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

Inspection report for children’s home: SC457430 1 SC457430

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Registered provider: Cambian Childcare Ltd

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Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

The home is owned and run by a private provider. It provides short- and long-term care for up to three children who may experience social and emotional difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

At the time of the inspection, two children were living in the home.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager registered with Ofsted in June 2024.

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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: 22 January 2024

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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: SC457430 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

22/01/2024 Full Good 31/10/2022 Full Good 30/03/2022 Interim Sustained effectiveness 14/10/2021 Full Requires improvement to be good Inspection report for children’s home: SC457430 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The inspector spoke to one child during the inspection.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children have built trusting relationships with staff who know them well. Staff listen to the children and encourage their individuality.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children’s health needs are a priority for staff. Each child has an individual health plan and is registered with local dentists, doctors and opticians. When children have any additional health needs, staff refer children to external services and help children to understand their needs. Staff enable children to take an active role in making their own appointments as part of their journey towards adulthood.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The home has regular children’s meetings, and staff encourage the children to contribute to the agenda. The meetings cover a range of topics and include the opportunity for children to share their opinions. Staff provide children with feedback about their views and suggestions. This helps children to see progress and how they have influenced decisions in the home.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff encourage children to pursue their interests and explore new experiences. Children enjoy spending time with staff and get involved in a variety of activities, including holidays and trips to the theatre. Staff help the children to document their experiences in memory books. This creates a lasting record of their time in the home.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Not all children are engaging in education. Staff provide some structured activities to children when they are not attending school. However, staff have not been effective in securing an appropriate school placement for all children. The manager has not escalated this lack of progress with the local authority or education professionals, meaning that one child is not receiving formal education in school.

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

Children’s risk assessments are kept up to date. Each risk assessment is clear and includes a history of concerns and dates of incidents. This makes it easier for staff to see patterns and changes in children’s behaviours. There is a clear action plan for staff to follow to help them identify triggers and interventions to reduce risks. Children are included in completing a child-friendly plan, helping them to better understand risks and what staff will do to support them. This helps to make them feel safer.

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

When children go missing from home, staff follow protocol and work well with multi- agency partners. Staff work together to ensure that children return home safely. When children return to the home, they are offered a warm welcome and emotional Inspection report for children’s home: SC457430 4 support. This is then followed up through key-work sessions. This helps children to reflect on their behaviours and better understand risks. This has helped one child to significantly reduce the number of times they have gone missing from home.

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

Positive behaviour from the children is encouraged in the home. Staff understand each child’s individual needs. When consequences are put in place, these are proportionate, a review of the effectiveness takes place and children’s views are sought. Children have shared that they felt the consequences in the home were fair and understood why they were in place.

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

Staff have undertaken training to increase their knowledge of the risks posed to children online. Staff have been proactive in completing direct work with children in relation to risks such as exploitation and grooming. This has increased children’s awareness of internet safety, reducing their risks.

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

There is a robust recruitment process in place, and staff are suitably vetted before working in the home. New staff have an induction plan, complete mandatory training and undertake shadowing so that they understand the children’s needs. Consequently, children get to know new staff before they start working independently in their home.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The home is managed effectively by a permanent manager who knows the children well. The manager is ambitious for what children can achieve and has embedded this culture throughout the staff team. This means that managers and staff provide a good level of personalised care and support to children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Leaders and managers actively and regularly monitor the quality of care provided. The registered manager has a clear process in place for auditing and monitoring across the home. The manager reviewed practice and the experiences of a child who moved on from the home to improve experiences for other children. This has embedded a learning culture in the home.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Team meetings are held regularly and are well attended by staff. They provide staff with the opportunity to reflect as a group on how best to support children. The safety and well-being of children are consistently at the forefront of all discussions. This generates a positive approach to learning and improvement for a highly motivated team.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

There is a robust response to safeguarding concerns and allegations. The manager works well with the multi-agency team and undertakes a full investigation. However, on one occasion, the manager did not notify Ofsted of an allegation against them until after the independent person recommended this should happen. This does not allow Ofsted to maintain oversight of safeguarding concerns. Inspection report for children’s home: SC457430 5 Not all essential documents related to children are held on their file. This includes up- to-date care plans for children from their placing authority, medical records and legal orders. This prevents staff from having access to important information.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff say that they feel listened to and supported and are provided with regular supervision sessions. Supervision provides the manager with an overview of staff development needs but does not allow time for staff to reflect on their practice or its impact on the care of children. This means there are missed opportunities to learn from experiences and address any issues or concerns. Inspection report for children’s home: SC457430 6

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Statutory requirements

This section sets out the actions that the registered person 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 must comply within the given timescales.

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must notify HMCI and each other relevant person without delay if—

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Requirement Due date

there is an allegation of abuse against the home or a person working there. (Regulation 40 (4)(c)) 27 November

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Requirement Due date

In meeting the quality standards, the registered person must, and must ensure that staff—

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Requirement Due date

if the registered person considers, or staff consider, a placing authority’s or a relevant person’s performance or response to be inadequate in relation to their role, challenge the placing authority or the relevant person to seek to ensure that each child’s needs are met in accordance with the child’s relevant plans. (Regulation 5 (c)) 27 November

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must maintain records (“case records”) for each child which—

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Requirement Due date

include the information and documents listed in Schedule 3 in relation to each child;

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Requirement Due date

are kept up to date. (Regulation 36 (1)(a)(b)) 27 November

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Recommendation

 The registered person should have systems in place so that all staff, including the manager, receive supervision of their practice from an appropriately qualified and experienced professional, which allows them to reflect on their practice and the needs of the children assigned to their care. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 61, paragraph 13.2) Inspection report for children’s home: SC457430 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: SC457430 8

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Cambian Childcare Ltd

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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

Natalie Clark, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: SC457430 9 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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Inspector

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Inspector

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Inspector

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