Children's home run by Children Assisted in a Real Environment Ltd in Hammersmith and Fulham

Inspection report for children's home: SC063219 1 SC063219 Registered provider: Children Assisted in a Real Environment (care) Ltd

p.1

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 five children aged between 11 and 18 who may experience social and emotional difficulties.

p.1

Information about this children’s home

The home registered with Ofsted in July 2005. The manager registered in September 2022.

p.1

Information about this children’s home

At the beginning of this inspection, two children were living in the home. By the end, there was one child.

p.1

Information about this children’s home

The inspection started on 18 December. The inspector returned on 29 January 2025 to gather additional evidence in line with Ofsted inspections and visits: Deferring, pausing and gathering additional evidence policy.

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 requires improvement to be 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

Date of last inspection: 18 January 2024

p.1

good

Overall judgement at last inspection: good

p.1

good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children's home: SC063219 2

p.1

Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

18/01/2024 Full Good 05/10/2022 Full Good 01/02/2022 Interim Improved effectiveness 30/06/2021 Full Requires improvement to be good Inspection report for children's home: SC063219 3

p.2

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children’s day-to-day experiences are positive. They attend weekly meetings where their voices are heard, and their achievements are celebrated. Children build positive and trusting relationships with staff. One child said, ‘Staff actually care about me.’

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff are aware of the care needs of children and strive to ensure that children’s plans are followed. One child said, ‘I get treated well. Staff are really nice. I don’t feel scared of the staff. It’s great.’

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children take part in a diverse range of activities, such as trips to the cinema, bike rides, going for meals at restaurants, visiting various markets and going to music concerts.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children spend time with their families, in line with their agreed plans. Staff recognise the importance of family time, where they support positive phone calls and visits. As a result, staff have taken one child to enjoy time with their family at a restaurant. The child also enjoyed celebrating their birthday in the home with their cousin and uncle.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff take proactive steps in planning for children’s education. When a child moves into the home without a school placement, staff promptly engage with the virtual school team. Bridging arrangements are then set up to provide tutor support until a new school placement is secured.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff ensure that children’s health needs are met. Children receive support from a range of professionals, including specialist services.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Moves in and out of the home are well managed. For example, the recent move of one child was managed with meticulous care to ensure that all the necessary support was in place. This resulted in a successful move.

p.3

Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Certain areas of the home show noticeable damage that has yet to be repaired. The provider has already arranged for the necessary work to be completed and has secured a maintenance worker who is scheduled to carry out all repairs.

p.3

improvement to be good

Staff understand the children’s needs, strengths and vulnerabilities. Staff are skilled in using de-escalation techniques to manage difficult situations. While all staff are trained in physical intervention, they have not needed to use it. Incidents are well recorded, and both staff and children receive debriefs. Occasionally, staff will implement consequences to help children understand the difference between right and wrong. However, there are sometimes omissions in recording the effectiveness of these measures to ensure that they are having the desired outcome. Inspection report for children's home: SC063219 4 Children’s behaviour support plans and risk assessments can be detailed, but these are not always kept up to date. Although staff are briefed on these changes to a child’s plan, these are not always reflected in the child’s records. Similarly, when incidents occur, these are not always incorporated into the child’s plans and risk assessments. This

p.3

improvement to be good

means that not every member of staff has line of sight to information that can help them to know how to best respond when a child is struggling to manage a change in their day.

p.4

improvement to be good

Safer recruitment policies are not consistently adhered to. For example, not all staff who have been appointed have provided a full employment history in line with regulation.

p.4

improvement to be good

The storage and recording of medication are weak. For instance, when a child’s prescription was increased, both the lower dose and the new medication remained in circulation, and the change was not documented clearly for staff to follow. Additionally, a staff member recorded the administration of the increased dose on the old Medication Administration Record sheet, which was then crossed out and recorded on the correct sheet. Medication that needs to be returned to the pharmacist is still being stored. This confusion around medication management poses a risk to children’s safety.

p.4

improvement to be good

CCTV has been installed in the office. Although the provider has a policy in place, they have not demonstrated their compliance with regulation, including how surveillance should be solely used for safeguarding and promoting children’s welfare. Additionally, there is insufficient detail to show that the provider has consulted with the Information Commissioner’s Office on the use of surveillance.

p.4

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager is passionate about their role, has a clear vision for the home and is wanting to improve performance while ensuring that children in the home are happy and safe.

