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

Inspection report for children’s home: SC457272 1 SC457272

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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 privately owned and provides care for up to three children who experience social and emotional difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

There were three children living at the home at the time of this inspection.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager registered with Ofsted in June 2024.

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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

Overall judgement at last inspection: good

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good

Enforcement action since last inspection: none Inspection report for children’s home: SC457272 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

26/06/2024 Full Good 25/04/2023 Full Requires improvement to be good 09/05/2022 Full Requires improvement to be good 10/05/2021 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: SC457272 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

At the time of the inspection, three children were living at the home. Three children have moved in, and two children have moved out since the last inspection. The inspector spoke with three children.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Most children experience stability in this home, and most children have lived in the home for more than a year. The children benefit from being cared for by experienced staff who have worked in the home for some time. These staff have developed positive and nurturing relationships with the children. As a result, most children make progress in most aspects of their lives. One child said, ‘This is one of the best homes I have been to, it does not feel like a care home.’ As a result, most children make progress in most aspects of their lives.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff support children to maintain regular school attendance. When children are unable to attend school due to due physical and/or mental health issues, staff support them with home-based learning activities. Leaders and managers work with other professionals to help progress educational and health needs assessments as appropriate.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff help the children to maintain positive physical and mental health. They help them learn how to manage upsetting feelings. Staff use strategies such as playful distraction and walks. Staff advocate for the children to have access to the specialist mental health services they need and support them to attend regular appointments.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The children are supported by staff to spend time with the people who are important to them. Staff facilitate regular family time for the children and welcome their brothers and sisters into the home. Staff support children to spend time with their friends in the community.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Leaders and managers listen to the children. Staff regularly capture children’s views, wishes and feelings and act on them promptly. Children know how to raise concerns, and managers quickly address children’s complaints.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff help the children to have fun and build positive memories of their time living at the home. The staff encourage them to participate in varied activities. The children have enjoyed holidays, go karting, visits to the local gaming lounge. Staff encourage the children’s passions and interests. One child has pursued their interest in football and now plays for a local team.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff promote children’s identity. They provide the children with a varied diet that is sensitive to their cultural needs and support them to explore and practice their religion. Children who wish to are supported to attend their chosen place of worship and participate in prayers. At home, children are provided with the things they need to follow Inspection report for children’s home: SC457272 4 their faith, such as a prayer mat. This helps the children develop and maintain a sense of self.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

In most cases, managers sensitively plan children’s moves into and on from the home. When possible, they visit the child and facilitate the child to visit the home prior to moving in. Staff quickly form relationships with the children, and this has helped them to settle. However, on one occasion when a local authority failed to share information, managers did not follow this up prior to the child moving in, nor did they consult with relevant stakeholders. This meant that managers were not fully aware of the child’s needs or their ability to meet them. Consequently, the child had to move out only a few hours after moving in. This was likely upsetting and confusing for the child and potentially made it harder for the local authority to find the child the right home.

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

Staff do their utmost to keep children safe, and children say they feel safe in the home. Staff understand children’s vulnerabilities and risks. Staff use therapeutically informed approaches to support the children to stay safe. Children have confidence in the staff and identify them as trusted adults.

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

Staff help the children to understand how to keep themselves safe. Staff have planned and unplanned conversations with the children on issues such as online safety and appropriate boundaries. As a result, risks to children have reduced and children are becoming safer living at the home. No children have gone missing from the home since the last inspection and significant behaviour incidents are reducing.

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

Managers respond quickly to any concerns regarding staff practice. They act quickly to keep children safe and promptly share information with other professionals, such as the local authority designated officer (LADO) and social workers. Leaders and the manager complete internal investigations appropriately and discuss the outcomes and any concerns with staff.

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

Staff provide children with clear boundaries and routines. When children show behaviours that challenge, staff support children to calm down. Staff have restorative conversations with children to address disagreements between them. When physical interventions have been used, the rationale for their use is clear. Records of restraint are clear, and managers quickly speak to staff members involved. However, managers do not always speak to children following these incidents in order to ensure that children have received the right support. This limits opportunities for further learning for both staff and children.

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

Once, a staff member locked the doors to the house to prevent the child re-entering during a behaviour incident. This was not an appropriate response to the situation, and the on-call manager promptly addressed the issue with the staff member. However, this incident was not reviewed by the manager and follow-up discussions were not shared with the wider staff team to prevent reoccurrence. Inspection report for children’s home: SC457272 5

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The suitably qualified and experienced manager has taken action to meet the one requirement and two recommendations from the last inspection.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Staff report positive morale and say they feel well supported by leaders and managers. Staff are well supported through regular supervision and access to an inhouse therapist. The regular team meetings focused on staff well-being as well as children’s needs. The good support for staff means that there are few changes and agency staff are rarely used. Consequently, the children are cared for by a consistent team of staff who know them well.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager has a good understanding of the quality of care provided to children. Staff track progress for each child monthly and identify further actions they can take to help improve outcomes for children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Managers and staff meet regularly with other professionals to discuss support for children. They work closely with the home’s psychotherapist and other professionals to further improve the support for the children. Professionals shared positive feedback about the care and support of the children and how staff and managers work closely with them to meet the children’s needs.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager follows safer recruitment processes. This helps ensure that only suitable people are employed to work with the children.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager ensures that the staff have suitable training to fulfil their roles and responsibilities. New staff complete a suitable induction. Staff are provided with a wide range of training to meet children’s individual needs, including in the home’s model of practice. Most of the team of staff are qualified or working towards the relevant level 3 qualification.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Children’s records are written with sensitive language. Staff write to children in an empathetic way. However, some records have missing dates and signatures, which compromises their factual accuracy. Inspection report for children’s home: SC457272 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 must comply within the given timescales.

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Requirement Due date

within 5 days of the use of the measure, the registered person or the authorised person adds to the record confirmation that they have spoken to the child about the measure. (Regulation 35 (3)(a)(c)) 30 November 2025

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Requirement Due date

children can access all appropriate areas of the children’s home’s premises. (Regulation 21 (b)) 30 November 2025

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that they understand what will be required of them before they accept responsibility for a child’s placement, to avoid disruption and instability for the child in future and for other children in the home. They should ensure that information is gathered from other relevant agencies, and if appropriate, the child’s family with regard to children who may move into the home. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 56, paragraph 11.5)  The registered person should ensure that case records are kept up-to-date and signed and dated by the author of each entry. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards’, page 62, paragraph 14.3)

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Information about this inspection

The inspector has 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: SC457272 7

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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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Inspector

Priscilla Koroka, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: SC457272 8 regulates 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 looked-after children, safeguarding and child protection.

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Inspector

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Inspector

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