Children's Home run by The Cuckfield Care Consultancy Limited in West Sussex

Inspection report children’s home: SC066466 1 SC066466 Registered provider: The Cuckfield Care Consultancy Limited

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Full inspection Inspected under the social care common inspection framework

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Information about this children’s home

This private children’s home is registered to accommodate six children and young people irrespective of gender. The home accommodates children and young people with emotional and/or behavioural difficulties.

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Overall experiences and progress of

children and young people, taking into account

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good

How well children and young people are helped and protected good

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good

The effectiveness of leaders and managers good

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good

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

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good

Overall judgement at last inspection: Improved effectiveness

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Key findings from this inspection

 The young people benefit from living in a home where there are strong leadership and management of the staff team. Inspection report children’s home: SC066466 2  The staff have realistic aspirations for all the young people in their care. Over time, young people make good progress across all areas of their lives.  Young people develop warm, trusting relationships with the staff, which gives them a sense of safety and stability. They know that they can talk to the staff and that the staff will listen and respond.  The responsible individual and registered manager continually work to develop and improve the quality of care provided. They will challenge other professionals if it is in the best interest of the young people.  There is good collaborative multi-agency working, especially in relation to safeguarding and the protection of the young people.  The management and staff team are very well informed of local risks and have

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Key findings from this inspection

measures in place to lessen their impact. The managers have developed a thorough location risk assessment that enables them to manage any identified risks in the local area effectively.

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Key findings from this inspection

The children’s home’s areas for development:

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Key findings from this inspection

 Smoking by some young people remains prevalent in the home.  Staff recruitment files are not well organised and do not contain up-to-date job descriptions.  Managers have not yet developed thorough e-safety policies and practices.

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Inspection date Inspection type Inspection judgement

15/03/2017 Interim Improved effectiveness 14/12/2016 Full Good 11/02/2016 Interim Declined in effectiveness 27/10/2015 Full Good Inspection report children’s home: SC066466 3

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What does the children’s home need to do to improve?

This section sets out the actions that the registered person(s) must take to meet 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

The registered must– provide each employee with a job description outlining the employee’s responsibilities. (Regulation 33(1)(c))

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Requirement Due date

In particular, ensure that job descriptions are up to date and appropriate for each member of staff’s role. 30/09/2017

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Recommendations

 The registered person should ensure that, in line with their individual health plans and ethos of the home, children are offered advice, support and guidance on health and well-being to enhance, and supplement that provided by their school through Personal, Social and Health Education (PHSE). Staff should have the relevant skills and knowledge to be able to help children understand, and where necessary work to change negative behaviours in key areas of health and well- being. (‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’, page 35, paragraph 7.18). In particular, find further ways to help children cease smoking.  The staff should support children to be aware of and manage their own safety both inside and outside of the home to the extent that any good parent would. Staff should help children to understand how to protect themselves, feel protected and be protected from significant harm. (‘Guide to the children’s homes

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Recommendations

regulations including the quality standards’, page 43, paragraph 9.9). In particular raise the profile of e-safety and safe social media use in the home.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Young people receive individualised care within a nurturing environment where they have opportunities to learn to manage their emotions more appropriately and keep themselves safe. Young people make good progress in their behaviour and other aspects of their lives.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The staff develop warm and trusting relationships with the young people. The quality of relationships between the young people and staff team is a real strength of the home. Inspection report children’s home: SC066466 4 These excellent relationships play an important role in the young people decreasing their risk-taking behaviours. Young people enjoy the nurturing environment and respond positively to staff’s caring approach.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The young people have a strong voice in the home. Young people know they will be listened to and that their views, wishes and opinions are taken seriously. They are aware of the complaints procedure but have not had reason to use it because any relevant issues are well managed prior to a complaint being made. Individual key-working sessions help young people to focus on their behaviours and express their feelings. They also enable the young people to discuss their targets with staff.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

The young people attend a variety of different educational establishments. The staff are very well informed of each individual educational establishment and know which is best suited to the young person. Young people are provided with the opportunity to attend further educational colleges or apply for working apprenticeships. The staff team works closely with the individual education establishments and professionals to ensure that young people have a positive education experience.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Close monitoring of the young people’s physical and emotional health ensures that their specific needs are identified and met. Individual care programmes comprise psychological, social, health and educational support. This support is provided by a range of professionals. The staff offer advice and guidance on healthy lifestyles. Specific health needs, such as self-harming, are managed very well with input from appropriate health professionals. Medication administration is well organised and safe. Young people receive a healthy diet and get the opportunity to experience different cultural foods. Overall, there is a good focus on healthy lifestyles, although more could be done to promote a non-smoking environment.

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Overall experiences and progress of children and young people: good

Young people are able to keep in touch with those who are important to them. Contact arrangements are confirmed at the point of admission to ensure that any restrictions are known and planned for. The staff provide support for contact sessions when necessary and welcome families into the home.

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How well children and young people are helped and protected: good

The safety of the young people is very well promoted in the home. The policies, procedures and practices implemented help the staff to protect young people from harm and abuse. The staff team has a thorough knowledge and understanding of the particular risks associated with the location of the home and those of the individual young people. Individual, up-to-date risk assessments address any known vulnerabilities effectively for each young person, and set out what action should be taken to address and lessen the risks.

