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

Outstanding

The children's home provides highly effective services that consistently exceed the standards of good. The actions of the home contribute to significantly improved outcomes for children and young people who need help, protection and care.

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The children's home provision is outstanding because:

 The highly skilled registered manager provides stable and effective leadership and support to young people and the staff.  The staff are exceptional at building trusting relationships with the young people. As a result, young people make considerable and, in some cases, exceptional progress.  Safeguarding is of the highest level. Outstanding collaboration with a wide range of safeguarding professionals ensures risky behaviours are extremely well managed.  The significant progress young people make in engaging in education and changing their risky behaviours is the result of the effective multi- professional decision-making. Agreed actions are delivered in practice by a determined and committed staff team.  Supporting young people with family contact is a strength. Staff support young people to develop positive relationships with their families.  Professionals are very complimentary about the service, the staff and the

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The children's home provision is outstanding because:

impact the high quality of care has on the young people. In particular, they praise the high standard of communication and the joint working between the home and external agencies.  The monitoring and auditing systems in place demonstrate an in-depth analysis enabling managers to implement improvements and constantly reflect on practice.

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Recommendations

To improve the quality and standards of care further, the service should take into account the following recommendations:  Children should be supported to express themselves as individuals and should be given an appropriate degree of freedom and choice in relation to their day- to-day arrangements for their care, depending on their individual needs and the setting they are cared for. This is in relation to both activities and personal items such as clothing, technology and leisure items. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations and quality standards’, page 17, paragraph 3.21) This relates specifically to ensuring the review of allowances, such as clothing allowance, to provide young people with suitable amounts of monies.  The registered person should review the appropriateness and suitability of the location and premises of the home at least once a year. The review should include the identification of any risks and opportunities presented by the

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Recommendations

home’s location and strategies for managing these. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations and the quality standards’, page 64, paragraph 15.1) This relates specifically to the risk of radicalisation.

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Information about this children's home

The home is registered to accommodate up to five young people, irrespective of gender, who have emotional and/or behavioural difficulties. It is owned and managed by the local authority.

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Recent inspection history

Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement 10/03/2016 Interim Sustained effectiveness 03/11/2015 Full Outstanding 27/03/2015 Full Outstanding 16/12/2014 Interim Sustained effectiveness

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Outstanding

Young people receive exceptional care which considerably improves their experience, progress and development. The staff team provides a supportive, nurturing environment where young people develop a sense of stability and belonging. Detailed planning, including thorough impact assessments, allows for young people to experience a smooth arrival to the home knowing the staff are very well-informed of their past and current difficulties. The young people soon develop trusting relationships with staff. Young people respond extremely well to this well-organised process and quickly make progress in areas such as engaging in education, decreasing their risky behaviours and learning life skills. As a result outcomes are very good and, in some cases, exceptional.

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Outstanding

The staff are confident and consistent in the way they meet young people’s needs. As a result, young people make healthy attachments and achieve outstanding progress in their ability to re-assess their difficulties and move forward. Young people who once found it difficult to engage in education are now successfully attending school or college. Incidents of challenging behaviour have decreased significantly, reducing the need for a physical intervention. In addition, young people start to manage their independent living skills and stop previous behaviours such as smoking. Young people have raised with the inspector a need to increase their clothing allowance. Allowances need to be reviewed so they are suitable to the ages of the young people.

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Outstanding

Behaviour management is discussed within multi-professional meetings that benefit from a wide range of expertise, including the children looked after nurse, the missing persons’ police coordinator and the mental health team. This multi-agency working has seen huge benefits for young people and has been praised by professionals. This is particularly so for managing children at high risk of sexual exploitation. One professional said, ‘The home has set a high benchmark for other homes, the multi-agency meetings were productive, all agencies worked very well together and every avenue was explored in keeping the young person safe.’

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Outstanding

Staff demonstrate a high awareness of young people’s needs and opinions through continuous observation and dialogue. Young people participate in group and individual meetings including key working sessions, work with independent advocates and contribute to de-brief sessions following incidents. They are encouraged to make choices about food, furnishings in the home and activities. A priority for staff is to support young people in making safe decisions when out in the community. Young people feel they are important and that the staff really do care about them. Young people’s health needs are addressed through appropriate access to health professionals. Trained staff administer medication and first aid. Training, monitoring and auditing of practice and records is outstanding and robust. This means medication errors are rare.

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Outstanding

The registered manager is clear in his commitment in gaining the views and opinions of both the young people and staff. He fully involves young people in the decision-making about their lives and encourages his staff team to be part of all decisions made, while also promoting challenge. As a result, the home operates in a very open and honest manner where both young people and staff feel they have a voice and will be listened to.

