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

Inspection report for children’s home: SC456474 1 SC456474 Registered provider: Cambian Childcare Ltd

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Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

It provides care for up to 6 children who may experience social and emotional difficulties.

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Information about this children’s home

The manager registered with Ofsted in July 2025.

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Information about this children’s home

Five children were living at the home on 6 and 7 January 2026, all of whom were seen and 3 were spoken with during the inspection. There are currently 4 children living in the home.

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Information about this children’s home

The inspection started on 6 January 2026. Inspectors returned on 11 February 2026 to gather additional evidence in line with Ofsted inspections and visits: deferring, pausing and gathering additional evidence policy.

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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: 14 January 2025

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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: SC456474 2

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

14/01/2025 Full Good 31/07/2023 Full Good 01/03/2023 Full Good 08/03/2022 Full Good Inspection report for children’s home: SC456474 3

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff build warm, nurturing relationships with the children. Children come to staff regularly with any issues, requests or just to chat. Staff always prioritise their time with the children. One child scored the home ‘10 out of 10’ and said that the staff ‘keep them safe’. Professionals and parents commented on the commitment and resilience of the staff and the difference this is making for some children.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The home is spacious and well equipped. The games room has been redecorated and updated since the last inspection with books, games, and fitness equipment for the children to use. The decor reflects the children’s interests in gaming. Children’s bedrooms are nicely decorated to the children’s tastes. The age of the property means a continuous need for upkeep. The manager keeps a log of repair requests and follows up when there are delays in these being completed.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children are encouraged to engage with the specialist services that they need. These include substance misuse and mental health services. Specialist substance misuse workers visit regularly to build relationships with the children before completing any direct work. Furthermore, staff ensure that professionals from other services understand the need for flexibility to accommodate the children so essential help can be provided. When children decline support, the manager ensures that the staff are well prepared to help them by requesting training for staff from specialist teams.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Concerted effort is given to supporting children to have regular time with people who are most important to them. Children receive practical and emotional support to help them to get the most out of the time they spend with their families. Staff arranged for one child to go on holiday with their grandparents during the summer break. Additionally, staff promote children’s relationships with friends to help them to move away from less positive peers. This is work in progress.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Children’s progress in education is varied. One child has started attending school for the first time since moving into the home. Other children have tutors or access to tailored online educational resources at home. When children do not have the right educational provision or struggle to maintain their attendance, the manager strongly advocates on their behalf to secure an education provision that can meet their needs. Staff work well with the wider care team to work towards getting children back on track with their learning.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Staff support children to engage in routine health appointments and look after their own health needs. Children attend the doctors and child and adolescent mental health services appointments, and staff help them to understand and act on any advice that health professionals provide. Inspection report for children’s home: SC456474 4 Managers and staff work with partner agencies to ensure that children are prepared for independence. Children make their own health appointments, travel independently and can cook and clean for themselves. One child is now living in a self-contained flat in the home as they work on developing their independence skills. They do all their own cooking and cleaning and have a ‘tenancy agreement’ with the manager. This includes paying ‘rent and utilities’ out of an allowance that is provided as part of the training programme. Staff seek additional support when children need more help with issues such as understanding bills and other finances.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The manager completes detailed suitability assessments before a child moves into the home. He considers individual relationships, current group dynamics, and the needs of the new child alongside those already living in the home. The organisation’s clinician provides insight to the children’s suitability to live together from a therapeutic perspective. Although some children have developed competing needs, this is being assessed and kept under review by the manager in consultation with staff and external professionals.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

One child has recently moved out of the home. A key professional involved with this child said that the staff were ‘phenomenal’ in supporting this child to move on and settle into their new home.

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

Partnership working to promote children’s safety is a strength of this home. The manager works closely with relevant professionals to coordinate safeguarding responses to children’s risks. There have been some challenges to this due to escalating concerns of criminality and substance misuse involving some children. Staff are working collaboratively with other agencies in response to these concerns. When children need input from specialist services for assessments or intervention, the manager and staff share information appropriately to inform this work. Some children’s risks have reduced due to their engagement with specialist help.

