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

Inspection report for children’s home: SC456857 1 SC456857

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Registered provider: Cambian Childcare Limited

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Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This home is owned by a large national provider. It provides care for one child who may experience social and/or emotional difficulties. At the time of the inspection, one child was living in the home.

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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 requires improvement to be good

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good

The effectiveness of leaders and managers requires improvement to be good

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good

The children’s home is not yet delivering good help and care for children and young people. However, there are no serious or widespread failures that result in their welfare not being safeguarded or promoted.

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good

Date of last inspection: 6 February 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: SC456857 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

06/02/2024 Full Good 18/01/2023 Full Good 19/05/2021 Full Good 03/01/2020 Interim Sustained effectiveness Inspection report for children’s home: SC456857 3

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improvement to be good

Since the last inspection, three children have moved in and three children have moved out. This has been a challenging time for staff and the manager. Planning and preparation for children to move into the home is variable, and not enough consideration is given to the staff’s ability to meet children’s individual needs. This has resulted in difficulties with some children settling in and forming positive relationships with staff. Two children have moved out of the home in an unplanned way, which is confusing and upsetting for children. However, the child currently living in the home is settled and has good relationships with staff.

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improvement to be good

Staff meet the child’s health needs, and they are supported to attend routine appointments. Staff support the child’s emotional and physical health, and referrals are made to specialist services when required. When the child has refused to take their prescribed medication, staff ensure that medical professionals are notified and timely reviews are requested.

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improvement to be good

Family time is promoted and encouraged by staff and the manager. Staff recognise the importance of the child maintaining familial relationships and how this supports their identity and sense of self.

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improvement to be good

The child is encouraged to express their feelings and wishes. Staff support the child to attend their care planning meetings, and they advocate for the child. Staff are supporting the child to develop their independence with budgeting, using public transport and shopping. The child is encouraged to cook a variety of meals, including those from their cultural background. This promotes their sense of identity.

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improvement to be good

Some areas of the home have not been maintained to a good standard, including the child’s bedroom. The child is encouraged to keep their bedroom clean and tidy; however, this has not been checked often enough by staff. On the first day of the inspection, the child’s room was seen to be unclean and untidy, and smoking paraphernalia was found on the floor. This was swiftly addressed by the manager, and a plan was put in place for increased checks of the room.

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improvement to be good

There are plans in place that support the staff to provide effective and safe care for the current child. However, the care of children previously living in the home has not always been effective, meaning that they did not make good progress during their time in this home. Inspection report for children’s home: SC456857 4 Physical intervention is rarely used, and recording is clear. Staff attempt to encourage good behaviour with rewards and incentives. However, when negative consequences are used, they are not fully evaluated by the manager to ensure their effectiveness. This means that, at times, it has not been clear if consequences put in place are an effective way to manage unwanted behaviours.

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improvement to be good

When children have been missing from home, staff have searched for them, and in most cases, children have been returned home quickly. However, incidents of behaviours that challenge in the home are not always well managed or de-escalated effectively. On some occasions, this has led to staff being injured and children have been removed from the home by emergency services. The provider has then ended two children’s placements with immediate effect, leaving them unable to return to their home.

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improvement to be good

Accidents are responded to quickly, and first aid is given as appropriate. Medication is managed safely in the home and good records are kept.

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improvement to be good

Staff complete a range of training in safeguarding matters. Staff know how to escalate safeguarding concerns, including outside of the company to relevant agencies. Staff recruitment has been done safely so that only suitable individuals work with the child.

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good

The manager is experienced and is registered with Ofsted. She has management responsibility for another home in the company. Leaders and managers have not always ensured that the appropriate level of support has been given to the staff and children to allow children to remain living in their home. Likewise, support from the local authority and therapeutic input have not been requested in a timely manner or been robust enough.

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good

The staff team is stable and committed. When bank staff are used, the manager ensures that consistent staff members care for the children. The manager takes into account the needs and preferences of the child when planning the rota.

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good

Staff have access to a broad range of training that meets the child’s needs. Some staff are experienced and qualified in childcare. New members of staff complete an induction before being enrolled to attain a recognised childcare qualification.

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good

Staff complete supervision sessions; however, these have not always been carried out in accordance with the home’s statement of purpose. Additionally, not all staff have had their yearly appraisals. This means that they are not always able to reflect on their practice and identify areas for development. Inspection report for children’s home: SC456857 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 care planning standard is that children—

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Requirement Due date

receive effectively planned care in or through the children’s home; and

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Requirement Due date

have a positive experience of arriving at or moving on from the home.

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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

manage and review the placement of each child in the home; and

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Requirement Due date

that the child’s placing authority is contacted, and a review of that child’s relevant plans is requested, if—

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Requirement Due date

the registered person considers that the child is at risk of harm or has concerns that the care provided for the child is inadequate to meet the child’s needs. (Regulation 14 (1)(a)(b) (2)(b)(ii)(e)(i))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person must ensure that children’s needs and the ability of staff to meet these are rigorously assessed before children move into the home.

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Requirement Due date

Additionally, the registered person must ensure that all possible measures are taken to prevent children from moving out in an unplanned way. This includes joint working with the local authority and other partner agencies to provide support to the child. 6 April 2025

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Requirement Due date

The quality and purpose of care standard is that children receive care from staff who— 6 April 2025 Inspection report for children’s home: SC456857 6 understand the children’s home’s overall aims and the outcomes it seeks to achieve for children;

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Requirement Due date

use this understanding to deliver care that meets children’s needs and supports them to fulfil their potential.

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to—

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Requirement Due date

ensure that the premises used for the purposes of the home are designed and furnished so as to—

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Requirement Due date

enable each child to participate in the daily life of the home. (Regulation 6 (1)(a)(b) (2)(c)(i)(ii))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person must ensure that the home is maintained to an acceptable standard of cleanliness throughout, including the child’s bedroom. Repairs to the home must be carried out in a timely manner.

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that all employees—

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Requirement Due date

receive practice-related supervision by a person with appropriate experience; and

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Requirement Due date

have their performance and fitness to perform their roles appraised at least once every year. (Regulation 33 (4)(b)(c))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person must ensure that staff receive regular supervision in accordance with what is set out in the home’s statement of purpose.

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Requirement Due date

Additionally, the registered person must ensure that appraisals are carried out once every year. 6 April 2025

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Recommendation

 The registered person should ensure that all negative consequences are reviewed and evaluated to ensure that they are effective. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 46, paragraph 9.36) Inspection report for children’s home: SC456857 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: SC456857 8

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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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Inspector

Eve Ostridge, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: SC456857 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 children looked after, safeguarding and child protection.

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Inspector

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Inspector

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Inspector

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