Children's Home run by East Sussex County Council in East Sussex

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:

 Leadership and management of the home are good. Staff are well trained in safeguarding policies and procedures. They demonstrate good knowledge and relevant experience, which they put into practice.  The registered manager has formed good working relationships with professionals and specialist services. There is a strong ethos of professionals and parents working together, with the welfare of children and young people their priority.  Children and young people are listened to. Staff act on their wishes, and if this is not possible they explain why not. An advocate is employed specifically to gain young people’s views for their care-planning meetings.  A strength of the home is the positive relationships between the staff and the children and young people; there is a calm and happy atmosphere. Staff enjoy being with the children and young people. This is evident in their practice.  Shortfalls largely relate to administrative processes. These do not have an

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The children's home provision is good because:

impact on the safety of the children and young people.

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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 within the given timescales.

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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)(a) lead and manage the home in a way that is consistent with the approach and ethos, and delivers the outcomes, set out in the home's statement of purpose. This is particularly in relation to frequency of staff supervision. (Regulation 13 (2)(a)) 09/01/2017

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Requirement Due date

The registered person must ensure that for the purposes of paragraph (3)(b), an individual who works in the home in a care role has the appropriate qualification, if, by the relevant date, the individual has attained-

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Requirement Due date

(a) the Level 3 Diploma for Residential Childcare (England) ("the Level 3 Diploma"); or

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Requirement Due date

(b) a qualification that the registered person considers to be equivalent to the Level 3 Diploma

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Recommendations

To improve the quality and standards of care further, the service should take account of the following recommendations:  Children should be able to access all shared areas of their home unless there are specific reasons why this would not meet a child’s needs. Any decision to limit a child’s access to any area of the home and any modifications to the environment of the home should be informed by a rigorous assessment of that individual child's needs, be properly recorded and be kept under regular review. (’Guide to children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 15, paragraph 3.10)  Regulation 45 sets out requirements for the registered person to have a system in place which must provide for ascertaining and considering the opinions of parents and placing authorities to be reflected every six months. (’Guide to children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 64, paragraph 15.2)

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that staff understand and can meet each child’s needs, in line with their responsibilities. Staff should consult with the registered manager when the child’s care plan is unclear. (’Guide to children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 52, paragraph 10.5)

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Information about this children's home

This children’s home is operated by the local authority. It is registered to provide care and accommodation for up to eight children and young people with learning and physical disabilities.

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Recent inspection history

Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement 23/03/2016 Interim Sustained effectiveness 17/12/2015 Full Good 23/03/2015 Interim Sustained effectiveness 13/08/2014 Full Good

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Good

The home usually provides a short-break service but some children and young people stay for longer periods. In such circumstances, children and young people, along with their families, profit from the flexible response to their changing needs. Those children and young people who move from short-break stays to living at the home are usually well known to staff, who are responsive to their presenting needs. Staff look after children and young people’s complex needs well, and help them to understand their change of circumstances through the use of timetables and social stories. With their parents, children and young people personalise their bedrooms to help them settle in. One parent said, ‘Thanks for letting us come and set up his room; it really helped us with the transition.’ However, in one example, a breakdown in staff communication meant that there was some confusion about how to follow an aspect of one young person’s care plan. This resulted in him not

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Good

having a personal item when he wanted it.

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Good

The registered manager uses her oversight of two of the organisation’s homes to enhance the relationships between the staff and the children and young people from both settings. Staff support and encourage the children and young people to make appropriate relationships with friends in the sister home. One young person socialises regularly with a friend from the other home; they enjoy a range of activities, including bowling and visiting the cinema. This improves their social opportunities and increases their social skills.

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Good

Genuine, warm and nurturing relationships between the staff and the children and young people were observed. Staff enjoy being with the children and young people, and take genuine pleasure in their company. Activities are planned throughout the day to ensure that all children and young people are stimulated and entertained. Staff help them to make good use of the facilities and the wider community.

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Good

Children and young people make impressive progress, measured by attainable targets. A four-step programme ensures that targets are reached with ease, and the programme is adjusted to suit the individual. For example, one young person’s target to try new food was broken down into small and specific steps to help him to achieve this goal. Staff identify targets that transfer to the family environment to benefit the children and young people and their families at home.

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Good

Staff are proactive in gaining young people’s views in all aspects of their care, through children’s meetings, a key-work system and day-to-day communication. An external advocate enhances this practice. She is employed to gain the views of children and young people prior to care-planning meetings, so that their wishes and feelings are represented. She identified that one young person needed more information regarding future placements. This is being taken forward by the staff team.

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Good

Staff have good relationships with parents, who appreciate, and benefit from, the service. One parent said, ‘It is out of this world; they have put our minds at rest.’ Another parent said, ‘He was very, very excited when we told him he was going.’ Staff communicate effectively with parents during their child’s stay, which parents find reassuring. Various methods, including an ‘open-door’ policy for visits, help to promote contact between children and young people and their friends and family members.

