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

Inspection report for children’s home: SC457181 1 SC457181 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 one child who experiences social and emotional difficulties. At the time of this inspection, one child was living in the home.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager registered with Ofsted on 20 October 2021.

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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

Overall judgement at last inspection: good

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children’s home: SC457181 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

22/08/2023 Full Good 20/07/2022 Full Requires improvement to be good 24/05/2021 Full Good 04/09/2019 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: SC457181 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 and one child has moved in. Moves into and out of the home are planned and managed in a child-centred way. The child has developed positive relationships with staff who know them well and are attuned to their needs.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff and the manager ensure that the child is supported to maintain relationships with their family and others close to them. Family members are encouraged to visit the home and spend time there, which promotes natural familial relationships. The child’s friendships are encouraged and supported in a safe way. For example, their friends visit the home.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The child is well supported with their individual health needs and has good access to local services when they are required. Staff ensure that the child’s medication is managed effectively and regularly reviewed.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The child has not been going to school, and their engagement with the online tutor has been sporadic. However, the staff promote education in the home and are providing creative opportunities for the child to learn. For instance, they have raised butterflies from caterpillars to teach the child about life cycles. The manager has been successful in advocating for the child to attend an education setting that will meet their needs from September 2024.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The child has opportunities to express their feelings and wishes. They are supported to take part in activities and local events which interest them. Staff nurture the child’s talents. For instance, a karaoke machine has been purchased because the child enjoys singing. The child has been on a recent caravan holiday with staff and there are plans to return.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The home is maintained well, and the child has been encouraged to personalise their bedroom. However, door sensors are in use on the child’s bedroom and external doors and the use of these has not been frequently reviewed to consider their continued relevance and effectiveness in ensuring the safety of the child.

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

The child has positive and trusting relationships with staff in the home. Interactions between the child and staff demonstrate that the child feels safe with the staff. Staff undertake a broad range of good-quality training in safeguarding matters. There is good communication with safeguarding partners in the local authority. Safe recruitment practices ensure that only the most suitable staff work at the home. Inspection report for children’s home: SC457181 4 Incidents are reported in a timely manner and recorded clearly. There are clear plans in place which help the staff to understand how to meet each child’s needs. However, there has been one instance when the child has been able to buy a vape when out with staff. Managers are investigating this to ensure that it does not happen again.

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

Staff understand what they need to do to de-escalate situations when the child is struggling emotionally. This promotes a positive and non-confrontational culture. Positive behaviour is continually promoted and rewarded, with the child being able to choose from an incentives box. When negative consequences are given, they are proportionate and fair.

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

When the child has left the home without permission, staff have followed the child’s missing-from-home protocol and searched the local areas for them. There has been one prolonged period of the child being missing from the home. During this time, staff were proactive in searching for the child and there was effective joint working with other agencies. A social worker said, ‘I cannot emphasise enough how impressed I was with the lengths the staff were going to, scouring the streets for the child.’

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

Health and safety checks are carried out regularly to ensure that the home is a safe environment and issues identified are rectified quickly. The manager and staff have a good knowledge of the local area, and any potential hazards are considered in the child’s plans and other safety assessments.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager is suitably experienced and qualified. Leaders and managers have clear aspirations for the home to improve, and there are detailed plans for the development of the home and workforce.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

There is a stable staff team, which ensures consistency for the child. Staff have a range of experience and skills. They have access to a wide range of training to meet the child’s needs. New staff complete an induction before being registered to attain a recognised childcare qualification.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff say that they feel supported by the manager, and they have access to regular supervision that allows for reflection on their practice. Team meetings are held regularly and are used as a forum for learning and reflection. The child is also able to attend team meetings, on occasion, to give her views and contribute to ideas.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff and the manager work effectively with other agencies and professionals. They provide effective challenge when necessary to secure the best outcomes for the child.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager has good oversight of the home, and monitoring systems are in place to ensure that effective care is being provided. However, there has been one missing-from- home episode where staff practice has not been fully evaluated. Therefore, opportunities for learning from the incident have been missed. Inspection report for children’s home: SC457181 5

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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

understand the roles and responsibilities in relation to protecting children that are assigned to them by the registered person (Regulation 12 (1) (2)(a)(v))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person must ensure that staff members are proactive in preventing children accessing materials that are potentially detrimental to their health. 25 September 2024

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that alarms on any doors are only used to safeguard the child in the home. Furthermore, door alarms should only be in use after a rigorous assessment of that individual child’s needs, be properly recorded and be kept under regular review. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 15, paragraph 3.10)  The registered person should ensure that robust evaluation of missing-from-care incidents is carried out to identify any gaps in training, skills or knowledge for staff or to 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: SC457181 6

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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

Eve Ostridge, Social Care Inspector Sylvia Eboigbe, Regional Inspection Manager Inspection report for children’s home: SC457181 7 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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