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

Inspection report for children’s home: SC066183 1 SC066183 Registered provider: Cambian Childcare Ltd Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

p.1

Information about this children’s home

The home provides care for up to three children who experience social and emotional difficulties. At the time of this inspection, three children were living in the home. Three children have left the home since the last inspection.

p.1

Information about this children’s home

The manager registered with Ofsted in February 2024. The home has experienced many changes. There has been a new manager, responsible individual, staff team and children.

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 good

p.1

good

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

p.1

good

Overall judgement at last inspection: good

p.1

good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children’s home: SC066183 2

p.1

Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

13/06/2023 Full Good 08/03/2023 Full Requires improvement to be good 18/05/2021 Full Good 20/01/2020 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: SC066183 3

p.2

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

All three children living in the home were seen and spoken to by the inspector.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are building strong relationships with staff, which has enabled them to speak openly about their lived experiences and worries. Staff show genuine care and concern for children’s progress and well-being.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

All children have made progress in being able to better understand their emotions, which has helped them to resolve internal conflicts. Staff support children to access specialist support. For example, one child required therapeutic services to address past trauma.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The manager prioritises children’s views and wishes, which has built mutual respect in the home. One child asked for a double bed, given their age and physical needs, which was actioned promptly.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Spending time with family is highly promoted, which has increased children’s self- esteem. The manager has regular communication with family members and external professionals to support children’s individual needs. A family member spoke about how a child is ‘now in the right place’ and said that they only have positive things to say about the staff and quality of care provided.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The new manager has implemented an improved system for assessing children’s needs and their suitability to live in the home before they move in. A social worker said that staff have gone ‘above and beyond’ to ensure that a child had a positive move into the home. Staff take the child fishing, which has not been supported in the child’s experience of previous residential children’s homes. Supporting this child’s activity allows the child to have a sense of belonging and happiness.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The home is neutrally decorated, and children have personalised their bedrooms. There are internal issues in the maintenance department about responding to repairs. This takes away the ability to retain high standards in the home environment due to lower priority repairs.

p.3

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

Children are educated about the importance of keeping themselves safe and what dangers there are in the community. Incidents of children going missing from home have significantly reduced, which has been supported by the staff building strong relationships with family members. The missing-from-care protocol for each child is followed, and detailed records are made. Inspection report for children’s home: SC066183 4 Staff implement clear and up-to-date risk management plans and behaviour support plans. They are personalised to children’s individual needs. Staff have a good understanding of the home’s safeguarding procedures. This helps to keep children safe.

p.3

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

Rules and boundaries are discussed with children, especially in relation to physical aggression towards one another. The manager addressed this sensitively and mediation for children was started immediately. This has supported the children’s ongoing relationships with one another and reduced incidents in the home.

p.4

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

Staff have warm and nurturing relationships with children. Positive behaviour is recognised and rewarded. Physical restraints are rare and only used when necessary.

p.4

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

Staff’s knowledge about the use of door alarms varies. Two staff members gave conflicting accounts on the use of active door alarms for children. This means that some children have restrictions via door alarms when this is not necessary. This was accepted by managers and reviewed immediately during the inspection.

p.4

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The home has had significant changes, with a new staff team, new children living in the home and a new manager. The children living in the home are settled and making progress. A child described the manager as ‘spot on’.

p.4

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager has incorporated reflective practice in the home and involved the staff team in decision-making to make it a more collaborative working environment. This includes speaking to staff about children who may move into the home and using team meetings to discuss significant updates and changes.

p.4

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Generally, the manager applies learning from significant incidents. However, an incident involving two children going missing from home, who are suspected of being in a relationship, did not include management oversight or critical analysis. Staff could not keep one of the children safe, which resulted in the child leaving the home. A learning from practice exercise would have been useful to explore the reasons why staff could not keep the child safe and what could have been done differently.

p.4

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff feel supported by the manager. When there are issues with staff practice, the manager takes appropriate action to address them during supervision sessions.

p.4

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager has a clear vision about the improvements she would like to make and how these will create a positive environment. The manager has welcomed peer support to add to her learning. For example, a manager’s peer audit addressed staff not receiving appraisals. Prompt and clear action was taken by the manager to address this issue. This has resulted in staff feeling supported by the manager. Inspection report for children’s home: SC066183 5

p.4

Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that the home meets children’s basic day-to-day needs and physical necessities. All maintenance repairs should be completed within a reasonable time frame. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 15, paragraph 3.7)  The registered person should ensure that an 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. This evaluation should inform the review of the quality of care. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 46, paragraph 9.31)

p.5

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: SC066183 6

p.5

Children’s home details

Registered provider: Cambian Childcare Ltd

p.6

Children’s home details

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

p.6

Inspector

Caoimhe Richards, Social Care Regulatory Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: SC066183 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 looked after children, safeguarding and child protection.

p.6

Inspector

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.7

Inspector

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

p.7

Inspector

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

p.7