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Good

Staff forge strong links with schools. They share information, and work as a strong multi-professional team by liaising closely to ensure continuity of care across both settings. For example, an occupational therapist has devised a sensory programme at the school, which is being transferred to the home environment. The young person responds positively to this consistent approach, and is managing his sensory needs better.

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Good

One young person needed medical intervention, which he struggled to comply with previously due to his specific needs. Through detailed planning and collaborative working with hospital staff, social workers and parents, staff managed to reduce the potential for trauma, which the young person may otherwise have experienced. Consequently, he received much-needed treatment.

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Good

When deemed in the best interests of a child or young person, there are occasions of children and young people moving between the two homes. Effective co-working results in staff from both homes working together to share information. They plan meticulously to ensure that children and young people are familiar with staff, peers and the setting before they move on.

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Good

Staff receive specific training and guidance in relation to the children and young people’s safeguarding needs. Staff appreciate and understand the wide range of risks and vulnerabilities children and young people face. One young person did not appreciate that, through his language (attributed to his learning needs and lack of understanding), he was putting himself at risk as a result of his inappropriate comments when in the community. Staff worked swiftly to safeguard him, and to educate him in understanding the associated risks to his safety. Such practice demonstrates the staff’s ability to recognise how generalised safeguarding topics and issues affect their children and young people.

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Good

A safeguarding allegation resulted in a prompt investigation and immediate action to safeguard the young person. Managers and staff followed the organisation’s policy and procedures. The matter was fully investigated in consultation with the designated officer and the young person’s social worker. Such practice is typical of staff prioritising children and young people’s safety effectively.

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Good

Physical interventions are rarely used because staff are perceptive, know the children and young people well, and use de-escalation techniques to manage challenging behaviour. When physical interventions do occur, these are evaluated and analysed by the registered manager to ensure that lessons learned are shared with staff. A strength of the home is the consultation process with children and young people following a physical intervention. This encourages their sense of self- responsibility and ownership for their behaviour.

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Good

Staff educate and supervise the children and young people at different levels, depending on their age and level of understanding. One example of such practice involved a young person’s access to social media being temporarily restricted. Staff continue to work with him to promote safe use in preparation for when he can have increased independence and be trusted to keep himself safe again.

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Good

When restrictive measures are applied, such as locking the kitchen door, staff can demonstrate that this practice only occurs following clear risk assessments relevant to the group of children and young people accessing the home at each given time. However, in respect of the use of door alarms at night-time, risk assessments are not individualised, nor regularly reviewed. This blanket approach may not be necessary for every child or young person using the service and should be reviewed.

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Good

The registered manager has led and managed this home effectively since January 2012. She also manages another registered children’s home run by the organisation. The registered manager and deputy manager work well together to support the staff, develop a strong staff team and oversee the home’s management. A staff member said, ‘We are well supported by managers and the team; that’s what makes working here so good.’

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Good

Permanent staff are well trained and experienced in the skills needed to look after the children and young people, and meet their complex needs. Agency staff, when used, are regular and known to the children and young people. However, they do not all have the level 3 diploma in residential childcare. Consequently, the experience and expertise of the staff group is not consistent. The registered manager has included this shortfall as an area to address in her workforce plan.

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Good

Good professional relationships between the home and partner agencies are highly effective in ensuring that plans reflect the needs of the children and young people. Staff contribute to care-planning meetings, and advocate for the children and young people. An Independent Reviewing Officer said, ‘Staff prepare well for reviews and contribute fully in meetings. They demonstrate a good relationship with professionals and parents.’ A social worker said, ‘Communication between staff and myself is good; they report back to me and also keep parents informed.’ All professions involved in the care of the children and young people are aware of any changing issues because of the regularity of good communication systems.

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Good

Children and young people are at the forefront of staff supervision discussions, with appropriate time devoted to staff needs. Consequently, children and young people benefit from a staff group that focuses on them while also having a high level of support itself. There are occasions where the frequency of some staff supervision meetings has lapsed, which leaves these staff potentially unsupported. This is not in line with the home’s statement of purpose or its supervision policy. The positive practice experienced by some staff is not consistent across the team.

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Good

External independent monitoring visits take place monthly and are suitably challenging of practice. The registered manager uses the reports from these visits and her own internal monitoring to evaluate the quality of the care provided in the home. However, her six-monthly reports do not reflect the input or feedback of parents and social workers. This is a missed opportunity to demonstrate the impact and value of stakeholder consultation. The registered manager is aware of the strengths and weaknesses of the home and has devised a development workforce plan to improve the service. This includes the updating of a number of policies.

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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 that 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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