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How well children and young people are helped and protected: good

The staff receive child protection training, which also covers specific areas, such as child exploitation and e-safety. Safeguarding is a main agenda item at all staff meetings and supervisions. This ensures that the staff are kept up to date and enables the registered manager to monitor the effectiveness of training and practice. Safe use of social media Inspection report children’s home: SC066466 5 and e-safety is an area that needs to be made more visible in the home. The staff receive training on e-safety and apply safe usage. However, systems in place to share current risks need to be more active.

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How well children and young people are helped and protected: good

The young people say that they feel safe at the home. Most young people make good progress in reducing their risk-taking behaviours. The managers respond immediately and effectively to incidents, such as a recent fire-starting incident. The managers took immediate action to provide extra waking night staff so that all young people feel safe. As a result, no further incidents of this nature have occurred.

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How well children and young people are helped and protected: good

Behaviour management systems ensure that young people are safely supported. Young people receive good support to manage their emotions and any challenging behaviours. Physical intervention has not been used in this inspection period, although the staff are properly trained should it be needed. The staff are competent in identifying the triggers to deteriorating behaviour and therefore manage to defuse evolving situations. Behaviour management plans are detailed and continually reviewed by the staff. Strategies are discussed, reviewed and amended if needed to ensure that they remain effective.

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How well children and young people are helped and protected: good

There have been incidents of young people going missing from the home. The staff’s response is proactive. They implement agreed procedures, and work with other agencies that safeguard the young person to ensure a safe return. Return interviews take place as agreed with the local authorities. This enables the young person to reflect on their behaviour and for staff to review and amend strategies in the light of this.

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How well children and young people are helped and protected: good

Regular and comprehensive health and safety checks ensure that the home is a safe environment. Fire evacuation drills teach young people and staff what action to take in the event of a fire. A recent fire-starting incident at the home was well managed and evidenced the effectiveness of the drills that young people and staff experience.

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How well children and young people are helped and protected: good

Staff recruitment procedures are thorough and all appropriate measures are taken to ensure that adults who are employed at the home are suitable to work with young people and have the commitment to caring for them. Individual recruitment records are disorganised in their layout and not all staff have up-to-date copies of their job descriptions on file.

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How well children and young people are helped and protected: good

The home’s location risk assessment is of a high standard. It identifies all risks that may reasonably arise and sets out how staff will mitigate against these.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager has been in post since July 2016. She fulfils her role well and has gained the confidence of the staff team and young people. She has a suitable care qualification and is soon to finish her level 5 diploma in leadership and management. She works collaboratively with her staff team and a range of other professionals. The young people say she is a ‘really good manager’. Inspection report children’s home: SC066466 6 The staff team is stable and of a good gender mix. It provides good role modelling to the young people. As a team, the staff achieve their aim of providing equality and freedom from unlawful discrimination. In addition, they promote positive values of living in a multi-cultural area. The staff will challenge attitudes if necessary while helping young people to explore their personal beliefs. The staff work with the young people in promoting their independence skills and developing their emotional resilience, which in

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

turn builds their confidence and relationships skills.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The staff receive good-quality training to support the needs of the young people. They receive regular supervision, during which they discuss the progress of the young people, the young people’s safety and any identified training needs. The staff team members say that they feel well supported. They are rigorous in their daily practice of providing the best care they can to the young people.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The registered manager has an insightful understanding of the strengths and areas for development of the home. She is very well supported by the responsible individual who visits the home regularly, generally on a daily basis, and knows all staff and young people well.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

Monitoring and auditing systems are well established. The registered manager closely monitors the progress of the young people and all other aspects of the home to maintain good standards of care. She shares her ambitions for the development of the home with the staff team.

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The effectiveness of leaders and managers: good

The statement of purpose clearly sets out the ethos and objectives of the home, and the range of services that it provides for the young people. The manager and staff team meet their aims of providing a homely, safe residential environment.

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Information about this inspection

Inspectors have looked closely at the experiences and progress of children and young people. Inspectors considered the quality of work and the difference made to the lives of children and young people. They watched how professional staff work with children and young people and each other and discussed the effectiveness of help and care provided. Wherever possible, they talked to children and 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.

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Information about this inspection

Using the ‘Social care common inspection framework’, this inspection was carried out under the Care Standards Act 2000 to assess the effectiveness of the service, how it meets the core functions of the service as set out in legislation, and to consider how well it complies with the Children’s Homes (England) Regulations 2015 and the ‘Guide to the children’s homes regulations including the quality standards’. Inspection report children’s home: SC066466 7

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Children’s home details

Registered provider: The Cuckfield Care Consultancy Limited

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Children’s home details

Registered provider address: Ashburnham, Cuckfield Road, Ansty, Haywards Heath, West Sussex RH17 5AG

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Inspector

Liz Driver, social care inspector Inspection report children’s home: SC066466 8 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, further education and skills, adult and community learning, and education and training in prisons and other secure establishments. It assesses council children’s services, and inspects services for children looked after, safeguarding and child protection.

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Inspector

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Inspector

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Inspector

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