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

Unique reference number SC364812 Inspection date 16/04/2013 Inspector Gaynor Moorey Type of inspection Full Provision subtype Children's home

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Date of last inspection 29/11/2012 Website: www.ofsted.gov.uk

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Brief description of the service

The home offers accommodation for up to two young people between the ages of eight and 18 years old with emotional or behavioural difficulties.

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The inspection judgements and what they mean

Outstanding : a service of exceptional quality that significantly exceeds minimum requirements Good : a service of high quality 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

This is a well-managed and effective service. Young people benefit from high quality and personalised care. They make excellent progress across all areas and staff support them to improve their behaviours and look forward to the future.

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Overall effectiveness

There is a stable and well trained staff team, led by an experienced and effective manager. This ensures that the young people's well-being and welfare are seen as paramount.

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Overall effectiveness

Care planning is highly individualised and fully enables staff to focus on areas of need for each young person. The home engages in safe practices that are underpinned by robust policies and procedures. Communication is a real strength of the home and close relationships with a wide range of professionals enables consistency of care and positive joint working practices.

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Overall effectiveness

The home continually strives to embrace equality and diversity. This means that young people are supported to achieve a sense of personal identity, although the home is continuing to develop this area of work to its full potential.

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Overall effectiveness

Health and safety is taken seriously and young people benefit from safe systems and comprehensive checks and inspections.

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Overall effectiveness

A good range of information is available to the young people, staff and other professionals. The Statement of Purpose is updated with any change to the home so it is fit for purpose. Monitoring of the home is good with external and internal monitoring reports being used to develop practice.

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Outcomes for children and young people

Outcomes for young people are outstanding .

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Outcomes for children and young people

Young people benefit from individualised support which helps them grow in confidence and understand their past. The key worker system enables young people to focus on their goals and recognise their progress. Regular key work sessions provide an avenue for them to discuss their feelings and thoughts. Staff are aware of young people's strengths and vulnerabilities and help to nurture their talents and interests. One of the young people's social workers said, 'The staff are totally focused to meeting the needs of the child and they think outside the box to accommodate this.'

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Outcomes for children and young people

Young people enjoy a variety of activities which the staff enable them to take part in. Young people at the home are encouraged to undertake physical exercise and do so through activities provided by the service, such as swimming, running and walking. Activities very much cater to the needs of the young people and a risk assessment system determines what activities are appropriate. Staff are creative with the development of activities for the young people and encourage and support them to take part in and try new things. Young people confirmed that the staff support them in their activities and they enjoy being able to experience new things.

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Outcomes for children and young people

Young people prosper from having their general and emotional health needs promoted to a very high standard through regular appointments with health professionals, such as opticians and dentists. The staff support any specialised assistance from a range of professionals, such as mental health and medical professionals, to help address the needs of individual young people. Young people receive comprehensive age-appropriate advice and guidance on issues such as sexual health and drug awareness.

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Outcomes for children and young people

Young people benefit considerably from the positive promotion of their education and the opportunities to experience this as part of their daily lives. Young people are in educational placements and their attendance is good. This is an exceptional achievement for each young person, especially when taking into consideration their past experiences and attendance levels before they were admitted to the home. Young people are able to access safe internet sites for their homework and enjoyment. Young people also have access to educational games and books.

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Outcomes for children and young people

Young people benefit from appropriate contact with their family, friends and other people who are important to them; these contacts are managed sensitively. Restrictions on visits are in place where needed and contact can be supervised and supported.

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Outcomes for children and young people

Young people receive excellent and carefully thought out support to develop their independent living skills as appropriate to their age. Young people were seen undertaking such chores as washing. The young people confirmed they shop for their own clothes and personal items. Young people are educated about healthy living through their independence skills training. One young person was shopping with a budget for the week to prepare and cook meals. Support offered to young people when in transition and preparing to move on is excellent, with staff finding the right level of support for each young person's needs.

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Quality of care

The quality of the care is outstanding .

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Quality of care

Young people benefit from excellent personalised support, positive relationships and clear boundaries from a committed staff team. The arrangements for the key working system are outstanding and young people are able to form attachments and work through very difficult issues with staff.

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Quality of care

The young people's views are excellently promoted and valued. Each young person has numerous forums, both formal and informal, to voice their feelings and opinions. Young people confirmed they would know how to complain. There is a culture of promoting young people's rights and encouraging them to voice their feelings and opinions appropriately. Young people are able to influence decisions relating to their daily lives, such as independent living.