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

Children feel confident to talk to staff about any worries or concerns they might have. When children make allegations or raise a complaint, these are acted on quickly by the manager and staff. However, on 2 occasions, staff did not inform the local authority out-of-hours service when concerns were raised by the children. Although there is no known impact on any child living in the home, this shortfall prevented relevant information being shared with the local authority in a timely manner.

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

Staff take a positive approach with children, and achievements are celebrated, be this praise for a job well done or a trip out in recognition of doing something well. When staff give a consequence for unwanted behaviour, these are natural and proportionate. The manager’s oversight monitors the effectiveness of consequences, and he makes changes if they are not having the desired effect. This approach is helping to develop the children’s understanding of the impact of their actions on themselves and others. Inspection report for children’s home: SC456474 5 Children who go missing from the home or are absent without permission receive a very strong response from staff, who are confident in knowing what steps to take to safeguard the child and secure their safe return home. Staff work in close partnership with the police and search for the child until they are found.

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

Staff rarely need to restrain children to keep them safe. When they do, it is proportionate and for the shortest time possible until the risk has gone. Clearly written records support management oversight of all incidents. The manager and staff use their positive relationships with the children to help them talk things through after an incident.

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

Staff maintain detailed and up-to-date risk assessments for children that incorporate the child’s voice and contributions from the clinical team. Agreed interventions to reduce risk are frequently reviewed and well planned.

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

When there is a concern regarding staff conduct, the manager reacts quickly and appropriately to ensure that children are safe. Necessary action is taken to inform professionals and involve the local authority designated officer.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager has settled well into his role. He is committed to providing high-quality care and opportunities for the children. He is consistently present in the home and leads by example. As a result, staff work confidently together. They feel well supported by the manager and are committed to helping the children make progress.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The manager’s oversight of all aspects of the functioning of the home is effective. He understands staff’s strengths and areas of development and has plans to develop the team and the property to improve children’s care. The manager is currently focusing on moving to a new model of care, in both recording and care practice.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Leaders and managers ensure that staff have access to a variety of training to support them in meeting the children’s needs. When children’s needs change or staff identify new issues, the manager requests additional training to ensure that the whole team has the most relevant knowledge to support the children. Furthermore, staff are encouraged to develop and progress in their careers.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

When documentation is not forthcoming from social workers, the manager will usually escalate this. However, he has not escalated the concern that an updated pathway plan has not been received for one child. This means the support for the child may not be aligned with the expectations set out in the agreed plan.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Practice-related supervision sessions are regular and purposeful. Sessions are engaging, and staff contribute to the discussions and say they find their supervision useful. However, recordings of these conversations do not always accurately represent the reflection that staff report they carry out in their supervisions. Inspection report for children’s home: SC456474 6

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Statutory requirements

This section sets out the actions that the registered person 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

The engaging with the wider system standard is that the registered person must, and must ensure that staff—

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Requirement Due date

seek to involve each child’s placing authority effectively in the child’s care, in accordance with the child’s relevant plans;

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Requirement Due date

seek to secure the input and services required to meet each child’s needs;

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Requirement Due date

if the registered person considers, or staff consider, a placing authority’s or a relevant person’s performance or response to be inadequate in relation to their role, challenge the placing authority or the relevant person to seek to ensure that each child’s needs are met in accordance with the child’s relevant plans. (Regulation 5 (a)(b)(c))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, the registered person must ensure that they have the most up-to-date information to enable the team to meet the needs of children preparing to leave the home. 20 February

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that they have systems in place so that all staff, including the manager, receive supervision of their practice that allows them to reflect on their practice and the needs of the children. The recording should accurately evidence the content of the supervision. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards,’ page 61, paragraph 13.2)

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Recommendations

 The registered person should make sure that all staff are familiar with the policy to protect children and act in accordance with it, particularly how to use it to report a concern to the placing local authority out-of-hours service. (‘Guide to the Children’s Homes Regulations, including the quality standards,’ page 44, paragraph 9.21) Inspection report for children’s home: SC456474 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: SC456474 8

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: Cambian Childcare Ltd

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: 4 th Floor, Parkview, 82 Oxford Road, Uxbridge UB8 1UX

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Inspectors

Kirstie Sutherland, Social Care Inspector Shirin Khan, Social Care Inspector Inspection report for children’s home: SC456474 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 looked after children, safeguarding, and child protection.

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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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Inspectors

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