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

Inspection report for children's home: SC457553 1 SC457553 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 and run by a private organisation. It provides care for up to two children who may have social and emotional difficulties and who may have learning disabilities.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager registered with Ofsted in July 2025.

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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 requires improvement to be good

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good

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

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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: SC457553 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

07/01/2025 Full Good 12/03/2024 Full Good 21/02/2023 Full Good 12/01/2022 Full Good Inspection report for children's home: SC457553 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

At the time of the inspection, two children were living at the home. The inspector spent time with both children, and one child provided feedback about the home. The child was positive about their experiences of moving into the home and said that they liked the staff and manager. This child could not identify anything that the staff could do to make things better for them.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are cared for by staff who are warm and nurturing. Children were observed to be relaxed in the company of staff, and there was a comfortable feel to interactions. The home is well decorated and has a homely feel throughout. Children have a say over how their rooms are decorated, and their individual personalities could be seen in the presentation of their rooms.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children make good progress in this home. Children make progress in relation to the reduction in risk that they face, their emotional well-being, their relationships with family and their educational achievement. One child in the home has made good progress with being able to recognise their emotions and how to manage feelings of being upset in a positive way. One family member said that their relationship with their child has improved considerably since their child has been living at the home.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children have good routines and are helped to engage with activities that are fun, varied and in line with their interests. Children are supported to spend time with people who are important to them.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff use reward strategies to encourage positive behaviours, and this has had some positive effect. Children sometimes must wait lengthy periods of time to receive rewards, and on one occasion, the child’s reward was planned to be received on a special occasion. Leaders and managers have recognised the potential negative impact that this can have on a child and are taking steps to make some changes to this approach.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children’s identity needs are not sufficiently met. One child is dual-heritage, and staff know little about their heritage or whether the child would like to explore this aspect of their identity. Support to help children explore their ethnic backgrounds is lacking. This limits opportunities for children to learn about and celebrate important aspects of who they are, if this is in line with their wishes.

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

Children are kept safe by knowledgeable staff who respond to safeguarding concerns in a timely way. Restraint is used as a last resort. When incidents take place where restraint is necessary, these are brief and proportionate to the behaviour being shown. Following these incidents, the manager reflects on the impact of staff actions and how incidents Inspection report for children's home: SC457553 4 could have been differently managed to avoid negative outcomes. This means that there is good learning from incidents, and changes to practice are implemented as a result.

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

When children go missing from home, staff search for them diligently and try to maintain contact with them. Relevant professionals are contacted in a timely way which helps children to be located quickly.

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

Staff respond in a warm and caring way to incidents where children have harmed themselves. Staff follow safety plans and seek medical attention to ensure that children are safe and well. Room searches are undertaken as appropriate, for which children give their consent for. When staff hold follow-up conversations with children, a caring and therapeutic approach is used with children to help them think about what led up to their actions.

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

When children raise concerns about staff practice, these are taken seriously and are appropriately investigated. Relevant external agencies are notified, and appropriate action is taken to safeguard children in the interim. Following the conclusion of investigations, feedback is given to children, which helps them to feel listened to.

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

Staff understand children’s needs and risks well. Staff engage in regular meaningful conversations with children to help them learn about the risks that they face.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

Vulnerabilities in leadership and management meant that staff did not have the knowledge or skills to meet the needs of one of the children when they moved into the home. A lack of effective planning has meant that the staff received training, which related to the child’s specific needs, over a month after they were admitted to the home. The impact that one child may have on another was also not well considered.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

Care plans and behaviour support plans give staff some clear information on how to support children in the home and some relevant background information. Some plans, however, are ambiguous and lack clarity, which means that staff are not always clear on how to support children at times of crisis. A lack of joined up working with professionals has meant that plans have been constructed in isolation, rather than being contributed to by a range of professionals. This has been recognised by leaders and managers who are making efforts to amend and improve plans.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

Staff who work in the home say that they are supported well. They are proud of the children’s achievements and what they achieve for children as a close staff team. Staff speak positively of the manager and feel that they can raise concerns as needed. There is an established core team that provides stability and consistency to the children in the home, and there is good oversight by the registered manager.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

Team meetings and supervision sessions take place regularly and include good reflection on how staff are working with children and children’s feelings. Time is taken for staff to reflect on how they work with children, and this has included staff being encouraged to Inspection report for children's home: SC457553 5 do some group work. Supervision sessions are regular, and staff are again encouraged to consider how they work with children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: requires improvement to be good

External professionals say that there is excellent communication with the manager and the staff team. Staff are proactive in seeking support in relation to helping children and are proactive with working with external agencies to support children to the best of their abilities. External professionals consider that children have close and supportive relationships with staff and feel that staff are doing a good job looking after children with complex needs. Family members are also positive about the care being afforded to children. Inspection report for children's home: SC457553 6

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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

that children are admitted to the home only if their needs are within the range of needs of children for whom it is intended that the home is to provide care and accommodation, as set out in the home’s statement of purpose; and

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Requirement Due date

that each child’s relevant plans are followed. (Regulation 14 (1)(a)(b) (2)(a)(c))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person should ensure that moves into and out of the home are carefully planned and that staff receive training to meet children’s needs before children move into the home, or as soon as possible after children’s needs and risks are known. In addition, the registered person should ensure that children’s plans are robust, contributed to by all relevant professionals and understood by all staff. 2 December 2025

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Requirement Due date

The quality and purpose of care standard is that children receive care from staff who—

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Requirement Due date

understand the home’s overall aims and the outcomes it seeks to achieve for children; and

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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. 2 December 2025 Inspection report for children's home: SC457553 7 In particular, the standard in paragraph (1) requires the registered person to—

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Requirement Due date

provide personalised care that meets each child’s needs, as recorded in the child’s relevant plans, taking account of the child’s background.

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person must ensure that children’s identity needs are understood by staff and that children are helped to explore and celebrate aspects of their identity if this is in line with their wishes. In addition, the registered person must ensure that care plans clearly reflect how staff are to meet the specific identity needs of children.

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Recommendation

 The registered person should ensure that positive behaviour is reinforced, praised and encouraged. Where children are encouraged to earn rewards for positive behaviour, rewards should not be linked to special events to avoid children feeling shame associated with their behaviours if they do not receive the reward. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 39, paragraph 8.11)

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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: SC457553 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: 4th Floor, Parkview, 82 Oxford Road, Uxbridge UB8 1UX

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Children’s home details

Responsible individual: Nicola McClements

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Inspector

Minnette Sims, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children's home: SC457553 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.

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Inspector

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Inspector

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Inspector

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