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Quality of care

Young people's extensive care plans clearly identify their individual needs. Excellent monitoring enables staff to evaluate young people's progress and to ensure that care plans are up-to-date and outline the needs of each young person. One social worker said, 'The staff follow care plans and are excellent in reporting incidents. I get a comprehensive e-mail with an incident form as soon as anything happens and I also receive weekly in-depth reports.' In turn, this process positively contributes to statutory reviews of young people’s care and means that reports and staff input accurately reflect each young person's progress and identifies any areas of concern. One social worker said, 'They always e-mail updates or call me directly and invite all professionals to meetings and reviews.'

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Quality of care

Young people's cultural needs and religious beliefs are promoted very well. Staff look at creative ways of helping young people explore different cultures. For example, through using food, creating images for young people about their own heritage and using specific products not readily available in the local community.

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Quality of care

The culture of the home ensures that education is promoted and highly valued. Educational results for young people are good, with young people achieving success that they have never experienced before.

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Quality of care

Healthy lifestyles are encouraged by the staff. They guide young people in choosing excellent, healthy meals and by encouraging them to take part in physical exercise and activities. Staff have clear knowledge of any medical or health issues the young people may have. Young people are provided with their medication by staff who have a very good understanding of the safe administration of medication, and of any specific procedures needed to ensure young people remain safe, happy and well. Members of staff also enable the young people to take part in positive and enriching activities. This approach enables young people to develop their self-esteem and confidence and to experience being a positive part of a community.

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Quality of care

Young people benefit from living in a home which is well maintained and they are encouraged to personalise their rooms and to choose colour schemes and décor; they therefore invest in and take ownership of their environment. The young people have a garden to spend time in and communal areas, such as the lounge and dining room, in which to socialise.

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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 report that they feel supported, cared for and protected in the home. A robust approach ensures the young people are kept as safe as possible. Robust policies and procedures support practices to achieve this. Young people and professionals say the home keeps young people safe and they have a wide variety of people to talk to if they feel unsafe. Staff display a sound understanding of key safeguarding matters, with child protection training delivered at very regular intervals. When issues arise staff are quick to take action to ensure the safety and well-being of all involved, for example gaining advice from the Local Safeguarding Children Board. The home works closely with youth offending services and regularly communicates with other services to ensure consistency of practice.

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Safeguarding children and young people

Each young person has an individual protocol in place detailing what course of action needs to be followed in the event that they go missing. Strategies are in place for staff to discourage young people from going missing. The home has a clear protocol in place with the local police for such an event.

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Safeguarding children and young people

The effective management of the young people's behaviour is a strong aspect of the home and situations are dealt with through discussion and communication. Young people understand why there are rules in the home. Really positive relationships between staff and the young people ensure that the use of physical restraint will only be used when no other option is available.

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Safeguarding children and young people

Young people benefit from a stable staff team. The home has robust recruitment processes which ensure that only adults who have been assessed as suitable to work with young people are employed.

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Safeguarding children and young people

Numerous risk assessments, including individual risk assessments, and safety checks of the premises and fire equipment ensure that the young people live in a safe home. Fire drills are undertaken on a weekly basis to ensure everyone is up-to-date with emergency procedures. The systems operated in the home and the attention given to the detail of each young person's needs and vulnerabilities ensure that their safety is promoted to an excellent standard.

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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

The registered manager leads a staff team who are experienced and knowledgeable. The registered manager is experienced, efficient and well respected. He has had a positive impact since being at the home, for example implementing new incentives that have resulted in positive outcomes for young people. One social worker said, 'the home have worked to an excellent standard with myself, the local authority and other professionals.' The home has a comprehensive Statement of Purpose which has been reviewed and updated and a good quality children's guide which is appropriate for the young people using the service.

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Leadership and management

Good compliance can be seen in the home’s use of reports on the conduct of the home and how these have been used to boost practice and meet any areas of weakness identified. Reports reviewing the quality of care also show how the manager has monitored areas for improvement and acted upon them.

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Leadership and management

The staffing complement ensures that there are always sufficient staff members on shift to be able to respond to young people's needs. The low staff turnover and the stability of the staff team ensure that the young people benefit from consistent care from a motivated staff team.

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Leadership and management

Members of staff report being very committed to the well-being of the young people and very well supported in their role by the excellent management. Their extensive training and supervision is of a very good standard and means that young people benefit from a well-supported staff team.

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Leadership and management

All significant events relating to the protection of children accommodated in the home are notified by the registered person to the appropriate authorities and appropriate action is taken following the incident.

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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 and the evaluation schedule for the inspection of children's homes.

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