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

Inspection report for children's home: SC455991 1 SC455991

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Registered provider: Cambian Signpost Limited

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Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This home is operated by a large national provider of children’s social care services. The home is registered to care for up to four children who may have social and emotional difficulties and/or learning disabilities. At the time of the inspection, two children were living at the home.

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Information about this children’s home

The home currently has no registered manager.

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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: 21 February 2024

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good

Overall judgement at last inspection: outstanding

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children's home: SC455991 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

21/02/2024 Full Outstanding 07/03/2023 Full Outstanding 12/05/2021 Full Outstanding 13/11/2019 Full Good Inspection report for children's home: SC455991 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children who live in this home make good progress with education and their ability to manage their emotions. Both children have also made good progress in developing healthy relationships with family members.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Both children were previously out of education for an extended period and are now engaged in a meaningful way. When children do not attend school, educational activities are undertaken with them, including trips to museums and cooking.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children enjoy fun activities, and say that they enjoy trips to theme parks, water parks and trips to London. The children are encouraged to pursue their interests and one child has taken up boxing as a result. The children are celebrated, and their achievements are highly praised by staff. Memories are preserved in physical photo albums, memory books and personalised positive praise books. Staff speak affectionately of the children.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The children know how to express their views and know that their views are considered. Children know how to make a complaint.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The house is well decorated and has a homely feel throughout. The children have a say in the decoration of their rooms and have treasured items on display. The children show pride in their bedrooms and keep them clean and tidy.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children’s moves into and out of the home are not always well planned. individual risk- taking behaviours of children moving into the home are not carefully considered alongside the behaviours and needs of children already living in the home. This is likely to have contributed to a child moving on after a brief and turbulent period, and another child’s risk-taking behaviours increasing when they first moved into the home.

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

When significant incidents take place in the home, the police have at times been called by staff. The manager has made changes to staffing in response to this which has contributed to a reduction in incidents.

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

When children are missing from home, staff actively search for them, maintain contact with them and communicate with relevant professionals and the child’s own family network to ensure that children are brought back to the home as soon as possible. Children are welcomed home and are supported to share their feelings with staff following these incidents.

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

When there are concerns around children using substances or alcohol, staff respond in line with relevant protocols and seek medical attention as necessary. Children are monitored through the night, and conversations are held with the children to help them Inspection report for children's home: SC455991 4 to reflect on their actions. Staff are consistently caring and nurturing in their response to significant incidents.

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

Care plans, risk assessments and safety plans are brief and contain relevant information. Staff have helped one child create an ‘all about me’ document which contains the information that the child wants staff to know about them. However, children’s details are stored across several documents, which can make it difficult to find specific information. This means that when staff return to the home after a period of being off, updated information is not always easy to find.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager is enthusiastic about providing good care, and knowledgeable about the children in the home. There is an established core staff team who are also knowledgeable and passionate about helping children achieve good outcomes. Leaders and managers strive to consistently use the same members of pool staff to provide stability for children and are making efforts to recruit permanent members of staff. Leaders and managers have a good vision for the development of this home and good expectations for what children can achieve.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Social care professionals report very positively on the quality of care provided at the home. There is strong partnership working with external professionals, and agencies recognise the positive relationships that they have with the registered manager. Leaders and managers appropriately challenge professionals when actions from external professionals are not acceptable or where services provided to children fall below expectations.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Team meetings and team around the child meetings take place regularly and are an important forum in which to discuss incidents. Staff are encouraged to reflect and learn from these incidents. Supervisions are held regularly and include reflection on incidents which have taken place in the home.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Parents speak highly of the support they receive from the staff and the manager and feel that their child is well cared for by staff. One parent commented that the manager of the home is ‘like another mother’ to her child, saying she advocates on the child’s behalf and ensures that the time she spends with her child is positive.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff receive training which is specific to the children and underpins day-to-day practice. The staff are knowledgeable and passionate about using the PACE (Playfulness, Acceptance, Curiosity and Empathy) model of care as a therapeutic approach and understand how to embed this in all aspects of their work. The caring, nurturing and loving approach that staff use, and which the manager models in her own practice, has contributed to a reduction in significant incidents in the home and the children feeling supported, loved and cared for. Inspection report for children's home: SC455991 5

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Recommendation

 The registered person should ensure that when decisions are made to move children into the home, these are carefully considered. They should ensure that the full impact new children will have on each other, and the existing group of children, is fully considered. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 56, paragraph 11.4)

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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: SC455991 6

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Cambian Signpost Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: 5th Floor, Metropolitan House, 3 Darkes Lane, Potters Bar, Hertfordshire EN6 1AG

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Inspector

Min Sims, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children's home: SC455991 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.

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Inspector

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Inspector

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Inspector

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