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Outstanding

Moving on from the home is well organised and sensitive. The registered manager is confident in challenging professionals if necessary to ensure the best possible opportunities for the young people. The registered manager is clear about the needs they can and cannot meet, and works closely with colleagues to ensure the best placement for young people. Many young people who have moved on return to the home to visit and say hello to the staff, as well as reflecting on their time here and contributing to reviewing of information such as the children’s guide.

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Outstanding

Safeguarding policies, procedures and practices are of the highest standard. Staff take the necessary steps to protect young people from harm and abuse. Recent very high risk behaviours have resulted in the home working extremely closely with a wide range of professionals with outstanding results. The registered manager and staff have a thorough understanding of the particular risks associated with each young person. The depth of work carried out with young people who are at risk of being sexually exploited is commendable. The joint working approach ensures responses are consistent. The staff fully apply the procedures put in place to ensure that young people are well protected.

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Outstanding

The staff effectively identify, understand and manage risks to a high standard. Clear, individual risk and safety plans include trigger and intervention strategies and are regularly reviewed. Safety plans outline the expected behaviours of the young person and clarify the consequences if not adhered to. They are developed with input from other professionals, the young person and their families where appropriate. Plans provide clear responses for staff to take if young people put themselves at risk and give guidance about age-appropriate risks young people can take with the support of staff. This could be independent travel, meeting friends socially or managing money. Staff are calm when managing challenging behaviour and are effective in defusing developing incidents. Staff apply robust and clear boundaries that young people respond well to.

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Outstanding

All staff receive child protection training, while some receive advanced training. Safeguarding is an agenda item for staff meetings and supervisions, and staff feel confident to raise concerns. Additional training includes child sexual exploitation and e-safety, plus the Prevent duty. The registered manager maintains excellent links with the local safeguarding agency and other professionals. These links ensure good partnership arrangements in keeping young people safe.

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Outstanding

Safe, organised and age-appropriate access to the internet is in place. The staff support young people to understand the risks associated with all forms of social media. Risk assessments for e-safety and online exploitation inform staff how to manage individual or group risks. As a result, there have been no incidents or concerns. The staff are highly consistent in applying the rules of safe internet use.

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Outstanding

The home has a strong anti-bullying commitment. Restorative justice practices are used with excellent outcomes. Young people feel confident in raising concerns, knowing they are listened to and taken seriously. Records show how staff fully investigate all concerns raised.

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Outstanding

Young people live in a safe environment where all health and safety checks are carried out. Young people know what to do in the event of a fire as they experience regular fire evacuation drills. The home’s location risk assessment, although detailed, does not include the risk of radicalisation. Recruitment arrangements are robust. Young people are involved in the recruitment of staff, interviewing applicants and feeding back to the registered manager on their views and opinions of the prospective applicants.

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Outstanding

The registered manager has 13 years’ experience of managing a children’s home and of working in partnership with associated agencies. He holds suitable qualifications and continually looks to extend his expertise. The registered manager receives much praise from a wide range of professionals across the sector. Within the local authority he is very well respected. He delivers training to both internal and external professionals, reviews policies and procedures, and contributes to the future development of children’s services across the county. His ability to identify and nurture staff is outstanding. He manages in a fully inclusive manner, which is acknowledged and appreciated by the staff team and the young people.

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Outstanding

The registered manager is supported by two assistant managers who are highly effective and manage areas that complement their individual skills. Together they form a strong leadership team. This ensures the home is effectively managed at all times. There is a culture of positivity within the home and a real sense of team working, as confirmed by numerous staff members.

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Outstanding

The staff team are committed to improving the lives of young people. When challenges present themselves, they work together as one team to move forward. They are extremely well supported by their colleagues.

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Outstanding

This service knows its strengths and areas for development. Staff and young people contribute to the development plan and have a clear voice in the running of the home. Development of recording systems is continuous, with one assistant manager implementing analytical systems that both the home and school can share. This enables the staff to see, on a day-to-day basis, how each young person is doing at school. Other in-house data he obtains shows patterns and trends that can, for example, inform changes in behaviour management strategies.

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Outstanding

The monitoring of the service is highly organised, robust and of an excellent standard. Staff have their individual areas of auditing and the assistant managers and registered manager oversee their work and results. This enables the leaders to monitor the quality of care effectively and address any issues quickly, as well as to gain a thorough understanding of activities within the home, the young people and staff performance. Records are maintained to an extremely high standard, which aids the analysis of information. An independent visitor provides an objective review of the home and its practices.

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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’. in 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 0300 123 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, work- based learning and skills training, adult and community learning, and education and training in prisons and other secure establishments. It inspects services for children looked after 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

T: 0300 123 1231 Textphone: 0161 618 8524 E: enquiries@ofsted.gov.uk W: www.gov.uk/government/organisations/ofsted

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