p.4

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff speak highly of the support they receive from leaders and the registered manager. Their annual appraisals are all up to date. Supervision sessions provide staff with the opportunity to reflect on their practice, discuss the care of children and review their learning and development. However, the frequency is variable.

p.4

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff receive a wide range of training, covering various topics, delivered either online or face to face. However, the training matrix has not been updated to reflect the training completed by individual members of staff.

p.4

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff attend regular team meetings and a monthly therapeutic meeting facilitated by the in-house therapist. These opportunities enable staff to broaden their learning and reflect on their practice.

p.4

The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Partnerships with parents and professionals are well developed. For example, parents report that they are kept well informed of everything that happens in their child’s life. Inspection report for children's home: SC063219 5

p.4

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.

p.5

Requirement Due date

The registered person may only use devices for the monitoring or surveillance of children if—

p.5

Requirement Due date

the monitoring or surveillance is for the purpose of safeguarding and promoting the welfare of the child concerned, or other children;

p.5

Requirement Due date

so far as reasonably practicable in the light of the child’s age and understanding, the child is informed in advance of the intention to do the monitoring or surveillance; and

p.5

Requirement Due date

the monitoring or surveillance is no more intrusive than necessary, having regard to the child’s need for privacy. (Regulation 24 (1) (a)(b)(c)(d))

p.5

Requirement Due date

In particular, leaders and managers must ensure that the use of CCTV aligns with legislation. 28 February 2025

p.5

Requirement Due date

The registered person must make arrangements for the handling, recording, safekeeping, safe administration and disposal of medicines received into the children’s home.

p.5

Requirement Due date

In particular the registered person must ensure that—

p.5

Requirement Due date

medicines kept in the home are stored in a secure place so as to prevent any child from having unsupervised access to them;

p.5

Requirement Due date

medicine which is prescribed for a child is administered as prescribed to the child for whom it is prescribed and to no other child; and

p.5

Requirement Due date

a record is kept of the administration of medicine to each child. (Regulation 23 (1) (2)(a)(b)(c)) 28 February 2025

p.5

Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that— 28 February 2025 Inspection report for children's home: SC063219 6 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—

p.5

Requirement Due date

the effectiveness and any consequences of the use of the measure. (Regulation 35 (3)(a)(vii))

p.6

Requirement Due date

The registered person must recruit staff using recruitment procedures that are designed to ensure children’s safety.

p.6

Requirement Due date

employ an individual to work at the children’s home; or

p.6

Requirement Due date

if an individual is employed by a person other than the registered person to work at the home in a position in which the individual may have regular contact with children, allow that individual to work at the home,

p.6

Requirement Due date

if the individual satisfies the requirements in paragraph (3).

p.6

Requirement Due date

the individual is of integrity and good character;

p.6

Requirement Due date

the individual has the appropriate experience, qualification and skills for the work that the individual is to perform;

p.6

Requirement Due date

the individual is mentally and physically fit for the purposes of the work that the individual is to perform; and

p.6

Requirement Due date

full and satisfactory information is available in relation to the individual in respect of each of the matters in Schedule 2. (Regulation 32 (1) (2)(a)(b) (3)(a)(b)(c)(d))

p.6

Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person must ensure a full employment history is obtained. 28 February 2025

p.6

Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that staff use consequences effectively to address behaviour, and these should be restorative in nature. This will help children recognise the impact of their behaviour on themselves, other children, the staff caring for them and the wider community. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 46, paragraph 9.38) Inspection report for children's home: SC063219 7  The registered person should ensure that where there are safeguarding concerns for a child, their placement plan is updated, including details of the steps the home will take to manage any assessed risks on a day-to-day basis. This should be accessible by all staff. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 42, paragraph 9.5)  The registered person should ensure that staff can access appropriate facilities and resources to support their training needs and that this is captured on the training

p.6

Recommendations

record. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 53, paragraph 10.11)  The registered person should ensure that staff supervision takes place every four to six weeks, in line with the home’s statement of purpose. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 61, paragraph 13.3)

p.7

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: SC063219 8

p.7

Children’s home details

Registered provider: Children Assisted in a Real Environment (care) Ltd

p.8

Children’s home details

Registered provider address: 144 Old Oak Road, London W3 7HF

p.8

Inspector

Ruth Okezie, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children's home: SC063219 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.

p.8

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.9

Inspector

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

p.9

Inspector

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

p.9