Children's Home run by Anderida Adolescent Care Ltd in East Sussex

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

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The children's home provision is good because:

 Young people enjoy positive and trusting relationships with the adults who care for them.  External professionals, such as police and social workers praise the efforts that the staff make to keep the young people safe.  Young peoples’ attendance at school is excellent, especially when bearing in mind their starting points.  Young people and parents are full of praise on how well the staff supported them during their admission to the home.  Good staff awareness of the young people’s individual needs means that they make good progress, especially in areas such as education and positive behaviour.  Shortfalls identified during the inspection do not compromise the safety of the young people. These are mainly related to administrative lapses although the home has been asked to review the practice of locking the lounge at night.

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Statutory Requirements

This section sets out the actions which must be taken so that the registered person/s meets the Care Standards Act 2000, 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 with the given timescales.

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Requirement Due date

5. The engaging with the wider system to ensure each child’s needs are met standard

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Requirement Due date

In order to meet to meet the engaging with the wider system to ensure each child’s needs are met, the registered person must:

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Requirement Due date

(5) (d) seek to develop and maintain effective professional relationships with such persons, bodies or organisations as the registered person considers appropriate having regard to the range of needs of children for whom it is intended that the children’s home is to provide care and accommodation. (This is with specific regard to alerting the police missing person’s co- ordinator about young people who may be at risk of CSE before they are admitted to the home.) 31/07/2015

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Requirement Due date

13. The leadership and management standard

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Requirement Due date

In order to meet the leadership and management standard the registered person must:

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Requirement Due date

(2) (c ) ensure that staff have the experience, qualifications and skills to meet the needs of each child (This is with regard to ensuring that all members of staff receive training in e-safety.) 30/09/2015.

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Requirement Due date

ensure that within 24 hours of the use of a measure of control or discipline or restraint in relation to a child in the home, a record must be made which includes the effectiveness and consequences of the use of the measure (Regulation 35 (3) (a) (vii) 31/07/2015

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Recommendations

To improve the quality and standards of care further the service should take account of the following recommendation(s): The registered person should only accept placements for children where they are satisfied that the home can respond effectively to the child's assessed needs as recorded in the child's relevant placement plans and where they have fully considered the impact that the placement will have on the existing group of children. (This is with a view to evidencing that an impact assessment has been completed before a young person is admitted). (The Guide to the Quality Standards, page 56, paragraph 11.34 )

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Recommendations

The behaviour management strategy should be understood and applied at all times by staff, and must be kept under review and revised where appropriate. (This is in relation to ensuring that each young person’s positive handling plan is completed in line with the home’s policy on this matter.) (The Guide to the Quality Standards, page 46, paragraph 9.34)

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Recommendations

Ensure that all members of staff understand that restraint also involves restricting a child’s liberty. Restrictions such as these, and all other restrictions of liberty of movement, should be recorded as restraint. (This is with particular reference to reviewing the practice of locking the lounge at bedtime.) (The Guide to the Quality Standards, page 47, paragraph 9.42)

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Information about this children's home

This children’s home offers accommodation to up to three young people who have emotional and behavioural difficulties.  This is a privately owned children’s home.

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Recent inspection history

Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

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Recent inspection history

03/09/2014 CH - Interim sustained effectiveness

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Recent inspection history

30/01/2014 CH - Interim Satisfactory Progress

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people living in the home are

Young people are happy and relaxed in this home. They have trusting relationships with members of staff and enjoy their company. ‘My key worker is hilarious, I really like him’ says a young person. The young people feel that the staff are genuinely interested in them and want them to do well.

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people living in the home are

Young people are confident in expressing their views. They are aware of the various adults to whom they can complain and this includes external professionals such as advocates. One young person comments ‘If there is a problem I will sort it with the staff or with the manager’. There have been no complaints since the last inspection in February 2015.

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people living in the home are

Young people achieve very well at school, especially when bearing in mind their starting points. Close communication is in place between schools and members of staff at the home. This means that support is readily available and that the young people have an increased chance of success. Progress for the young people is very good. Assessments carried at school confirm each young person’s academic development. This is underpinned by very good levels of attendance and the young people say they enjoy going to school.

