Children's Home run by Brighton and Hove City Council in Brighton and Hove

Good

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:

 An effective full-time registered manager, with 14 years of residential childcare experience, leads this home. She works in partnership with a part- time registered manager, currently on maternity leave. Managers have good oversight of the home and demonstrate a commitment to achieving high standards of care for children.  The home’s commitment to partnership working is exceptional. Staff work closely with parents, schools and health services to share information and enable consistency in care provision; this has a clear benefit to children.  Behaviour management strategies are excellent. Behaviour management is based on current research and is guided by child and adolescent mental health service (CAMHS) professionals. Behaviour plans are individualised and guide staff effectively to meet children’s needs.  Children develop new skills to maximise their independence. Staff support children’s progress via individualised goals targeted towards each child’s

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The children's home provision is good because:

needs. A CAMHS worker reported that ‘staff see children as individuals and are interested in them and seeing those children achieve in every way they can.’  There are shortfalls. Staff supervision is variable. It is not consistently to timescale and the quality of supervision and its recording is dependent upon the skill of the supervisor. This fails to offer staff effective support to develop their skills, ability and confidence in their roles. A lack of regular supervision also fails to recognise the emotional impact of the work on staff.  Safeguarding in the home is good with effective management of all safeguarding issues. This protects children. However, HMCI was not notified of one allegation, and this does not meet regulatory requirements. In addition, the registered manager lacks a clear understanding of how to report concerns according to the ‘Prevent’ agenda. This risks ineffective reporting should such a concern arise.

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The children's home provision is good because:

 Staff understand the risk that online use can pose to children. However, work with children, to help them to understand risks and learn to keep themselves safe online, is variable. Some children who use the internet have thorough risk assessments, high quality safety training and contracts of online use. Other children, who similarly use the internet, do not benefit from this effective support.

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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

Notify HMCI and each other relevant person without delay if there is an allegation of abuse against the home or a person working there. (Regulation 40 (4)(c)) 31 August

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Requirement Due date

Ensure that all employees receive practice-related supervision by a person with appropriate experience. (Regulation 33 (4)(b)) 31 August

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Recommendations

To improve the quality and standards of care further, the service should take account of the following recommendation(s):

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Recommendations

 Ensure that staff support children to be aware of and manage their own safety, particularly in respect of online safety. ('Guide to the Children's Homes Regulations including the quality standards', page 43, paragraph 9.9)

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Recommendations

 Ensure that all staff are familiar with the policy for the protection of children and act in accordance with it, in particular how to report a radicalisation concern. ('Guide to the Children's Homes Regulations including the quality standards', page 44, paragraph 9.21)

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Information about this children's home

This is a local authority home. It is registered to provide care and accommodation for up to eight children with learning disabilities.

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Recent inspection history

Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

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Recent inspection history

24 February 2016 Interim Improved effectiveness

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Recent inspection history

16 February 2015 Interim Sustained effectiveness

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Good

Children develop trusted relationships with staff. A parent said ‘staff love him to bits and do so much for him’. Observation during the inspection was of caring relationships balanced with clear boundaries which provided children with nurturing, safe care.

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Good

There is very effective support of children’s health. All children receive the health services that they require. Excellent communication with specialist health services generates proactive information sharing and guides care. Staff understand and meet children’s health needs effectively.

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Good

All children attend full-time education suited to their individual needs. Excellent partnership working between the home and children’s schools facilitates purposeful communication. A teacher said, ‘we have good communication and have six weekly meetings to discuss changes in behaviour and changes in strategies. They have a good bank of resources to support children’s communication. I find working with them very effective: we have consistency across the settings’.

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Good

Staff listen to children, including those who communicate non-verbally. Individualised communication schemes support children to share their views. Children’s opinions guide meals in the home, bedroom design and the activities that children undertake. Staff support children to participate in their review meetings wherever possible. In addition, thoughtful review reports document children’s progress and represent their wishes and feelings. Staff seek independent advocacy for children wherever beneficial.

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Good

Children take part in activities that they enjoy inside and outside of the home. They enjoy crafts, play games, go swimming and attend clubs and activities in the local community. Opportunities are enabling: they facilitate the participation of all children. For example, the summer camping holiday enables some children to camp overnight while others enjoy daytime camping activities.

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Good

All children work towards individual goals that develop their independence and lifeskills. Children receive the dedicated support that they require to make progress. A social worker said about one child, ‘he is an extremely complex child. They have taught him to hand wash, to clean up in the kitchen and he is learning how to behave in social situations. This is significant progress for him.’ Children’s goals are actively reviewed and updated, supporting each child’s journey of development and progress. Staff treat children with dignity and respect and value their identity, culture and faith. The home works in partnership with parents to support children’s identity. For example, one parent brings fireworks for all children to enjoy during Diwali celebrations.

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Good

The transition into the home of new children is sensitive; transition plans are individualised to the needs of each child and their family. Visits to the home and a good quality statement of purpose and children’s guide quickly ensure that children and families understand the home’s provision. Parents feel listened to. One parent said, ‘we feel listened to as parents and have the chance to give our views; this helps us all to work together.’

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Good

Staff know children and understand how to meet their needs. A social worker said, ‘staff take their time to get to know children. They get to know their behaviour and have good strategies in place; strong relationships are established.’

