Children's Home run by My Choice Children’s Homes Limited in West Sussex

Unique reference number SC390785 Inspection date 22/05/2012 Inspector Diane Thackrah Type of inspection Full Provision subtype Children's home

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Date of last inspection 29/03/2012 Website: www.ofsted.gov.uk

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Brief description of the service

This children's home is owned by a private company. The home is registered to accommodate three young people of either sex who have emotional and/or behavioural difficulties.

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The inspection judgements and what they mean

Outstanding : a service that significantly exceeds minimum requirements Good : a service that exceeds minimum requirements Adequate : a service that only meets minimum requirements Inadequate : a service that does not meet minimum requirements

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Overall effectiveness

The overall effectiveness is judged to be good .

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Overall effectiveness

The home is effective at providing highly personalised and well planned care to young people. As a result young people are enabled to make progress in all areas of their lives. Regular and effective consultation with young people ensures that young people know that their views have a real impact on the way in which the home is run. This results in young people feeling valued and being happy. A real strength of the home is the high quality support that young people receive from staff. Relationships between staff and young people are extremely positive. They are based on respect and ensure that young people feel secure and have clear boundaries and expectations. Young people also benefit from high quality care planning. This means that staff and other professionals working with them clearly understand their needs and contribute well to meeting these. Young people feel safe and are safe as there are clear safeguarding policies and procedures which are

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Overall effectiveness

understood and followed by staff. Strong leadership and management supports these good arrangements.

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Outcomes for children and young people

Outcomes for children and young people are good .

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Outcomes for children and young people

This is a home where young people are well supported to make good progress in all areas of their lives. Staff have high aspirations for young people and treat them with respect. As a result young people enjoy positive relationships and make good progress in developing a positive sense of self. Care provided by staff is highly individualised and this results in young people making achievements. Young people are happy and feel secure and cared for. They say that the staff are great and that they feel safe.

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Outcomes for children and young people

Effective care from staff helps young people to take good care of their health and to live healthy lifestyles. They are well supported to understand how their behaviour impacts on their health. As a result they make good progress in reducing risky behaviours like drug and alcohol use. There are trained and knowledgeable staff who understand the importance of nurturing young people and helping them build strong attachments. As a result young people develop positive emotional health and well- being. Young people know that they are cared for and listened to as staff make sure that they are able to actively participate in decisions about their lives.

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Outcomes for children and young people

Young people are able to make achievements in education and make good progress from their starting points. Staff understand that young people progress at different levels and therefore provide highly individualised support. As a result young people gain confidence and make progress in education at a pace that is suitable to them. Young people benefit from taking part in community activities positively as staff encourage and support this. For example, staff say 'We try to encourage young people to engage in meaningful activities like joining a youth club or gym.' This helps to build young people's confidence.

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Outcomes for children and young people

Young people are able to reduce behaviours that are unsafe, offending and anti- social. This is achieved through consistently positive support from staff who have high aspirations for young people. Professionals working with the home say young people have 'gradually reduced all the previous concerning behaviours'. The clear boundaries and expectations placed on young people allow them to feel secure and help reduce negative behaviour. A high importance is placed on preparing young people for adulthood and as a result, young people are well prepared for achieving successful outcomes when they leave the home.

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Quality of care

Young people benefit from good quality care from staff who understand their needs. As a result they feel valued and develop confidence and self-esteem. Young people say 'Staff are great, they nag me but I know it's because they care.' Care provided is highly individualised and child centred. There are clear boundaries and this helps young people to develop positive behaviour and reduce negative behaviour. Staff say 'We spend a lot of time talking.' Young people are supported to understand their past experiences and build positive relationships. This is achieved through the consistent messages they received from staff. Staff say 'Team meetings, regular handovers and good supervision enables us to be consistent with young people.'

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Quality of care

Young people's wishes and feelings are valued and significant weight is given to them in decision making. Concerns are taken seriously. Staff say that young people are always supported to speak at their reviews. Young people also influence the running of the home through their input at regular house meetings. They have a say in day to day decisions like menu planning, activities and the behaviour of others in the home. Good quality and regular key worker sessions ensure that significant issues in young people's lives are well addressed. This helps young people to make sense of their lives and feel secure.