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people living in the home are

Young people have their health promoted to a good standard. Their emotional health is particularly well promoted. This includes appointments with therapists on a regular basis. They receive sensitive and well considered support in order to help them attend and to benefit from their sessions. This is turn enables the young people to develop coping skills and strategies which can help them to manage their emotions.

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people living in the home are

Young people feel welcomed into the home. They speak positively about how they have been introduced and that ‘the staff were nice to me’. A parent comments that ‘Everyone was really relaxed and welcoming’. As a result of this approach, young people and their parents feel prepared for the move into the home and this increases their confidence and trust in the staff team.

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people living in the home are

Young people receive very good support to maintain contacts with families and friends. Parents speak highly of the staff approach. ‘They have made me feel involved in the care of my daughter’ is a comment from one parent. ‘Their communication has been brilliant’ says another.

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people living in the home are

Each young person has an individualised and bespoke plan of care which outlines what the placement is intending to achieve. The manager and members of staff discuss the plans regularly and amend them if needed. Young people know what their plans are and discuss their feelings and progress with members of staff during key sessions. Records of these sessions are thorough, show young peoples’ engagement and give a good picture of how each young person is feeling. Placing social workers are also very positive about the degree of communication achieved by the home. One Social Worker commented ‘Information exchange has been excellent, the reports they have written are timely and succinct.’

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people living in the home are

Young people benefit from the conscientious support offered to them by the staff. Very good working relationships have been established with other professionals, such as teachers and police officers. This ensures joint collaborative working and underpins young peoples’ progress.

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people are helped and protected

Arrangements for safeguarding young people are good. Clear policies and procedures as well as training, underpins staff practice. This ensures they have the skills and knowledge to promote young people’s safety. All staff receive safeguarding training as well as training in recognising the signs and symptoms of child sexual exploitation.

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people are helped and protected

Unanimous feedback from the young people is that they feel safe living here. They say that bullying is not a problem and that they get on well. They identify a variety of adults, including some who do not work in the home, such as an advocate, to whom they can turn if they feel they need to talk about anything.

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people are helped and protected

Staff respond well to incidents of young people going missing. Agreed protocols are effectively applied and this ensure young peoples’ safe return to the home. Close liaison with the police missing person co-ordinator means that there is very good communication and understanding of each young person’s vulnerability. This also includes the procedures if they are missing. ‘They go above and beyond in their efforts to help young people return safely’ says a police officer. However, the police co-ordinator is not alerted by the manager prior to the young person’s admission. This would strengthen the process as the police would have prior knowledge of the young person’s vulnerability and can then share this intelligence with the relevant police team in the area.

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people are helped and protected

Young people prefer to speak to members of staff on their return after they have been missing. They are also offered return interviews with independent people from their placing authorities and from the police, however, on the whole they have chosen not to engage in this process.

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people are helped and protected

There are clear risk assessments in place which outline the measures to keep individual young people safe. For example, whether a young person has permitted unsupervised free time in the community and whether they know the local area enough so they won’t get lost when they are out. This good level of knowledge of each young person’s abilities ensures that the young people feel safe.

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people are helped and protected

Young people say that the rules in the home are ‘common sense’ and that they are treated fairly. There are rewards for positive behaviour and the young people appreciate this. Sanctions are occasionally applied and the young people think they are ‘fair enough.’ Evaluation of the effectiveness of sanctions is not consistent. This raises the possibility that some sanctions could become meaningless if not assessed for relevance and effectiveness.

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people are helped and protected

On occasion in the past there has been a need to lock areas in the house, such as the kitchen or lounge, when young peoples’ behaviour has been challenging and disruptive. While this measure has been proportionate at the time of challenging incidents, some members of staff have routinely locked the lounge at night when the young people have gone to bed. This practice has become habit and has not been assessed or reviewed. Although this has not yet had an impact on the young people, it could present an unnecessary restriction of movement.

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people are helped and protected

The recruitment process is thorough and ensures that all necessary checks are carried out prior to a new member of staff commencing work. This means that only adults with safe backgrounds work with the young people.

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people are helped and protected

There is a good standard of monitoring of safety. Checking of all fire equipment is achieved on a weekly basis and the young people know what to do in the event of a fire. Good maintenance of the home ensures that it is safe and comfortable.