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Good

The home has effective links with the local safeguarding children board, who provide all staff with safeguarding training. Staff safeguarding training is up to date and includes in dealing with child sexual exploitation and radicalisation. Staff understand safeguarding issues and effectively record and pass on their safeguarding concerns in line with organisational policies and procedures.

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Good

All staff receive mandatory internet safety training and supervise effectively children’s online use in the home. Staff understand the risk that online use can pose to children. However, work with children, to help them to understand risks and learn to keep themselves safe online, is variable. Some children who use the internet have thorough risk assessments, high quality safety training and contracts of online use. Other children who use the internet, do not benefit from this effective support.

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Good

All safeguarding concerns and allegations are reported without delay; this protects children. One allegation was not notified to HMCI, as required by regulation. The registered manager is proactive in her response to safeguarding. However, she lacks a clear understanding in how to report concerns arising from the ‘Prevent’ agenda, this risks ineffective reporting of any such concern.

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Good

A clear missing policy alongside individual missing assessments guide staff to take urgent action to protect children. Effective supervision keeps children safe; there have been no incidents of children missing.

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Good

Excellent behaviour plans, produced in conjunction with CAMHS, use current research to guide practice. The ‘Just Right’ positive behaviour system provides individualised behaviour management strategies to suit each child’s needs. Regular network meetings review behaviour plans and mean that parents, school and the home provide consistent behaviour management.

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Good

The use of restraint is only after unsuccessful de-escalation and its use is in accordance with regulation. Thorough recording accompanies all restraint. This includes children’s response to the physical intervention and management oversight.

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Good

Staff address all issues of conflict and bullying effectively. Staff responses align to children’s understanding. Wherever possible, the utilisation of reflective and restorative interventions help children to learn to take responsibility for their actions and support positive behavioural development.

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Good

Safe recruitment protects children. The induction of new staff is thorough, ensuring a comprehensive understanding of the home’s policies and procedures, including the whistleblowing policy.

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Good

Medication training for staff is meticulous. Prior to administering medication to children, staff receive thorough training and undergo independent assessment by a qualified nurse. Staff have a good understanding of the purpose and possible side effects of the medication that they administer. Careful, well monitored medication systems maximise children’s safety.

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Good

The home is well decorated and furnished and is equipped to meet the needs of children using the home for short breaks and long-term care. Maintenance is undertaken efficiently and health and safety is taken seriously, providing a well- kept, homely and safe environment.

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Good

An effective full-time registered manager leads this home. She has been registered as manager for one year. She has 14 years of residential childcare experience and is currently completing her level 5 diploma in leadership and management for residential childcare. She works in partnership with a part-time registered manager, currently on maternity leave. A commitment to ongoing recruitment has brought improvement to staffing levels. A small number of vacancies remain, covered by regular bank staff. Staff training is generous, equipping staff with mandatory and supplementary learning. All training focuses on the needs of children in the home.

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Good

Management monitoring is efficient and ensures that leaders have good oversight of the functioning of the home and the progress of all children. Internal management monitoring is supplemented by regular external monitoring, providing independent quality assurance. The registered manager values feedback and takes immediate action to address issues and concerns that monitoring highlights.

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Good

Children’s care plans are excellent. They address children’s holistic needs, are child-centred and up to date. Purposeful partnership working with parents, schools, health services and social workers promotes consistent care, in which children maximise their developmental progress. A parent said, ‘we have behaviour management meetings once a month to discuss his behaviour with school, the home and myself. It helps us all to work together.’

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Good

New services are established to meet children’s evolving needs. These services currently include: school nurses, occupational therapists, dietitians, child and adolescent mental health services (CAMHS), educational psychologists, psychiatrists and adult transition services. The commitment to partnership working is exceptional and has a clear benefit to children.

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Good

Staff demonstrate proactive support of children’s development and progress. Children work towards individualised goals, broken down into achievable steps. A teacher said ‘they help to develop children’s independence skills, they have strategies. One child has a really good strategy for washing his hair; now he has beautiful hair’. Efficient monitoring of children’s progress links to goal updating to maximise children’s targeted progress. A creative approach to children’s care means that plans are adapted and modified when children are not making progress. Staff are not afraid to try new techniques and strategies, persistently reviewing and modifying care to best support children’s needs.

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Good

All staff receive supervision, but this is not always to stated timescales. The quality of supervision and its recording is variable, dependent on the skill of the supervisor. This is a shortfall, particularly due to the high number of new staff, some of whom are still in their probationary period. It fails to offer staff effective support to develop their skills, ability and confidence in their roles. A lack of regular supervision also fails to recognise the emotional impact of the work on staff. A staff member said ‘the focus is always on the welfare of children, but the welfare of staff is also important’. Despite shortfalls, staff speak positively about the supervision they do receive. One member of staff said ‘it’s helpful, we talk about children’s behaviour and have time to unpick things and get suggestions on practice. Supervision is reassuring’. A requirement addresses this issue.

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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 children looked after 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 that 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

The National Archives, Kew, London TW9 4DU, or email: psi@nationalarchives.gsi.gov.uk .

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Information about this inspection

Interested in our work? You can subscribe to our monthly newsletter for more information and updates: http://eepurl.com/iTrDn .

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Information about this inspection

Store Street Manchester M1 2WD T: 0300 123 1231 Textphone: 0161 618 8524 E: enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk W: www.gov.uk/government/organisations/ofsted

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