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Quality of care

There are strong arrangements for care planning. For example, paperwork is up to date, comprehensive and understood by young people, staff and others involved in young people’s care. This ensures that young people receive good support in reaching their goals and making achievements. Risks are identified and staff are proactive in helping young people to reduce these. For example, staff say they work closely with drug-misuse professionals in order to help young people understand the risks of using illegal substances. The cultural needs of young people are valued and addressed through the care planning process. For example, staff support young people to maintain positive links with their family members and places where they come from if this is positive and appropriate.

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Quality of care

Staff understand the educational needs of young people and work creatively to reduce barriers to education. For example, they work to improve young peoples' self- esteem and confidence. They have high aspirations for young people, but set realistic goals. As a result, young people make small but significant steps and achievements. The home maintains a professional relationship with a range of professionals which supports the promotion of positive outcomes for young people. This includes the police, connexions, youth offending services and looked after children nurse.

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Safeguarding children and young people

The service is good at keeping children and young people safe and feeling safe.

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Safeguarding children and young people

Young people feel safe and secure and share strong and positive relationships with staff. They say that there are staff who they would talk to if they are worried or feel unsafe. As a result, young people are protected from harm. Behaviour management in the home is positive and as a result the welfare of young people is protected. Staff understand and are sensitive to the needs of young people. Their responses to negative behaviour are well thought out and consistent. Restraint is not commonly used. As a result, young people feel safe and are safe.

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Safeguarding children and young people

There is a robust response to young people who go missing and as a result incidences of young people going missing are significantly reduced. For example, staff try to maintain contact with missing young people, they strive to develop positive relationships with friends and family who may be able to help locate young people and respond in a caring, positive and consistent way when young people do return. Recent training for staff has supported the quality of care and nurturing for young people who return from going missing. Good links have been made with the police which helps to ensure that there is a strong, joined up and proactive approach to young people who engage in criminal behaviour. Risks to young people are clearly identified with clear plans to address these. This means that professional agencies work closely with young people regarding risk taking. As a result, young people's risk-taking behaviour is significantly reduced.

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Safeguarding children and young people

There is careful selection and vetting of staff. Volunteers are not used and there is close monitoring of any visitors to the home. This helps to protect young people from harm. Strong measures exist for the checking of safety within the home such as regular fire drills and alarm checks and this also goes some way to promoting safety in the home.

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Leadership and management

The leadership and management of the children's home are good .

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Leadership and management

This is a well-managed home where young people's needs are placed at the centre of all decision making. There is strong support for staff such as regular and professional supervision. Staff say 'The manager and deputy are very supportive, you can ask them anything.' Staff training is viewed as vital to improving outcomes for young people and as a result staff are well skilled to meet the needs of young people. For example, a staff member said of recent training 'It has helped us look at ways to nurture young people better.' New staff undertake an induction, close management supervision and a six-month probationary period. This helps to ensure that they are the correct people to provide high quality care to young people.

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Leadership and management

Strong systems exist for the monitoring of quality within the home which helps to ensure that action is taken to tackle any weaknesses. There are monthly quality assurance checks which focus on the experiences of young people in the home. There is a clear improvement plan that helps to ensure that the quality of the service improves. This also helps to ensure that there is a clear focus on the individual goals for young people. The registered manager is aware of any weaknesses in the home because of the strong quality assurance, and as a result problems are put right quickly and young people are well supported to make progress. There is effective joint working with partner agencies which means that young people benefit from services that can meet their needs. Effective record keeping contributes to the professional approach to caring for young people.

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About this inspection

The purpose of this inspection is to assure children and young people, parents, the public, local authorities and government of the quality and standard of the service provided. The inspection was carried out under the Care Standards Act 2000 to assess the effectiveness of the service and to consider how well it complies with the relevant regulations and meets the national minimum standards.

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About this inspection

The report details the main strengths, any areas for improvement, including any breaches of regulation, and any failure to meet national minimum standards. The judgements included in the report are made against the Inspections of children’s homes – framework for inspection (March 2011) and the evaluation schedule for children's homes.

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