane, Potters Bar EN6 1AG

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Inspector

Sophie Hills, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: SC464958 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.

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Inspector

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Inspector

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Inspector

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