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leaders and managers

An experienced and qualified registered manager is in post. She provides good support to both the young people and the staff team. Members of staff receive regular supervision which enables them to carry out their roles effectively. Parents are very complimentary about the service that the home provides for their children. ‘I don’t think he could be in a better place’, says one parent.

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leaders and managers

Shortfalls identified during this inspection are on the whole related to administrative tasks and updating paperwork. While these have not had a negative impact on the wellbeing of the young people, there has been a failure by the registered manager to identify the shortfalls. For example, the lack of evaluation of the effectiveness of sanctions.

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leaders and managers

The home’s statement of purpose provides good and accurate information for parents and those making placements. It sets out clearly the home’s aims and objectives and the range of services to young people. These are delivered in practice.

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leaders and managers

The registered manager is very aware of how each young person is progressing and the effectiveness of plans of care. Ongoing monitoring of their progress and good liaison with key stakeholders, such as parents, teachers, safeguarding teams and social workers ensures that everyone is working together. While care plans are overall of a good standard, in one case the positive handling plan has not been updated without significant impact for the young person.

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leaders and managers

The registered manager discusses referrals with local authorities seeking to secure a placement to make sure the home can meet the young person’s needs. However, no written assessment to determine the impact of any new admission was evident. This is a miss opportunity to evidence the robustness and careful assessment of admissions.

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leaders and managers

Staff and managers have access to a range of training that supports them to deliver good quality care. Training completed includes matters such as physical intervention, first aid, fire safety, child protection, child sexual exploitation and medication safe handling. Although all members of staff know the dangers associated with the use of the internet, they have not had this knowledge underpinned by formal training in this area.

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leaders and managers

Managers and staff present as committed, caring and wanting the best outcomes possible for the young people. They are reflective, have plans that recognise their strengths and where they need to improve. The home has a clear vision for the future and a willingness to improve the service it provides.

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What the inspection judgements mean

The experiences and progress of children and young people are at the centre of the inspection. Inspectors will use their professional judgement to determine the weight and significance of their findings in this respect. The judgements included in the report are made against Inspection of children's homes: framework for inspection.

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What the inspection judgements mean

An outstanding children's home provides highly effective services that contribute to significantly improved outcomes for children and young people who need help and protection and care. Their progress exceeds expectations and is sustained over time. A good children's home provides effective services that help, protect and care for children and young people and have their welfare safeguarded and promoted. In a children's home that requires improvement , there are no widespread or serious failures that create or leave children being harmed or at risk of harm. The welfare of looked after children is safeguarded and promoted. Minimum requirements are in place, however, the children's home is not yet delivering good protection, help and care for children and young people. A children's home that is inadequate is providing services where there are widespread or serious failures that create or leave children and young people being

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What the inspection judgements mean

harmed or at risk of harm or result in children looked after not having their welfare safeguarded and promoted.

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Information about this inspection

Inspectors have looked closely at the experiences and progress of children and young people living in the children's home. Inspectors considered the quality of work and the difference adults make to the lives of children and young people. They read case files, watched how professional staff work with children, young people and each other and discussed the effectiveness of help and care given to children and young people. Wherever possible, they talked to children, young people and their families. In addition the inspectors have tried to understand what the children's home knows about how well it is performing, how well it is doing and what difference it is making for the children and young people who it is trying to help, protect and look after. This 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 Children's

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Information about this inspection

Homes (England) Regulations 2015 and the Guide to the children's homes regulations including the quality standards. the guidance raising concerns and making complaints about Ofsted, which is available from Ofsted's website: www.gov.uk/government/organisations/ofsted . If you would like Ofsted to send you a copy of the guidance, please telephone 0300123 4234, or email enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk .

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Information about this inspection

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, workbased learning and skills training, adult and community learning, and education and training in prisons and other secure establishments. It inspects services for looked after children and child protection. If you would like a copy of this document in a different format, such as large print or Braille, please telephone 0300 123 4234, or email enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk . You may reuse this information (not including logos) free of charge in any format or medium, under the terms of the Open Government Licence. To view this licence, visit www.nationalarchives.gov.uk/doc/open-government-licence , write to the Information Policy Team,

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Information about this inspection

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Information about this inspection

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Information about this inspection

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